Sermon Tone Analysis

It’s Time to Re-Calibrate

Reflect

2022-08-07

GFC

Tim & Miriam Rempel – greetings – still in California, one daughter in Lincoln, Nebraska and one in Boston.

They’ve been watching our services online.

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Introduction

Good morning!

Well, here I am again!

The first time since the end of March.

Thank you so much for allowing me the four-month Sabbatical.

It was a time of refreshing, learning, travelling and renovating.

Unfortunately, not much fishing!

Maybe next time.

One of the things we did during our Sabbatical was take a trip to Alberta and BC.

Most of our driving was on highways which are easy to navigate with a map.

However, whenever we were in cities such as Calgary or Edmonton, I used Google Maps.

Google maps is a wonderful invention for travelling through cities that you aren’t familiar with.

No paper map needed, just listen to the calm voice on Google Maps telling you where to go.

If you make a mistake, no problem, Google recalibrates and finds a new way.

(blank) Most of the time it works.

But not always.

Five years ago, when we went to New Zealand, the rental car we drove had a built in GPS system that was quite frustrating at times.

In the city of Wellington, we got royally lost.

Much of Wellington is built on steep hillsides.

We would come to an intersection and the GPS system would tell us to turn right but the problem was that there were two roads turning right, one going up and one going down.

Invariably we chose the wrong one.

Then the GPS would begin recalibrating, again!

Finally, Corrina pulled out her phone and tried Google Maps.

Their instructions were much clearer, and we were able to find our way out of the maze.

I think GPS systems have done more to familiarize people with the word “re-calibrate” than anything else.

Before that it was mostly used by machine operators who were readjusting the dials and settings on their machines to make sure that they were accurately doing their job.

We used to do that with carburetors.

If you got all the screws turned just right, the motor would run smooth.

That’s the original meaning of re-calibrate.

Now, however, there is another meaning, similar to the first, but now applied to our lives.

“to re-examine (one’s thinking, a plan, a system of values, etc.) and correct it in accord with a new understanding or purpose”.

(blank) This is something that every person should periodically do.

It often happens naturally, usually at significant life changes.

How often haven’t you seen a young man or woman radically change their behaviour when a child is born to them.

All of a sudden, they realize that there is more to life than parties and good times.

They love their son or daughter so much that they’re willing to make all kinds of sacrifices for them.

They recalibrate, they re-examine their thinking and system of values and correct it in accord with a new understanding and purpose.

Other significant life changes that cause this kind of re-evaluation are falling in love, getting married, turning 50 or 60, an accident or major illness or psychological diagnosis, a business setback or getting fired from a job, etc. etc.

All of these can and often should cause a person to rethink their life’s trajectory.

“If I keep going the way I’m going, what will be the result?

Will it be what I really want it to be?” We can also simply feel in the doldrums, listless, feeling like we have no purpose and begin to think, ‘something’s wrong, I need to figure out what’s going on.’

We may also be caught up in some sin pattern that is consuming our life.

Or not a pattern but a major failing that is causing you to question your ways of living.

If one of these is the case for you, maybe “It’s time to Re-Calibrate”.

“It’s Time to Re-Calibrate” is going to be the overall theme today and the next two Sundays.

(blank) During this miniseries I will look at three aspects of Re-calibrating one’s life; today I’ll look at Reflect and the next two Sundays; Retool and Rebuild.

(blank) Throughout, I will be drawing on the story of Nehemiah in the First Testament.

The part of the Bible that tells the story of God working with the people of Israel before the coming of Jesus.

So, let’s turn to Nehemiah chapter 1. (read v1, 2) (blank)

Nehemiah

There ‘s a lot of information here that most of us know nothing about.

We know that Nehemiah is the one speaking and we know who his father is.

Then we have a date reference.

The month of Kislev in the 20th year in the citadel of Susa.

Susa was the winter capital of the Persian empire, which was the empire, based in what is now Iran, that had defeated the Babylonian empire about 550 years before the time of Jesus.

The citadel Susa is in what is now southwestern Iran and Kislev was the name of a Jewish month around November/December, so, the beginning of winter.

In the first verse of chapter 2 we find out that 20th year refers to King Artaxerxes reign.

At this time of year, Nehemiah’s brother Hanani shows up.

Just so you know, this was a very long journey, around 2000 kilometres, all on foot or on some kind of animal like a donkey or camel.

Not an easy trek.

The land of Palestine was also part of the Persian empire.

Nehemiah, being far from Jerusalem, naturally questions them about what is happening there.

Nehemiah had likely never lived there himself.

Here’s what Hanani and his companions told him.

(read v3) (blank) The report wasn’t good.

Some 160 years previous the Babylonians had completely destroyed the city, tearing down the temple and the walls.

90 years previous to Nehemiah, Cyrus the Great had given permission for the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.

They had done so and had also started to rebuild the walls and gates.

This had been forcibly stopped which you can read about in the book of Ezra, chapter 4. That’s the situation Nehemiah heard about.

Interesting news.

Nehemiah’s reaction, however, was more than simply that the news was interesting.

Listen to Nehemiah’s reaction (read v4) (blank)

Why would it have bothered Nehemiah so much?

He didn’t live there.

He lived in one of the capital cities of the empire.

Nothing was broken down in Susa.

In fact, beautiful and wonderful buildings were being built all around him.

The broken walls didn’t even affect most Jewish people.

Historians believe most stayed in the lands they had been exiled to.

Only some had moved back to Palestine.

So, why did it bother Nehemiah so much?

It was actually quite simple.

It’s found at the end of v9 in Nehemiah’s prayer.

“the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.”

(blank) You see, in King Solomon’s time, many years previously, a Temple had been built for the worship of the one true God.

From then on, the worship of God was closely associated with the city of Jerusalem.

Even while in exile, all Jews faced towards Jerusalem when praying to God.

And in that day and age, every city and town had a wall around it to protect its people and whatever place of worship was in the city.

Jerusalem had a beautiful new temple, but no wall.

As long as there was no wall, any neighbouring enemy could waltz right in, stop the worship of God, steal the offerings stored there and terrorize the people at will.

To a certain extend, God’s reputation was tied up with Jerusalem’s reputation.

The broken walls also meant that the Jews who had returned to the land were always in a place of insecurity.

Even the surrounding village people were at a disadvantage.

They had no place o flee to.