Be a Difference Maker

The Wright brothers made lots of money selling bikes, so they invested it all in building the first airplane, now thousands of airplane are in the air all day everyday, and we can get nearly anywhere in the world in the matter of hours.

These are all examples of world changing things, difference makers.

Many of them didn’t really know how much they would chance the world.

I want to make the case today that God desires us to be difference makers.

Something most of us doubt we have the capacity to do.

But our influence and ability to make a difference isn’t something we accomplish by hard work or skill, it is rooted in our faithfulness to God as we will see in the life of Nehemiah.

Nehemiah was a difference maker.

He came along around 10-15 years after the end of Ezra

Ezra’s focus was the Word of God reforming the people.

Nehemiah’s focus will be the rebuilding of the wall and the redeeming of their relationship with God.

Some scholars believe Ezra had a hand in writing Nehemiah, but there is also evidence that Nehemiah’s own words are in the book.

The theme of God’s faithfulness and sovereignty are continued in Nehemiah.

There is a clear and powerful message for us to hear throughout the book.

Today I want to look at the heart of Nehemiah for God and God’s people and how he was used by God to make a difference in his world.

The Marks of Difference Makers

Nehemiah 1:1–4 ESV

1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, 2 that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. 3 And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.” 4 As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

1) A BROKENNESS for BROKENNESS.

There are some important things to know about Nehemiah that we learn in this book.

He is a quite important figure in the Kings household. He was “cupbearer” to the king.

The cupbearer would choose and taste the wine the king would drink in order to insure it wasn’t poison.

He would have had regular access to the king and would have potentially had influence in certain circumstances.

Some way, some how Nehemiah had become prominent and influential in Persia.

He was an Israelite, but had likely not lived in Jerusalem.

He was obviously aware of the significance Jerusalem held for the Jewish people, and was aware that they were able to go back to the city.

But Susa was home, possibly the only home he had known.

But he asks about the Jews who had escaped to the city.

When he heard of that the people were in “great trouble and shame” and that “the wall of Jerusalem is broken down” and the “gates are destroyed by fire”.

Nehemiah sat down and wept and mourned for days.

Why was he so upset, so broken about the state of Jerusalem and the plight of the Jews?

He was secure and comfortable in Susa, trusted and respected by the most powerful man on earth.

We hear in Nehemiah’s prayer the reason he was so moved by the news.

Nehemiah 1:5 ESV

5 And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,

He knew God and knew the heart of God for His people.

Nehemiah 1:11 ESV

11 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” Now I was cupbearer to the king.

He was a servant of an important man, but his greater service was to one who ruled over men.

“Grant him (Nehemiah) mercy in the sight of this MAN.” He understands his security is not found in his proximity to the king, but in his proximity to the Lord.

He follows with “Now I was a cupbearer to the king” to point out God’s gracious sovereignty to put him in such a position.

He isn’t boasting in his position, he is acknowledging his position as an opportunity to be used by God to help repair and redeem the brokenness in Jerusalem.

We live in a broken world, it is all around us and even in us.

We are potentially unaware of the brokenness all around us.

Not recognizing brokenness because we are in the middle of it.

We also react to brokenness with judgement rather than compassion.

Degrading people or dismissing people because they are messed up

The root of this is covering up our own brokenness by pointing out other people’s.

Or we ignore brokenness, choosing instead to focus on our own comfort, security, and happiness.

Poverty, disease, cultural collapse, loneliness, addiction, sin, and all sorts of things are just ignored because we are preoccupied or just not concerned.

Matthew 9:36 ESV

36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

The heart of Jesus is a heart of compassion and a desire to make a difference.

If we are not burdened by the brokenness of sin inside us and outside of us, then we will not make a difference in this world.

2) BOLD and NO-STRINGS-ATTACHED prayerfulness to God.

Nehemiah’s prayer is powerful, passion, and a model for us to follow.

He praises and worships God in the beginning.

He confesses the sins of the people and his own sin to the Lord.

Then he goes to scripture and reminds himself and the Lord of the promises God has made His people. God knows His promises, but Nehemiah is letting God’s own Word shape his prayers.

And then he asks God for His favor, His power, and His mercy toward himself and the Jews as he desires to join the work of rebuilding.

Question: What is the general intention or desire of our prayers?

Is it possible that a large amount, if not most, of our prayers have the intention of making our lives better, more comfortable, more secure, and happier?

Heal sickness, be with us in this place or that, provide us with this or that, help us, guide us…

Help so and so, heal so and so, be with so and so, fix this broken thing, change this messed up thing.

Hear me out, I am not saying those are bad things to pray, but is it possible that our prayers are often more concerned with us being happy, safe, secure, and provided for than they are concerned with God’s glory being experienced and His Kingdom being expanded?

Nehemiah knew what he was praying for and the implications of his prayer.

He was asking God to provide him an opportunity to go to Jerusalem and be a part of the rebuilding.

He knew that it would require the King to give him permission and resources for him to go.

He knew it would be dangerous, difficult, and costly work.

And that he would be leaving a comfortable, safe, secure, and influential place and position to possibly fail, or go to prison, or get beaten up, or even get killed.

His prayer wasn’t based on what was best for HIM, it was rooted in Nehemiah knowing who God is and what His plans and purposes are, AND desiring to see those plans come to fruition for God’s glory and his and the Jew’s good.

I am not telling you to stop asking God to heal sickness, to help us in our needs, to guide us, provide for us, or any of those things.

What I am saying is that if we are going to be difference makers for the Lord, we must pray bold prayers that have no strings attached.

Prayers that God would use us to make His name known even if it means we may suffer or be rejected in the process.

Prayers that God would make us uncomfortable with brokenness and injustice in the word to the point that we leverage our resources (time, talents, and treasures) for the purpose of healing and correcting.

Prayers that would convict us of sin and lead us to repentance of the things we can’t see know because we are so clouded by those sins and overly concerned with our circumstances.

Prayers that move us to places we would not usually go, to people we would not usually speak to, and to actions we would not naturally take.

Honestly, we need to be people who prayer more, pray bigger, and pray bolder.

We need to be a people whose prayers are blank check for God to fill out.

If our prayers are intended only to keep us where we are or move us just to easier, safer, and more comfortable places, we are not praying as Jesus has taught and Nehemiah has shown.

Matthew 6:9–10 ESV

9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

3) An ATTENTIVENESS to God’s PLANS, POWER, and PROVIDENCE.

Nehemiah 2:1–3 ESV

1 In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. 2 And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid. 3 I said to the king, “Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”

Prayer is not just speaking, we also must be listening.

The “Experiencing God” principle is to be attentive to where God is working and join Him in it.

That requires us to be attentive to His plans, aware of God’s kingdom purposes

It requires us to be aware of His power, confident of His ability to accomplish His plans.

And it requires us to trust His providence, that He is actively involved in our lives and the world around us.

If God calls He equips, if he leads He will also provide.

Nehemiah’s demeanor communicated to the king that something was wrong, and Nehemiah recognized it as God opening up an opportunity to speak and see Him work.

Nehemiah 2:4–8 ESV

4 Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ graves, that I may rebuild it.” 6 And the king said to me (the queen sitting beside him), “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time. 7 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah, 8 and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy.” And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.

Notice Nehemiah’s response after the King’s question: “So I prayed to the God of heaven” and then he made his request.

Nehemiah’s confidence was in Gods plans, power, and providence.

We are given regular opportunities to experience God’s hand move in what can only be considered incredible ways.

We must be attentive to God’s movement and obedient to God’s prompting if we are to be difference makers for the kingdom of God.

4) A PASSIONATE and DELIBERATE willingness to engage in the mission of God.

Nehemiah came into Jerusalem and got to work.

He spent the night examining the walls and gates.

He gathered the people together and rallied them all to the cause.

Speaking hope in the brokenness and proclaiming the faithfulness and goodness of God.

And then he calls them to action.

The words of the people are the central message of Ezra and Nehemiah “Let us rise up and build!”

Having seen God work in incredible ways, knowing God is faithful to His promises, and being united together as His people, the people passionately and deliberately moved engaged in the work of restoration and redemption.

They were difference makers.

Obedience is not begrudgingly following God’s commands as if we are trying not to upset Him.

Obedience is submission to God’s way as the better way.

And obedience is fruit the fruit of true gospel change

Where our heart breaks for the same things God’s heart breaks for.

Where we become less and He becomes more.

Where our joy and our hope are rooted in the goodness, graciousness, greatness, and glory of God.

Let us be a people committed to Rise Up and Build for the glory of Jesus and the good of our neighbors.

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