I want to look at a man I call God’s spark plug. You know the purpose of a spark plug. A spark plug is the little device that sends a spark into the engine of a car, lawn mower or similar device to ignite the engine. Even so, God wants to use you to serve as a spark plug in His service: at church, at home, at work and wherever you go. The man of whom I speak was Nehemiah. Follow his story. In Nehemiah 1:3 we find Nehemiah receiving a burden from the Lord. He was told of the devastation of Jerusalem. He was told of the discouraged spirit of the Israelite people. Nehemiah was living in a place called “Susa” or “Shushan”. This city is located in the southwestern part of what we call Iran. The Israelite people had been carried into captivity by the Babylonians. Many of the Jewish people had returned home. Nehemiah was still living in the area where the Israelite people had been held captive. He receives the report from some of his fellow Jewish people. In 2:5 we read where Nehemiah goes to the king and requests a leave of absence so that he can visit his homeland. He was a cup bearer in the King’s palace. Nehemiah received permission from the king to visit his homeland and so he returned home. He found his homeland tattered and torn. The wall around Jerusalem was torn down and the people’s spirits were broken. In 6:15 we find the rest of the story. Nehemiah did not sit idly and take this sitting down. He became a spark plug to get something moving. He lead the Israelite people to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. They were able to complete the job in 52 days. What an accomplishment! What was there about Nehemiah that God used in making him a spark plug for God’s people? Let’s learn from him.
I. God’s spark plug is moved by a burden. Many people watched in apathy while the wall around Jerusalem lay in ruins. Not Nehemiah. God gave him a burden to do something about the conditions. If God shows you something it may mean he wants you to do something about it.
A. Many people are afflicted by apathy. Nehemiah‘s burden motivated him to get involved.
Illustration: Many people are like the player Frank Laden confronted. Frank Laden was a former coach of the Utah Jazz in the seventies. He had problems with a basketball player, and so he summoned the talented but troubled man to his
office. Looking at the player, the coach finally asked, "My son, I can’t understand it with you. Is it ignorance or apathy?" What was the player’s typical unconcerned response? The player said, "Coach, I don’t know and I don’t care!"
(Sports Illustrated "They said it!" 1990 Oxmoor House 26) (Contributed to Sermon Central by Dan Cormie)
B. Look at Nehemiah’s burden. It is found in verse 4. “So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.” (NKJV) Lets take a closer look at several words in this verse.
First, the word “wept.” You expect people to weep over certain things. You expect a parent to shed a tear when their child marries. You expect a person to cry at a loved ones funeral. However, Nehemiah wept because Jerusalem was in shambles and God’s people were discouraged.
There is nothing wrong with crying. Consider the following Biblical examples.
“Those who sow in tears Shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, Bearing seed for sowing, Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, Bringing his sheaves with him.” (Ps. 126:5-6 NKJV)
“Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!” (Jer. 9:1 NKJV)
“Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it” (Lk. 19:41 NKJV)
Illustration: Across the street from the bombed out Federal Building in Oklahoma City, where 168 people died needlessly and senselessly, there stands a memorial. At the heart of that memorial is a nine foot statue of Jesus. But this statue is not one of a stony Jesus with arms out wide like you may have seen in the Ozarks or in Brazil. No, this is a nine foot statue of Jesus with his face in his hands, turned slightly away from where the acts of terror took place, and the plaque reads, "And Jesus Wept."
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Dean Kennedy)
A second word that described Nehemiah’s burden is the word “mourned.” Nehemiah was burdened, as if somebody had died. We should not be people who reflect a depressed spirit. We ought to be happy! However, we should be burdened for those who are lost and for the things of God.
A third word that described Nehemiah’s burden is the word “Fasted.” A person will fast when the burden takes away the appetite.
What are you burdened over: a lost person, the need for revival, prayerlessness or a personal burden God has shown you?
II. God’s spark plug Seeks the Lord’s help. Nehemiah went to God in prayer. As we see problems our first impulse is to move into motion. As busy Americans we are an active people. However, the person who fulfills God’s work starts on his knees. Dr W. E. Sangster wrote: "If you are too busy to pray then you are too busy."
Illustration: Sometimes we are like the young man who applied for a job with a logging company. The foreman asked him if he could cut a tree with an ax. The young man walked over to a tree and cut it like an old pro. The foreman hired him.
On Monday, the young man outdid everyone on the crew. But, each day after that, he got slower and slower until Friday, he could barely cut one tree. He went through all the motions; swinging his ax, hitting the tree and repeating it, but it just didn’t work very well.
Finally, the young man laid down his ax, sat on the ground in exhaustion and wondered what was causing this. The foreman came over and told the young man he knew what caused it. He said he had been so busy all week doing the things that a logger does, that he had forgotten to get back to basics and sharpen his ax. His axe had become dull and was all but worthless because it had not been kept in good condition.
Have we been so busy in our lives, and possibly even in our church, that we have forgotten to go back to take care basics and just simply talk to God?
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Bruce Ball)
Not so with Nehemiah. The first thing he did was pray. Nehemiah was a praying man. We find twelve recorded prayers, that Nehemiah prayed, in the book of Nehemiah. (see 1:4; 2:4; 4:4,5,9; 5:19; 6:14; 9:5; 13:14,22,29,31) Let’s examine the prayer that is a part of our text. There are several important principles found in this passage. I notice three things about Nehemiah’s prayer.
A. His prayer was filled with passion. He “wept”, “mourned” and “fasted.”
B. His prayer was prolonged. He prayed for many days. His prayer was not some hurried impulsive act.
C. His prayer shows us a plan for praying.
1. Prayer should begin by focusing on God. What
do we focus on?
(a) Focus on the personal nature of God. The
word “Lord” is the personal name for God. This
name is like using God’s first name. In so
praying we remind ourselves that God is
friendly, personal and is our friend.
(b) Next focus on the position of God. He is
the God of Heaven. He is not a man next door.
He is not a grandfather. He is the sovereign
God who is over all of the universe.
(c) Next focus on the faithfulness of God. He
keeps his word with people. Many times we begin
our prayers by rushing into our petitions.
Prayer should begin with God, focusing on Him
and His majesty and sovereign rule over the
universe. Jesus taught this same principle in
the Lord’s prayer. He taught us to begin with
God. He said pray “Our Father who art in
Heaven.”
2. The next part of Nehemiah’s prayer is
submission to God’s will. Nehemiah called himself
the servant of God in verse 6. That was Nehemiah’s
way of saying he was submitted to doing God’s
will. In the Lord’s prayer Jesus said pray “Thy
kingdom come thy will be done.”
3. The next part of Nehemiah’s prayer was
confession. Sometimes sinful attitudes and
rebellion can block our fellowship with God.
Nehemiah confessed his sins and removed any
obstacles that hindered fellowship with God.
4. After that Nehemiah reflected on the promises
of God. This is found in verses 8 through 10. He
reflected on God’s promises to Moses. He
remembered the special position God’s children
have in God’s eyes.
5. The last part of Nehemiah’s prayer was his
petition for himself. He prayed that God would
give him success as he went to the king and sought
permission to return to Israel.
III. God’s spark plug gets involved.
A. Nehemiah could have used the excuse that conditions were not right. He could have used the excuse that he was separated from Jerusalem (vs. 1). He could have said he would not have any contacts since he had been away for so long. He could have used the king as an excuse. After all, he was the cup bearer in the King’s house. The cup bearer was the person who tasted the wine to guarantee there was no poison in the king’s wine. Nehemiah could have said I have other things to do.
Illustration: Jesus faced people who made excuses. "But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, `I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ "And another said, `I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ "Still another said, `I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come” (Lk. 14:18-20 NKJV)
Zig Ziglar writes:
My brother, the late Judge Ziglar, loved to tell the story of the fellow who went next door to borrow his neighbor’s lawnmower. The neighbor explained that he could not let him use the mower because all the flights had been canceled from New York to Los Angeles.
The borrower asked him what canceled flights from New York to Los Angeles had to do with borrowing his lawnmower. "It doesn’t have anything to do with it, but if I don’t want to let you use my lawnmower, one excuse is as good as another."
[Excuses: Any Will Do?, Citation: Zig Ziglar, Something Else to Smile About (Thomas Nelson, 1999)] (Contributed to Sermon Central by A. Todd Coget)
Have you been making excuses?
- I would come to Wednesday night services but I have such a hard day on Wednesdays.
- I would sing in the choir but I am so busy.
- I would come to GROW night but I am so busy.
- I would teach a class but I do not know the Bible.
- I would take that position but I do not have the time.
A spark plug will not make excuses. A spark plug will get involved.
B. A spark plug type person will get involved because they feel God has given them a job to do. Nehemiah felt God had placed him in the position to do something about the condition of Jerusalem. God has placed you in the place where you are located for a purpose: your neighborhood, your job, your friends and your family. As you search the Bible you see individuals who felt they were in a specific place for a specific purpose. Names such as Esther, Daniel and Joseph just to name a few.
C. Nehemiah made service to God a priority. When he saw a job to be done he dropped his personal responsibility and dedicated himself to God’s work.
Illustration: Bill McCartney retired as the head coach of the Colorado football team several years ago. His reason for retirement was not because he was unsuccessful as a coach. His teams had won the national championship. They had been in the top 10 many times. McCartney said that he was retiring because he wanted to reevaluate his priorities. He said, “I’m leaving coaching, & I’m going to take a whole year to re-evaluate my priorities. Is God first? Is my family second? Is my work third?”
And when that year was over, Bill McCartney had dedicated his life & talents to Christ, & threw his efforts into founding the great men’s renewal gatherings that we know today as “Promise Keepers.”
(Contributed to Sermon Central by MELVIN NEWLAND)
Conclusion
What is God saying to you today? What does he want to accomplish through you?
