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OPENING ILLUSTRATION/STORY/OBJECT LESSON:

Do a 10 second pass along story

Here is an example of a true one:

Once upon a time in 587 BC, the Babylonians invaded Judah and destroyed the city of Jerusalem along with Solomon’s Temple. There were three campaigns, and in all the campaigns the Babylonians took a number of the Israelites as captives and resettled them in Babylon.

About seventy years after the first invasion, Cyrus, king of Persia, gave the Jews permission to return to Jerusalem. Under the leadership of a man named Zerubbabel, those exiled Jews returned and rebuilt the temple.

However, they were distressed and the walls around Jerusalem remained destroyed.

Once upon a time, a Jewish man by the name of Nehemiah heard about his homeland and he felt something. In fact, he felt it so deeply that he wept (Nehemiah 1:4)!

Have you ever felt something so deeply that it caused you to weep?

Nehemiah was burdened with this news and his burden drove him to pray and fast for days.

And it was his determination that led him to ask the king to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the city.

These probably aren’t exactly what you were thinking of when I said, “Once upon a time stories.” These are real, historical events that the Bible captured to teach us.

Nehemiah is a great example of courage, trust, and determination.

Are you burdened and determined to fulfill the plans and destiny God has for you?

Trusting God and answering the call on your life involves

1. Preparation

2. Possibility

3. Perspective

Repeat after me

Preparation

Nehemiah 2:11–16

Nehemiah 2:11–16 NIV

I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days I set out during the night with a few others. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on. By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire. Then I moved on toward the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was not enough room for my mount to get through; so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and reentered through the Valley Gate. The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work.

Notice that Nehemiah took time to prepare for the task God had set before him by setting out to examine the walls.

It was part of preparing for God’s call on his life to repair the gates and walls of the city.

Often we want things quickly, and if they don’t happen at our pace, we tend to lose focus, perspective, or even question if God was really involved from the beginning.

It is important to be committed to prepare for the plans God has for you like Nehemiah—

he knew the importance of the task before him and the responsibility he now carried by taking on the challenge of rebuilding the walls and gates.

Being prepared is understanding the responsibility of following Christ and asking: What will it take for me to follow the plan God has for my life?

ILLUSTRATIONS/STORY/QUOTE:

Tell story about how I had to prepare for something that I did not properly prepare for

APPLICATION:

Act on what you know, and things will become clearer.

Many times we know God has a plan for our lives, but we aren’t always clear about what that plan is.

Spend time in prayer and worship.

Talk to your pastor or other trusted spiritual leaders for guidance.

While you pursue clarity, act on what you know, and God will reveal Himself.

Prepare now: Take time to serve others. Volunteer at your church. Spend time perfecting your gifts. Prepare now so that you’re ready for God to use you.

Ask God: Talk to God and ask Him what plans He has for you. Also ask Him to give you the courage to follow His leading and direction.

Ask yourself: When God opens the door, what do I need to have ready in order to walk through it? If you have a dream or calling but aren’t prepared, you probably won’t get to where you are supposed to be.

Nehemiah knew the who, what, when, where, and why.

Possibility

Trusting God is seeing what could be possible.

Nehemiah 2:17–18 NIV

Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me. They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work.

This is most likely what motivated Nehemiah—not just the thought of what was, but what could be.

The people who lived in Jerusalem knew the condition of the walls surrounding the city, yet they probably never took the initiative to repair them.

They just lived in the ruin around them—it had become normal.

All it takes is someone who sees the possibilities and believes that with God everything is possible to be willing to go first and lead the way.

Significance is popular in our current culture, and we can agree that everyone wants to matter.

Imagine what could be possible in your life when you trust God, seeing both what was and what could be.

ILLUSTRATION:

Tell story about how I was trying to complete the impossible task of getting Jenna to like me

APPLICATION:

People, including Christians, need leaders. Good, healthy leaders have the ability to see beyond what is and imagine what could be possible.

But what many don’t know is that the greatest way to lead is to serve.

As a leader, Nehemiah was not going to stand by and wait to see what would happen. He said, “Let us rebuild the wall” (Nehemiah 2:17, emphasis added).

The people needed a leader to encourage fresh eyes to look at the current problem.

The reality is working toward what is possible brings honor and glory to God.

Notice how Nehemiah said rebuilding the wall would end their disgrace.

Your efforts, your work, your faith, and your servanthood all bring glory to God and ultimately will tell of His goodness.

Perspective

Trusting God is all about your perspective.

Nehemiah 2:19–20 NIV

But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. “What is this you are doing?” they asked. “Are you rebelling against the king?” I answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.”

What is a distraction? It’s anything that causes you to lose focus on God’s blessing on your life.

Ask them what could be a distraction?

The truth is distractions will come. Nehemiah had a God-perspective but was faced with distractions.

ILLUSTRATION:

Have you ever gone to the beach and been reminded to pay attention to where your things are when you’re in the water?

That’s because the current can move you down the beach or into deeper water—away from your family and safety—without you even realizing it.

Often this is a gentle current, but stronger currents can become dangerous very quickly. If you get distracted and lose focus, you can drift.

Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem were a potential distraction that could have skewed Nehemiah’s perspective and caused him to lose focus on the task God had given him.

When we are called to do something for God, many times we will face criticism just as Nehemiah did.

But he knew this was not a time to stay silent but to encourage the people with his trust in God.

Notice Nehemiah’s response to them:

Nehemiah 2:20 (NIV)

I answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success.”

APPLICATION:

Every day, opposition comes along and has the potential to distract us from what God has called us to do and be.

What are some common distractions?

Criticism: Notice they ridiculed and mocked Nehemiah.

They tried to play on a human’s desire to be significant.

It takes a lot of character to keep your perspective aligned with God when you feel insignificant. Remember, no matter how we feel, we can know that the God of heaven will give us success.

Fear: Nehemiah’s distractors then tried to intimidate him by asking if he was rebelling against the king.

It was a fear tactic. Fear is a powerful emotion and has the ability to distort our perspective.

Fortunately, Nehemiah recognized that he was part of something bigger than an earthly king or his own fear.

Often, answering the call of God involves the unknown.

Fear can cause us to focus on our situation rather than trusting God, but this is where our heavenly perspective and faith in Him become our motive.

Opportunities: Nehemiah’s distractors also asked, “What are you doing?” (Nehemiah 2:19).

This presented an opportunity for Nehemiah to stop and give an explanation.

Or it could have been an opportunity to rethink his task. The same goes for us—there will be opportunities that have the potential to distract us from God’s call.

But Nehemiah resisted the temptation to seize those opportunities and instead focused on what he was there to do for God and His people.

CLOSING CHALLENGE:

Later in Nehemiah 4, we read that the builders’ strength was giving out.

They were tired and weak, but primarily it was because their focus was wrong.

They were focused on all the rubble from building the wall.

Rubble is the leftover stuff, the trash, the insignificant material pushed to the side when building something of worth.

If you’ve ever visited the construction site of a new home, no one looks at the leftover stuff off to the side. They look at the new home.

The people were focused on the rubble and not the most significant part—their work.

Don’t lose focus on the plans and promises God has placed in your heart. Take the risk of trusting Him to see it to completion.

ALTAR RESPONSE:

Either lead a collective response from the front or ask students to find a place of prayer and begin asking for their challenge from the Lord.