Faith Baptist Church

“You Can Make A Difference” is a series about a man who is a model…one serving as a pattern or example…. Who enjoyed success at every level of his life.

…as a believer
…employee
…leader
…follower

In the book that bears his name, we learn:

1. How to relate to a touchy boss.
2. The balance between faith in God and personal planning.
3. How to handle discouragement.
4. What to do with unwarranted criticism.
5. How to help yourself and others through a financial crunch.
6. How to effect change in personality conflicts and strained relationships.
7. How to be the kind of person through whom God can work to accomplish
His purposes.

Mr. Roosevelt looked a couple or three people down the line and whispered, “Who’s the fellow right there?” “Oh, you know him Mr. President,” the aide said, “he made your pants!”

…He is attuned to the gentle voice of God in his ear.
…He responds with a receptive heart
…He’s eager to spring to action.

He has qualities that God used to launch a daunting, once-in-a-lifetime challenge: To rebuild the broken walls of Jerusalem. In many respects, he is…

…an unlikely person,
…in an unlikely place.

However, through Scripture, we discover that it is just that kind of person God delights to use to His glory.

This “cool” story (as the kids would say) begins with Holy Discontent.

Nehemiah learns of the plight of the people of God in Jerusalem and there stirs within him, a vision for something better….He hates the status quo. You would never hear Nehemiah say, “Oh, that’s good enough.” “Why bother?” “It’s been like that as long as I can remember!”

One could wish that somebody in one local restaurant had a little discontent —Holy, unholy…or otherwise. The staff was there for lunch and I noticed this hanging not far from our table. Always one to hope for the best and show grace, we were back three weeks later, and…I noticed this!

When I go there, I want to stand up, point at it and scream, “Will somebody do something!”

Our church needs difference makers who have deep in their souls a holy discontent—not just for facilities, but our ministries and our future. The term is “ownership.”

Holy Discontent gave way to a second characteristic of a Difference Maker.

He prays—not a day or a week. Did you catch the mention of two different months?

*In v1- Chislev— That’s November-December
*In 2:1— “And it came to pass in the month of Nisan (Neeson). (That’s Nisan
for you auto fans.)— That’s March-April!

Four months! Some of you want to scream right now! One way you can group people is— Some tend to be Activists; others tend to be Contemplatives.

Activists thrive on movement, decisiveness, confrontation.
Contemplatives love meditation, reflection, solitude.

When an Activist says, “I’ll call you,” it means, “I’ll call you today. I’ll call you before you get home. What’s your cell nphone number?”

When a Contemplative says, “I’ll call you,” it means, “before you die…maybe.”

For activists, prayer and waiting are often difficult. It’s always Showtime! Contemplatives often find it easier to be patient.

The19th century evangelist D. L. Moody was an activist. In one of his crusades, he asked a brother to come to the platform to lead in prayer.
He was praying around the world…on and on… Finally, Mr. Moody got up and said, “While our dear brother is finishing his prayer let’s sing the next hymn.”

Was Nehemiah an Activist or a Contemplative? Well, look at chapter 13:25 on the screen:

“I rebuked them and called curses down on them. I beat some of the
men and pulled out their hair. I made them take an oath in God’s name.”

…Before every meeting,
…before every ministry time;
…specially-called prayer meeting;

What happened to the Sunday AM prayer ministry?

God is obviously growing Nehemiah’s faith—a mountain-moving faith—through prayer and waiting. “The Message,” paraphrases James 1:2ff—

”You know that under pressure, our faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”

There are three evidences of a maturing, deepening of Nehemiah’s faith in this chapter:

I. VV 1-3— He has faith to wait.
II. Vv 4-8—He has faith to ask.
III. Vv 11-18—He has faith to challenge others.

After four months of praying, doing his job, Nehemiah is serving wine to the king, like 598 other days. And the king says,

“Hey, why the droopy face? What’s up?”

Nehemiah scribbles in his journal: “I became dreadfully afraid.” Another good translation says, “I was seized with great fear…”

In Persian Law, it’s a capitol offense to appear before the king sad-faced…Not because his ego was so fragile; any change of mood might signal a coup, a conspiracy or disrespect. If the king misread it, you wouldn’t be coming home for supper tonight…or any night!

Some read this as emotional immaturity on Nehemiah’s part. He’s having a bad day, and simply can’t control himself! He slips up! That’s so out of character for this man through the book. I believe that, after four months of prayer and heart prep, God says, “Okay, my man! Let’s roll!” and Neh drops his guard on purpose.”

And when Neh speaks, he is a model…

…of how to approach a superior,
…a boss, or supervisor
…how to ask permission from a parent, supervisor, teacher
…He’s a model salesman, in the best sense of the word…

Several years ago, the county was making some changes on the street where we live, and one of our neighbors ask me, along with other neighbors, to meet with the county commission. He would serve as spokesman; all we were asked to do was be there. I went.

When he was invited to speak, right out of the shoot, this guy attacked the commissioners’ character! I couldn’t wait to get out of there! Do you think we got what we were asking for? I expected F-15 Super Hornet fighter jets to show up above our street the next day!

Think of times when you needed permission or help. An old adage says, “You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Nehemiah is a master of diplomacy.

Let me pass over this quickly. The teacher in me would like to assign a term paper on verses 3-5. My second inclination is to get some small groups together to discuss it.

First, He affirmed his loyalty to the king and the empire— “May the king live
forever!”

Loyalty is becoming a rare commodity in the marketplace and in the
church. Any boss or supervisor responds to it. He (or she) will go
the second mile for you when you show loyalty. (Would the business
people and supervisors ‘amen’ that?)

Second, He uses careful tact.

He doesn’t say, “Okay Art. You think you’re hot stuff…Well, the God of
heaven says, turn or burn! It’s either Jerusalem for me or hell for you,
which one will it be?

In verse 3 and 5, he talks about, “the city.” He never mentions Jerusalem by name. The king had succumbed to political pressure and had stopped an earlier attempt to rebuild the wall.

One church leader says,

“Tact does not mean that we have to agree with everything a person says.
Nor does it mean that we have to lie to keep from hurting others. Tact is
based on truth and character, and an understanding of human nature. It
involves knowing how to approach people, and how to make our requests
known.” (Barber, 29)

Fourth, he is what I call boss-sensitive.

In verses 3 & 5, he talks about going home, the place of “my father’s tombs..” Archeologists have discovered that the Persians paid careful respect to their ancestors, and the preservation of their burial places.

Obviously, Neh had a testimony for integrity and hard work. He was a valued employee. If you lie or connive, you are blowing yourself up!

The King’s question in verse 4, is a “drum roll in the history of redemption.” The king says, “What do you want? What can I do for you.”