Text Gal 6:8 For he sowing to his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh. But he sowing to the Spirit will reap life everlasting from the Spirit. 9 But we should not lose heart in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not faint. 10 So then as we have time, let us work good toward all, especially toward those of the household of faith.
Oftentimes we want to move on in life, make a change in our lifestyles, and tackle a new project, maybe even change our careers.
Sometimes the new venture is something big, and people will come and tell you: “are you crazy? Are you nuts? This will never work!
Sometimes the new thing in your life will not make sense to anybody else but you, yet you know that you know, that this is what you have to do. Something deep within you has stirred you, have told you: this is what you have to do.
There was a guy just like that, he saw a need and he just new, and he had to respond.
Nehemiah.
Neh 1:2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came, he and men of Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. 3 And they said to me, The remnant left of the captivity there in the province is in great affliction and shame. And the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire. :4 And it happened when I heard these words, I sat down and wept. And I mourned for days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of Heaven.
Something deep within him stirred, moved him and brought him to a place where he just knew, something had to be done.
His heart was moved and he was stirred into action - he went before God and he asked God to have mercy.
Neh 1:11 O Jehovah, I pray You, let now Your ear be open to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name. And I pray You, bless Your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. (For I was the king's cupbearer.)
In this prayer we notice a couple of things, things we have to learn about prayer that moves God.
· He knew that God would listen to those who have reverential fear of God. We need to realise, God is not our `waiter` who serves our tables. Who just `jumps` when we clap our hands. God is God, the Creator, He who does as He pleases.
· He does not only focus on himself, he prays unselfishly, that God may also attend to his extended family, those who are struggling. Not a, “bless me and my four and no-more” He knows that there are people who need his intersession.
· He asks for a blessing, notice there is no demand. He asks. He humbly submits a request. He asks for mercy.
God grants him his requests.
Neh 2:2 And the king said to me, Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart. Then I was very much afraid. 3 And 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' tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire? 4 And the king said to me, For what do you ask? So I prayed to the God of Heaven, :5 and I said to the king, If it please the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I pray that you would send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, so that I may build it.
Again we notice, that his heart is focused on the needs of others, no selfish motivation.
Neh 2:18 And I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me, and also the king's words that he had spoken to me. And they said, Let us rise up to build. So they made their hands strong for good.
The people with him, agreed and said, “lets do this thing”
But this is where the whole thing changes and this Is where we learn from Nehemiah how to handle life.
The first problem:
When we get a stirring, a desire to move on, even those with us may become the opposition.
Neh 2:19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us. And they said, What is this that you do? Will you rebel against the king?
They challenged him with doubt.
They laughed at the idea.
They belittled him and told him that perhaps he should reconsider, after all, who does he think he is.
The second problem:
Some may think that the task is just to menial, way to far beneath their standards, after all, they are the cream of society. Let the servants do the work.
Neh 3:5 And next to them the Tekoites repaired. But their nobles did not put their necks to the work of their Lord.
I`m to good to get my hands dirty. Oh, we will receive the benefits of the project but – you do the work.
The third problem:
Neh 4:1 But it happened when Sanballat heard that we built the wall, he was angry and greatly displeased, and mocked the Jews. 2 And he spoke before his brothers and the army of Samaria, and said, What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they make an end in a day? Will they bring to life the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned? 3 And Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox goes up, he shall even break down their stone wall.
1. Jealousy: Sanballat heard of the successes being achieved and it made him mad with jealousy.
2. The spreading of rumours, trying to bring about mutiny.
The fourth problem:
Neh 4:7 And it happened, when Sanballat and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem had gone up, and that the breaks were being filled, they were very angry. :8 And all of them conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem and do harm to it.
They physically wanted to come and attack, the opposition wanted to take over by force.
The fifth problem:
People will desert you in the middle of a crises, they will find all sorts of excuses:
Neh 5:1 And there was a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brothers the Jews. 2 For certain ones said, We, our sons, and our daughters, are many. Let us get grain for them, so that we may eat and live. 3 Some also said, We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses. Let us buy grain because of the famine. 4 And some said, We have borrowed money on our lands and vineyards for the king's tax. 5 Yet now our flesh is like the flesh of our brothers, our sons like their sons. And, lo, we bring our sons and our daughters into bondage, to be slaves, and some of our daughters are brought into bondage. And there is no power for our hand, for other men have our lands and vineyards.
The sixth problem:
People will entice you away, try to distract you, bring you off track:
Neh 6:2 Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, Come, let us meet together in the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me harm. 3 And I sent messengers to them, saying, I am doing a great work, so I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and come down to you?
The seventh problem:
People will accuse you of having the wrong agenda:
Neh 6:5 Then Sanballat sent his servant to me in the same way the fifth time with an open letter in his hand, in which was written, 6 It is reported among the nations, and Gashmu says it, that you and the Jews are thinking of rebelling, for this reason you build the wall, so that you may be their king, according to these words. 7 And you have also set up prophets to preach about you at Jerusalem, saying, There is a king in Judah. And now it shall be reported to the king according to these words. And now come and let us talk it over together.
How do we deal with this:
A. Opposition: Neh 2:20 And I answered them and said to them, The God of Heaven, He will bless us, and we, His servants, will arise and build. But you have no portion or right or memorial in Jerusalem. Nehemiah reminded the opposition that God ordained the project – it was not their doing but God’s doing.
B. False self esteem: Neh 3: 7 – 32 In these passages we learn that if some refuse to help, there will be others who will step in. If some think to highly of themselves, God will send those who are willing to do what it takes. We will not be left stranded and alone.
C. Jealousy & Attack: Neh 4:4 Oh our God, hear, for we are despised. And turn their curse upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity. 5 And do not cover their iniquity, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before You. For they have provoked You to anger before the builders. Nehemiah turned to God, not to the enemy. He did not lower himself to their level. He responded with prayer. He did not have to vindicate himself, he new that God would respond.
D. Deserters: Neh 5:6 And I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words. 7 And my heart within myself ruled, and I rebuked the nobles and the rulers, and said to them, You exact interest, each one from his brother. And I held a great gathering against them. “be angry but sin not” Nehemiah responded correctly to the situation. He addressed the problem and dealt with it – head on and not headstrong.
E. Distraction: Neh 6:3 And I sent messengers to them, saying, I am doing a great work, so I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and come down to you? He remained focussed. He did not allow the distractions to lure him away. He did not look for opportunities to `take a break`. He settled in and stayed on the job.
F. Accusation: Neh 6:8 And I sent to him saying, These things which you are saying are not happening, but you pretend them out of your own heart. And Neh 6:12 And, behold, I understood that God had not sent him, but that he said this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. Nehemiah realised from whom the accusation came. He knew who the enemy was and he had understanding – wisdom guided him.
Conclusion:
Neh 6:15 And the wall was finished in the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 And it happened when all our enemies heard, and all the nations around us saw, they were very much lowered in their own eyes. For they saw that this work was done by our God.
Text: 9 But we should not lose heart in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not faint. 10 So then as we have time, let us work good toward all, especially toward those of the household of faith.
How often do we want to give up on someone or something?
Here’s another excellent story I read about a young man whom everybody thought would turn out a complete failure:
At 14 years of age, the "bad boy" of a little Massachusetts town, was so powerful in his influence for evil that no one was found able to teach the district school which he attended; it seemed "pretty poor soil." Everyone said the student in question was "bad clear through," "hopeless," and "bound to go to ruin."
One day a new teacher came who said he was not afraid to try. The school friends were quick to tell him all the stories of "the Marcy boy." All advised that he be forbidden to enter the school. However, he was allowed to enter. The teacher analyzed the "hopeless soil," and began at once to enrich it with kindness, justice, goodwill and confidence, and at the right time, dropped in seeds of ambition, hope and self-respect. The seed took root, developed, grew and began to bear fruit.
The promising young student dropped his bad habits, studied day and night, went to college, and graduated with honors. He studied law, answered the call for men in 1812, became associate justice of the Supreme Court, United States senator, governor of New York, and finally Secretary of State. His name was William L. Marcy. He served faithfully in every situation. All of this happened because a good teacher saw in a child the image of God!
How many of us have struggled and still struggle with low self esteem, a bad self image, just because someone gave up on us. The teacher that called you “stupid’, the parent that told you that you will never amount to anything. And because of those labels that stuck, we started to believe it, convinced we are dumb and good for nothing.
I sometimes sit in amazement, as I listen to life stories like this. Young people who turned to drugs and alcohol, because of this. I have such empathy for these people. I know because I used to be one.
Until one day, someone got hold of me, a teacher by the name of Mr Tommy Marais. In my last school year he started to take an interest and he began to instill different values in my life.
I am so thankful that God brought him across my path. He saw something nobody else did. He saw what Jesus saw:
Jer 29:11 For I know the purposes which I am purposing for you, says Jehovah; purposes of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you shall call on Me, and you shall go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you shall seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 And I will be found by you, says Jehovah; and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places where I have driven you, says Jehovah. And I will bring you again into the place from where I caused you to be exiled.
If there is someone out there today, who feels worthless and without hope, please know this: God has a plan and a purpose for your life.
Yes we make mistakes and yes we do the wrong thing and yes the situation may seem hopeless, but my friend, today I want to tell you, all is not lost.
There is a Jesus Christ who stands waiting with open arms saying “come, I will take care, I will comfort and give you rest”
Turn to God and not away from God.
I often would say “Jesus is the answer, what’s your question?”
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