New Years Resolutions… most common of which usually relate to health, eating and exercise… #1 is dieting.
- Average American gains 5-7 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas
o I’ve done my share… in fact, maybe even a little extra so one of you may get a break
- We can all appreciate fresh starts and an overall sense of freshness in our daily lives.
I believe you and I can discover that alongside the often superficial dimensions, which may be naïve and wishful thinking, there is an authentic freshness at hand in the spiritual realm.
- God is the God of time… He is the God who marks out the year… seasons… even days
- And God is ever active… so it’s never ‘just another year’… day…
- Each and every day are filled with new works of God.
o Psalm 23:6—‘Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.’
o Lamentations 2:22—‘Your mercies are new every morning.’
o Psalm 118:24—‘This is the Day the Lord has made, Let us rejoice and be glad in it.’
How easy it is to forget the significance of the present; in all our planning to lose touch with what we’re making of our lives right now. This came home to me when this past end of the year and New Year week, Leah’s step-grandmother passed away unexpectedly… her family gathered. Then I received a call… my father had a minor heart attack… my whole perspective regarding the value of what I do with my days. Along with all the fears of losing my father, it brought home the significance of my own priorities in life… It helped raise the question:
HOW AM I DOING IN FINISHING WHAT GOD SET FORTH IN MY LIFE?
New Years are one of those blessings of seasons for all of us; a particular season has seen an end and a new one begins. It’s a gracious part of the life God has given to us… an opportunity to open our eyes again…
And towards that end I believe God speaks to us about new beginnings in the life and leadership of Nehemiah.
- I’ve learned a lot from reading and reflecting on the Book of Nehemiah this past year and I believe God has a word for us about new beginnings…
Nehemiah comes on the scene around 445 B.C. The majority of the People of Israel had been exiled from Jerusalem under Assyrian rule, and the city had been destroyed. A remnant that remained had rebuilt the temple earlier but little was known of HOW TO CONTINUE… Nehemiah would bring forth that process of restoration. His name means “Comfort of Jehovah God” and his role of restoration parallels the work of the H.S. in the process of restoring our lives and building the kingdom of God…
The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem. They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.” When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.” (Nehemiah 1:1-4)
1. A fresh start begins with a clear and moving recognition that we haven’t finished all that God set forth in our lives and ministry.
This was a state that others were used to, but for Nehemiah, there was a
- Holy Discontent that broke forth in his spirit
- Something set forth by God had been stopped… Details in Ezra 4:12-24
You can hear the deep struggle for power that surrounds this work… The people of God are a threat to the powers that be.
In the same way, our lives are a threat; the work of God which has begun in each of us is a threat and there are powers at work to see that it’s not finished, that it sits idle.
Nehemiah reveals the need for a deep recognition that we’re not done. Perhaps the enemy has stopped a work in our lives and ministry:
- Turning a disappointment into a disengagement
- Turning a problem into passivity
- Allowing our shame to condemn us and bind us rather than convict us forward in repentance.
Nehemiah reveals that breakthroughs, new beginnings, fresh starts begin with a healthy and holy discontent.
- Not the same as regret
o Regret only feeds depression; healthy and holy discontent feeds direction
o One is life reducing, the other life restoring
o One looks at the problems, the other… possibilities
What has begun in your life that you know isn’t finished… and needs a fresh start?
Paul says he has determined to finish the race set before him.
Then I said “O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s house, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses. Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my name.’ They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.” I was cupbearer to the King. (Nehemiah 1:5-11)
2. A fresh start is birthed in renewed faith… confession… prayer.
This prayer of confession reveals active faith
Nehemiah is filled with a deep recognition that God has more at hand, and he’s daring to go after it again. He’s re-engaging the purposes of God.
- There lies the challenge for us all: If we want a fresh start, a breakthrough in our lives, it won’t come by simply not saying ‘no’ to God, but rather by saying yes to God.
- We can all get subtly sidetracked and sidelined. We allow problems to leave us passive… disappointments leave us disengaged.
- If we know what God has stirred in our hearts, the most important question we can ask is: WHAT ACTIVE, TANGIBLE STEP OF FAITH AM I TAKING TOWARDS SUCH ENDS RIGHT NOW?
- That question may be the key to a fresh start.
Let’s continue…
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; 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, 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?” The king said to me, “What is it you want?” Then I prayed to the God of heaven, 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.” 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. 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? 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. 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 2:1-9)
3. A fresh start rises out of the strength of our role as a servant.
Nehemiah’s position is actually stated in the end of previous text: he was cup-bearer to the king, a trusted servant… tasted the king’s wine for poison.
Nehemiah was a servant, and it was as a servant that he was blessed.
- Central truth for both our personal lives and ministry.
o Jesus said, we must become servants
o Paul reminded the Philippians, 2:5 ‘Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus… who taking the very nature of a servant.’
Church: We’re to be a church who knows Jesus is here to serve and reach out to the lost As we’ve taken this calling to our city, we are growing in “favor” in this city.
By night, I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire. (Nehemiah 2:13)
4. A fresh start assesses the needs at hand.
- Nehemiah isn’t afraid to look at what’s really involved; he sees the big picture in the specific parts.
- If we want to really experience freshness, there’s an important truth here, THE BIG PICTURE AND SMALL PARTS RELATE.
- Transformation is found in most personal elements
o My ability to reach the community for Christ begins with a particular neighbor, business contact.
o My ability to love like Jesus will be discovered in my loving wife… my child… each of you as individuals
- If we want to see the city finished, we must be willing to look at the broken walls… assess them.
o Are there particular walls broken down in your life
Devotional time
Marriage relationship
Serving in ministry
Love for the lost
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. (Nehemiah 2:18)
5. A fresh start breaks forth with the power of agreement.
