Christian Attributes of Action
Nehemiah 2:1-8
Intro: There were two old geezers living in the backwoods of the Ozarks: Rufus and Clarence.
They lived on opposite sides of the river and they hated each other. Every morning, just after sunup, Rufus and Clarence would go down to their respective sides of the river and yell at each other.
"Rufus!" Clarence would shout, "You better thank your lucky stars that I can’t swim, er I’d swim this river and whup you!"
"Clarence!" Rufus would holler back, "You better thank YOUR lucky stars that I can’t swim, er I’d swim this river and whup YOU!"
Every morning. Every day. For 20 years.
One day the Army Corps of Engineers came along and built a bridge. But the insults went on every morning. Every day. Another five years.
Finally, Mr. Rufus’ wife had had enough. "Rufus!" she squallered one day, "I can’t take no more! Every day for 25 years you’ve been threatenin’ to whup Clarence. Well, thar’s the bridge! Have at it!"
Rufus thought for a moment. Chewed his bottom lip for another moment.
"Woman!" he declared, snapping his suspenders into place. "I’m gonna whup Clarence!"
He walked out the door, down to the river, along the river bank, came to the bridge, stepped up onto the bridge, walked about halfway over the bridge, then turned tail and ran screaming back to the house, slammed the door, bolted the windows, grabbed the shotgun and dove under the bed.
"Rufus!" cried the missus. "I thought you was gonna whup Clarence!"
"I was, woman, I was!" he whispered.
"What in tarnation is the matter?"
"Well," whispered the terror-stricken Rufus, "I walked halfway over the bridge and saw a sign that said, “’Clearance, 13 feet, 6 inches.’ He ain’t never looked that big from the other side of the river!"
. That’s what happens sometimes to the people of God.
. We look at things from a distance and make plans but when we get closer to doing what God wants us to do we think that the task is too monumental and we resort back to the safety of what we have always done. We circle the wagons and stand our ground.
. We stay right in our comfort zone.
. When last we were in Nehemiah we saw that in order for Nehemiah to do what god had called him to do, he had to get out of his comfort zone.
. We realized that as a church and as Christians, sometimes God call us out of our comfort zone.
. Last Sunday in our business meeting we, as a church decided to step out and allow God to use us in expanding our ministry here at The Creek.
. We voted to pursue hiring a bi-vocational children’s minister. 95% of our congregation made this commitment.
. Just like Nehemiah, we took a step out of our comfort zone.
. In our scripture today, Nehemiah models for us the continuation of these steps that someone takes in following Gods direction.
. Lets look at our scripture:
1 Early the following spring, in the month of Nisan, during the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was serving the king his wine. I had never before appeared sad in his presence.
2 So the king asked me, “Why are you looking so sad? You don’t look sick to me. You must be deeply troubled.”Then I was terrified,
3 but I replied, “Long live the king! How can I not be sad? For the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”
4 The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?”With a cprayer to the God of heaven,
5 I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.”
6 The king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked, “How long will you be gone? When will you return?” After I told him how long I would be gone, the king agreed to my request.
7 I also said to the king, “If it please the king, let me have letters addressed to the governors of the province west of the Euphrates River, instructing them to let me travel safely through their territories on my way to Judah.
8And please give me a letter addressed to Asaph, the manager of the king’s forest, instructing him to give me timber. I will need it to make beams for the gates of the Temple fortress, for the city walls, and for a house for myself.” And the king granted these requests, because the gracious hand of God was on me.
. In these eight verses Nehemiah models 5 attributes of action .
. In them we will see Patience, Prayer, Possession, Planning, and Praise.
. First we see patience.
.There was a 4-year-old boy who was traveling with his mother & constantly asking the same question over & over again? "When are we going to get there? When are we going to get there?" Finally, the mother got so irritated that she said, "We still have 90 more miles to go. So don’t ask me again when we’re going to get there." Well, the boy was silent for a long time. Then he timidly asked, "Mom, will I still be four when we get there?"
. The story is “told that the great New England preacher Phillips Brooks was known for his calmness and poise. His intimate friends, however, knew that he suffered moments of frustration and irritability. One day a friend saw him pacing the floor like a caged lion. ‘What is the trouble, Dr. Brooks?’ asked his friend. ‘The trouble is,’ replied Brooks, ‘that I’m in a hurry, but God isn’t.’”.
.Patience is hard to develop isn’t it.
. Look at vs 1 again:
1 Early the following spring, in the month of Nisan, during the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was serving the king his wine. I had never before appeared sad in his presence.
. Nehemiah had the patience to wait on God for just the right time.
. Back in chapter 1 Nehemiah was told of the problems facing the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the month of Kislev which is equal to mid November to mid December.
. I’m sure Nehemiah wanted to get to Jerusalem and get going but he waited until spring to even bring it up. The month of Nissan is not the car but April.
. From November to April, Nehemiah waited on God.
. Nehemiah patiently waited on god to create the right circumstance for him to start this process.
. I’m sure he spent months in prayer and meditation seeking Gods will for him.
. We as a church have been patient in allowing God to speak to us and direct us in the way He wants us to go.
. I commend you on going through the process of seeking Gods will before we voted to take the path that we took.
. God calls for patience and waiting on Him in a plan of action.
. Next we see that Prayer must be part of any action taken for the kingdom of God.
. One young boy was telling the pastor that his mother said his prayers for him each night. "What do you mean, your mother says your prayers for you?" the puzzled minister inquired. The youngster replied, "When mom tucks me in she always says, "Thank God he’s in bed."
. Prayer is essential even for the little things isn’t it?
. Look at verse 4 again:
. The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?”With a prayer to the God of heaven,
. The first thing Nehemiah did was to pray.
. He knew that He needed God’s hand upon him in the task that he was about to undertake.
. So many times once we have planned a path forward, we go full steam ahead don’t we.
. We have been patient and asked God for His guidance and we say alright God you led us to this now get out of the way and let us go to work.
. All that we do folks must be bathed in prayer .
. Now that God has led us to the action He wants us to take, we must still pray for His continued guidance.
. As we move forward as a church, remember to bathe all that we do in prayer.
. Next we see that we need to take Possession, of the task at hand.
. Look at verse 5 again: 5 I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.”
. Nehemiah said send me . I want to take possession of this task. I want to help in God’s plan for His people.
. I am reminded of the prophet Isaiah who took possession of what God had called him to do.
. In Isaiah chapter 6, the prophet receives a vision and finds himself looking into the Throne room of God. In verse 8 we see recorded:
. 8Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”I said, “Here I am. Send me.”
. Isaiah said here I am lord use me. In whatever capacity you want, use me.
.Like Nehemiah, he took possession of what God wanted him to do.
. Here ia am lord, I will be responsible.
. Folks we must take possession of what God has called us to do.
. I don’t mean that you have to be the children’s minister.
. I do mean that we are responsible to follow God’s guidance in how we call and pay for this new position.
. I received a letter from Dr. White who is the president of our state convention here in Georgia. This was a standard letter that all pastors receive. In the letter he wrote ( I paraphrase) that a mission is not really a mission until it is acted upon. You can vote on missions and plans and write them down but until you act, they are just words on a piece of paper.
. The biggest action that we as a church and you individually as a member much take is to decide how we are going to pay for this new position. The leadership and finance teams will meet and suggest guidelines but each individual must participate .
. This is the first action that the church is undertaking in order to;
. Encourage and develop those we meet into committed followers of Jesus.
. Folks, just like Nehemiah and Isaiah, we must take possession of God’s action for our church.
. Next we see that Nehemiah had a Plan of Action.
. Look at verses 7&8 again:
. 7 I also said to the king, “If it please the king, let me have letters addressed to the governors of the province west of the Euphrates River, instructing them to let me travel safely through their territories on my way to Judah.
8And please give me a letter addressed to Asaph, the manager of the king’s forest, instructing him to give me timber. I will need it to make beams for the gates of the Temple fortress, for the city walls, and for a house for myself.” And the king granted these requests, because the gracious hand of God was on me.
. Nehemiah had a plan
. He didn’t say alright Lord, I have had patience and I have prayed and I will go but the rest is up to you.
. He had in his mind the vision of the walls being rebuilt for the safety of his countrymen.
. He had a plan to fulfill the mission that God had given him.
.I read a story of a Finnish atheist who stated in his will that he wanted to leave his farm to the devil. When he died, the legal system was dumbfounded over how to honor the request. Finally, after weeks of deliberation, the court decided that the best way to carry out the farmer’s wishes was to permit the weeds and briars to taker over the farmland, to allow the house and barn to remain unpainted and eventually rot, and to let the soil erode and wash away. The court declared in its ruling, “The best way to let the devil have possession of anything is to do nothing.
. Your elected leaders will be actively working on plans to implement our stepping stones here at the creek.
. Pray that God will lead them and that they will be sensitive to God’s voice during this process.
. Lastly we see Praise from Nehemiah for the one who had provided everything. The patience, the answered prayer, the conviction to take possession and the plans.
. Nehemiah praised God.
. Look at the last part of verse 8 again:
. And the king granted these requests, because the gracious hand of God was on me.
. The gracious hand of God was on Nehemiah and his plans.
. He recognized and gave credit to God for His guidance and help in his endeavors.
. Folks any success we have as individuals and as a church will be a direct consequence of the “hand of God being upon us.
. Let us always remember to praise Him for any success that we have.
.There is one thing that I praise God for more than anything else.
. I praise God that Jesus Christ came and took my punishment for sin on an old rugged cross as the old hymn announces.
. Can you praise God for that today?
. Is Jesus Christ Lord of you life?
Invitation
*** To my Christian brothers and sisters, thank you for taking the time to read this sermon. I ask that you take another second and score this for me. I am always open to feedback so that I can continue to grow in the proclamation of God’s word.
May God bless you as you continue to strive to walk worthy of His calling.
Sources:
The Holy Bible, NLT
Patience-Fruit Of The Spirit, Melvin Newland
The Power Of Patience, John Hamby
When Opportunity Strikes, Paul Decker
Ezra &Nehemiah, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, Derek Kidner
