PREPARING FOR SUCCESS
Nehemiah Chapter 2
INTRO: ON YOUR MARK. GET SET. GO!
Runners are you ready? (Runners shake arms and legs to loosen them up).
On your mark! (One runner gets down in position. The other, who was standing behind gets distracted by a better view of the crowd and remains standing, waving and smiling at someone in the crowd.)
Get set! (One runner gets set. The other continues smiling, mouthing words, and blowing kisses to someone in the crowd).
GO! (One runner sprints across the stage. The other take off after him but obviously behind.)
Our introduction on your outline is: ON YOUR MARK. GET SET. GO! And this applies not just to racing but to life. The more we are prepared for what we have to face in life, the better we’ll be able to run the race that God wants us to run.
ON YOUR MARK means that we should be aware of our goals. GET SET means that we should be prepared. Then we can GO on to success. Our message today in on PREPARING FOR SUCCESS? and as we deal with the first part of Nehemiah chapter two I want us to look at five ways we can do that.
Our first point encourages us to -
BE PREPARED BY THINKING AHEAD.
1. BE PREPARED BY THINKING AHEAD
In this chapter it is obvious that Nehemiah has done his homework. He has not only been praying for four months, he has been planning and preparing for this meeting with the king.
Some of you may be thinking, "Is it really that important to be prepared? I like to live life one moment at a time. I like life to be spontaneous and fun, not broken down into little pieces on a day timer!"
In answer to that, let me assure you that whether we prepare or not, we have no choice but to take life one moment at a time, because we never know if things will happen like we’ve planned them.
Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
Another verse says: Proverbs 16:9 In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.
We must also remember that God plans ahead.
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
1 Cor. 14:33, 40 For God is not a God of disorder but of peace everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.
And the Bible says that wise people plan ahead.
Proverbs 14:8 [Living] The wise man looks ahead. The fool attempts to fool himself and won’t face facts.
Leadership Law: Failing to plan is planning to fail! You’ve got to think it through.
Leaders make time for think time. Howard Hendricks said, "Nothing is more profitable than serious thinking, and nothing is more demanding." Leaders need time to think, time to get away.
If you take time to think ahead, then you’ll do a much better job at what our next point talks about:
2. BE PREPARED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OPPORTUNITIES.
Let’s look at the first two verses of Nehemiah 2:
Neh. 2:1-2 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."
Here is opportune time that God has opened for Nehemiah. One-on-one conversations with the king were rare. Nehemiah might not get another chance like this for months.
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. -- Thomas A. Edison.
We must be ready to take advantage of the opportunities that God brings to us.
1 Peter 3:15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.
ON YOUR MARK: Goal of telling others about Jesus.
GET SET: Set apart Christ as Lord. Be prepared to obey.
GO: Give an answer to those interested.
Nehemiah was on his mark. We saw in chapter one that he was aware of God’s promises to bring his people back to Israel and restore their lives.
He made a request that was in line with the will of God. So many times we ask with the wrong motives.
James 4:3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
So often our prayers are short term attempts to receive something for our own benefit. Nehemiah’s prayer was a long-term investment in order to see the purposes of God accomplished.
Nehemiah was set, because he was prepared. This opportunity came after 4 months of prayer and thinking. And it came to a man who was committed to God’s will, and doing it for the benefit of others, like this young man was:
TIMELY OPPORTUNITIES TO DO GOOD
A young man was busy at his job of taking out the groceries for the local supermarket. He had been in and out of the store on his helpful errands a number of times that morning. Something drew his attention to a woman in the parking lot who was struggling with her groceries. Her cart was abundantly filled, as were her arms.
His path back to the store took him in her direction. Like many people, she put one of her packages on the roof of the car while she hunted for her keys and opened the door. Then she began to load her packages from the cart to the automobile. But as she got in, started up her car and began to drive away, the young man saw that she had forgotten to retrieve the package she’d placed on the roof. Now he was closer to the car and he began to run after her. When she made a turn to exit the parking lot the package on the roof rolled off.
Fortunately, the young man caught the package--a baby--just before it hit the pavement!--James S. Hewett
The mother was very glad that the young man was willing to seize this opportunity to help. If he wouldn’t have been committed to and prepared to help others, she might have lost her baby.
God is always committed to and ready to help us. God is not reluctant to answer prayer that is according to his will. He loves to answer our prayers. Jesus assured us:
It’s natural for us to be afraid, especially at the uncertainty of the future. But our next point encourages us to
3. BE PREPARED TO ACT IN SPITE OF YOUR FEARS.
At the end of verse 2 Nehemiah confesses:
Neh. 2:2 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, Nehemiah was risking his life here. In those days it was a law prohibiting anyone to be sad in the king’s presence. It was a crime punishable by death.
In king’s presence no one was allowed to be sad or to complain about anything. To do that would be a bad reflection on the king who was responsible for the goodwill of the kingdom.
I know some of you might like to have this law in your homes, or in your school or at the place where you work. It can be awfully tiring to hear complaining and griping all the time.
I think it is a good idea for those of us who are Christians, to think about how our lives reflect on our King, who is responsible for our goodwill. Jesus said: John 10:10 I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
But too often the only thing we’re full of is sadness or complaints.
"WHICH DID GOD BELIEVE?"
There was a father who led his family in prayer before their breakfast in his usual manner, thanking God for what He had provided. After he said "Amen," he resumed his habit of grumbling about hard times, about the poor quality of the food, about the way it was cooked, and much more. His little daughter listened with unusual attention and dared to interrupt him by saying, "Daddy, do you think God heard what you said when you prayed?" "Certainly," he responded with confidence." "And did He hear what you just said about the bacon and coffee?" "Of course," he replied meekly. "Then, Daddy, which did God believe?"
Fortunately, Nehemiah’s faith was greater than his fear. He did the right thing in spite of his fear because he believed in the promises of God. It is often a poor choice to base our actions on our feelings.
The next thing we can learn from Nehemiah is to:
4. BE PREPARED TO COMMUNICATE IN DETAILS.
Neh. 2:4-6 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.
Wow! Talk about an opportunity! It’s not often that a king asks you, "What do you want?" And it would not have been advisable for Nehemiah to let the opportunity pass by saying something like, "Could you give me some time to think about that?!" The mood of a king could change very quickly.
Nehemiah had prayed and thought it out and he was now prepared to communicate details to the king.
What’s the goal? How long will it take? What do you need to do the job?
The goal was to return to Jerusalem and to rebuild it.
It was going to take three years. And he was going to need two things from the king ? two letters (which we’ll deal with in a minute). Before he communicated these details to the king, though, Nehemiah prays again.
It had to have been a short prayer because it happened in the time between the king’s question and Nehemiah’s answer. Someone has called this kind of praying, "Sending up arrow prayers." It was a quick look toward heaven to ask for God’s help. And remember, this short prayer?whatever its unvoiced words?was built on his praying for four months.
To undertake such a large task Nehemiah knew would require lots of prayer and preparation.
5. BE PREPARED FOR POSSIBLE PROBLEMS
Neh. 2:7-10 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.
[10] When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites.
Nehemiah then asked for a big favor from the king. Knowing he would face opposition from his enemies, he requested letters of permission from the king to allow him to pass through the various provinces in the Trans-Euphrates, the large area west of the Euphrates River. Nehemiah also asked that the king write a letter to Asaph, the man in charge of the kingfs forest. Nehemiah knew he would need access to timber for rebuilding the gates and the wall and other parts of the city. Nehemiah also knew that he would need written authority from the king in order to prove that all this was properly authorized. He foresaw that there would be enemies like Sanballat who would try and stop this work. And it would be tough to get things approved from a thousand miles away.
So, King Artaxerxes grants all of Nehemiah’s requests and issues a decree.
A very interesting thing about this decree is that it is directly connected with the famous prophecy of Daniel about what’s called the "seventy sevens." We don’t have time to deal with this now, but many Bible scholars agree that the "seventy sevens" of Daniel chapter nine, start with this decree of Artaxerxes.
The prophecy of Daniel deals with the first and second coming of Jesus Christ? so it was a very important prophecy. And the counting of those "seventy sevens" starts right here with the bold obedience of Nehemiah. This is about more than the rebuilding of some walls. Nehemiah was part of the fulfillment of God’s eternal plans and purposes.
What a tragedy it would have been if Nehemiah had not been prepared for this opportunity! We also have the privilege of being part of what God is doing. I don’t know if Nehemiah knew all the ramifications of his actions. But the truth is, none of us know all of what God is up to. We are called to be ambassadors of Jesus Christ. We are called to be obedient to our Lord. We are called to be good stewards of what God has entrusted to us, and it is required that stewards prove themselves faithful.
Which means we must do what our conclusion talks about:
COUNTING THE COST OF SUCCESS.
Nehemiah knew this project was going to cost him at least three years of his life. He knew he was going to face challenges and opposition like he never had before. He was not going into this blindly. He had spent much time in prayer and preparation. He counted the cost and was willing to pay the price.
We have to be committed to doing God’s will no matter what it costs us, and stay committed in matter what unexpected things might come up.
I’d like to invite you to reflect on your commitment to God. And I invite you to commit yourself to following Nehemiah’s example of preparing for success.
If you want to know how you can become a Christian please talk to someone today. Maybe you have a Christian friend who can help you, or please feel free to talk with me.
