Get a plan
Don't Quit • Sermon • Submitted
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I have some great memories of family vacations or trips growing up as a kid. Our family did not take a lot of big vacations, but the ones we did take I remember.
This was before smart phones and accessibility of the internet.
My family did not plan ahead.
We knew we were leaving when mom was finished packing. I recall leaving after my dad got home from work at 9 or 10 in the evening and mom was packed.
We didn’t really have a plan
The plan was we would get in the car and we would drive as far as my dad could make it. When my dad would start to get tired then it was time to start watching the road signs for a motel.
When we saw a sufficient number of signs we would exit the highway and start looking for a decent place to stay.
This was the process...
Stop at the first motel
Dad would first check the rate with the first place
The rest of us would go to the bathroom
If the rate was good then dad would ask to see a room.
He would then go inspect the room and see if it was clean enough for us or didn’t have a strong smell.
If he didn’t like it, then we crossed it off the list and went to the next one. If he did like then, we would go see what the other options were.
On to the next one
We would repeat the process
Sometimes we would pull in and rooms would be sold out.
We would have to keep driving to other towns
repeat the process in other towns
This was our trip adviser
My dad would sometimes offer them lower prices to stay
This was is priceline.com
Remember what time I said we would leave...
Like at 9 or 10 in evening so here it is 2am in the morning with 3 kids in the car and my dad is price shopping motel rooms.
This was our plan.
The last few weeks we have been walking through Nehemiah and the theme is DON’T QUIT
Nehemiah’s heart is crushed when he hears that the walls of Jerusalem are in ruins.
We see the empathy and compassion he has. We recognize that this empathy is not just unique for Nehemiah but we as Christ followers are called to show empathy for others.
Nehemiah’s response to this was prayer. We looked at two different types of prayers that are present here in Nehemiah. We see the short arrow prayer and then we see the long prayer that Nehemiah has.
Spurgeon says
To remain in Him alone, this is true love; but to commune with the world, to find sufficient satisfaction in our earthly comforts, to even prefer the company of our fellow Christians to secret fellowship with Him, this grieves our jealous Lord. He longs to have us abide in Him and enjoy constant fellowship with Himself; and many of the trials that He sends us are for the purpose of weaning our hearts from created things and fixing them more closely on Him who created everything.
Jesus longs that we fellowship and commune with him. These are some indicators of spiritual growth that we can somewhat measure in our lives.
To look at our lives and see how are we growing in having empathy for others, is a spiritual growth indicator. Another indicator is, how is our prayer life growing. Our prayer life is a good indicator of our spiritual growth as well.
In Nehemiah 2 we know that Nehemiah is broken he is mourning and fasting and he is sad in the Kings presence. I imagine that his lamenting sounded a lot like Psalm 102
1 Lord, hear my prayer; let my cry for help come before You.
2 Do not hide Your face from me in my day of trouble. Listen closely to me; answer me quickly when I call.
3 For my days vanish like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace.
4 My heart is afflicted, withered like grass; I even forget to eat my food.
5 Because of the sound of my groaning, my flesh sticks to my bones.
6 I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins.
7 I stay awake; I am like a solitary bird on a roof.
8 My enemies taunt me all day long; they ridicule and curse me.
9 I eat ashes like bread and mingle my drinks with tears
10 because of Your indignation and wrath; for You have picked me up and thrown me aside.
11 My days are like a lengthening shadow, and I wither away like grass.
12 But You, Lord, are enthroned forever; Your fame endures to all generations.
13 You will rise up and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show favor to her— the appointed time has come.
14 For Your servants take delight in its stones and favor its dust.
15 Then the nations will fear the name of Yahweh, and all the kings of the earth Your glory,
16 for the Lord will rebuild Zion; He will appear in His glory.
17 He will pay attention to the prayer of the destitute and will not despise their prayer.
18 This will be written for a later generation, and a newly created people will praise the Lord:
19 He looked down from His holy heights— the Lord gazed out from heaven to earth —
20 to hear a prisoner’s groaning, to set free those condemned to die,
21 so that they might declare the name of Yahweh in Zion and His praise in Jerusalem,
1 During the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence,
The month of Nisan is roughly the equivalent of April. If you recall in chapter 1, they came to Nehemiah received the word in November or December.
Nehemiah has been broken, fasting and praying for 4 months.
When we talk about not quitting some of you might not even be able to fathom taking that long to make a decision. When you want to quit, you just want to quit and not wait 4 months to quit.
Think about it what if you just took the next 4 months to fast and pray about the decision you are trying to make and you just make this one commitment before you decide anything else.
At the heart of all of this with Nehemiah, he fast and prays for 4 months.
God has accomplished so much here at Bridge of Faith in 14 years. One of the things that I believe has helped us is that we have strived to stay debt free and this causes us to not move too fast in decision making. I believe not rushing in to decisions has been one of the blessings God has used for his Glory here.
How many years have some of you heard about the dream of a lay Biblical counseling center or a fitness center. If you only knew how many different locations the basketball court went before it was finally done.
Have a Plan
Have a Plan
2 so the king said to me, “Why are you sad, when you aren’t sick? This is nothing but depression.” I was overwhelmed with fear
3 and replied to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should I not be sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”
4 Then the king asked me, “What is your request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven
5 and answered the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor with you, send me to Judah and to the city where my ancestors are buried, so that I may rebuild it.”
He is fasting a praying for 4 months and every time he is entering the kings presence. He is preparing a plan for the right moment and the right time.
In Nehemiah’s plan he shows great respect for those who are in authority. He says may the king live forever. He also does not mention the name Jerusalem for this might poke a political nerve of the King
Instead he pulls on the heart strings of the king. He says the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire.
All of this sets up the next question. What is your request?
We see the arrow prayer...
This arrow prayer comes from 4 months of fasting and praying
We see humility once again here. If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor with you, then send me to Judah so that I may rebuild it.
6 The king, with the queen seated beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you return?” So I gave him a definite time, and it pleased the king to send me.
This appears to be a personal meeting because the queen is there with the King.
Nehemiah had a plan.
I gave the king a definite time and it pleased the king to send me.
Early on had someone speak into my life and they said every time someone ask how can I help that you are prepared with a response. I have not always done this but it has been very fruitful at times.
Nehemiah risked his life. He is doing what God called him to do. In doing what God called him to do, he is still respecting authority.
God is moving in the hearts of the authority for his Kingdom.
7 I also said to the king: “If it pleases the king, let me have letters written to the governors of the region west of the Euphrates River, so that they will grant me safe passage until I reach Judah.
8 And let me have a letter written to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so that he will give me timber to rebuild the gates of the temple’s fortress, the city wall, and the home where I will live.” The king granted my requests, for I was graciously strengthened by my God.
Nehemiah has a plan. He knew he would face opposition so he request letters from the king to allow him to pass through the various provinces in the Trans-Euphrates.
He also ask the King to write a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, so that he will give me timber to rebuild the gates of the temple’s fortress
Now this is way before the internet. Nehemiah couldn’t just do a google search on who the keeper of the king’s forest is. He had to do some research to find this out.
He had a plan and he names the keeper of the king’s fortress by name.
Nehemiah had a plan.
I love this in verse 8. He says the king granted my requests, for I was graciously strengthened by God.
Where did this all come from?
Yes the king granted the request
The reason the king granted my requests is because I was graciously strengthened by God
9 I went to the governors of the region west of the Euphrates and gave them the king’s letters. The king had also sent officers of the infantry and cavalry with me.
10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard that someone had come to seek the well-being of the Israelites, they were greatly displeased.
It would have taken 2 to 3 months for them to travel to Jerusalem and they face opposition
As God begins to move in your heart and you begin to take action steps in the direction God has called you. Expect opposition.
The moment they here that someone is there to help the Israelites then they start a plan on how to stop this.
(Rockaway Beach clean up weekend meeting)
More to come on this later.
11 After I arrived in Jerusalem and had been there three days,
12 I got up at night and took a few men with me. I didn’t tell anyone what my God had laid on my heart to do for Jerusalem. The only animal I took was the one I was riding.
13 I went out at night through the Valley Gate toward the Serpent’s Well and the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that had been broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire.
14 I went on to the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but farther down it became too narrow for my animal to go through.
15 So I went up at night by way of the valley and inspected the wall. Then heading back, I entered through the Valley Gate and returned.
16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, for I had not yet told the Jews, priests, nobles, officials, or the rest of those who would be doing the work.
Nehemiah does not immediately run to facebook or instagram with his plan. He starts to carefully research what God has called him to do.
He gets up at night and does not tell anyone what God had laid on his heart to do for Jerusalem.
The other part of this is if you are a parent. Your children should not be in on every decision that is made.
I sometimes see marriages relying on children for decisions. We were not getting along and so we went to the kids and asked them what they wanted to do.
NO! Some things are not for kids to decide. Kids don’t need to even hear what you are discussing. It is not for them.
Nehemiah surveys the project.
I love this as well because I often bounce ideas off of people quietly and listen to their reaction. Many ideas die before they ever get started.
The other thing I like about this is it says I took a few men with me. God did not design the body of Christ so that you could walk through life alone. Not everyone needs to know that you are thinking about quitting but a few people should know.
Take some time to talk it through with them. Lay out the positives and the negatives.
17 So I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates have been burned down. Come, let’s rebuild Jerusalem’s wall, so that we will no longer be a disgrace.”
18 I told them how the gracious hand of my God had been on me, and what the king had said to me. They said, “Let’s start rebuilding,” and they were encouraged to do this good work.
19 When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they mocked and despised us, and said, “What is this you’re doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”
20 I gave them this reply, “The God of heaven is the One who will grant us success. We, His servants, will start building, but you have no share, right, or historic claim in Jerusalem.”
You can’t stay here
He says you see the trouble we are in and then paints the picture...
If you are thinking of quitting, then realize that you can’t stay there mentally or physically.
You have to make some adjustments and you have to take some actions. You have to do something.
You may need to change your diet, You may need to change your friends, you may need to find a new job, you may need to start working out, you may need to see a doctor, you may need to get into counseling.
You have to see that you can’t stay where you are if you feel like quitting some changes need to be made.
Come let’s rebuild Jerusalem’s wall, so that we will no longer be a disgrace.
God’s desire is for us to not live in disgrace
10 A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.
18 I told them how the gracious hand of my God had been on me, and what the king had said to me. They said, “Let’s start rebuilding,” and they were encouraged to do this good work.
19 When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they mocked and despised us, and said, “What is this you’re doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”
20 I gave them this reply, “The God of heaven is the One who will grant us success. We, His servants, will start building, but you have no share, right, or historic claim in Jerusalem.”
Isn’t being a Christian fun? Steve Conner
Get a plan
Make changes if necessary
Realize you can’t stay where you are.