Refining Vision

New Year's Resolutions

Resolution

2000: I will get my weight down below 180.

2001: I will follow my new diet religiously until I get below 200.

2002: I will try to develop a realistic attitude about my weight.

2003: I will work out 3 days a week.

2004: I will try to drive past a gym at least once a week.

Sometimes our “resolutions” don’t quite turn out the way we had hoped.

As I mentioned last week, I don’t want to just stir up the old typical “New Year’s Resolutions” in you. My goal is to get you dreaming. My goal is to get you thinking about God’s plans for your life. A

God does have plans for your life:

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Eph 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

It is our responsibility to find out what those plans are.

I don’t think that God’s plans are necessarily going to automatically happen. The Bible tells us that God

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1 Tim 2:4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Yet not all men are going to be saved. It’s God’s desire, but there are people who will reject God’s desires for their life.

We’re in the middle of a series on the topic of “vision”. Last week we talked about “Gaining a Vision”

What: Remember We seen this burden put on Nehemiehs heart to go build the walls

When: He prayed 4 months waiting on the right time to ask the King

How: The King paid for his travel and provided the lumber, provided the people

Now we are going to see God Refine this Vision and see why NOW was important

Here we go

Our Message today is Refining Vision

We will look at 5 Key Lessons on Refining Your Vision

Week #2 - Refining the Vision

Neh 2:9-16 9 Then I went to the governors in the region beyond the River, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me. 10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite [f]official heard of it, they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel.

Nehemiah Views the Wall of Jerusalem

11 So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days. 12 Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me; I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem; nor was there any animal with me, except the one on which I rode. 13 And I went out by night through the Valley Gate to the Serpent Well and the [g]Refuse Gate, and [h]viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were burned with fire. 14 Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to pass. 15 So I went up in the night by the valley,[i] and [j]viewed the wall; then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. 16 And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I had done; I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, or the others who did the work.

Lesson #1 Check before building

Before Nehemiah says anything to anyone, he takes three days to check things out and see just what needs to be done.

This is hard. Sometimes when I get a good idea I can wait about … five minutes … before I have to call someone up and tell them my idea.

Yet I think this is where bad ideas can be stopped and where good ideas can be made better.

Sometimes the vision is wrong

How do I know if God wants me to pursue this idea? What if this isn’t God’s idea, but just my idea?IllustrationI belong to an e-mail “listserver” where Calvary Chapel pastors can communicate with each other. From time to time a pastor will ask the other guys for advice. A few months ago a pastor (not me) wrote,

“I have one particular lady who believes she is a gifted vocally. She isn’t! I have told her, our worship leader has told her, and my wife (who leads our women’s ministry worship team) has told her. Obviously she doesn’t get it.”

One pastor replied in a humorous way,

You may need to conduct an intervention with this woman... bring in her family, bring in her close friends, bring in a vocal coach, bring in others that care about her... have a surprise meeting where she is the focus, along with problem. Then ask her to sing a song. Give everyone in the room a chance to share how her singing has affected their lives. Attempt to convince her that it's not just the leadership—but all who know her—who do not believe she has vocal giftings. Finally, once she's convinced, immediately get her into a treatment facility where she can begin receiving long term help.

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How do I know if this is of God or not?

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Three questions …

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1. Where is God in your plans?

Sometimes we have “spiritual” ideas, but sometimes our ideas aren’t what we’d call spiritual, like what kind of job we want to have.

Is God a part of your plans?

He wants to be a part of everything in your life, even what kind of secular job you have. Are you asking God for guidance, or are you just informing Him about what you’re going to do?

We ought to be looking forward to the day when we hear Him say:

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Mat 25:21 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

That doesn’t mean that you have to work for a Bible bookstore or be a pastor. You may be a computer programmer, but if you’re doing it with the aim of serving Jesus, you’re on target.

2. Is it Scriptural?

Nehemiah’s idea of rebuilding Jerusalem was totally scriptural.

Nehemiah already knew that God planned for the Jews to return to Israel. We’ve seen it in his prayers.

God’s Word may not speak to some specifics in your life, but it will certainly give some good guidelines. For example:

If you’re thinking of living together with your boyfriend before you get married, you’re thinking wrong. The Bible says:

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1 Th 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality;

1 Th 5:22 Abstain from every form of evil.

If you’re thinking of pursuing a relationship with a girl who is not a Christian, think again.

2 Cor 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?

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3. What do godly people say? (Mentors, Mature Believers)

It doesn’t hurt to check the vision with other people. Some people will just discourage you from trying something too risky, but if no one supports your vision, perhaps you ought to rethink things.

Did Nehemiah check with others?

Actually he did. King Artaxerxes himself gave approval of Nehemiah’s ideas.

This is a very difficult subject. Godly people can disagree over all sorts of things.

Sometimes the vision is right, but there needs to be some adjustments.

The wall that Nehemiah ended up building was quite a bit smaller than the one that had been torn down. Perhaps Nehemiah’s tour through the city helped him see that he needed to think smaller.

Checking can be dangerous.

This is not only is this where bad ideas can be stopped, but sometimes good ideas are stopped as well.

Before Israel went into the Promised Land, twelve men went ahead of the armies to spy out the land and report back.

We can sometimes think this was a mistake because their report ended up discouraging the nation and in the end they had to wait another 40 years before going into the Promised Land.

But it was God’s idea to send the spies in the first place.

God’s idea for sending the spies wasn’t to discourage the people; it was to show them realistically what was up ahead.

I think God wants us to face our lives with our “eyes wide open”.

We may become more aware of just how difficult it will be up ahead, but if this is a God thing, then God will also provide a way to defeat the trouble.

Neh 2:17-18 Then I said to them, “You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.” 18 And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me.

Lesson #2 - Share the vision

In most cases, you can’t do the work alone. Nehemiah wouldn’t be able to build a wall by himself. Others need to be brought in on the work. At some point others probably need to be brought in on your vision if things are going to happen. Even if your “vision” only involves you, there’s a good chance that things will go smoother if those close to you are on board supporting you.

Last week we mentioned Habakkuk getting a vision by climbing into his watchtower:

Hab 2:1-2 I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected.

The Just Live by Faith

2 Then the Lord answered me and said:“Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it.

He was to write down his vision in large letters, to be able to communicate it so others could understand it.

Nehemiah doesn’t just show up and ask everyone to start building a wall.

He gives a speech that helps bring the people alongside of him.

When you come to the point where you risk sharing your idea with someone else, there are four things that you need to think about and be able to communicate:

1. The problem: “Jerusalem WALLS ARE TORN DOWN …” (Kids With No Father)

2. The solution: “let us build up the wall …”( Kids Having a Christian Mentor)

3. The reason something must be done: “that we will not be attacked …” So boys can understand what it means to be a Godly man

Nehemiah takes it a step further than just stating the problem. There’s a reason the problem needs to be addressed.

The city walls being torn down not only made the city defenseless, it was a shame to all the other nations.

It showed they were not strong enough to even defend themselves. It was a disgrace to the people of Israel as well as to God.

Something needed to be done. I would imagine his words may have stung the people a bit to be reminded of their disgrace.

4. The reason for acting now (instead of later): “the hand of my God which was good upon me … the king’s words …”

Foundry (We don’t have time to wait and let others do the job…TPUSA is ready and with the same vision…It has been over 15 years that God has put this on my heart)

The city walls had been torn down for over a hundred years.

What’s the big rush? Why now?

Nehemiah saw God’s hand on how everything had been put together up to that point.

Nehemiah saw God’s hand in King Artaxerxes being interested.

Nehemiah was given time off of work.

The project was even going to be paid for by the king.

Now was the time to act.

Part of getting people on board with your vision is to understand why “now” is the time.

For some of us, now may not be the right time. Don’t let the “now” just be based on you being impatient.

Now may be a time to wait.

Nehemiah saw that his time had come.

Neh 3:1 Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests and built the Sheep Gate; they consecrated it and hung its doors. They built as far as the Tower of the Hundred, and consecrated it, then as far as the Tower of Hananel.

The vision turns into a plan.

The walls of the city are divided into sections and different families and groups each take a part of the work and begin building.

Neh 4:1-5 But it so happened, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Jews. 2 And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish—stones that are burned?”

3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall.”

4 Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their reproach on their own heads, and give them as plunder to a land of captivity! 5 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.

Lesson #3 Handle criticism with prayer

Perhaps Nehemiah’s language was a bit harsh, but the bottom line was that he was praying.

Be careful about spending too much time answering your critics. There will be people who will find fault in anything you do.

Don’t become criticism centered, stay vision centered.

Don’t spend your energy criticizing your critics, take it to prayer.

It’s appropriate to answer people’s concerns, but don’t make it the focus of your energies.

Sometimes the criticism is going to come from the people closest to you.

You may have been expecting them to congratulate you, but instead they criticize you.

People closest to us are the ones we count on for being cute and cuddly. We don’t often expect them to say things that hurt.

When someone criticizes a dream of yours, it hurts. It catches us off guard and our emotions can flare up. Don’t respond from your hurt feelings. Take it to prayer first before you respond. It might save you from saying some things you’ll regret later.

Neh 4:6-9 6 So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

7 Now it happened, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the [a]gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry, 8 and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion. 9 Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night.

Lesson #4 - Keep revising

The original plan was just to build.

After surveying the city, it’s possible that Nehemiah might have scaled back some of his plans. Now Nehemiah revises again and adds guards to the plan.

Some of Sanballat’s criticisms (vs. 2-3) may have actually been valid. But that’s not a reason to quit. It’s a reason to adjust and keep going.

Don’t confuse your plans with God’s vision

Vision: The vision was to rebuild the walls.

Plan: The plan was to divide up, everyone take a part, and get building.

The dream of what could be is from God.Our plans are sometimes just a “best-guess” as to how to get there.

Sometimes our plans fail, but if the vision was from God, there will be another way.

Neh 4:14-20 14 And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

15 And it happened, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had brought their plot to nothing, that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work. 16 So it was, from that time on, that half of my servants worked at construction, while the other half held the spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor; and the leaders [b]were behind all the house of Judah. 17 Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon. 18 Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me.

19 Then I said to the nobles, the rulers, and the rest of the people, “The work is great and extensive, and we are separated far from one another on the wall. 20 Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.”

Lesson #5 - Encouragement

We need encouragers in our lives.

When things got scary, Nehemiah encouraged the people. He kept them going.They were to watch out for each other and blow a trumpet for help if they needed it – being available to help and encourage each other.

Are there people to encourage you?

Don’t do it alone.Where could you find encouragers?

You might find them at church. You might find them at the F2SWe need to be encouragers.

Parents – do you know what kinds of things your kids dream about?

Do you have dreams for your kids?

Husbands and wives – do you know what kinds of things your spouse has dreams about?

Do you talk about each others’ dreams?

Do you encourage each others’ dreams or do you step on each others’ dreams?

Eph 5:25-27 22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. 24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might [sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

Jesus’ vision is for us to be “glorious”. He died on a cross to make us that.