WEBVTT 00:00:03.209 --> 00:00:08.050 that kind of a week too. When we have that experience, 00:00:08.070 --> 00:00:11.310 it doesn't necessarily mean that we're doing 00:00:11.310 --> 00:00:16.750 something wrong. Even when you are engaged in 00:00:16.750 --> 00:00:20.210 God's vision for your life and you have pressed 00:00:20.210 --> 00:00:22.949 out beyond your comfort zone and you're living 00:00:22.949 --> 00:00:27.989 on the edge, you can become overwhelmed. For 00:00:27.989 --> 00:00:30.469 example, that happened to the Apostle Paul in 00:00:30.469 --> 00:00:34.049 Acts chapter 18. You read there about Paul going 00:00:34.049 --> 00:00:36.469 to the city of Corinth and he's carrying out 00:00:36.469 --> 00:00:40.030 the vision God had given him, his heavenly vision. 00:00:40.189 --> 00:00:43.729 And so he's preaching the gospel to the Jew first 00:00:43.729 --> 00:00:46.549 in the synagogue and they reject the message 00:00:46.549 --> 00:00:50.689 and so he turns to the Gentiles. As a result 00:00:50.689 --> 00:00:53.250 of Paul proclaiming Christ in the city of Corinth, 00:00:53.409 --> 00:00:55.549 the people were being saved, even some of the 00:00:55.549 --> 00:00:59.229 leaders of the very synagogue where he had begun 00:00:59.229 --> 00:01:03.109 preaching. And then apparently something happened 00:01:03.109 --> 00:01:08.170 and Paul was afraid. And it says there that Jesus 00:01:08.170 --> 00:01:13.189 appeared to him in a vision. And basically what 00:01:13.189 --> 00:01:17.129 Jesus said to him in the vision was, Paul, don't 00:01:17.129 --> 00:01:22.409 be afraid. I am with you. Stay with the plan. 00:01:22.569 --> 00:01:26.790 Keep on preaching. You see, even the apostle 00:01:26.790 --> 00:01:29.870 Paul felt overwhelmed by something that happened 00:01:29.870 --> 00:01:33.409 in his life as he was carrying out the vision. 00:01:34.870 --> 00:01:38.170 One of the most encouraging aspects of living 00:01:38.170 --> 00:01:42.730 on the edge is God's promise that you're never 00:01:42.730 --> 00:01:46.629 going to be alone while you're doing that. Because 00:01:46.629 --> 00:01:50.370 you see, God himself lives on the edge of your 00:01:50.370 --> 00:01:55.090 comfort zone. If God somehow seems to be a little 00:01:55.090 --> 00:01:57.329 distant to you, perhaps the question you ought 00:01:57.329 --> 00:02:02.329 to ask yourself is, am I living on the edge or 00:02:02.329 --> 00:02:06.409 am I back in the cushy chair of my comfort zone, 00:02:08.090 --> 00:02:13.870 feeling safe about my life? The place where we 00:02:13.870 --> 00:02:17.310 will find the greatest intimacy with God is out 00:02:17.310 --> 00:02:19.990 there on the edge where we feel like we're risking 00:02:19.990 --> 00:02:26.810 it. As God, rather, was with Paul and Nehemiah, 00:02:26.889 --> 00:02:31.250 so the Lord is with you. And his gracious hand 00:02:31.250 --> 00:02:34.889 is upon you. So don't be overwhelmed. Stay with 00:02:34.889 --> 00:02:38.409 that task or that vision that God has given to 00:02:38.409 --> 00:02:42.729 you. He is with you in it. He is with you in 00:02:42.729 --> 00:02:45.909 it. To me, that's an amazing thought, this idea 00:02:45.909 --> 00:02:50.069 that God is partnering with us in our lives. 00:02:50.830 --> 00:02:53.689 And yet Paul said in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, 00:02:54.030 --> 00:02:58.770 we are God's fellow workers. And he wrote of 00:02:58.770 --> 00:03:02.830 his good friend Timothy as his brother and called 00:03:02.830 --> 00:03:08.949 him God's fellow worker. God's fellow worker. 00:03:10.669 --> 00:03:13.310 For his work in the world to bring the nations 00:03:13.310 --> 00:03:18.289 to know him, God chooses to enter into a joint 00:03:18.289 --> 00:03:23.340 venture with you. end with me. I like what the 00:03:23.340 --> 00:03:25.699 Chaplain, or the recent Chaplain of the Senate, 00:03:25.919 --> 00:03:29.240 Lloyd John Ogilvie said. Very simple statement, 00:03:29.280 --> 00:03:35.759 but it sums it up. He says, without God, we can't. 00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:44.439 Without us, He won't. That says it well. Without 00:03:44.439 --> 00:03:50.030 God, we can't. Without us, He won't. Living on 00:03:50.030 --> 00:03:54.370 the edge with your vision means dreaming of something 00:03:54.370 --> 00:03:58.889 that only God can do, and then stepping out in 00:03:58.889 --> 00:04:04.750 faith to work with him. What heaven -inspired 00:04:04.750 --> 00:04:09.389 vision or task or purpose is percolating in your 00:04:09.389 --> 00:04:14.490 heart this morning? Some God -sized dream that 00:04:14.490 --> 00:04:18.220 he has placed there. What is it that is calling 00:04:18.220 --> 00:04:23.579 for your very best? What are you dreaming about 00:04:23.579 --> 00:04:28.620 that potentially risks the heaven provided resources 00:04:28.620 --> 00:04:33.680 that you have? Your influence, your money, your 00:04:33.680 --> 00:04:39.100 position, your abilities. Working on your God 00:04:39.100 --> 00:04:44.139 -given task, you never work alone. You never 00:04:44.139 --> 00:04:48.449 work alone. When you do what you can, God will 00:04:48.449 --> 00:04:52.350 do the rest. I want you to notice the two parts 00:04:52.350 --> 00:04:58.610 of that idea. When you do what you can, you have 00:04:58.610 --> 00:05:02.730 a part. Then God will do the rest, God has a 00:05:02.730 --> 00:05:07.709 part. For example, God told Noah to build the 00:05:07.709 --> 00:05:11.949 boat. God didn't just zap a boat into existence. 00:05:12.680 --> 00:05:16.060 He let Noah and his sons work for over a hundred 00:05:16.060 --> 00:05:21.959 years to build this craft. But God brought the 00:05:21.959 --> 00:05:28.160 animals and God shut the door to it. Noah did 00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:32.879 his part then God did his part. I think of David 00:05:32.879 --> 00:05:35.899 who saw Goliath challenging the armies of Israel 00:05:35.899 --> 00:05:39.939 and felt that that was a terrible shame to Israel. 00:05:40.519 --> 00:05:45.220 And so he went to defy Goliath, but notice that 00:05:45.220 --> 00:05:48.319 he picked up some stones before he went out there. 00:05:48.639 --> 00:05:53.180 He took his sling with him. It was God who killed 00:05:53.180 --> 00:05:59.079 Goliath, but David had a part in it. He slung 00:05:59.079 --> 00:06:03.079 a stone that was directed by God to the very 00:06:03.079 --> 00:06:07.339 weak part of the helmet of Goliath, and he fell 00:06:07.339 --> 00:06:12.560 dead. When you do what you can, God will do the 00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:16.959 rest. A leader is someone who uses his God -given 00:06:16.959 --> 00:06:22.579 role and resources to get God's work done. You 00:06:22.579 --> 00:06:24.779 say, well, I'm not a leader. Oh, yes, you are. 00:06:27.199 --> 00:06:30.040 In some place in your life, you are a leader. 00:06:30.160 --> 00:06:33.120 Maybe you are the parent of some toddlers. You're 00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:36.980 a leader. Maybe you're the CEO of a company. 00:06:37.139 --> 00:06:40.839 You're a leader. Maybe you manage a group of 00:06:40.839 --> 00:06:43.939 janitors, or you're a schoolteacher with children 00:06:43.939 --> 00:06:47.439 in your room every day of the week. You are a 00:06:47.439 --> 00:06:50.620 leader. A leader is someone who uses his God 00:06:50.620 --> 00:06:56.379 -given role and resources to get God's work done. 00:06:57.339 --> 00:07:02.279 To achieve it, God calls us to live on the edge, 00:07:03.100 --> 00:07:05.819 and in doing that to forsake our security zone 00:07:05.819 --> 00:07:09.459 so that we can experience Him. He lives on the 00:07:09.459 --> 00:07:11.660 edge. These are some of the things we're learning 00:07:11.660 --> 00:07:14.720 in our study of the book of Nehemiah. And today 00:07:14.720 --> 00:07:17.800 we turn to chapter two, beginning in verse 11, 00:07:17.899 --> 00:07:20.160 where we're going to think about living on the 00:07:20.160 --> 00:07:25.579 edge with our responsibility. Now in the idea 00:07:25.579 --> 00:07:28.920 we're dealing with this morning, I'm saying this. 00:07:29.459 --> 00:07:32.779 You have a part, and God has a part, in this 00:07:32.779 --> 00:07:36.079 vision. What is your part? What is your part? 00:07:38.029 --> 00:07:44.389 It is to be responsible. Be responsible. Prayerfully 00:07:44.389 --> 00:07:47.790 plan what you need to do to follow through with 00:07:47.790 --> 00:07:52.370 what God has put on your heart. Think through 00:07:52.370 --> 00:07:57.730 this opportunity or this problem or this task 00:07:57.730 --> 00:08:03.649 that is the vision God has you focused on. For 00:08:03.649 --> 00:08:05.949 Nehemiah, of course, that was the rebuilding 00:08:05.949 --> 00:08:09.829 of the walls. of Jerusalem. That's where his 00:08:09.829 --> 00:08:13.769 heart was. That was his God -assigned dream to 00:08:13.769 --> 00:08:18.170 rebuild those walls. And what we see here in 00:08:18.170 --> 00:08:20.290 the second chapter in particular, but also in 00:08:20.290 --> 00:08:24.470 the first, is that Nehemiah took responsibility 00:08:24.470 --> 00:08:30.730 for this vision. There is a common problem -solving 00:08:30.730 --> 00:08:35.750 process that is called steps. It's a very flexible 00:08:36.420 --> 00:08:39.980 process by which to deal with issues in your 00:08:39.980 --> 00:08:44.220 life or problems or tasks that you have at hand. 00:08:45.279 --> 00:08:49.120 It can be a complex problem. It can be a simple 00:08:49.120 --> 00:08:52.580 task that you have. But here are some steps that 00:08:52.580 --> 00:08:57.159 you can take to be responsible for what God has 00:08:57.159 --> 00:09:02.080 given you to do. These steps are sometimes summarized 00:09:02.080 --> 00:09:05.039 in other ways, but these are very common and 00:09:05.039 --> 00:09:08.519 there are large corporations that use the very 00:09:08.519 --> 00:09:10.620 steps that I'm going to share with you this morning. 00:09:11.159 --> 00:09:14.500 The very first thing you need to do when you 00:09:14.500 --> 00:09:18.220 have a task, when you have an opportunity or 00:09:18.220 --> 00:09:21.440 a vision, is this. You need to do some situation 00:09:21.440 --> 00:09:26.919 analysis. Situation analysis. What is happening 00:09:26.919 --> 00:09:31.159 and why? In other words, what is the data surrounding 00:09:31.159 --> 00:09:36.659 this? There's a professor in a law school in 00:09:36.659 --> 00:09:40.000 Pennsylvania who for 20 years would begin the 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:44.100 first day of class every year by putting two 00:09:44.100 --> 00:09:48.820 numbers on the board in front of him. The numbers 00:09:48.820 --> 00:09:52.259 four and two. He would write it up there, four 00:09:52.259 --> 00:09:55.919 and two. And he would turn to the freshman students 00:09:55.919 --> 00:09:58.600 and he would say, now, What is the solution? 00:09:59.960 --> 00:10:01.740 And there would be some students who would say, 00:10:02.059 --> 00:10:05.340 it's two, it's two. Others would say, oh no, 00:10:05.340 --> 00:10:10.940 no, it's six. Others would say, it's eight, that's 00:10:10.940 --> 00:10:14.019 the solution. And the professor would then stop 00:10:14.019 --> 00:10:19.139 them and say, students, the very first thing 00:10:19.139 --> 00:10:22.480 you must do when confronted with something is 00:10:22.480 --> 00:10:26.490 to find out what the problem is. You see, some 00:10:26.490 --> 00:10:28.850 of them saw plus signs, some of them saw minus, 00:10:29.009 --> 00:10:33.769 and some of them saw a multiplication sign. But 00:10:33.769 --> 00:10:36.809 they didn't take time to understand what the 00:10:36.809 --> 00:10:40.529 problem was. Don't try to solve a problem or 00:10:40.529 --> 00:10:45.669 meet a need before you know what it is. Have 00:10:45.669 --> 00:10:48.529 you ever tried to figure out a problem without 00:10:48.529 --> 00:10:51.230 really understanding it? Well, of course, we've 00:10:51.230 --> 00:10:55.210 all been there. Now, in Nehemiah's case, What 00:10:55.210 --> 00:10:59.129 was the situation? Well, the returned exiles 00:10:59.129 --> 00:11:01.629 are in great trouble and disgrace, as we saw 00:11:01.629 --> 00:11:05.230 in chapter one, verse three. That's a reality. 00:11:05.470 --> 00:11:08.190 That's some data for him. The wall of Jerusalem 00:11:08.190 --> 00:11:12.610 is broken down. And the third piece of data is 00:11:12.610 --> 00:11:17.370 its gates have been burned with fire. Now that 00:11:17.370 --> 00:11:20.049 was the data, that was the situation, that was 00:11:20.049 --> 00:11:23.259 what was happening. as much as Nehemiah understood, 00:11:23.399 --> 00:11:26.360 and so he then traveled to Jerusalem. And here 00:11:26.360 --> 00:11:30.200 in Nehemiah chapter two, verse 11 it says, I 00:11:30.200 --> 00:11:32.700 went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three 00:11:32.700 --> 00:11:37.659 days, I set out during the night with a few men. 00:11:39.179 --> 00:11:42.559 I had not told anyone what my God had put in 00:11:42.559 --> 00:11:46.279 my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts 00:11:46.279 --> 00:11:49.690 with me except the one I was riding on. And so 00:11:49.690 --> 00:11:51.990 he's telling us he's riding on a donkey or a 00:11:51.990 --> 00:11:55.269 horse or something. He says, by night I went 00:11:55.269 --> 00:11:57.850 out through the valley gate toward the jackal 00:11:57.850 --> 00:12:02.250 well and the dung gate, examining the walls of 00:12:02.250 --> 00:12:05.549 Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its 00:12:05.549 --> 00:12:08.889 gates which had been destroyed by fire. Then 00:12:08.889 --> 00:12:11.929 I moved on toward the fountain gate and the king's 00:12:11.929 --> 00:12:14.909 pool, but there was not enough room for my mount 00:12:14.909 --> 00:12:19.410 to get through. So I went up by the valley. up 00:12:19.410 --> 00:12:23.549 the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, 00:12:23.570 --> 00:12:26.330 I turned back and reentered through the valley 00:12:26.330 --> 00:12:29.330 gate. The officials did not know where I had 00:12:29.330 --> 00:12:32.289 gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had 00:12:32.289 --> 00:12:34.850 said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles 00:12:34.850 --> 00:12:37.629 or officials or any others who would be doing 00:12:37.629 --> 00:12:40.870 the work. So what is Nehemiah doing here? He's 00:12:40.870 --> 00:12:44.129 out reconitering. He's analyzing the situation 00:12:44.129 --> 00:12:47.639 even further. He wants to know the details. And 00:12:47.639 --> 00:12:50.840 what I want to say to you is this, when you think 00:12:50.840 --> 00:12:53.779 you understand what the vision is that God's 00:12:53.779 --> 00:12:57.679 laid on your heart, when you have this opportunity 00:12:57.679 --> 00:13:00.080 that seems to come from God to you, the first 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:03.159 thing that you need to do is to test your vision, 00:13:03.539 --> 00:13:09.039 look at that opportunity against reality. You 00:13:09.039 --> 00:13:11.820 need to analyze the situation. You need to get 00:13:11.820 --> 00:13:16.620 the data. so that you know more precisely what 00:13:16.620 --> 00:13:20.539 you're dealing with. The second step in this 00:13:20.539 --> 00:13:23.600 process of problem solving is also found in Nehemiah. 00:13:24.360 --> 00:13:28.299 It is to set some objectives. What is it that 00:13:28.299 --> 00:13:33.659 needs to happen here? What outcomes do you hope 00:13:33.659 --> 00:13:37.779 to realize because of your work? Well, Nehemiah 00:13:37.779 --> 00:13:41.580 tells us in chapter two and verse five that he 00:13:41.580 --> 00:13:45.509 intended to rebuild the defenses of the city. 00:13:46.769 --> 00:13:50.169 He wanted to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. 00:13:51.250 --> 00:13:55.009 That was an objective that he had in light of 00:13:55.009 --> 00:13:59.070 the situation. Now there's also an assumption 00:13:59.070 --> 00:14:02.929 here that he has another objective and that is 00:14:02.929 --> 00:14:07.370 to restore the honor of Jerusalem and its inhabitants 00:14:07.370 --> 00:14:11.289 because they've been disgraced by the situation. 00:14:11.549 --> 00:14:17.490 of the city. And so his overarching objective 00:14:17.490 --> 00:14:21.230 is to restore the honor of this city and to its 00:14:21.230 --> 00:14:25.250 inhabitants and in doing that to honor God. So 00:14:25.250 --> 00:14:28.950 those are his objectives. Step number three in 00:14:28.950 --> 00:14:31.629 the process is to figure out the strategies. 00:14:31.750 --> 00:14:35.429 How should these objectives happen? What approach 00:14:35.429 --> 00:14:39.470 should be taken? in order to deal with the vision 00:14:39.470 --> 00:14:42.710 or the problem or the purpose that God has put 00:14:42.710 --> 00:14:47.929 before you. What are the strategies? This is 00:14:47.929 --> 00:14:52.029 important, to figure out the strategies. The 00:14:52.029 --> 00:14:55.409 story is told about some folks who were attending 00:14:55.409 --> 00:15:02.009 a conference in San Francisco for Mensa. Do you 00:15:02.009 --> 00:15:06.389 know what Mensa is? It's for smart people. You're 00:15:06.389 --> 00:15:11.009 supposed to have an IQ of 140 or higher to belong 00:15:11.009 --> 00:15:14.269 to this organization. I've never even researched 00:15:14.269 --> 00:15:18.090 what it means to figure out what that means. 00:15:19.110 --> 00:15:22.289 No need in it. They were meeting in San Francisco 00:15:22.289 --> 00:15:25.710 and a group of them went to a coffee shop. And 00:15:25.710 --> 00:15:27.370 arriving at the coffee shop they sat down at 00:15:27.370 --> 00:15:31.230 the table and they noticed that there was salt 00:15:31.230 --> 00:15:35.490 in the pepper shaker. And there was pepper. in 00:15:35.490 --> 00:15:38.970 the salt shaker. And so being the brilliant people 00:15:38.970 --> 00:15:40.909 they were, they decided they needed to figure 00:15:40.909 --> 00:15:47.549 out a way to resolve this problem without pouring 00:15:47.549 --> 00:15:52.070 out the salt or the pepper and then pouring it 00:15:52.070 --> 00:15:54.149 back in the containers using their hands. And 00:15:54.149 --> 00:15:57.750 so they wanted to use just the implements that 00:15:57.750 --> 00:16:00.470 were there at the table to accomplish this task. 00:16:01.029 --> 00:16:04.009 And there was a spoon and there was a straw. 00:16:04.360 --> 00:16:09.059 and there was a saucer. And so they talked for 00:16:09.059 --> 00:16:12.159 some time regarding various strategies to figure 00:16:12.159 --> 00:16:16.879 out how to accomplish this great task. And finally, 00:16:17.299 --> 00:16:21.500 they had it down. And to impress the waitress, 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:25.480 they called her over to the table and they explained 00:16:25.480 --> 00:16:29.759 what the problem was. And they started to tell 00:16:29.759 --> 00:16:31.899 her what their solution was and she interrupted 00:16:31.899 --> 00:16:34.679 them. She said, oh, she said, that's no problem. 00:16:35.139 --> 00:16:37.320 And she took the top off the salt shaker and 00:16:37.320 --> 00:16:39.100 put it on the pepper shaker and took the top 00:16:39.100 --> 00:16:40.799 off the pepper shaker and put it on the salt 00:16:40.799 --> 00:16:46.200 shaker. She solved the problem. She had the right 00:16:46.200 --> 00:16:50.080 strategy. Well, once you have understood what 00:16:50.080 --> 00:16:53.419 your objectives are with this problem, let's 00:16:53.419 --> 00:16:57.019 say, you need to figure out what your strategies 00:16:57.019 --> 00:17:00.679 will be. For Nehemiah, he knew that it meant 00:17:00.679 --> 00:17:04.380 personal involvement. There was no way this was 00:17:04.380 --> 00:17:06.660 going to be resolved without him going personally 00:17:06.660 --> 00:17:10.500 to the city of Jerusalem. Secondly, he knew there 00:17:10.500 --> 00:17:12.519 were going to have to be some resources. This 00:17:12.519 --> 00:17:16.859 was a huge task to rebuild the wall of the city 00:17:16.859 --> 00:17:20.779 and its gates and to do that in the context of 00:17:20.779 --> 00:17:22.960 a lot of enemies who did not want to see that 00:17:22.960 --> 00:17:26.259 happen. Thirdly, he knew that workers were going 00:17:26.259 --> 00:17:28.859 to have to be enlisted. to get the job done. 00:17:28.900 --> 00:17:32.920 He could not do it by himself. And so that was 00:17:32.920 --> 00:17:35.960 basically the approach he was going to use. Those 00:17:35.960 --> 00:17:38.920 were his strategies. And so once you figured 00:17:38.920 --> 00:17:41.039 out your strategies, then you put down a plan. 00:17:41.119 --> 00:17:44.339 How am I going to do this? How am I going to 00:17:44.339 --> 00:17:48.960 fulfill this strategy plan that I have put in 00:17:48.960 --> 00:17:51.740 place? What details are going to make it happen? 00:17:52.140 --> 00:17:54.279 And so you begin to list the activities that 00:17:54.279 --> 00:17:57.440 would be necessary. Nehemiah tells us what that 00:17:57.440 --> 00:18:03.160 was. Nehemiah says in his case that his first 00:18:03.160 --> 00:18:06.700 activity was to present the situation to the 00:18:06.700 --> 00:18:10.259 king. Present the situation to the king. Now 00:18:10.259 --> 00:18:12.319 this was all in the context of prayer because 00:18:12.319 --> 00:18:15.460 that's where he began. But number one, he was 00:18:15.460 --> 00:18:17.859 going to present the situation to the king. Secondly, 00:18:18.299 --> 00:18:21.180 he was going to gain the king's assistance some 00:18:21.180 --> 00:18:26.539 way. This was a long and dangerous traveling 00:18:26.539 --> 00:18:28.799 journey to get to the city of Jerusalem from 00:18:28.799 --> 00:18:30.880 where they were. And so he needed to have the 00:18:30.880 --> 00:18:35.079 king's assistance to get there. Third, he wanted 00:18:35.079 --> 00:18:38.220 to request materials from the king's resources. 00:18:39.500 --> 00:18:41.079 That was the only place he knew that he could 00:18:41.079 --> 00:18:43.740 find them. And fourthly, he knew that he was 00:18:43.740 --> 00:18:47.000 going to need to organize the exiles for the 00:18:47.000 --> 00:18:50.759 vision that he had. And so we see that he does 00:18:50.759 --> 00:18:54.230 that. We're in chapter 2 and let's look at verse 00:18:54.230 --> 00:18:57.190 17 where he speaks to the people and he says 00:18:57.190 --> 00:19:01.230 to them You see the trouble we're in Jerusalem 00:19:01.230 --> 00:19:04.009 lies in ruins its gates have been burned with 00:19:04.009 --> 00:19:07.809 fire He explains what the problem is He says 00:19:07.809 --> 00:19:11.569 come let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. We 00:19:11.569 --> 00:19:16.109 will no longer be in disgrace I also told them 00:19:16.109 --> 00:19:19.210 about the gracious hand of my God upon me and 00:19:19.210 --> 00:19:22.839 what the king had said to me, and they replied, 00:19:23.180 --> 00:19:27.000 let us start building. Notice that he goes to 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:31.339 enlist the people for this fourth activity. He 00:19:31.339 --> 00:19:34.440 needed to get volunteers. Do you ever need to 00:19:34.440 --> 00:19:38.420 get volunteers for anything? Do you ever need 00:19:38.420 --> 00:19:41.859 to find help to accomplish the task that God 00:19:41.859 --> 00:19:45.839 has given to you? Well, we all do from time to 00:19:45.839 --> 00:19:50.109 time. Let's notice how Nehemiah does that. First 00:19:50.109 --> 00:19:54.470 of all, he defines the issue for them. He says, 00:19:54.670 --> 00:19:57.769 here's the problem. The walls are torn down, 00:19:57.910 --> 00:20:01.910 the gates are burned. He defines the issue. Now 00:20:01.910 --> 00:20:05.650 this was not news to them, but they had not seen 00:20:05.650 --> 00:20:07.750 it as something that could be resolved. They 00:20:07.750 --> 00:20:11.430 saw it only as a situation in which they lived. 00:20:12.569 --> 00:20:16.490 But he paints for them the issue, and then he 00:20:16.490 --> 00:20:21.460 casts the vision. He says to them, let's rebuild 00:20:21.460 --> 00:20:27.759 the walls. Third, he shows the outcome of doing 00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:32.299 this. He says, we will no longer be in disgrace. 00:20:33.960 --> 00:20:38.119 He provides the inspiration by telling them about 00:20:38.119 --> 00:20:43.079 God's gracious hand upon him and what the king 00:20:43.079 --> 00:20:48.619 had said to him. And then finally, he gains their 00:20:48.619 --> 00:20:54.240 participation. It says, they replied, let us 00:20:54.240 --> 00:20:57.720 start rebuilding. And so they began the good 00:20:57.720 --> 00:21:01.779 work. Notice that. Now he gives you a good example 00:21:01.779 --> 00:21:05.079 as to how you too can enlist volunteers. You 00:21:05.079 --> 00:21:07.859 know it's not enough to put an announcement in 00:21:07.859 --> 00:21:09.980 the bulletin that you need this project taken 00:21:09.980 --> 00:21:13.519 care of and would you please help us. That's 00:21:13.519 --> 00:21:17.279 not enough. You need to go through a process 00:21:17.279 --> 00:21:19.799 if you're going to be effective in recruiting 00:21:19.799 --> 00:21:23.619 people to join you in a task, and Nehemiah shows 00:21:23.619 --> 00:21:27.319 you what a five -step process looks like. Well, 00:21:27.319 --> 00:21:31.119 this is all part of Nehemiah's planning. Number 00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:34.460 five, plans are made. There's the execution of 00:21:34.460 --> 00:21:39.359 the plan. How do you make this happen? What actions 00:21:39.359 --> 00:21:44.529 now will take place? Well, we see it summarized 00:21:44.529 --> 00:21:47.529 really just in that one brief sentence at the 00:21:47.529 --> 00:21:53.190 end of verse 18. They began this good work. And 00:21:53.190 --> 00:21:56.950 so you see they executed the plan. Nehemiah is 00:21:56.950 --> 00:22:01.789 a master organizer, manager, planner. He's gone 00:22:01.789 --> 00:22:07.990 through the steps of a common problem solving 00:22:07.990 --> 00:22:13.460 process and God has blessed it. In chapter three 00:22:13.460 --> 00:22:15.859 we learn about what this means that they began 00:22:15.859 --> 00:22:18.220 the work. The whole chapter nearly is dedicated 00:22:18.220 --> 00:22:22.799 to how Nehemiah divided the wall among the inhabitants, 00:22:23.819 --> 00:22:28.039 assigning them to teams, and then giving to each 00:22:28.039 --> 00:22:32.279 team an appropriate portion of the wall for which 00:22:32.279 --> 00:22:38.359 they were responsible. There were about 45 sections 00:22:38.359 --> 00:22:43.029 to the wall as he divided it up. There were 40 00:22:43.029 --> 00:22:46.690 leaders who were given delegated responsibility 00:22:46.690 --> 00:22:50.089 with their teams to look after specific portions 00:22:50.089 --> 00:22:54.609 of the wall. And then the 10 gates are also named 00:22:54.609 --> 00:22:59.069 and the teams that were to repair those. And 00:22:59.069 --> 00:23:01.569 so they executed the plan that had been put into 00:23:01.569 --> 00:23:05.069 place using the resources that God had provided. 00:23:06.269 --> 00:23:09.900 And then the final step in this process of dealing 00:23:09.900 --> 00:23:14.799 with your problem is tracking. Tracking, a lot 00:23:14.799 --> 00:23:18.240 of people forget this part, but you need to in 00:23:18.240 --> 00:23:21.359 some way measure the results. What are the results? 00:23:22.519 --> 00:23:24.980 Well, Nehemiah tells us he tracked the results. 00:23:25.359 --> 00:23:28.680 Turn over to chapter four. Look at verse six. 00:23:29.079 --> 00:23:33.380 He says, so we rebuilt the wall till all of it 00:23:33.380 --> 00:23:37.569 reached half its height. For the people work 00:23:37.569 --> 00:23:40.450 with all their heart. And so he notes here is 00:23:40.450 --> 00:23:43.089 one measurement. They are half done with the 00:23:43.089 --> 00:23:46.890 walls. Now they've done this in the midst of 00:23:46.890 --> 00:23:48.829 enemies. There were enemies who opposed them. 00:23:48.869 --> 00:23:51.190 Read about them in the previous five verses. 00:23:52.009 --> 00:23:55.750 There was Tobiah and Sanballat. Enemies opposed 00:23:55.750 --> 00:24:00.170 him. He mentions them. That's part of the measurement. 00:24:01.319 --> 00:24:03.720 The wall is half built, but at the same time, 00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:07.579 we have faced incredible odds. There are adversities, 00:24:07.880 --> 00:24:10.619 there are obstacles to what we want to do. He 00:24:10.619 --> 00:24:13.299 records them, but he tells us that he pressed 00:24:13.299 --> 00:24:18.660 on. He pressed on despite the growing and persistent 00:24:18.660 --> 00:24:22.380 opposition of these enemies. In response to the 00:24:22.380 --> 00:24:26.079 opposition, they prayed and they posted guards 00:24:26.079 --> 00:24:32.690 around the perimeter of their work. And then 00:24:32.690 --> 00:24:36.529 in chapter six, in verse 15, we come to the end 00:24:36.529 --> 00:24:40.470 of their work, and it says, so the wall was completed 00:24:40.470 --> 00:24:47.009 on the 25th day of Elul in 52 days. The wall 00:24:47.009 --> 00:24:49.829 was completed. This is another marker, a measurement 00:24:49.829 --> 00:24:53.690 of their work. It's done in 52 days, and this 00:24:53.690 --> 00:24:58.190 is absolutely amazing. It is amazing that this 00:24:58.190 --> 00:25:01.079 wall could be built in that period of time. And 00:25:01.079 --> 00:25:03.259 in chapter seven, verse one, he goes on to say, 00:25:03.400 --> 00:25:06.220 after the wall had been rebuilt and I had set 00:25:06.220 --> 00:25:09.700 the doors in place, the gatekeepers and the singers 00:25:09.700 --> 00:25:12.559 and the Levites were appointed. Another marker. 00:25:13.019 --> 00:25:15.359 He tells us that the gates were put into place 00:25:15.359 --> 00:25:17.599 and the keepers of the gates were then appointed. 00:25:18.119 --> 00:25:21.160 And then the rest of chapter seven records the 00:25:21.160 --> 00:25:24.619 names of the leaders and the contributions which 00:25:24.619 --> 00:25:28.319 they all made to the work. Isn't that amazing? 00:25:29.509 --> 00:25:32.470 He follows through in this whole process that 00:25:32.470 --> 00:25:36.390 only in the last few decades has been formally 00:25:36.390 --> 00:25:40.710 stated by experts in the field of management. 00:25:41.250 --> 00:25:43.910 Nehemiah was thousands of years ahead of them. 00:25:44.450 --> 00:25:49.650 It's just common sense is all it is really. So 00:25:49.650 --> 00:25:53.829 Nehemiah did his part. He was responsible. God 00:25:53.829 --> 00:25:58.500 expects you and me to be responsible too. We 00:25:58.500 --> 00:26:02.339 have a part to play. And when we do our part, 00:26:02.400 --> 00:26:06.759 we follow through with our responsibility, then 00:26:06.759 --> 00:26:09.339 God will do His part. And what is God's part? 00:26:10.380 --> 00:26:12.799 Summed up, we might say it is to be faithful. 00:26:13.319 --> 00:26:16.740 Be faithful. When we do what we can, God will 00:26:16.740 --> 00:26:21.779 do what we can't. We serve a God who will not 00:26:21.779 --> 00:26:25.880 fail to advance the vision, the purpose, the 00:26:25.880 --> 00:26:31.779 task, the dream. that he births within us. Now 00:26:31.779 --> 00:26:35.160 like Nehemiah, we may need to learn to wait on 00:26:35.160 --> 00:26:40.099 God's timing. We may need to learn some character 00:26:40.099 --> 00:26:44.140 lessons as we go through this process, but always 00:26:44.140 --> 00:26:50.859 God will come through when we do our part. After 00:26:50.859 --> 00:26:54.319 Nehemiah began to pray, you may not have noticed 00:26:54.319 --> 00:26:58.670 in the first chapter, he waited. for four months 00:26:58.670 --> 00:27:02.589 before the opportunity was right to speak to 00:27:02.589 --> 00:27:07.289 the king. God used those four months to birth 00:27:07.289 --> 00:27:11.410 in Nehemiah a greater understanding of what his 00:27:11.410 --> 00:27:15.210 work needed to be. He says in chapter two, verse 00:27:15.210 --> 00:27:18.109 12, I had not told anyone what my God had put 00:27:18.109 --> 00:27:21.630 in my heart to do for Jerusalem. Notice that 00:27:21.630 --> 00:27:28.230 phrase, what my God had put in my heart. God 00:27:28.230 --> 00:27:30.849 had put the vision in his heart. God had matured 00:27:30.849 --> 00:27:34.390 that vision. And now we see that God was faithful 00:27:34.390 --> 00:27:38.589 to Nehemiah. What did God do? God provided resources 00:27:38.589 --> 00:27:44.049 and protection through the king. They were given 00:27:44.049 --> 00:27:47.230 the opportunity to draw wood from the king's 00:27:47.230 --> 00:27:52.690 forest. Nehemiah was given some army units to 00:27:52.690 --> 00:27:55.910 go with him on this journey. God provided the 00:27:55.910 --> 00:27:59.210 resources and the protection because Nehemiah 00:27:59.210 --> 00:28:03.470 did his part. Secondly, God guarded them against 00:28:03.470 --> 00:28:07.730 their enemies. In chapter four, verse 20, it 00:28:07.730 --> 00:28:11.130 says it really well, the end of the verse. Nehemiah 00:28:11.130 --> 00:28:16.690 says, our God will fight for us. Now he did what 00:28:16.690 --> 00:28:20.779 he could do. He put out the guards. They had 00:28:20.779 --> 00:28:23.180 their swords in hand and their trumpets and so 00:28:23.180 --> 00:28:26.039 forth, but notice what his confidence was. Our 00:28:26.039 --> 00:28:30.579 God will fight for us against our enemies. God 00:28:30.579 --> 00:28:36.079 will always guard you against your enemies when 00:28:36.079 --> 00:28:39.400 you've done your part. The enemies may not go 00:28:39.400 --> 00:28:43.640 away. You may still face obstacles, but God will 00:28:43.640 --> 00:28:46.359 guard you. And finally, God gave the builders 00:28:46.359 --> 00:28:50.609 unity and success. Nehemiah talks about this 00:28:50.609 --> 00:28:53.690 a number of times. How God worked in the hearts 00:28:53.690 --> 00:28:56.029 of the people so that they carried out the work 00:28:56.029 --> 00:29:00.170 and God gave them success. The good hand of God 00:29:00.170 --> 00:29:09.650 was upon them. Back in the 1970s, early 1980s, 00:29:09.809 --> 00:29:12.670 there was a man named Jim Montgomery here in 00:29:12.670 --> 00:29:16.640 San Jose. Maybe some of you remember him. Jim 00:29:16.640 --> 00:29:21.160 Montgomery went about 1985 to the Philippines 00:29:21.160 --> 00:29:26.180 as a missionary, I believe with OC. And while 00:29:26.180 --> 00:29:29.680 he was there, God birthed in his heart a vision. 00:29:31.200 --> 00:29:37.220 He began to dream of every village in the Philippines 00:29:37.220 --> 00:29:41.440 and every large city neighborhood in the Philippines 00:29:41.440 --> 00:29:46.519 having an appropriate church there. a church 00:29:46.519 --> 00:29:49.160 that would be able to preach the gospel and reach 00:29:49.160 --> 00:29:57.859 the people. That dream began to bubble in his 00:29:57.859 --> 00:30:01.700 heart. It bubbled in his heart and he called 00:30:01.700 --> 00:30:09.079 the dream Dawn, D -A -W -N. It stands for Discipling 00:30:09.079 --> 00:30:14.900 a Whole Nation. And he tried to understand how 00:30:14.900 --> 00:30:18.680 God would have him organize this, this concept. 00:30:19.940 --> 00:30:25.240 And things didn't quite seem to work. And he 00:30:25.240 --> 00:30:28.400 couldn't raise the money that he needed to make 00:30:28.400 --> 00:30:35.279 it happen. And then God told him, Jim, you're 00:30:35.279 --> 00:30:38.980 depending upon that house you have back in San 00:30:38.980 --> 00:30:45.680 Jose as your security. And so he went to the 00:30:45.680 --> 00:30:47.920 edge of his life and he came back to San Jose 00:30:47.920 --> 00:30:51.079 and he sold the house and he invested everything 00:30:51.079 --> 00:30:57.700 that he had in the vision for Don, discipling 00:30:57.700 --> 00:31:03.019 a whole nation. And at that point, God moved 00:31:03.019 --> 00:31:07.619 in. Jim had done his part, and now it was God's 00:31:07.619 --> 00:31:10.200 part. And God has taken that organization not 00:31:10.200 --> 00:31:12.660 only from the Philippines, but to other nations 00:31:12.660 --> 00:31:14.940 of the world. They have a headquarters now down 00:31:14.940 --> 00:31:20.319 in Florida, discipling a whole nation. And what 00:31:20.319 --> 00:31:24.859 was it that brought that dream to pass? It was 00:31:24.859 --> 00:31:29.940 a man who was responsible to do his part and 00:31:29.940 --> 00:31:34.339 who then depended upon God to come through. The 00:31:34.339 --> 00:31:36.799 eyes of the Lord reigns throughout the earth 00:31:36.799 --> 00:31:41.660 to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed 00:31:41.660 --> 00:31:45.559 to Him. I think of a businessman here in San 00:31:45.559 --> 00:31:49.579 Jose who is developing and selling a software 00:31:49.579 --> 00:31:55.079 program to businesses that brings together some 00:31:55.079 --> 00:31:58.819 very important issues that customer -oriented 00:31:58.819 --> 00:32:03.839 businesses must deal with. simplifies the process 00:32:03.839 --> 00:32:08.200 for them. And he's attempting to get this off 00:32:08.200 --> 00:32:11.440 the ground. He has done his part and God is doing 00:32:11.440 --> 00:32:14.099 his part. But you know what the vision is? It's 00:32:14.099 --> 00:32:17.000 not to help companies as much as it is to take 00:32:17.000 --> 00:32:19.779 that software that's being developed and give 00:32:19.779 --> 00:32:24.079 it to ministries, which are volunteer based. 00:32:24.809 --> 00:32:27.569 so that they can do a more effective job, so 00:32:27.569 --> 00:32:31.130 that we can do a more effective job in managing 00:32:31.130 --> 00:32:39.750 volunteers. I think of a team of men that I meet 00:32:39.750 --> 00:32:46.670 with who have a dream. It is a vision to help 00:32:46.670 --> 00:32:50.569 nations of the world, third world nations, to 00:32:50.569 --> 00:32:57.150 create an economic engine. in their nation. They 00:32:57.150 --> 00:33:00.490 want to see nations prosper because of the principles 00:33:00.490 --> 00:33:03.869 of capitalism that we have learned here in Silicon 00:33:03.869 --> 00:33:09.849 Valley. And they're moving out. The plan is in 00:33:09.849 --> 00:33:13.950 place. There's a lot at risk for this team of 00:33:13.950 --> 00:33:18.690 people. They're doing their part and now we are 00:33:18.690 --> 00:33:21.450 waiting together for God to do his part. But 00:33:21.450 --> 00:33:25.059 you know what the greater vision is? The greater 00:33:25.059 --> 00:33:29.039 vision is that in each one of those countries 00:33:29.039 --> 00:33:33.960 where this dream is fulfilled, a part of the 00:33:33.960 --> 00:33:36.420 revenue that is generated and the potential is 00:33:36.420 --> 00:33:40.259 phenomenal, a good deal of that revenue is going 00:33:40.259 --> 00:33:43.000 to be directed toward church planting and missions 00:33:43.000 --> 00:33:47.920 in those nations. It's just somebody's dream. 00:33:48.299 --> 00:33:52.269 God has put it on his heart. And like Nehemiah, 00:33:52.289 --> 00:33:56.549 he has begun now to live on the edge. This team 00:33:56.549 --> 00:33:59.769 is living on the edge, waiting for God to come 00:33:59.769 --> 00:34:03.230 through. And God is not going to fail. Living 00:34:03.230 --> 00:34:07.009 on the edge is a partnership with God to do his 00:34:07.009 --> 00:34:12.010 work and to bring him honor. God was honored 00:34:12.010 --> 00:34:15.730 in the building of this wall in Nehemiah. Nehemiah 00:34:15.730 --> 00:34:22.449 in verse 16 says, When all our enemies heard 00:34:22.449 --> 00:34:26.050 that the wall had been completed all the surrounding 00:34:26.050 --> 00:34:29.110 nations were afraid and lost their self -confidence 00:34:29.110 --> 00:34:32.530 Because they realized that this work had been 00:34:32.530 --> 00:34:37.630 done with the help of our God You see God was 00:34:37.630 --> 00:34:42.090 honored Where are you living on the edge of your 00:34:42.090 --> 00:34:45.809 life partnering with God to do his work and to 00:34:45.809 --> 00:34:51.179 make his name great? working On your God -given 00:34:51.179 --> 00:34:55.719 task, you never work alone. When you do what 00:34:55.719 --> 00:35:01.920 you can, God will do the rest. Would you pray 00:35:01.920 --> 00:35:08.260 with me, please? With our heads bowed and our 00:35:08.260 --> 00:35:10.920 eyes closed, do you realize that salvation is 00:35:10.920 --> 00:35:14.219 a little bit like this, too? There's God's part, 00:35:14.800 --> 00:35:19.110 and then there's your part. God's part is to 00:35:19.110 --> 00:35:25.170 provide the Savior for you. God's part is to 00:35:25.170 --> 00:35:30.269 provide for your forgiveness. Your part is to 00:35:30.269 --> 00:35:35.050 receive it. Even though God has provided the 00:35:35.050 --> 00:35:41.130 Savior, that Savior does you no good until you 00:35:41.130 --> 00:35:43.590 receive Him into your heart and into your life. 00:35:44.909 --> 00:35:48.989 Will you do that today? If you will do your part, 00:35:50.010 --> 00:35:52.849 God will do his part and bring that forgiveness 00:35:52.849 --> 00:35:58.250 to your life. Would you receive him right now 00:35:58.250 --> 00:36:00.030 in the quietness of this moment? Will you do 00:36:00.030 --> 00:36:05.469 your part? Assuming you have done that, child 00:36:05.469 --> 00:36:08.730 of God, determine in your heart to partner with 00:36:08.730 --> 00:36:12.750 the Lord. Open your heart to God's dream for 00:36:12.750 --> 00:36:16.889 you. It may consume your whole life, it may only 00:36:16.889 --> 00:36:20.670 be a piece of where you are right now, but let 00:36:20.670 --> 00:36:25.409 God's vision be birthed in you, and then be responsible 00:36:25.409 --> 00:36:30.389 with it. God will be faithful. And Father, I 00:36:30.389 --> 00:36:32.809 pray that you will write that lesson on our hearts, 00:36:33.969 --> 00:36:38.670 and I pray that as we close this service, that 00:36:38.670 --> 00:36:41.690 you will show us that all things are possible 00:36:41.690 --> 00:36:46.320 for those who trust you, for those who will do 00:36:46.320 --> 00:36:49.739 their part and then trust you to do your part. 00:36:50.179 --> 00:36:53.559 You are a God who does not and can never fail. 00:36:54.219 --> 00:36:57.300 Underscore that within us, I pray in Jesus' name, 00:36:57.920 --> 00:37:01.719 amen. Worship team is going to come now as we 00:37:01.719 --> 00:37:03.199 sing this song that we all.