HOW TO TACKLE TOUGH JOBS!
NEHEMIAH 2:1-9
February 8,
Dr. Jim Bohrer
It’s amazing how much we forget as we get older. I guess it’s true that if you don’t use it, you lose it. A popular gameshow hosted by Jeff Foxworthy asked ordinary adults to test their smarts with a series of questions targeted at the fifth-grade level. These questions came from actual elementary school textbooks and stumped intelligent adults. Do you currently know more about math, history, science and English than you did in 5th grade?
How many triangles are in this image?
• 20
• 18
• 13
• 12
What is the approximate average height of a full grown man in the US?
• 5'11"
• 6'0"
• 5'6"
• 5'9"
What is the square root of 81?
• 6
• 9
• 2
• 18
7 months of the year have 31 days; how many have 28 or more?
• 1
• 12
• 5
• 8
If you divide 30 by ½ and add 10, what do you have?
• 35
• 40
• 70
• 45
Answers:
13 Triangles
5’-9”
Square Root = 9
All 12 Months
You have 70
Nehemiah 2:1-9 In 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; 2 so 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, 3 but 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?" 4 The king said to me, "What is it you want?" Then I prayed to the God of heaven, 5 and 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." 6 Then 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. 7 I 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? 8 And 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. 9 So 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.
Nehemiah 2:17-20 17 Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace." 18 I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me. They replied, "Let us start rebuilding." So they began this good work. 19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. "What is this you are doing?" they asked. "Are you rebelling against the king?" 20 I answered them by saying, "The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it."
ALWAYS BE WILLING TO PHONE A FRIEND! YOU CAN’T DO EVERYTHING ON YOUR OWN!
Can you say with me, “I get by with a little help from my friends?”
2 Truths I have seen that cause many people more heartache than they know:
• People rarely ask questions?
• People rarely ask for help?
I need to ask for help more often. It will be more fun with someone else.
I’ve seen this in church ministry, in business, in school far too often, the Lone Wolf. I can do it all myself. I have to have all the ideas.
It is important to note the king cared About Nehemiah. In those days people noticed sadness as a normal condition when things are not going well. It indicated that person needed to do something about it. Friends family and the community were there to help support The person through this change.
If you sit on a need for too long, it will move to a problem, then to a crisis, and then to a catastrophe!
Unwise reasons for not asking for help!
OVERALL in asking for help there should be balance in GIVING and RECEIVING.
Fear of: APPEARING WEAK, NEEDY, OR INCOMPETENT.
Fear of: LOSING CONTROL.
Fear of: REJECTION
Research shows that you will be rejected 30% of the time that you ask for help!
Don’t reject the 70% of willing because of a fear of a few No’s?
A little boy was having difficulty lifting a heavy stone.
His father came along just then.
Noting the boy’s failure, he asked, “Are you using all your strength?”
“Yes, I am,” the little boy said impatiently.
“No, you are not,” the father answered.
“I am right here just waiting, and you haven’t asked me to help you.”
(What is the worst that can happen?... They can say no. What’s the best? 70% of the time they will say yes!)
DEPEND ON GOD’S BLESSING TO SEE YOU THROUGH BUT BE S.M.A.R.T. ABOUT IT! Psalm 127:1 Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.
Set SPECIFIC Goals. (vs. 5, 18)
JFK made that speech May 25, 1961.
Kennedy's goal was accomplished on the Apollo 11 mission when astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed their Lunar Module(LM) on July 20, 1969.
And the entire program had less technology than many of you hold in the Palm of your hands with a cell phone! Wow!
Make progress MEASURABLE and MEANINGFUL. (v. 17)
Assess that it is ATTAINABLE. (v. 13)
Request the RESOURCES needed. (v. 7-9)
Tie it to a TIME line. (v. 6)
Parkinson's law is the adage that "work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion".
PROCRASTINATOR’S LAW: Never finish today what you can put off until tomorrow.
Without Time lines or a point of completion, the work never ends and goals never realized!
Ecclesiastes 4:7-8 7 Again I saw something meaningless under the sun: 8 There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. "For whom am I toiling," he asked, "and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?" This too is meaningless-- a miserable business!
the Empire State Building surpassed them upon its completion, just 410 days after construction commenced. Instead of taking 18 months as anticipated, the construction took just under fifteen.
"The time for the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves! Banish the word struggle from you attitude and your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.
"We are the ones we've been waiting for."
-- attributed to an unnamed Hopi elder
Instead of looking at all the difficulties, we need to remember that God has given us Himself and His church. We are the ones He called and has equipped. We can’t be arrogant about it, and we can’t be careless, but with His guidance, we can be smart about it and see great things achieved for the Kingdom.
