Revision: Winning Life Strategies
Nehemiah 2: 1-10
Two old men lived in the backwoods of the Ozarks named Rufus and Clarence. They lived on opposite sides of the river and hated each other. Every morning, just after sunup, Rufus and Clarence would go down to their respective sides of the river and yell at each other. "Rufus!" Clarence would shout, "You better thank your lucky stars that I can’t swim, er I’d swim this river and whup you!" "Clarence!" Rufus would yell back, "You better thank YOUR lucky stars that I can’t swim, er I’d swim this river and whup YOU!" Every morning for 20 years this happened. One day the Army Corps of Engineers came along and built a bridge. But the insults went on every morning for another 5 years. Finally, Rufus’ wife had had enough. "Rufus! I can’t take no more! Every day for 25 years you’ve been threatenin’ to whup Clarence. Well, that’s the bridge! Have at it!" Rufus thought for a moment and then said "Woman, I’m gonna whup Clarence!" He walked out the door, down to the river, along the river bank to the bridge, and walked about halfway over the bridge, then turned and ran screaming back to the house, slammed the door, bolted the windows, grabbed the shotgun and dove under the bed. "Rufus, I thought you was gonna whup Clarence!" "I was, woman, I was!" he whispered. "What in tarnation is the matter?" "Well, I walked halfway over the bridge and saw a sign that said, “’Clearance, 13 feet, 6 inches.’ He ain’t never looked that big from the other side of the river!"
Well, have you ever hesitated at an opportunity? Something ever caused you to pause because it was a whole lot bigger than you thought it was? Nehemiah was living in Persia’s capital city, Susa, the most powerful place in the world at that time and through his brother, Hanani, he learns Jerusalem’s walls have been flattened, the gates have been burned, the temple has been destroyed and the people are completely demoralized. It’s been 80 years since the destruction of Jerusalem and not a thing has been done to rebuild it. Nehemiah sees the need, and hears God’s tug on his heart to rebuild the walls of the city. But that’s like one person being called to rebuild the levees around New Orleans.
Today, we’re going to focus on 7 winning life strategies when you’re faced with a God-sized problem. First is preparation. As we learned the first week, preparation precedes progress and for Nehemiah, that means prayer. Before he can ever tackle this huge problem of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, he must first go to God in prayer. A seminary professor of a systematic theology class included a HUGE amount of material on the midterm exam. Tension in the room built, people were sighing and gasping aloud as they realized how much material they had covered and were expected to recall. The following week, the professor tossed the graded papers on her desk and announced, "Class, after I left here last week, the Lord spoke to me. He said, “Thanks, professor. I haven’t heard much from some of those people recently.” When our problem is bigger than us, it should move us to pray as it does Nehemiah. Nehemiah makes prayer a priority by stopping everything he is doing and focusing on God in a time of fasting and prayer. He prays passionately and he prays consistently. He also enters into confession to God for the sins in his life and the times he and Israel have rebelled against God. In all this, God begins to prepare Nehemiah for the task which lays ahead. Before you act and before you make a decision, first go to God in prayer. Prayer gives us perspective; it widens our horizons, sharpens our vision, strengthens our relationship with God and eases our anxieties.
In our Scripture today, Nehemiah not only shows us we are to have consistent and entended times of prayer but he also shows us us prayer precedes his daily actions. When the King asks: “What is it you want?”, before answering, Nehemiah prayed to God. This had to be a short prayer because it happened between the time the king asked his question and Nehemiah’s answer. Nehemiah sent God an “Instant Message” prayer. He obviously didn’t have the time to drop to his knees or even bow his head. If he had done that, the king would have suspected treason. Many of us do these IM prayers throughout our day. But notice this, his emergency prayer was backed up by four months of fasting and intercession. You and I can pray at any time, in any place by sending up a brief prayer to God but it has to be grounded in a deeper, more regular prayer life which has connected us to the Father and His will. I believe this is what Paul meant when he challenged us to “pray continually.”
The second winning strategy is patience. Bob Joyce tells the story of a woman who had just passed her 100th birthday. She had a letter the President of the U. S. congratulating her. Her pastor went to visit her in a nursing home. She was blind and could not see. She was lame and could not walk. In fact she could not leave her room except for emergencies. She took her meals in her room. Her whole life existed in that room. As they talked she said, “Pastor, I am the oldest member in your church. But I am ready to go to the Father’s house above.” Her pastor understood her desire. But, then, with a twinkle in her eye and with a lift in her voice she said, “But, I guess God is not through teaching me patience yet.” He stood there dumbfounded. He was not yet 40. Here is a 100 year old woman and she is still learning what patience is all about.
Successful servants of God practice patience. Some of us need to learn patience and by the end of four months of prayer about speaking to the King, Nehemiah learned patience. Now remember, Nehemiah is weeping, mourning, fasting and going to God in extended times of prayer, crying out for the time to act on this burden He has placed on his heart. When you’re in a state like that, a week can be a long time to wait. So, you can well imagine that when Nehemiah prayed, he asked God to provide an early, if not immediate, opportunity to speak to the king. Remember the closing verse in chapter 1 which said Nehemiah wanted success “today”. It didn’t happen that way. For 4 months he prayed and waited for the opportunity to come and in that period, God created in Nehemiah a spirit of patience. Nehemiah could weep and pray but he could also wait, pray and develop patience.
More often than not, we are to wait for the Lord. We’re not to run ahead of God. Hebrews 6:12: “…imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what was promised.” Nehemiah had decided not to act or make his decision to approach the King until God gave him the opportunity. This kept him from rushing out and trying to do his own thing in his own time and strength. He resisted the urge to make something happen. Instead, he expected God to do something and but he had to wait. Waiting time is not wasted time but rather develops patience in us and can prepare us for the challenges which lie ahead.
The third winning strategy is to discover your passion. The challenge for most people in their life is finding their God given passion. So what is passion? Bruce Bugbee in his book “What You Do Best in the Body of Christ” defines passion this way: "Passion is the God-given desire of the heart to make a difference somewhere.” Romans 12 , "Never to be lacking in zeal." In other words, keep your spiritual fervor. How do you do that? When you discover your passion, you become excited and exhilarated in serving God because you know you’re doing what God wants you to do and you can feel God working through you. Passion does several things for us. First, it motivates us to action. Passion is the driving force within us that moves us to action and focuses our life in such a way that we have an impact on those around us. When we discover our passion, we suddenly become zealous in our faith and service. Second, it energizes us. When we are working within our passion, our energy and effort are not our own. Suddenly, we are drawing on the wellspring of God’s energy and power for our ministry. Third, Passion allows you to get through the inevitable difficulties, delays and opposition that arise when you pursue God’s work in the world. Because you know this is from God, you can expect opposition from the world around you but you can also draw upon God to sustain you. Passions revolve around one of two areas: people or issues and causes. Nehemiah’s passion was Jerusalem and the despondent people living amidst the ruins of God’s city. Where have you heard God speaking to you lately? What area has God lifted up for you to focus on?
Fourth, trust in God’s providence. What God originates, He orchestrates. When God speaks to us we always ask, “How?”, but how is never a problem for God. Remember the story of Mary in Luke chapter 1? An angel appears to Mary and tells her the vision that God has for her life…to give birth to the Savior of the world. And Mary asks, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” To which the angel replies, “Nothing is impossible with God.” Trusting in God’s providence is realizing that absolutely nothing is going to thwart or derail God’s plan of salvation. Proverbs 21:30 puts it this way: “There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD.” So when God puts a passion in your heart, He goes to work behind the scenes to ensure that it happens. It’s not up to us to figure out how to pull off the vision. Our job is simply to do what we know to do and then wait for God.
Can you remember one story anywhere in the entire Bible where God gave the responsibility of figuring out how a divine vision would be fulfilled to the person that God had given the vision to? Did Moses have to come up with the plan to get the Israelites across the Red Sea? Did the disciples have to figure out how to feed the 5000, with just 5 loaves and 2 fish? No! How the vision would be accomplished was not up to them. They just did what they knew to do, trusting in God’s providence, they distributed the food. Nehemiah found that God took care of the details when he said, ”And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests.” The passion of your heart comes from God and because of that, God will give you success. Proverbs “A person’s heart plans their way (that is, your passion shows you what you are to do) but the Lord God directs their steps.”
You have to trust in God’s providence. A young boy happened upon an old man who was fishing in the mighty Mississippi River. Immediately the lad began to ply the aged fisherman with a myriad of questions as only young boys can do. With the patience of the ages, the old man answered each query. Suddenly their conversation was interrupted by the shrill whistle of the majestic River Queen paddling relentlessly down river. The sight of the ship gleaming and splashing spray in the sunlight caused the surprised spectators to stare in awe and appreciation. Then above the noise of the paddle wheel was heard a small boy’s voice calling across the water; "Let me ride! Let me ride!" The old man turned to the boy and tried to calm him down explaining that the River Queen was too important a ship to stop and give rides to little boys. The young child cried all the more, "Let me ride!" Old eyes bulged in disbelief as that great ship pulled for shore and a gangplank was lowered. In a flash two young feet scampered up and onto the deck. The ship with its new cargo safely on board began to pull back into the main stream. The old man continued to stare after the ship. Then a shock of yellow hair appeared above the rail, "Mister, I knew this ship would stop for me. The captain is my father!"
Fifth is proximity. Nehemiah was the only Jew close enough to the King to ask for permission to go rebuild the walls. He had the gift of proximity. God will not only provide the passion but also the opportunity to accomplish His plan. You may not know what God is up to behind the scenes of your life, but you are positioned. It may be difficult to see the connection now but in time, it will come together. In many ways, we fail to see this wonderful truth, that God engineers our circumstances. God is always working behind the scenes. He maneuvers to place us right where He wants us. For Nehemiah, God landed him a job that gave him an inside track to the King. Daily, the king entrusted his life to Nehemiah. As the king’s cupbearer, one of Nehemiah’s duties was to taste the food before the King. So, if there was something wrong with it, Nehemiah would obviously know first. And in the process, he has developed a trustworthy relationship with the King. For Artaxerxes, this was personal. He knew betrayal, for his father had been poisoned by a trusted servant. We have no idea how Nehemiah came to the position, but nevertheless, he is there. And God used that position to accomplish His will. This is so true in our own lives. So often we wonder why God allows certain things to happen to us, and yet somewhere down the line, it is revealed that God has positioned us and used those experiences to prepare us for a future work. And when the moment comes, we find that it has been worth every bit of effort, waiting or even suffering. It has not been wasted time. God has placed you in New Orleans for such a time as this when the city needs to be rebuilt. What you are doing, where you are located, at this point in your life, is no accident.
The sixth winning strategy is pursuit. There’s an old saying, Never take your personal life to work. But Nehemiah allowed his concern and sadness to show on his face. So the king asked why Nehemiah was so sad. And Nehemiah was “very much afraid”, which can literally be translated, “a terrible fear came over me.” As a member of the king’s court, Nehemiah was expected to be perfectly content just being in the presence of the king. Subjects who were sad or melancholy around the king were usually executed for “raining on his parade.” So when the King inquires of Nehemiah’s attitude, his life is now at stake. But he does not allow his fear to influence if he asks the King for permission to rebuild the city.
In the best selling book called, “Who Moved My Cheese,” Spencer Johnson asks a very penetrating question, “What would you do if you weren’t afraid.” He points out that fear often keeps us from taking the steps we know we need to take. Fear can paralyze us. So what are you afraid of this morning? What’s keeping you back from stepping out in faith and pursuing God’s vision and passion? Nehemiah’s faith was greater than his fear. He was able to use the opportunity given to him to ask to rebuild the walls because he believed the promises of God. Months of prayer had prepared him for this crucial moment. Instead of paralyzing him, fear propelled Nehemiah to action. Courage filled him when he it was time to speak up.
Seventh is planning. Two guys in a pickup drove into a lumberyard. One of the men walked into the office and said, “We need some four-by-twos.” The worker said, “You mean two-by-fours, don’t you?” The man said, “I need to check with my buddy. I’ll be right back.” When he came back, he said, “Yeah, that’s what I meant. I need some two-by-fours.” The worker then said, “Alright. How long do you need them?” The customer paused for a minute and said, “I better go check.” He came back a few minutes later and said, “We need them for a long time. We’re gonna build a house with them!” You need to plan and know what is going to be needed. The presence of faith does not mean an absence of organization. We need to think through the implications of our burden and God’s call. The problem is that many of us plan to fail by failing to plan. When God has laid something on your heart and given you the opportunity to pursue it, then you need to plan and access the resources needed to make the vision become a reality. Notice what Nehemiah did. First, he not only has to convince the king to allow him to leave to rebuild the wall but to lend financial support. Second, he must procure letters from the king guaranteeing safe passage in his travels. Third, he must also get lumber to rebuild the city gates. Fourth, he asks the king for the title of “Governor of Judah.”. All of this takes planning even before the rebuilding can start. Nehemiah has thought this all through during this four-months time. So too, we need to plan when God lays a vision on our heart..
A survey was done about the rebuilding of the Twin Towers. In that survey, roughly half the people said, "I believe the towers should be rebuilt just as they were. Maybe one story higher." Another 25% said, "I believe that a different set of office buildings should be built on that same location." Another 25% said, "I believe we should build a memorial park in that location." The point for me in that survey was that virtually 100% of the people said, "We need to rebuild! Whatever it is, we need to rebuild something. There’s something in all of us that says that we have to rebuild." That’s the message of our scripture reading. The Jewish city of Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 BC. 140 years later, God raises up a Jewish man in southwestern Iran named Nehemiah. And he says to the Jews, "With the help of God, we can rebuild this wall!” And with the help of God we can rebuild this community! We can become a great city once again! Together, we can do it!"
