See (Nehemiah 1:2)

• See the present with compassion.
  • Nehemiah looks at the things as they were – no sugar coating just plain reality.
  • He heard that Jerusalem was still in destruction, that it was defenseless and that it needed help.  He didn’t try to say, “Well its their own dumb fault for going back to Jerusalem,” or “I’m sure it’s not this bad.”  He looked squarely at what was before him and it moved him to compassion and prayer.
  • Have you ever faced reality that moved you?  In this sermon series I want to present to you the needs of our church, the call from scripture and it’s my prayer that you will be moved to either lead, follow or get out of the way.
  • Our church is in need of people to act, to see what is really going on and to move in a way that is helpful.  It’s time for you to stop saying, “Someone needs to…” and start saying, “I need to…”  No longer should someone do something, because you are called to do something.
• See the future with courage.
  • Nehemiah was picking up a task that had been failed before.  When Ezra returned to Jerusalem he tried to rebuild the walls.  Ezra was stopped because of insinuations that he was leading an insurrection and the king that Nehemiah took the cup to was the one who stopped the building 10 years earlier.  (Ezra 4:7-23)  If there ever was a time to say, “We’ve tried this before and it didn’t work.”  This would be the time!
  • Yet, Nehemiah looked at the situation, was moved with compassion and saw something greater.  (Nehemiah 2:5)
  • Nehemiah saw a new reality, one that was possible with God.  He saw it on several levels, he saw a physical reality – new walls, he saw it on a personal reality – people established with confidence, he saw a spiritual reality – God wants us to restore his city.  He had vision to see what could be with God!

Pray (Nehemiah 1:4)

• Pray that you would be fit to the task.
  • This view to look with courage sometimes involves a courageous look at yourself.  Maybe you’ve never done something like this before, but you know that with God you could.  One of the first things any spiritual leader must face is their own sin (1:6).  Nehemiah recognizes not only his sin and the disqualifier it is, but the sin that the nation has committed.  Nehemiah repents and asks for a fresh start.
  • Not only does he ask for a fresh start, but he relies on God’s faithfulness (1:8).  Remember Nehemiah is the cupbearer to the king, not an engineer, not a politician, not a governor.  He serves wine and yet he recognizes that the success is found not in him but in God.
  • It’s this that gives him confidence to wear a sad face into the presence of the king.  Persian kings had banned sadness from their presence and to come in with a sad face was a criminal offense.  Nehemiah allows himself to be transparent, to show his feelings because he know that God is granting him success.
• Pray with faith that God will assist you.
  • Nehemiah doesn’t mince his words he says, “God grant me success!”  When we pray to be faithful to God’s mission that’s what we need – because God wants to use you!
  • Too often we leave ministry to the professionals, “That’s his job – he ‘The Minister,’” or, “That’s their job – they’re ‘The Elders.’”  The problem is that we have turned too much of Christianity into a profession and spectator sport.  It’s a team sport, you’re a part of the team.
  • Let me clue you in on something, in the New Testament Paul talks about Elders/Overseers/Bishops, but it’s less of a title and more of a call.  Paul talks about Deacons, but what he’s really talking about it servants.
  • We give titles because it’s helpful to identify those we in the church recognize and count on for leadership.  Elders, we have recognized eight in this church as having a call from God and who have volunteered.  But, there are some of you out there who function as an elder and have been called by God to be an elder.
  • We have elders who are called but not titled serving as Sunday school teachers, small group leaders, ministry coordinators in various capacities.  They don’t have the title, they don’t need the title, they just lead.

Act (Nehemiah 2:5)

• Take action to become equipped and informed.
  • You might not be fully equipped when you start, but that’s what God has given you the church for and your mind.
  • Nehemiah took time to ask the king for the supplies he would need (27ff), and then he studied (2:11ff) the present situation to create a plan of attack.
  • Here at the church we do a similar process when a new ministry is started.  If you are interested in starting a new ministry then you enter into a dialogue with the leadership where we discern what the call is for the church and what support you need in order to succeed.  Sometimes this takes time.
  • Church part of the action is becoming equipped and educated.  If you feel called and confirmed after prayer then proceed with action.
• Take action to share your vision with others.
  • Share (2:17) Committed/Cast a Vision
  • Nehemiah’s vision was big, but he communicated it with power and clarity so that others got on board.
  • A real life example of: see, pray and act can be found in the story of the founding of Celebrate Recovery.  John Baker founded this ministry less than twenty years ago and now it is a global organization that has helped close to one million people in over 10,000 churches.  What ministry lies within us?

The Navigators – is a ministry dedicated to Bible study and discipleship, they have a free daily devotional available at: http://www.navlists.org/dailydiscipleship/

Daily Bible Reading Plans – You can find many plans online but at Bible Gateway you get to choose what and how you read.  http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/readingplans/

Max Lucado – online at www.maxlucado.com offers a brief daily devotional from his writings.

Pray as you Go – a unique podcast that highlights a scriptural text and meditative questions based on it, available at: www.pray-as-you-go.org

Our Daily Bread – Online at www.odb.org, Our Daily Bread has been the go to guide for many faithful evangelicals for many years.

In this passage John notes a difference between sin and mortal sin.  What’s the difference?  Mortal sin when viewed in context of John’s epistle is the sin of those that leave the church for heresy and sin.  It is turning your back not just on the church but on God who the church represents.  In context, this lines up with Jesus’ teaching on blasphemy which is witnessing the work of the Spirit and attributing it to Satan.  John says you can’t pray for those people to be restored, why?  Because it won’t work, they have already denied the Spirit working in their life and are beyond that type of intercession.  The only thing that will help is the individual’s personal repentance and return to Christ.   They need to ask for forgiveness.

Today focus your closing prayer on those in the church.  Ask that God would show you ways and give you opportunities to encourage someone to righteousness, perhaps the person you identified earlier.