Saddling Up Your Donkey.

> Sermon - Saddling up your Donkey. Nehemiah chapter 2.

>

> For something to be regarded as a success it needs to get beyond the

> dreaming stage to something that is effective.

>

> When discussion centres around the modern motor car and the genesis of

> it's development there is much talk about Otto and Daimler. But few

> people have heard of Hugon in France or Bischop in Germany - they had

> built internal combustion engines but, as one comentator states - there

> was no commercial success.

> But Damlier's name is written firmly into the history of the Motor

> vehicle because he persisted with his invention until he saw it through

> to it's logical conclusion which was commercial production and

> wide-spread use.

>

> Last week I talked about how God has a plan for each of our lives and

> longs to see them reach their full potential.

>

> Many of us carry in our hearts great dreams and great dreams for our

> futures.

>

> Martin Luther King the Black civil rights leader of the 1960's once

> said - I have a dream! Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968), who went

> on to organize the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and

> to become a symbol of the movement's commitment to militant, nonviolent,

> direct action against segregation. He and his supporters not only talked

> about their "dream" they lived it.

> By eliminating the most overtly racist practices denying blacks access

> to equal education, jobs, and the voting booth, the civil rights laws of

> the 1960's enabled black Americans to make unprecedented gains in all

> these areas by the early 1980's.

> Martin Luther King carried out his dream at the cost of his life.

> As a civil rights leader in America in the 60's it was almost inevitable

> that he would die as a result of his prominence.

> The passion that Nehemiah felt for Jerusalem was like that - Like Martin

> Luther King he belonged to a nation that had been taken off to captivity

> and had been enslaved.

> Yet despite that Nehemiah had risen to prominence in the land. He was

> the cup bearer to the King Artaxerxes 1 who lived 464 - 424 before

> Christ.

> his position shows that the King found him completely trustworthy and he

> obviously has great favour with the King.

> Last week we looked at from chapter 1 of three great attributes that

> Nehemiah demonstrates when confronted with the bad news that Jerusalem

> is in a state of ruin.

> The three points that we gained from it that apply to our own lives

> were;-

> 1. Identify the areas in our lives that have opened up gaps in the

> wall.

> 2. Confess these areas to God in prayer and ask for His help in

> restoring the breach Interestingly the month of Kislev in chapter 1 is

> four months before the beginning of chapter 2 which we are told was the

> month of Nisan - for four months Nehemiah, then wrestled in prayer about

> his problem.

> 3. Effect change by taking initial practical steps to bring change.

> Nehemiah had a great dream - it was a big dream - a dream that was

> seemingly preposterous -

>

> But Nehemiah has to move on from there. In order to see the restoration

> of Jerusalem he does need to effect change. But in effecting that change

> he needs to demonstrate certain qualities and attitudes without which he

> would be doomed to failure.

> This morning I would like to explore chapter 2 of Nehemiah with you and

> show you three of those qualities and then demonstrate how we can show

> the same Kingdom building blocks we can build into our lives to effect

> major changes.

>

> The first building block is put in place when our spiritual life

> impacts on our ordinary life. The collision is deliberate and is our

> own doing.

> Nehemiah was a Godly man. He had served the King but his heart had

> always been towards God and he had a deep concern about God's Holy city,

> Jerusalem, and her plight in just the same way that today a Christian

> should have a heart for the fallen state of this world.

>

> It is incumbent on every Christian to allow the Christian life to impact

> on their world.

> Jesus words are recorded in Luke chapter 9 verse 26 - If anyone is

> ashamed of me and my words, the Son of man will be ashamed of him when