Prelude: Nickelback video; If Everyone cared

 

“Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has!”

 

We have a tendency to discount our ability to accomplish anything in the face of overwhelming odds, yet history is full of examples of people who did just that.  Their beliefs were so strong that they were able to move beyond their fears, weaknesses, and insecurities and take action. 

 

We love the stories.  We love movies and books about people who defy the odds, who dared to challenge the prevailing wisdom to do something extraordinary.  Could it be that we love these stories because we all share the same desire?

 

In reality, we do not have the ability to do whatever we choose.  But we do have the power to do everything God requires and calls us to do.  This is the key to discovering and embracing God’s will for our lives.

 

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.  Philippians 4:13.

 

For nothing is impossible with God.  Luke 1:37.

 

People who make a difference are people who are captured by dreams born deep in their hearts.  Dreams God has planted.  Dreams only God can fulfill.

 

Nehemiah was a man with such a dream.  He dreamed of a rebuilt city and the lifting of his people’s shame.  He faced one obstacle after another, but he ultimately realized his dream.  Through it all, one thing remained constant: his reliance on God through prayer.  Nehemiah wasn’t especially gifted.  He was an ordinary man who became extraordinary by the power of God working through him.  Nehemiah’s story is a template for all Christians.

 

Nehemiah lived in the palace of a Persian king Artaxerxes.  The Jews had long been disbursed from their homeland, but now the King was allowing a small group of people to return to Jerusalem.

 

There is no evidence to suggest that Nehemiah held a special place of prominence among the Jews there.  He was simply a faithful cupbearer to the King.  This position gave Nehemiah influence and privileges, but carried with it deadly risks.  The cupbearer tasted whatever was brought before the king to make sure it was not poisoned.  The king literally dependent on the cupbearer for his life, so the cupbearer had to be one of the most trustworthy members of the King’s court.  A powerful king could go through many cupbearer’s during his time in power.

 

Like most people God chooses to use, Nehemiah was simply a man who dared to believe God and obey him.  We have no indication that Nehemiah had any sense of personal destiny.  But God had placed an undeniable, persistent burden on his heart.  Nehemiah had a mandate from God, a broken heart, and a willingness to obey.  The scene was set.  God placed Nehemiah in the Kings Court for such a time as this.  Nehemiah was about to discover what God had been preparing him for his whole life!

 

In the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was at the fortress of Susa. Hanani, one of my brothers, came to visit me with some other men who had just arrived from Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had returned there from captivity and about how things were going in Jerusalem. They said to me, “things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.” When I heard this, I sat down and wept. Nehemiah 1: 1b-4a

 

Nehemiah learned that the walls of Jerusalem had been torn down, the gates had been destroyed by fire, and his people were in disgrace. The news broke his heart.

 

In fact, for days Nehemiah mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven.  Then he said, oh Lord, God of heaven, a great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands, listen to my prayer!  Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel. Nehemiah 1:4b-6a

 

The news from Jerusalem grew into a God-sized burden on Nehemiah’s heart. Aware of his utter inability to do anything about the situation, he cried out in desperation to God. This prayer began with worship.  Prayer must always begin by acknowledging who God is, and Nehemiah kept God’s majesty and greatness before him.  Praise not only acknowledges God’s greatness, but also helps us recognize our limitations in comparison.  We realize that because God is so much bigger than we are, he can handle everything we face.  He is the great and awesome God, who knows our limitations, but through whom everything is possible.  That is where Nehemiah started, and so must we.

 

Many times we pray and ask God to show us what he wants us to do, and then decide whether to listen to God or not.  Prayer doesn’t work that way.  Why should God revealed his will and desires when we have no intention of obeying or responding to what he tells us?  Nehemiah had already decided that he would do whatever the Lord told him to do.

 

First Thessalonians 5:17 urges us to “pray continually”.  Nehemiah was a great example of this.  For days, he called out, prayed, mourned, and fasted before the Lord.  During this time, Nehemiah experience the furnace of God’s work in him as God prepared him for what was to come.  Through prayer, God built the man so that the man could rebuild the wall around God’s holy city of Jerusalem.

 

Nehemiah 1:6b-10 I confess that we have sinned against you.  Yes, even my own family and I have sinned!  We have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, decrees, and regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses.  Please remember what you told your servant Moses: “if you are unfaithful to me, I will scatter you among the nations.  But if you return to me and obey my commands and live by them, then even if you are exiled to the end of the earth, I will bring you back to the place I’ve chosen for my name to be honored.”  The people you rescued by your great power and strong hand are your servants.” 

 

Nehemiah humbled himself before God and acknowledged his sin and the sins of his people.  He admitted that their situation was their fault.  He didn’t succumb to the temptation to blame God.  He then reminded God of his promises if the people repented and turned back to God.

 

Nehemiah 1:11 “Oh Lord, please hear my prayer!  Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you.  Please grant me success today by making favorable to me.  Put it into his heart to be kind to me.”

 

Nehemiah made his request to God.  Nehemiah didn’t stop praying until he discerned an answer and a strategy from God.  During this time of praying and fasting, God apparently told him to ask the king to allow him to return to Jerusalem.  It turned out that Nehemiah was the answer to his prayer!  How many times has that happen to us?  Prayer became the lifeline that carried Nehemiah to the end of his journey.  It was the foundation of his faith, courage, and perseverance.  Everything he attempted was embedded in prayer so that in every moment he knew that God was available to him.  It was here, in the crucible of prayer, the ministry was born in an unlikely and unsuspecting man.

 

We too, must learn that prayer is critical if we are to carry out the work of God.  So many times we give up because we are motivated by little more than a good idea or an attempt to relieve guilt.  If our attempts don’t stem from God inspired convictions and if they’re not sustain my prayer, they’re simply not going to last.  If the foundation is weak, the building will fall.

 

Somebody once said, “I’ll have truly learned to pray when I know my absolute insufficiency and helplessness in facing this world’s problems.  God’s power and my humility make the impossible in this world possible. True restoration is possible as I make myself available to God and his mission.

 

Finally, Nehemiah’s faith was translated into action.  After agonizing with God through prayer and fasting, Nehemiah knew it was time to act.  So he approached the king, and behold, the Lord had gone before him.  Nehemiah was granted everything he asked for! 

 

Nehemiah traveled to Jerusalem and inspected the damage to the city walls before telling his plans to the leaders of the city and he gathered the leaders and shared his plan.  They mobilize the people to do the work.

 

Jesus described kingdoms in conflict when he declared, “from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful people lay hold of it (Matthew 11: 12).

 

 

When you say yes to God’s calling in your life, you will be challenged.  Count on it.  Nehemiah faced wave after wave of opposition, but he never stopped praying.  We have an enemy that is just as real as Nehemiah’s.  We should expect to experience the pattern of opposition and challenge that Nehemiah faced, and we should adopt his response: prayer and ever increasing reliance on God.

 

Just as Nehemiah learned how to deal with his adversary, Sanballot, we need to recognize Satan’s role in our battles in the fight against his methods.

 

1 Peter 5:8 says, Be self-controlled and alert.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

 

Today, many sincere believers pretend the enemy will leave them alone if they leave him alone.  But the Bible declares that Satan is stalking us and will not leave us alone simply because we ignore him.  Our enemy is real.

 

Like Nehemiah, we are in a genuine battle, spiritual conflict of massive proportions.  But many Christians remain civilians in a time of war.  Like it or not, we are in a flight, a cosmic fight between two kingdoms.  We are called to side with the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of hell; there is no middle ground.

 

Movie clip Braveheart 1:17:16 — 1:18:53.

 

Satan’s plans for our lives stands in stark contrast to God’s purpose for us.  Jesus declared,

 

The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy, but I have come so that you may have life; life abundant. John 10:10

 

Satan’s goal is to stop the work of God, and he uses every method to achieve it: deception, attempts to divide and conquer from within, direct and indirect intimidation, threats, and attacks.

 

Our main weapon in this type of warfare is, you guessed it, prayer.

 

2 Corinthians 10:3-4.  We do not wage war as the world does.  The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.  On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

 

And Satan wins only if we quit.  We must have perseverance: we must refuse to give up.

 

1 Corinthians 15:58.  Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm.  Let nothing move you.  Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

 

Nehemiah persisted.  He was determined to finish the work God had given him, and nothing was going to stop him.  God was at the center of the task, not only at the beginning, but throughout the entire process.  For Nehemiah, prayer was never separate from action.  He did two significant things when he was faced with opposition.  He prayed and he persisted.

 

Nehemiah’s perseverance grew from his conviction that he was doing what God wanted him to do.  This knowledge enabled Nehemiah to keep pressing for it in the face of unrelenting opposition.  He refused to allow his enemies to distract him.  When challenged, he adjusted the plan and continued to work.  He resolved internal disputes so that the work would continue.

 

Often the people of the most talent and potential are not the ones who accomplish great things.  Rather, it is those who are obedient and faithful with what they been given.

 

Matthew 25:29, to those who use what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance.  But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.

 

If you use what God gives you, he will give you more.  If you don’t use what he has given you, it will be taken away.  The lesson is clear: use it or lose it!

 

Pass out salt packets and ask people to take one crystal of salt and put it on their tongues. See how just one grain of salt makes a difference in your mouth. It is small but it makes a powerful difference. You and I are small, but through the powerful God that we serve, we too can make a powerful difference. This church is small, but when we are united to our great God, his power will do extra ordinary things!

 

If we are going to make a difference in the world, we are going to have to pray and fast for God to do something in us and through us. We are ordinary apart from God. We become extraordinary when God’s Spirit is directing us and empowering us. Apart from God we can’t do anything, but through Christ all things are possible.

 

If we are going to evict a bit of hell from this earth – if we are going to fight against hell, and if we are going to partner with God in bringing a bit of heaven to earth, then we are going to be connected in prayer to Our Father in Heaven. We’re going to have to stay connected to him in prayer.

 

We are not called to ask God to bless our ideas, but rather, we are called to ask God for what he wants to do. God is leading this fight. We are his followers. We must know what he wants to do. We can only find that through prayer.

 

Andy, what do you think about setting up 3 prayer stations? Play Nickelback’s If Everyone Cared” video again

 

1. World hunger/clean water         Table: Large bowl of uncooked rice/bowl of dirty water. Have people run their fingers and hands through the elements while they pray for those who are hungry and who have no clean water to drink.
2. AIDS/healthcare           – have Band Aids for prayers to write people’s names on them. Video running with people’s names and faces          
3. Individual packets of salt – place one a few grains of salt in their mouths. These are small, but make a large impact in our mouths. Verse about salt loosing it’s saltiness. Pray for God to use us, though we are small, to do great things to evict hell and bring about hell in our world.

 

 

 

 

 

Life Link:

 

• What one area of the world where injustice is reigning?

 

• When was the last time you were deeply grieved about this area? If it has been a long time since you have mourned this (if you ever have), why have you not mourned more often?

 

• When was the last time that you prayed for change in this one area? Why do you think this is? Do you pray often about this one area? The idea here is not to induce guilt, but clarity. Ultimately, if we have not prayed about this with intensity, then the question is, “Do we believe that God can’t change this area and make it better or that he won’t?”

 

• What rights did a white woman not have a hundred years ago (jobs, pay, freedom, dress, etc.)? How about a black man (own property, vote, ride on the same bus or eat in the same restaurant as white folks, etc.)?

 

Think of all the change that has happened in the last 100 years – freedom and equal rights for women, blacks, and other minorities. Our world has changed a great deal and some of it has been very good! This all happened because God was at the center of our nation. Do you think God could do more? Do you think he wants to do more? What part can you and we play in that?

 

• Why do you think it’s so hard to do good in the world?

 

Jesus described kingdoms in conflict when he declared, “from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful people lay hold of it (Matthew 11: 12).

 

• Does God want us to be forceful when it comes to advancing his kingdom? Explain. In what ways does it not help to be forcefully advancing God’s kingdom (beating people up with evangelism tactics, judging, controlling, forcing square people to fit in a round holes, etc)