REBUILDING THE WALL 5. One Thing I Do... During my days at college and the early days of our time in Wangaratta not so much these days people would sometimes ask me, Do you miss farming? I d always respond the same way: On a fine, sunny day in early spring, I d love to be able to spend the day ploughing! Would I ever return to farming 365 days a year, with my income and livelihood depending on it? Not in a fit! I loved the lifestyle. Not for a moment have I ever regretted moving on. But I enjoyed ploughing! There s something about watching the soil respond to your efforts, and the challenge of getting a combination of things just right. There s something satisfying about looking back over your day s work and seeing what you ve accomplished. And I did enjoy a day on the tractor, alone with God and my thoughts, no interruptions. Ask me that evening how I d spent the day, and I could answer in one word: Ploughing! With every chance I d be doing that tomorrow, too; and maybe the day after that. It s a bit different these days; and I sometimes find myself jumping from one thing to another. Is your life a bit like that? Some people thrive on a cycle of ever-changing activity. I love to concentrate on one thing, and work my way though it. That often feels more like wishful thinking than reality, these days! It isn t even on the radar for mothers with small children. I admire the way our mums can work through an assortment of tasks while looking after small children; maintaining their focus on the important things. We all face that challenge in some form, as we re sometimes bombarded with a bewildering range of options and things to do. It s one thing I admire about Nehemiah as we ve followed his story these past few weeks; and it s this aspect of his life and story I want to turn to this morning. I want to direct my message mainly to our younger people today; although I hope what I say has some relevance to everyone. What are you going to do with your life? Do you have any plans? Any goals, or a particular direction? Or will you just take it as it comes, and see what happens? Using Nehemiah as our example this morning, I want to talk about purpose and focus; and we ll consider some New Testament examples and teaching, along with Nehemiah. Let s begin with I. The Power of a Focused Life. When we first met Nehemiah, he d just received bad news: the walls of Jerusalem were in a mess; the city he loved was in ruins, vulnerable to attack and looting. From that moment, we see in Nehemiah a man with a mission. He was absolutely convinced God had called him to oversee the reconstruction of those walls. We ve watched him work hard and intelligently to gather support and supporters for his project. Last week we watched him meet and successfully deal with a series of difficult situations. His sense of purpose kept him going when others may have given up. This week we see in Nehemiah something that would help us all: 1
A. Learning to Say No! REBUILDING THE WALL 5. One Thing I Do... Did you notice the terrible two have now become a trio? Now we have Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite and Geshem the Arab, all trying to stop Nehemiah finishing the wall. Last week they tried ridicule and threats of physical violence. It didn t work. This week, lies and deception as they try to distract Nehemiah from his task: Come on Nehemiah, be reasonable. Why don t you come and talk to us, down on the Plains of Ono. But Nehemiah said, Oh no! You don t catch me that easily! He saw right through their little plan. He knew they planned to assassinate him. Four times they sent him the same message. Each time, he responded, No way! They were actually paying a compliment to his skill as a leader. They knew things at the wall would grind to a halt without him. Nehemiah knew that too, and he said. Why should the work come to a standstill while I go down and talk to you? He refused to be distracted. He knew to say No! when distractions came. He understood the power of a focused life. I think I understand the theory. Putting it into practice is another thing. Isn t it? Let me say something at this point. There s a real difference between saying No! in the context of a focused life, and a selfish refusal to take part in anything that doesn t carry a personal benefit. Some people manage that quite well! Instead, it s being able to discern when something is a distraction, and maintaining your focus in spite of it. For Christians, it also presupposes a goal that is worthy of such a high priority. We ll return to this in a moment. Sanballat, who seemed to be the ringleader, went one step further with his fifth attempt, with lies and blackmail. There s a rumour going round and Geshem says it s true (what more does he need to say!) that the Jews are plotting a revolt, and that s really why you re so keen to build these walls. You want to be king, and you ve got some prophets lined up for a big announcement in Jerusalem. If you won t come down and talk to us, we re going to tell the real king, and you re going to cop it! Nehemiah knew this was a pack of lies. But he also must have realised the danger if this rumour made it back to Artaxerxes in Susa. Again, Nehemiah refused to be distracted. You can make up all the stories you like. I will not come down and talk to you. How do we handle distracting voices when we ve made a stand? Take some time out from your Christian walk. You deserve it. You re entitled to more of the good things others enjoy. Leave your high principles behind for a while. Come down to where we are. I suspect our young people hear things like this all the time, in their heads anyway, if not literal voices. Those of us not so young have our distractions, too. Recognise the dangers. Don t be distracted. Don t be afraid to say no! when no! is appropriate. Nehemiah s dedication bore fruit, and he saw 2
B. Success After 52 Days! REBUILDING THE WALL 5. One Thing I Do... Can you believe that? Just over seven weeks, from start to finish! I don t know how big Jerusalem was at that time, but that seems extraordinary! And only half of the workers were building while the other half stood guard. Look what was accomplished through Nehemiah s dedication! Many of the world s great achievements have followed a single-minded approach to the task at hand. Often, they involved persistence against considerable opposition. Walt Disney was once fired from a newspaper by an editor who said he didn t have any good ideas! No-one today remembers the editor s name! Thomas Edison was told by his teachers he was too stupid to learn anything! Edison persisted and patented more than a thousand inventions, including the electric light bulb, which he got right after many failures. Winston Churchill failed grade 6 at school. He later became prime minister and led Britain through World War Two. It s reported he was once asked to give an address at a boy s school. He walked to the lectern and said, Never give up! Never give up! Never give up! That was it! I m sure those boys never forgot that address (which is probably more than could be said about most addresses on these occasions!) Look at the potential we have here in this room, especially amongst our young people. What will we do with what God has entrusted to us? Will we fritter it away, or waste it selfishly? Or will we channel it carefully, and focus it on the things God wants to do through us? God rebuilt those walls in just 52 days. He gave Nehemiah the vision, and prompted Artaxerxes to co-operate. He guided Nehemiah through the difficult times, and protected the workers when things became dangerous. God provided the resources for the work. Nehemiah provided the channel which brought those resources to the need. What will God do through you and me when we make ourselves available? Let s note again Nehemiah s reply to his enemies distraction: He said, I m carrying on II. A Great Project...... and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you. 1 A great commitment deserves a great project. Throughout history many people have lived focused lives. Unfortunately, not all of them set their focus on worthy goals. Life offers us A. Many Options. 1 Nehemiah 6:3b 3
REBUILDING THE WALL 5. One Thing I Do... And we can choose to focus our lives and our energy and emotions on things that really don t warrant that level of commitment. I heard of a football follower once OK, he was a Collingwood supporter he painted his whole house, inside and out, and his car, black and white. Everything in his house; his furniture, all his clothes were black and white (imagine if he barracked for Hawthorn!) He d never missed a match in many years. His family knew never to plan anything on Saturday during the footy season; he simply wasn t available. Now I love football. And I m a reasonably enthusiastic supporter. But I stopped crying just two days after that loss in the first round last week. (It may actually turn out to be a good thing!) And as for that fanatical kind of devotion; no football team is that important. A great commitment deserves a great project. Some people devote their lives to having a good time. Others, to pursuing popularity, becoming famous, or making lots of money. What occupies that number one place in your life right now? Where is your real focus? And if you still call yourself young: what will you make as your life s commitment to follow? How sad to realise, too late, you ve chosen poorly. I once read this sobering thought: No one on his deathbed, ever wished he d spent more time with his business! We ve been talking a lot about Nehemiah s single focus, and his rebuilding a wall. That wall wasn t his real focus at all. That was a symbol; more than that, a means to an end. Nehemiah s real goal and purpose and focus was the restoration of God s people. He longed for his people to return to God, and to recapture their true identity as his children. Jerusalem and its temple and its walls were means to this end. Let s leave Nehemiah and his story for a moment, and turn to a New Testament story of B. A Devoted Woman. Many of us have mixed responses to the story of Mary & Martha; special women in the gospels, and special friends of Jesus. On this occasion at least, Mary is the one who got it right, she made the better choice. In our context this morning of focus and priorities, we see Martha succumbing to distraction, allowing her natural inclinations to override the opportunity of the moment, the opportunity of a lifetime; missing out on the very best because she chose to be busy. I wonder what Jesus said to Mary that day as she sat at his feet. What would we give, for a private audience with him, just the two of us? What have we given up, in those times when busyness and distraction have caused us to settle for something less than the very best he has for us? I think of the man we know today as the Rich Young Ruler. He stood at the crossroads, facing the choice between making as his great commitment following Jesus, or his wealthy lifestyle. Don t we all wish he d chosen differently? Jesus reminds each of us, there is room in our lives for only one great commitment. Will it be following him... or something else? I ve borrowed the title for our message this morning from 4
C. A Committed Apostle. REBUILDING THE WALL 5. One Thing I Do... Like Nehemiah, Paul lived a focused life. Like Nehemiah, he was focused on a great project, to which he literally devoted his life. Listen again to his words in Philippians 3: I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brilliant statement! Paul knew that out there on that Damascus Road Jesus had taken hold of his life; and he d done it for a purpose. Has he taken hold of your life? Or are you still holding onto it yourself? Out on that road, Paul found a worthy project; something he could devote his life to. If Jesus had a plan for Paul s life and he obviously did then that was the goal for Paul. All that other stuff, he writes, it was just rubbish! And I m glad to get rid of it so I can focus on something worthwhile. Can I simply say this morning, to our young people particularly, Don t settle for less! God has a plan for your life too. Let go, and let Jesus take hold of it. Make it your goal to discover his plan and purpose for you, and devote yourself to it. It probably won t bring you fame, or popularity, or great wealth; it guarantees the abundant life Jesus promised to those who follow him. You simply can t go wrong when you make his purpose your goal. We see from Paul s example and teaching, that the focused life has to be lived III. Free From All Hindrances. And in this context, we soon discover A. Some Things Have to Go. I d love to have included the first verses of Hebrews 12 in our reading this morning, but space didn t allow it. There the writer says, Let us throw off everything that hinders, and the sin that so easily entangles... so we can run the race Jesus has marked out before us. Let s acknowledge that it s at this point so many say, I m not so sure I really want to live this focused life! Why aren t more of us ready to take on the focus and commitment we see in Paul and Nehemiah? We simply don t want to let go of some things we know will be a hindrance. Sin is the obvious one. Sin entangles, we read, and most of us know what the writer is talking about. Do we still hang onto attitudes, thoughts and lifestyle issues that keep us from a full commitment? For others, the past holds them back. Paul himself had to deal with this. Forgetting what is behind, he writes, and straining toward what is ahead, I press on, toward the goal, to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 2 2 Philippians 3:13, 14 5
REBUILDING THE WALL 5. One Thing I Do... Many of us find the harder we try to forget something, the more it comes into focus. For Paul, forgetting is a deliberate choice, not an impairment of the memory. And Paul had plenty in his past to overcome. As a deliberate act of his will, Paul said, What God has forgiven in my past, I will not allow to hinder me in my present walk with him. Can you say that? If God has forgiven it, it s finished. Leave it behind. We also easily accumulate hurts from our past experiences. Paul encourages us to leave these behind, too. Easier said than done, for many of us. But the cost of retaining past hurts is simply too high. It costs us emotionally. It hinders our daily walk with God. It keeps us from the power and blessings of a focus life. It places that ultimate prize in jeopardy. Is there something you need to let go this morning? Finally, B. Some Things Have to Be Realigned. Paul said, One thing I do... In fact, Paul did many things. He planted churches; he led nonbelievers to faith in Jesus; he wrote very long letters... Nehemiah also did other things besides rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. I hope you ll keep reading the rest of the book that carries his name. He spoke out against injustice. He became governor of his people in Jerusalem, and he sought to lead his people back to God. This was his one thing. Rebuilding the walls was part of this focus. We can do the same. When our focus is right, it s easier to establish our priorities. When it isn t, we easily waste our time and attention on trivialities. I want to give Nehemiah, and then Paul, the last words this morning. Nehemiah decided he would not be distracted from his focus by anything. And then he prayed, Now strengthen my hands. All through, Nehemiah s focus has been shaped by prayer. What a great way for us to pray, too. Lord, strengthen our hands. Paul is such a powerful figure in the New Testament. But he knew life was a journey. He knew he hadn t yet arrived at his destination, and so he tells us, I press on. May God strengthen our hands as we press on, towards the goal, and the prize that is before us. 6