20/20 Vision: Developing the Plan
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
We are now 12 days into the New Year and new decade. Research shows that of those who make New Year’s resolutions, only 8% will keep those resolutions. In fact, most people stop trying on January 12. If you have already failed at those resolutions, you could say. “I am like most people” and in doing so perhaps you can justify this failed attempt.
I don’t know about you, but when I fail at something, I get very discouraged. What do you do with discouragement? Some people give up. Some people place blame. Some just think it will never work and that is just how my life is going to be.
We spoke last week about Nehemiah and how he took a situation that affected his life and transformed that situation by casting a vision and carrying that vision out. We talked about assessing the need and looked at Nehemiah chapter 1. We saw how Nehemiah explored, evaluated and engaged in assessing the need.
Nehemiah had gotten word from his brother and other men about the condition of the Jewish remnant and the city of Jerusalem. states:
They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”
Verse 4 states that when Nehemiah heard the condition of his home, he sat down and wept, then went through a period of mourning and fasting and spending time in prayer. During thing time, he received a vision and began to formulate that vision through prayer. He assessed the needs and used that information to develop a plan for his vision.
Even though this book is over 3000 years old, there are precepts and principles here that we can use in our own vision process. As continue to create a 20/20 vision, we can utilize Nehemiah’s example as one way to do what God has called us to do.
Discouragement or Directives (vs. 1-2)
Discouragement or Directives (vs. 1-2)
Today, I want to walk with you through and how he developed a plan to carry out his vision.
Nehemiah 2:1
In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before; so the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”
I was very much afraid,
Let me stop right there and park for a few moments. Scholars tell us that this was about four months after Nehemiah had learned about the condition of his people and his home. He has had four months to ponder, pray, and even weep. Somewhere in this time frame a decision had to be made.
Nehemiah had to decide whether he was going to remain discouraged or he was going to initiate some directives.
You and I have come to times like that in our lives. We arrive at a crossroads in which we must decide, “Am I going to remain discouraged or am I going to initiate directives?”
The first directive we implied here is that Nehemiah did not just weep and pray. We have already indicated that when Nehemiah heard about this predicament, he wept. However, he also waited before the Lord to receive directives.
We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
Through faith and patience we receive that which has been promised. There are things that will make us weep and when we do, we should always make them a matter of prayer because our Lord cares about the things that cause us pain. We need to weep and pray but we also need to wait and pray.
Scripture reminds us of the calming effect of waiting.
Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.
Ruth
Then Naomi said, “Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.”
Psalm
“Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
When you wait on the Lord, you are not wasting time you are investing in it. God is using that time to prepare you for action and He is utilizing your circumstances so that His work will be accomplished, When the right time comes, He will initiate in and through you the directives in order to carry out His plan. Look what happened with Nehemiah after he waited.
Despair or Determination (vs. 4-6)
Despair or Determination (vs. 4-6)
Nehemiah 2:4-
The king said to me, “What is it you want?”
Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it.”
Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?” It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.
Some of our best praying can be done with a silent prayer. Nehemiah uses a silent prayer to decide if he was going to remain in despair or if he was going to have determination.
Science tells us that we will have ninety thousand to one hundred thousands thoughts a day. If we allow our thoughts to become agonizing and full of despair, what do you think will happen? We easily become people of doom and gloom! Nehemiah’s silent prayer helps him stay focused. It provides for him the opportunity to speak what has been laid on his heart and to cast the fear aside. The king gives Nehemiah a gift. It is a gift that you and I can find in every situation. It is a gift of opportunity. We can choose with everything in life whether it is an opportunity or an obstacle. The king asks the question, “What is it you want?” Nehemiah could have said, “If you would ever give me a day off and taste your dadgum wine, I might be able to take care of some things I need to take care of!” Or he could have said, “It is about time you asked me that question! My opinion matters and I should have a say so around here!”
But, Nehemiah instead had a very humble attitude. I would even go so far as to say that Nehemiah had a Christlike attitude. Humbly and prayerfully, Nehemiah asked the King for permission to carry out the directives which were assigned. Every plan that has ever been created is absolutely useless unless it is put into action.
Nehemiah tells the king and queen in one statement his over arching goal. Maybe you this year have decided this was going to be the year you made things happen. You have decided to implement goals and carry our resolutions. A goal is something you want to achieve and a resolution would be a lifestyle change. Perhaps in one statement you can summarize the outcome you desire. Businesses, governments, schools all use this approach. We certainly will find it helpful to do for ourselves and for our church. We can either remain in despair or set into motion well thought out plans that will determine our outcomes.
God has placed each one of us in various circles of influence. We have neighbors, co-workers, and family members for a reason. Nehemiah was placed in a circle of influence where he was daily accessible to the king and queen. He did not say, “God work this out for me.” Rather, he worked to become a man of action and understood the necessary channels to which things would be accomplished. By the way, when we address the King of kings, we don’t have to plan and wait for the right time, we have access all the time!
God desires for us to experience joy and not despair.
Ecclesiastes 9:7
Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
It is God’s desire for us to be a people that celebrates His goodness and lives through His grace. When we choose the path of despair, we are choosing a path that is not of God. So He instills within us opportunities that bring Him glory. When our situations seem dark and dismal, God will provide for us a way that will make it better. He gives us insight and directives in which we can overcome those things that cause discouragement and despair. We have to be ready to see them and implement them.
Nehemiah comes to another crossroad.
Defeated or Developed (vs. 7-9)
Defeated or Developed (vs. 7-9)
I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests. So I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates and gave them the king’s letters. The king had also sent army officers and cavalry with me.
Nehemiah made a decision that he was going to do something about his homeland and the rebuilding of a torn down wall. He understood that God provides solutions to all the problems and situations we will ever face. With this in mind, he knows that he will not go defeated, but he will utilize his God-given talents and abilities to develop the details. Did you see how detailed he got? He recognized he needed letters to provide safe passage and materials. What a beautiful lesson in planning! God believes in planning. We have learned in scripture that He is a planner!
“Have you not heard?
Long ago I ordained it.
In days of old I planned it;
now I have brought it to pass,
that you have turned fortified cities
into piles of stone.
Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
God told King Solomon to ask Him for whatever He wanted. King Solomon’s reply was a request to help with planning.
Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
Nehemiah must have understood what that meant. He also must have understood that God is in control. The king could have banished or even killed Nehemiah for being sad. But instead, the king looked at his servant with compassion.
The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord;
he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.
Nehemiah used this knowledge to develop a plan that consisted of the king’s influences and resources to accomplish such a great task. His plan was full of details because God is a detailed God. Nehemiah could have been defeated but he chose the opportunity to develop and build.
Notice one more thing in this passage. Nehemiah could have gone through all this planning and looking into all these details and then walked away if he has listened to the naysayers. Instead listening to the disturbed, Nehemiah listened to the Divine.
Nehemiah 2:10
When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites.
How many times in your life have you heard, “That is not going to work.” Or maybe in a church setting, “We ain’t never done it like that before!” Or perhaps, “Well in the past we have always done like this.”
Naysayers come in many forms and fashions. Sanballat and Tobiah were definitely naysayers. “They were disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites.”
“If we build this wall back we are going to help out someone that we don’t like.”
“If we start this kind of ministry in our church, we are going to get someone here that we don’t want here.”
“If we have this program, we will have to upgrade our building to bring it up to code and that will costs too much money.”
“If we play this kind of music, we will get drug addicts and such here.”
“If we open our doors during the cold winter months, someone might come in and steal something.”
Sometimes we listen to the disturbed more than we listen to the Divine.
Jesus said it this way:
Matthew 25:31-
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
As we are developing our 20/20 vision, God has a plan for us. How will we develop it?