End or Beginning?
Notes
Transcript
Handout
What a great victory we shared this week as we finished Vacation Bible School
We haven’t had one in close to 5 years
The only person willing to say, “Yes, we have to do this.” The person who was our Nehemiah. Was Deborah.
We didn’t have a lot of volunteers.
We combined two churches in something we haven’t done together in over 10 years!
We didn’t have enough kids to have enough excitement - We ended up with 25 from at least three churches
It was an incredible time of teaching children sharing God’s and calling to Shine Jesus Light
We finished
The man who came up with the lessons called Maximized Manhood, the training that teaches men to become more like Jesus, has a constant saying, “How you finish, is how you start.” Meaning that every ending is a new beginning.
Some of you have just finished completing a big event in your life. Some may have finished a vacation you worked hard. Some may have finished something that consumed your life like a trial or a medical issue.
Every night you might watch a TV show, read a book, or play a game that ends. Our brain kind of learns that is how life goes. That the stories are supposed to end. But life continues, ends rarely end all at the same time and an end is a new beginning.
Real life means that follow Jesus is continuing with Jesus through all the ends into all the new beginnings.
Our sermons for many weeks have been about Nehemiah who is leading Jerusalem to rebuild it’s wall.
15 The wall was completed in fifty-two days, on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul.
Wall is done.
in church today hoping to find healing from a crises in your life, God is here but the end of tough times is the beginning of a new one, this time do what Nehemiah did and walk with God through all the time.
Let’s see how Nehemiah does it.
Walks in faith through the hardships of life.
Walks in faith through the hardships of life.
Wall is done.
Facts about dates, From beginning to end, He finished in the beginning of October, 445 B.C
The speed between realization and completion
How would you feel if you prayed for months before you talked to someone?
How would you feel if you prayed for months before you talked to someone?
Several months between when Nehemiah felt burdened
How would you feel if you started something and than it kept coming up against problems?
How would you feel if you started something and than it kept coming up against problems?
From the moment of the answer and traveling he had to work against problems
How would you feel if you started something and then people actively gossipped, threatened, and tried almost everything to get you to stop?
How would you feel if you started something and then people actively gossipped, threatened, and tried almost everything to get you to stop?
Be careful bringing up the name of others to complain about them
How would you feel if you were almost done and the people who would benefit most from what you did turned out to be hurting other people?
How would you feel if you were almost done and the people who would benefit most from what you did turned out to be hurting other people?
What you do with your feelings, the actions you take next, reveals what is important in your life.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.
Nehemiah keeps going
God cares about our feelings
Gal 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.
In the ten commandments we have the God given law to not work and take a day of rest
When Elijah is at the end of his rope, depressed God gives him food
3 Then Elijah became afraid and immediately ran for his life. When he came to Beer-sheba that belonged to Judah, he left his servant there,
4 but he went on a day’s journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. He said, “I have had enough! Lord, take my life, for I’m no better than my ancestors.”
5 Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. Suddenly, an angel touched him. The angel told him, “Get up and eat.”
6 Then he looked, and there at his head was a loaf of bread baked over hot stones, and a jug of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again.
7 Then the angel of the Lord returned for a second time and touched him. He said, “Get up and eat, or the journey will be too much for you.”
8 So he got up, ate, and drank. Then on the strength from that food, he walked forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.
9 He entered a cave there and spent the night. Suddenly, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
God cares when we are in depression
As I already said, God cares about joy. And yes God enjoys happiness. Jesus first miracle is at a wedding party
But our feelings are not God’s focus nor should they be our focus.
The purpose of a follower of the Lord Jesus, is to love the Lord Your God and to love your neighbor as yourself.
The purpose of a follower of the Lord Jesus, is to love the Lord Your God and to love your neighbor as yourself.
The purpose of a our culture is to find your happiness. This is the definition of self-centeredness.
God’s tells us to pursue him first above ourselves and in this comes a promise
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.
Keep your eyes on the prize which is the calling in Christ Jesus,
Being a Christian isn’t a task. It is a calling. That’s why, we followers of Jesus know they we don’t worship God for a time, we worship God as a lifestyle. Because there will be another hardship and I want to enjoy Christ through the joy and the pain, not just to get out of the pain.
Being a Christian isn’t a task. It is a calling. That’s why, we followers of Jesus know they we don’t worship God for a time, we worship God as a lifestyle. Because there will be another hardship and I want to enjoy Christ through the joy and the pain, not just to get out of the pain.
Your salvation is a life-calling, it’s more than any task, job, good behavior, or moment.
14 I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.
I promise you without this focus you will miss what God teaches us through Nehemiah.
15 The wall was completed in fifty-two days, on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul.
16 When all our enemies heard this, all the surrounding nations were intimidated and lost their confidence, for they realized that this task had been accomplished by our God.
We finished VBS, something finishes in your life
How would you feel when you finally finish the task?
Relieved
Sometimes what feels like forever can go super fast in doing something without proof that it will work
Accomplished
All had been about fear trying to keep Nehemiah and Jerusalem down by fear.
Now they were afraid.
Like your done, and you can go back to self focus - Can be the most dangerous time
A project is not the calling
How you finish is how you begin
17 During those days, the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them.
18 For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, since he was a son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah.
19 These nobles kept mentioning Tobiah’s good deeds to me, and they reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me.
Nehemiah didn’t get a chance to finish before he started dealing with his real continue project. Pursuing God
Nehemiah didn’t get a chance to finish before he started dealing with his real continue project. Pursuing God
Traitors were revealed
Remember how the people in the surrounding territories were afraid now. They didn’t mean the problems of intimidation went away.
We will always have evil among us.
Nehemiah sees it. Recognizes it and knows if he has to do anything about it or not.
Betrayal was good things about a bad guy.
Make them happy and they will go away, that doesn’t determine Nehemiah’s action. God does.
Their betrayal was known already, because they were unequal in marriage
Marriage was not as much about love as it was about property, family, and arrangements
This betrayal shows allegiances. Family came before God’s command. Which placed family above one’s own people.
Our relationships today still show allegiances. Ponder that this week.
How does it feel to know that people betray?
What is our response?
Nehemiah’s response is to keep going with this calling.
Let our seeking of God determine our actions.
Let our seeking of God determine our actions.