WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.120 Well, we started a series a couple of weeks ago looking at a book in the Old Testament 00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:09.419 called the Book of Nehemiah. 00:00:10.220 --> 00:00:18.059 This is about a man named Nehemiah whom God calls to do two things, two great, extraordinary, 00:00:18.240 --> 00:00:19.219 interrelated tasks. 00:00:20.280 --> 00:00:25.420 He finds himself working for the Persian government in living in exile, working for a foreign 00:00:25.420 --> 00:00:32.960 king, and yet God calls him to return to the city of Jerusalem which lies in ruins, and 00:00:32.960 --> 00:00:38.700 God calls him to do two things simultaneously, to rebuild the city of God, physically rebuild 00:00:38.700 --> 00:00:46.740 the city of God, and then to spiritually rebuild the people of God who are unfaithful and scattered. 00:00:48.160 --> 00:00:54.100 And we find ourselves in a similar place in the life of our church here in 2024 in D.C. 00:00:54.100 --> 00:00:55.200 There are a lot of similarities. 00:00:55.420 --> 00:01:00.560 We are, in fact, about to start to physically renovate a building at 5th and Q Northwest 00:01:00.560 --> 00:01:04.079 that we hope God willing to move into in about a year's time. 00:01:04.760 --> 00:01:09.920 And at the same time, we've recognized that this is a vector point in the life of our church. 00:01:10.379 --> 00:01:12.099 This is an inflection point. 00:01:12.599 --> 00:01:17.700 And we have this opportunity over the next year to do the work of spiritual renovation, 00:01:17.700 --> 00:01:26.560 to seek for God to fill our congregation, to fill us with the Holy Spirit, to clarify our 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:32.159 sense of calling as a community, and to prepare us to enter into this building and this next 00:01:32.159 --> 00:01:36.120 chapter of ministry that God is calling us to as Church of the Advent. 00:01:36.120 --> 00:01:41.380 And so we're looking at the book of Nehemiah this fall and seeing what we can learn from 00:01:41.380 --> 00:01:48.140 it to help us in this journey of spiritual renovation that we are taking part in together. 00:01:48.540 --> 00:01:56.020 And last week, we talked about the fact that Nehemiah, as a leader, was a man of prayer. 00:01:56.300 --> 00:01:59.140 He had an extraordinarily rich prayer life. 00:01:59.140 --> 00:02:03.299 And prayer is something that is going to mark this time over the next year. 00:02:03.379 --> 00:02:07.299 There's going to be lots of opportunities beyond what we would normally be doing as 00:02:07.299 --> 00:02:09.120 a community to pray together. 00:02:09.819 --> 00:02:15.879 If you saw the video that Hillary sent out this past week, we're also going to, for those 00:02:15.879 --> 00:02:19.520 who would like to participate, be fasting together on Fridays. 00:02:19.740 --> 00:02:21.139 So prayer and fasting. 00:02:21.680 --> 00:02:25.199 There's going to be opportunities to do prayer walks in the Shaw neighborhood. 00:02:25.340 --> 00:02:28.780 There's going to be opportunities to gather for prayer and worship as a church. 00:02:28.780 --> 00:02:34.020 And so this is one of the ways we're going to be doing this work of spiritual renewal 00:02:34.020 --> 00:02:34.419 together. 00:02:35.080 --> 00:02:42.159 This week, we want to look at two more qualities that we see in Nehemiah that we can learn from 00:02:42.159 --> 00:02:48.759 that I think, God willing, should mark our life together from this point moving forward 00:02:48.759 --> 00:02:50.120 through this season of change. 00:02:50.719 --> 00:02:53.020 Nehemiah has two qualities, and you need both. 00:02:53.439 --> 00:02:54.340 They go together. 00:02:54.340 --> 00:02:59.300 He has, first of all, the patience to wait, right? 00:02:59.340 --> 00:03:02.680 He's in a situation where he has to wait for the right opportunity and has the patience 00:03:02.680 --> 00:03:04.180 to wait for the right opportunity. 00:03:04.640 --> 00:03:08.319 And then he has the courage to act when that opportunity comes. 00:03:09.039 --> 00:03:11.060 And those two go hand in hand. 00:03:12.099 --> 00:03:17.020 Anytime we find ourselves seeking to follow God's will for our lives, wanting to live lives 00:03:17.020 --> 00:03:23.160 of faithfulness, we need to have both the patience to wait when God calls us to wait and the courage 00:03:23.160 --> 00:03:25.700 to act when God calls us to take action. 00:03:26.100 --> 00:03:29.760 So let's open Nehemiah and look at this together, and we're going to ask for God's help. 00:03:30.460 --> 00:03:34.300 Lord, we thank you for being a God who's already here and speaking to us. 00:03:35.340 --> 00:03:38.900 Lord, I thank you for the rich time that we had in Sunday school earlier. 00:03:38.900 --> 00:03:43.319 Lord, I thank you for the joy it was to be with our high schoolers this morning and just 00:03:43.319 --> 00:03:48.300 to talk about prayer and to talk about the fact that you're a God who delights in our prayer. 00:03:48.900 --> 00:03:54.080 And we know that you delight when we ask you to make your word clear and plain and to make 00:03:54.080 --> 00:03:55.460 your word flesh to us, Lord. 00:03:55.540 --> 00:03:58.840 And so we know that you're already answering that prayer even as we ask it. 00:03:59.319 --> 00:04:04.340 And we pray that in opening your written word, we would actually come face to face with 00:04:04.340 --> 00:04:05.599 your living word, Jesus Christ. 00:04:06.360 --> 00:04:07.740 It's in his name that we pray. 00:04:08.080 --> 00:04:08.340 Amen. 00:04:09.700 --> 00:04:12.620 So first of all, let's look at Nehemiah's patience. 00:04:14.980 --> 00:04:19.720 To bring you up to date in the story, Nehemiah first hears about the brokenness of Jerusalem 00:04:19.720 --> 00:04:21.680 in the month of Kislev. 00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:24.480 This is around 445 BC. 00:04:25.759 --> 00:04:29.060 Nehemiah's living in exile in the Persian government. 00:04:29.060 --> 00:04:30.980 He's an official in the Persian government. 00:04:31.540 --> 00:04:36.840 And he hears that the city of Jerusalem lies in ruins, that it's been burned to the ground. 00:04:36.839 --> 00:04:43.339 Whatever construction had started earlier, 20 years previously, it had stopped. 00:04:43.339 --> 00:04:48.419 And so he hears that, and it devastates him. 00:04:48.479 --> 00:04:49.259 It breaks his heart. 00:04:49.339 --> 00:04:50.379 And he's desperate to help. 00:04:50.459 --> 00:04:51.560 He's desperate to get involved. 00:04:51.839 --> 00:04:54.859 He wants to do anything he can to help his people. 00:04:54.860 --> 00:05:05.340 And there is no doubt that when Nehemiah hears this news, he wants to pack his things up that day and leave for Jerusalem as soon as he possibly can. 00:05:05.339 --> 00:05:07.079 But that's not an option. 00:05:07.079 --> 00:05:12.959 In order to do anything, Nehemiah has to get permission from his boss. 00:05:13.659 --> 00:05:16.539 And his boss is none other than King Artaxerxes. 00:05:17.680 --> 00:05:20.719 Nehemiah is the cupbearer to the king. 00:05:20.819 --> 00:05:27.000 That means it's his job to bring wine to the king when the king wants it and to check the wine to make sure it's not poisoned. 00:05:28.879 --> 00:05:30.879 Artaxerxes's father had been assassinated. 00:05:31.560 --> 00:05:35.060 And certainly Artaxerxes wanted to make sure that the same was not going to happen to him. 00:05:35.500 --> 00:05:39.639 And so Nehemiah had a very important job, and he was very trusted to be in this position. 00:05:40.300 --> 00:05:43.420 And so Nehemiah knows he's only going to get one shot at this. 00:05:44.040 --> 00:05:47.879 And he has to wait for the right opportunity before he takes action. 00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:52.699 And that opportunity doesn't come until the month of Nisan. 00:05:52.699 --> 00:06:00.719 And in the Hebrew calendar, that means that Nehemiah has to wait for four months. 00:06:01.379 --> 00:06:06.519 So he hears the news in Kislev, and then he has to wait four months. 00:06:06.839 --> 00:06:09.439 And just imagine what that must have been like for him. 00:06:10.419 --> 00:06:17.060 Imagine getting news that is so devastating that it knocks your wind out, you collapse to the ground, and you start weeping. 00:06:17.060 --> 00:06:25.480 And imagine that happens to him, and every day he wakes up, and the first thing on his mind is the suffering of his people. 00:06:26.379 --> 00:06:31.360 He gets dressed, he goes to work, and the opportunity doesn't come. 00:06:32.439 --> 00:06:41.459 Day after day, week after week, month after month, he has to simply go to work, wait, go to work, and wait. 00:06:41.459 --> 00:06:46.079 And it raises this question, why would God make Nehemiah wait? 00:06:47.379 --> 00:06:50.659 Right, because surely God wants his city rebuilt. 00:06:51.339 --> 00:06:53.120 Surely he wants his people rebuilt. 00:06:53.500 --> 00:06:57.599 If he's called Nehemiah to do this, surely he wants Nehemiah to go do it. 00:06:57.740 --> 00:07:03.839 So why would God say, I'm going to call you to this great and extraordinary task, but we're going to give it a few months before you get started? 00:07:04.479 --> 00:07:06.099 That's incredibly frustrating. 00:07:07.199 --> 00:07:10.319 The thing is, we see this kind of thing happening all throughout Scripture. 00:07:11.459 --> 00:07:18.180 To many, if not all, the people whom God calls to do various things, they have to wait. 00:07:18.299 --> 00:07:23.899 Abraham and Sarah spend a lifetime struggling with infertility. 00:07:25.319 --> 00:07:30.759 And they've grieved this, and they've moved past it in their lives, and they've accepted the fact that they're not going to have children. 00:07:31.399 --> 00:07:34.459 And then God comes to them, and he says he's going to bless them with a child. 00:07:34.679 --> 00:07:36.079 And they're overjoyed. 00:07:36.079 --> 00:07:42.479 But then they have to wait 25 more years before that child comes. 00:07:43.620 --> 00:07:43.680 Right? 00:07:44.019 --> 00:07:46.500 Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers. 00:07:47.759 --> 00:07:49.740 And you think, well, surely God's going to set him free. 00:07:50.539 --> 00:07:55.979 Well, Joseph has to wait 13 years before he finally gains a position of influence. 00:07:55.980 --> 00:08:02.140 Moses feels burdened for the plight of his people who are all living in slavery. 00:08:03.439 --> 00:08:08.520 And he impetuously murders an Egyptian who's mistreating one of his people. 00:08:08.700 --> 00:08:11.280 And you think, now's going to be the time when there's an uprising. 00:08:11.500 --> 00:08:16.040 And now this is the first strike of rebellion against Egypt. 00:08:16.040 --> 00:08:17.840 And surely this is the… 00:08:17.840 --> 00:08:20.980 No, God makes him wait 40 more years. 00:08:22.840 --> 00:08:28.020 Where he goes and he gets married and he has a couple of kids and he works as a shepherd for decades. 00:08:29.400 --> 00:08:32.240 Moses is 80 years old when he sees the burning bush. 00:08:33.779 --> 00:08:36.340 He's already lived a lifetime by most of our standards. 00:08:37.420 --> 00:08:39.720 So the question is, why would God do this? 00:08:39.720 --> 00:08:46.980 What possible reason could God have for making us wait on good things that he wants for us? 00:08:49.519 --> 00:08:54.080 On one level, no one knows or understands God's reasoning fully. 00:08:54.259 --> 00:08:56.139 No one can understand God's ways. 00:08:56.240 --> 00:08:57.080 They're higher than ours. 00:08:58.120 --> 00:09:07.399 But we do know this, that waiting teaches us something that is absolutely crucial for anyone seeking to follow God faithfully. 00:09:07.399 --> 00:09:15.799 Waiting teaches us this, that God is the one who controls the outcomes in our lives. 00:09:16.860 --> 00:09:19.819 And our job is to focus on the process. 00:09:21.699 --> 00:09:24.639 God is the one who controls the outcomes. 00:09:25.039 --> 00:09:27.679 And our job is to focus on the process. 00:09:27.919 --> 00:09:34.740 So on the one hand, we should do everything we can to pursue the things that God is calling us to do. 00:09:35.480 --> 00:09:36.819 We should work hard. 00:09:36.820 --> 00:09:38.220 We should set goals. 00:09:38.560 --> 00:09:40.820 We should be strategic to the best of our ability. 00:09:41.379 --> 00:09:41.860 Absolutely. 00:09:42.580 --> 00:09:51.879 But on the other hand, even with the best planning, even with the best resources, even with the best strategy, the outcome is never guaranteed. 00:09:53.280 --> 00:10:00.020 And the outcome is never going to be a product purely of our strength, our skill, our preparation. 00:10:00.520 --> 00:10:03.600 Ultimately, the outcome is the product of God's will. 00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:09.080 Which means sometimes you can do everything right and you can get the wrong outcome. 00:10:09.659 --> 00:10:12.980 Sometimes you can do everything wrong and get the right outcome. 00:10:13.159 --> 00:10:16.540 Because ultimately, the outcome is in God's hands. 00:10:17.440 --> 00:10:18.940 You know, Psalm 127.1 says, 00:10:18.940 --> 00:10:23.160 Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. 00:10:23.900 --> 00:10:28.260 Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. 00:10:29.720 --> 00:10:30.120 Right? 00:10:30.180 --> 00:10:32.900 So the problem, though, is that I think we tend to forget this. 00:10:32.960 --> 00:10:37.560 If you're anything like me, we tend to almost immediately forget that this is how it works. 00:10:37.559 --> 00:10:45.939 And the way you know you've forgotten this is if you take a moment to survey the stress and anxiety in your own life. 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:48.279 And think about what are the things that I stress about? 00:10:48.579 --> 00:10:50.219 What are the things that make me anxious? 00:10:50.599 --> 00:10:52.479 What are the things that make me feel hopeless? 00:10:52.879 --> 00:10:56.319 What are the things that keep me awake at night, ruminating at 3 o'clock in the morning? 00:10:56.739 --> 00:10:58.839 What are those things that I'm thinking about? 00:10:59.299 --> 00:11:03.799 Chances are you'll find areas where you have forgotten that this is the case. 00:11:03.799 --> 00:11:08.399 I mean, how much of our stress and anxiety comes from the fact that we are trying to control outcomes? 00:11:10.199 --> 00:11:14.479 I mean, how much time and energy do we spend trying to engineer the outcome that we want? 00:11:16.639 --> 00:11:20.959 Whether it's to get into a really good program or to get a good job, 00:11:22.120 --> 00:11:29.379 to engineer the outcome, you know, in a family situation, a relational situation. 00:11:29.379 --> 00:11:34.460 How much do we stress about trying to control other people's opinions of us? 00:11:35.460 --> 00:11:38.899 How many times do you think through a conversation before you have it? 00:11:38.939 --> 00:11:43.980 If I just word it this way, if I just say it this way, if I just do this or say that or act this way, 00:11:44.200 --> 00:11:45.960 then they will think this about me. 00:11:47.580 --> 00:11:48.820 How often are we trying to do it? 00:11:48.899 --> 00:11:53.059 How much time do we spend ruminating or overthinking before making decisions? 00:11:53.059 --> 00:12:02.219 Thinking that somehow if we can discern that the correct path, the correct maneuvers, 00:12:02.959 --> 00:12:06.719 that somehow we can guarantee that we will arrive where we want to be. 00:12:08.379 --> 00:12:09.799 The Bible is very clear on this. 00:12:09.919 --> 00:12:11.119 We cannot control that. 00:12:11.239 --> 00:12:12.699 We cannot control the outcomes. 00:12:13.859 --> 00:12:15.599 Friends, that is simply above our pay grade. 00:12:16.619 --> 00:12:20.199 Only God knows and only God can control what is going to happen, 00:12:20.200 --> 00:12:27.379 which means everything that happens happens according to God's timing and not our timing. 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:31.720 And I struggle with that so much. 00:12:32.060 --> 00:12:35.280 I struggle with that more than I could probably possibly convey. 00:12:36.120 --> 00:12:37.440 But here's what I've realized. 00:12:37.600 --> 00:12:40.340 Until we accept that fact, 00:12:41.480 --> 00:12:45.660 until you accept that the outcome and the timing is above your pay grade, 00:12:45.659 --> 00:12:50.699 your life is going to be filled with needless stress and frustration. 00:12:52.199 --> 00:12:56.459 And there's enough legitimate frustration in life to go around. 00:12:57.819 --> 00:13:01.019 Why would we invite needless stress and frustration? 00:13:01.639 --> 00:13:03.699 By thinking we can control these things. 00:13:04.480 --> 00:13:07.240 So our role, the thing we're called to, 00:13:07.279 --> 00:13:09.219 and the thing that you see again and again and again in Scripture, 00:13:09.379 --> 00:13:11.259 is that we're called to focus on the process 00:13:11.259 --> 00:13:13.419 and to trust God with the outcome. 00:13:13.419 --> 00:13:18.039 In other words, instead of focusing on the future that we can't control, 00:13:19.039 --> 00:13:21.079 we turn our focus to the present. 00:13:21.979 --> 00:13:22.959 And we ask, 00:13:23.979 --> 00:13:26.759 as I'm being called to wait in this season of my life, 00:13:27.459 --> 00:13:32.279 how do I use this time the best possible way I can? 00:13:32.639 --> 00:13:36.199 And the good news there is that when God makes us wait, 00:13:36.799 --> 00:13:40.459 chances are it's because He not only wants to do something through us, 00:13:40.459 --> 00:13:42.839 but He's actually wanting to do something in us. 00:13:42.840 --> 00:13:46.280 So when God makes you wait, it's never because He's too busy 00:13:46.280 --> 00:13:49.200 and He's saying, take a number, I'll be with you soon. 00:13:49.580 --> 00:13:53.700 It's because the waiting is a part of what God is wanting to do in your life. 00:13:53.899 --> 00:13:56.960 And there are things that need to happen that can only happen 00:13:56.960 --> 00:13:59.860 because you're waiting. 00:14:01.259 --> 00:14:06.000 Four months of waiting gave Nehemiah time to pray and fast. 00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:11.639 Commentators say it's likely that He's praying and fasting that entire time, 00:14:12.039 --> 00:14:16.960 which prepared Him to become the kind of leader whose life is marked by prayer and fasting, 00:14:17.460 --> 00:14:20.240 marked by reliance on God. 00:14:20.240 --> 00:14:27.840 Twenty-five years of waiting taught Abraham and Sarah how to trust the Lord when it comes to parenting. 00:14:27.980 --> 00:14:29.659 If you know the story, they make a lot of mistakes. 00:14:29.779 --> 00:14:30.500 They have to repent. 00:14:30.919 --> 00:14:32.259 They learn a lot of hard lessons. 00:14:34.019 --> 00:14:37.500 And they learn how to trust the Lord when it comes to parenting, 00:14:37.620 --> 00:14:39.720 which prepares them to be the parents of a nation. 00:14:39.720 --> 00:14:47.879 Thirteen years of servitude taught Joseph humility and compassion. 00:14:48.720 --> 00:14:52.639 It gave him insight into what it's like to be the most powerless in a society. 00:14:54.139 --> 00:14:59.200 Thirteen years of that prepares him to be in a position of power and influence 00:14:59.200 --> 00:15:04.740 where he knows how to wield and use that power to lift up those who are oppressed, 00:15:04.940 --> 00:15:09.700 to lift up those who most desperately need mercy, his own family. 00:15:09.720 --> 00:15:11.580 Who had betrayed him. 00:15:12.879 --> 00:15:13.040 Right? 00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:19.220 Forty years of working as a shepherd transformed Moses from this brash, impetuous man 00:15:19.220 --> 00:15:25.160 into someone who knows how to rely on God's strength instead of his own strength. 00:15:26.379 --> 00:15:30.860 It prepares him for that moment where he's standing with his back to the Red Sea, 00:15:30.980 --> 00:15:32.879 and all is lost, it seems. 00:15:33.460 --> 00:15:36.540 And he calls out and says, the Lord will fight for you. 00:15:37.160 --> 00:15:39.360 Because he's seen that happen again and again and again. 00:15:39.360 --> 00:15:43.379 It prepared him to be a shepherd for God's people in the wilderness. 00:15:44.279 --> 00:15:44.399 Right? 00:15:44.460 --> 00:15:47.460 So when you find yourself focusing on some future outcome, 00:15:47.720 --> 00:15:52.200 when you find yourself ruminating over how to engineer some future that you want, 00:15:53.899 --> 00:15:56.419 whatever the case may be, 00:15:57.139 --> 00:16:00.639 instead of allowing yourself to go down that road of control, 00:16:00.639 --> 00:16:01.639 accept God's timing. 00:16:01.639 --> 00:16:03.799 Which leads to endless frustration and stress. 00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:06.240 Accept God's timing. 00:16:08.720 --> 00:16:11.899 Wherever you are, you're exactly where God wants you to be. 00:16:13.000 --> 00:16:14.919 God has not dropped the ball in your life. 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:17.759 God has not given up on your timeline. 00:16:17.759 --> 00:16:20.519 God has not distracted. 00:16:20.819 --> 00:16:23.220 That's a very pagan idea of God, by the way. 00:16:23.799 --> 00:16:26.259 The pagans believe that you needed to get the God's attention, 00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:30.600 and so you make a lot of noise, you ring bells, you cling gongs, you scream, you yell, 00:16:30.759 --> 00:16:32.939 you wake the gods up, and you get them to pay attention to you. 00:16:33.299 --> 00:16:36.639 You offer a few sacrifices, so they'll be inclined to do what you want them to do. 00:16:37.319 --> 00:16:38.519 Our God is not like that. 00:16:39.080 --> 00:16:41.759 Wherever you are in your life, you're exactly where God wants you. 00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:44.939 And then embrace the process. 00:16:45.659 --> 00:16:46.980 Focus on how to use the time. 00:16:47.340 --> 00:16:50.179 Ask God, what do you want to do in me? 00:16:51.240 --> 00:16:56.919 How does this time of waiting bring your work to fruition in my life? 00:16:58.580 --> 00:16:59.919 The patience to wait. 00:17:00.600 --> 00:17:02.100 We see this quality in Nehemiah. 00:17:03.159 --> 00:17:07.000 And my prayer is that this would be a quality that marks our community. 00:17:07.420 --> 00:17:08.960 Now, there's a flip side to this. 00:17:09.839 --> 00:17:11.400 The courage to act. 00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:14.839 There are times in our life when God calls us to wait, 00:17:15.220 --> 00:17:18.779 and there are times in our life when God calls us to take action. 00:17:19.879 --> 00:17:22.519 After four months, Nehemiah sees his opportunity. 00:17:23.359 --> 00:17:25.220 Nisan is the beginning of the new year. 00:17:25.680 --> 00:17:28.940 There's probably a festival going on to celebrate the new year. 00:17:29.059 --> 00:17:30.779 That would have included a lot of drinking. 00:17:31.480 --> 00:17:33.359 So, Nehemiah is probably very busy. 00:17:34.339 --> 00:17:37.900 In verse 6, we see that when Nehemiah, on this particular occasion, 00:17:38.039 --> 00:17:40.019 approaches the king, the queen is present. 00:17:40.019 --> 00:17:43.920 Now, the queen would not have been present at larger formal gatherings. 00:17:44.039 --> 00:17:46.440 So, this implies that it's probably a more intimate setting. 00:17:47.759 --> 00:17:49.420 So, Nehemiah seizes opportunity. 00:17:49.639 --> 00:17:50.839 There's drinks are flowing. 00:17:51.079 --> 00:17:52.139 Everybody's in a great mood. 00:17:52.359 --> 00:17:53.240 The queen is there. 00:17:53.319 --> 00:17:54.240 It's an intimate setting. 00:17:54.379 --> 00:17:55.619 Not many onlookers. 00:17:55.619 --> 00:17:57.919 So, this is his chance. 00:17:58.679 --> 00:18:02.379 We need to understand that Nehemiah is taking a major risk here. 00:18:02.639 --> 00:18:06.459 Who halted construction on Jerusalem 20 years earlier? 00:18:07.199 --> 00:18:08.919 Well, it was King Artaxerxes. 00:18:08.920 --> 00:18:13.180 And so, Nehemiah is essentially going to the king and saying, 00:18:13.300 --> 00:18:17.360 hey, if you don't mind, could you reverse that decision that you made 20 years earlier? 00:18:17.680 --> 00:18:18.900 Change your policy on that? 00:18:19.560 --> 00:18:20.880 Start up construction again? 00:18:20.960 --> 00:18:25.060 Oh, and could you let me get out of this job and give me money and resources to go 00:18:25.060 --> 00:18:27.759 and rebuild a city that actually might represent a threat to your power? 00:18:27.759 --> 00:18:31.319 Well, it's a huge ask. 00:18:32.180 --> 00:18:34.859 He's not only risking his career, he's risking his life. 00:18:35.920 --> 00:18:39.220 And it says up until this point, even though Nehemiah had been grieving, 00:18:39.819 --> 00:18:43.240 he had not allowed that grief to show, 00:18:44.640 --> 00:18:51.700 which, by the way, one of the core aspects of patience is self-regulation, right? 00:18:51.779 --> 00:18:54.400 Being able to manage your emotions so that they don't want to manage you. 00:18:55.299 --> 00:18:56.539 He's not allowed that to show. 00:18:56.539 --> 00:18:57.579 He's been very professional. 00:18:58.559 --> 00:19:01.140 In his work, he's shown up, he's done his job. 00:19:01.420 --> 00:19:03.579 But this time, he allows his grief to show. 00:19:04.480 --> 00:19:06.079 And the king immediately notices. 00:19:06.259 --> 00:19:07.680 He immediately tunes in on it. 00:19:08.299 --> 00:19:09.519 And he's like, Nehemiah, what's wrong? 00:19:10.599 --> 00:19:11.779 He's like, you don't look sick. 00:19:13.579 --> 00:19:14.299 Something's wrong. 00:19:15.119 --> 00:19:17.579 Now, we would be inclined to think, wow, what a nice king. 00:19:18.839 --> 00:19:20.500 You know, he has all these subjects or whatever, 00:19:20.579 --> 00:19:22.240 and he notices Nehemiah, he cares about him. 00:19:22.559 --> 00:19:22.900 Maybe. 00:19:23.619 --> 00:19:24.960 But remember Nehemiah's job. 00:19:25.680 --> 00:19:26.700 He's the cupbearer. 00:19:26.700 --> 00:19:30.100 His job is to taste and make sure there's no poison. 00:19:30.720 --> 00:19:35.380 So if your cupbearer's walking up and he looks sad, that's not good for you. 00:19:36.080 --> 00:19:36.440 Right? 00:19:36.620 --> 00:19:38.519 So the king's like, oh, are you feeling okay? 00:19:38.519 --> 00:19:41.319 Because he's worried about his own life. 00:19:41.740 --> 00:19:47.339 And Nehemiah, at that moment, is terrified because he realizes that the moment has come. 00:19:48.400 --> 00:19:53.200 And verse 2 literally says, if you translate it, a terrible fear came over me. 00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:58.220 You know those moments where kind of like, it's like you're standing on the high dive and you're 00:19:58.220 --> 00:20:00.860 getting ready to go off and you just feel that dread set in? 00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:02.880 You know, that dread sets in. 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:04.580 He's like, I'm on the precipice. 00:20:04.960 --> 00:20:07.819 The next few seconds are going to determine whether I live or die. 00:20:09.000 --> 00:20:14.240 But even, here's the key, even in the face of fear, Nehemiah goes forward with his plan. 00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:18.500 He could have easily said, oh, it's nothing. 00:20:19.940 --> 00:20:24.799 But he says, why should I not be sad when the home of my people lies in ruins? 00:20:25.920 --> 00:20:26.259 Right? 00:20:26.380 --> 00:20:27.620 He shares his personal pain. 00:20:27.799 --> 00:20:28.680 He doesn't get political. 00:20:29.640 --> 00:20:31.460 He doesn't say, hey, I want to talk to you about your policies. 00:20:32.500 --> 00:20:35.799 He says, I'm heartbroken over the state of my people. 00:20:36.140 --> 00:20:39.140 The king realizes at this point, Nehemiah's angling for something. 00:20:39.259 --> 00:20:42.019 And so the king says, okay, what are you requesting? 00:20:42.019 --> 00:20:45.619 And this is the moment Nehemiah's been waiting for. 00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:47.680 So he fires one final prayer up to God. 00:20:47.740 --> 00:20:48.079 I love it. 00:20:48.139 --> 00:20:50.559 Kind of one of those like, you know, signal flare prayers. 00:20:50.819 --> 00:20:54.299 He's like, you know, help, which is great, right? 00:20:54.400 --> 00:20:56.119 I mean, there's a place for that kind of prayer. 00:20:57.200 --> 00:20:58.319 And then he makes his request. 00:20:59.420 --> 00:21:03.599 And what we need to see here is this is a beautiful example of courage. 00:21:04.559 --> 00:21:06.279 It's a beautiful example of courage. 00:21:06.680 --> 00:21:10.819 You may remember the words from Nelson Mandela, courage is not the absence of fear, 00:21:10.819 --> 00:21:12.159 but the triumph over it. 00:21:13.019 --> 00:21:14.579 It's one of those great quotes. 00:21:15.159 --> 00:21:16.559 Courage is not the absence of fear. 00:21:16.679 --> 00:21:18.079 It's the triumph over it. 00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:21.179 Nehemiah is able to triumph over his fear. 00:21:23.079 --> 00:21:25.240 And the way he's able to do that is because of his faith. 00:21:26.259 --> 00:21:27.460 It's because of his faith. 00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:31.359 You know, he prays to God, which shows us he's relying on God. 00:21:31.419 --> 00:21:35.619 And it's because of who God is and who he knows God to be that he takes this step forward. 00:21:35.619 --> 00:21:37.659 And he takes this major risk. 00:21:38.599 --> 00:21:44.119 And what we see here is that courage and faith are absolutely essential in the Christian life 00:21:44.119 --> 00:21:47.379 because following God, friends, means taking risks. 00:21:49.279 --> 00:21:50.299 It's unavoidable. 00:21:51.439 --> 00:21:53.779 The Christian life is not for the faint of heart. 00:21:53.779 --> 00:22:00.519 So if you're here and you're not sure what you believe and you're trying to figure out if Christianity is for you, 00:22:01.039 --> 00:22:03.480 it's just truth in advertising. 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:05.379 It is not for the faint of heart. 00:22:05.960 --> 00:22:07.500 It is not for the risk averse. 00:22:08.500 --> 00:22:10.920 It is not meant to be lived on the sidelines. 00:22:10.920 --> 00:22:19.460 All throughout Scripture, again and again, God calls his people to take extraordinary risks as acts of faith. 00:22:21.680 --> 00:22:25.680 That's why John Wimber, the founder of the Vineyard Church Movement, famously said, 00:22:25.860 --> 00:22:28.039 faith is spelled R-I-S-K. 00:22:29.660 --> 00:22:35.340 I mean, in our modern age, we have come to think of faith primarily as this intellectual assent. 00:22:35.339 --> 00:22:40.959 You know, I think that having faith means that I intellectually believe that there is a God 00:22:40.959 --> 00:22:45.480 or I believe that Jesus was real. 00:22:46.079 --> 00:22:47.699 But that's not really faith. 00:22:47.759 --> 00:22:49.480 That's a precursor to faith. 00:22:50.720 --> 00:22:52.779 That's the prerequisite of faith. 00:22:52.939 --> 00:22:55.459 Those are the conditions necessary for faith. 00:22:56.879 --> 00:22:59.759 Faith doesn't really become faith until you act on it. 00:22:59.759 --> 00:23:05.960 I remember one time about 20 plus years ago, I was on a medical missions trip in Central America 00:23:05.960 --> 00:23:07.559 on the kind of coast of Nicaragua. 00:23:07.859 --> 00:23:10.819 And we had a truck that was loaded up with medical supplies. 00:23:10.920 --> 00:23:14.039 And we were driving into this village in the middle of nowhere. 00:23:14.720 --> 00:23:17.480 And they had been waiting for days for this medicine. 00:23:17.819 --> 00:23:19.900 And the truck got to this ravine. 00:23:20.339 --> 00:23:21.839 And there had been a lot of rain. 00:23:21.839 --> 00:23:24.359 And the bridge had been completely washed out. 00:23:24.440 --> 00:23:26.599 And there's all this roaring water below. 00:23:27.119 --> 00:23:29.180 And so at first, we think we're not going to be able to cross. 00:23:29.180 --> 00:23:30.100 We don't know what we're going to do. 00:23:30.160 --> 00:23:32.440 There's no other way to get to where this village is. 00:23:33.180 --> 00:23:36.880 And yet, the people from the village had come out. 00:23:36.980 --> 00:23:42.640 And they were busily, hurriedly rebuilding the bridge out of logs. 00:23:42.900 --> 00:23:45.740 They're kind of building this bridge so that we can drive across it. 00:23:46.019 --> 00:23:48.299 And the whole time, we're kind of looking at this ravine. 00:23:48.460 --> 00:23:50.240 And we're, you know, I don't know how to build a bridge. 00:23:50.279 --> 00:23:52.080 But I'm just hoping they know how to build a bridge. 00:23:52.160 --> 00:23:53.500 And they seem to know what they're doing. 00:23:53.799 --> 00:23:55.120 But they get done. 00:23:55.180 --> 00:23:55.820 And then they look at us. 00:23:55.840 --> 00:23:56.799 And they say, OK, come on. 00:23:56.820 --> 00:23:57.740 You can come to the village now. 00:23:57.740 --> 00:24:00.000 And we're sort of looking at each other. 00:24:00.200 --> 00:24:02.720 And, you know, OK, we've got to decide. 00:24:02.799 --> 00:24:04.120 Are we going to cross or not? 00:24:04.220 --> 00:24:04.420 Right? 00:24:05.059 --> 00:24:12.620 And I think that that's kind of a helpful image, a helpful metaphor for faith. 00:24:13.259 --> 00:24:13.480 Right? 00:24:13.579 --> 00:24:15.759 They're assuring us that the bridge is going to hold our weight. 00:24:15.799 --> 00:24:19.039 But the only way to find out if the bridge works is to drive out onto it. 00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:21.720 That's the only way you know. 00:24:21.839 --> 00:24:22.039 Right? 00:24:22.039 --> 00:24:22.079 Right? 00:24:23.319 --> 00:24:24.240 So, here's the point. 00:24:24.319 --> 00:24:29.019 I mean, it's one thing to stand on solid ground and to say, I believe that bridge is going to hold. 00:24:29.599 --> 00:24:30.879 I intellectually assent. 00:24:31.019 --> 00:24:31.799 That is a bridge. 00:24:32.920 --> 00:24:34.839 But it's not until you roll forward. 00:24:36.079 --> 00:24:39.659 And it's not until you hear the creaking of the wood under your tires. 00:24:39.660 --> 00:24:45.900 It's not until you hear the roar of the water beneath you that it becomes faith. 00:24:46.960 --> 00:24:47.200 Right? 00:24:47.220 --> 00:24:47.860 Then you know. 00:24:48.840 --> 00:24:57.759 And in the same way, it's one thing to live our lives, to live a life that is built entirely around our safety and comfort, 00:24:58.500 --> 00:25:00.540 and to say, I have faith in God. 00:25:00.539 --> 00:25:13.019 And it's quite another thing to have the courage to step out into the unknown in faith that God is going to hold you up no matter what happens. 00:25:13.940 --> 00:25:15.799 That's when it becomes faith. 00:25:18.359 --> 00:25:24.359 You cannot have a life that is both faith-filled and risk-free. 00:25:27.819 --> 00:25:29.119 You have to choose. 00:25:31.460 --> 00:25:34.799 Faith-filled or risk-free? 00:25:36.500 --> 00:25:39.159 One of my favorite heroes is a woman named Lilius Trotter. 00:25:39.759 --> 00:25:41.639 I talk about her a lot because I love her. 00:25:41.839 --> 00:25:45.299 And my wife did a film on her, and that was kind of the way we learned about her life. 00:25:45.779 --> 00:25:52.240 And she lived this wonderful life of a lot of privilege and had the possibility of fame set before her. 00:25:52.359 --> 00:25:59.700 And she chose, because she felt called to do so, she chose to leave her life of privilege, to leave her life of fame, 00:25:59.700 --> 00:26:08.259 and to leave and go as an unmarried woman, to spend the rest of her life as an obscure missionary in Algeria. 00:26:08.259 --> 00:26:11.440 And everybody around her thought it was a crazy decision. 00:26:11.440 --> 00:26:20.120 And in one of her journals, she wrote, holiness, not safety, is the end of our calling. 00:26:21.820 --> 00:26:25.500 Holiness, not safety, is the end of our calling. 00:26:25.620 --> 00:26:30.840 You cannot have a life that is faith-filled and risk-free. 00:26:30.839 --> 00:26:33.899 So this raises this question for us. 00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:36.939 When is the last time, as I think about my life, as you think about your life, 00:26:37.179 --> 00:26:41.220 when's the last time you did something that required real courage? 00:26:43.099 --> 00:26:44.359 It could have been this morning. 00:26:44.879 --> 00:26:45.919 It could have been last week. 00:26:45.980 --> 00:26:47.419 It could have been ten years ago. 00:26:49.019 --> 00:26:52.000 When's the last time you did something that required real courage, 00:26:52.579 --> 00:26:55.599 where you had to overcome fear, you had to take a risk, 00:26:55.599 --> 00:26:57.659 you had to trust that God would hold you up? 00:26:59.459 --> 00:27:05.539 How many decisions do we make trying to guarantee that we will never have to do that? 00:27:07.099 --> 00:27:07.539 Right? 00:27:07.599 --> 00:27:10.359 Because if we're never willing to take risks, we're never going to grow in our faith. 00:27:12.740 --> 00:27:14.439 So pulling all of this together, 00:27:14.839 --> 00:27:18.039 both of these qualities are absolutely essential in the Christian life. 00:27:18.699 --> 00:27:21.740 The patience to wait and the courage to act. 00:27:21.740 --> 00:27:26.059 And friends, if you're a part of our church, right, 00:27:26.079 --> 00:27:28.400 if you're here for the first time, if you don't know, 00:27:28.539 --> 00:27:32.839 our church is kind of in a season where we're having to learn this right now. 00:27:33.779 --> 00:27:36.279 You know, I mentioned the building at the beginning of this time. 00:27:36.500 --> 00:27:40.019 We started praying for God to give us a permanent home in 2018. 00:27:40.920 --> 00:27:44.980 And for five-plus years, we worked and we planned and we prepared 00:27:44.980 --> 00:27:46.519 and we did everything that we knew how to do. 00:27:46.900 --> 00:27:49.779 But we had to be patient and we had to trust God with the outcome. 00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:51.440 We had to trust God's timing. 00:27:52.319 --> 00:27:52.480 Right? 00:27:52.539 --> 00:27:54.380 And in the middle of that, we have a global pandemic. 00:27:54.880 --> 00:27:55.039 Right? 00:27:55.099 --> 00:27:57.740 We were in the middle at the climax of our capital campaign, 00:27:57.839 --> 00:28:00.220 two weeks away from the big climax of our campaign, 00:28:00.400 --> 00:28:01.859 and a global pandemic hits. 00:28:01.940 --> 00:28:03.539 And just everything grinds to a halt. 00:28:04.380 --> 00:28:07.220 We've had to wait year after year after year on God's timing. 00:28:08.339 --> 00:28:10.200 And we waited and we waited and we waited. 00:28:11.740 --> 00:28:13.279 And then we found the right building. 00:28:13.279 --> 00:28:16.579 And when we found the right building, all of a sudden, we had to act. 00:28:17.019 --> 00:28:18.140 And we had to act immediately. 00:28:18.880 --> 00:28:20.440 And it wasn't the timing we would have chosen. 00:28:20.559 --> 00:28:21.640 It was in the middle of Holy Week. 00:28:22.299 --> 00:28:26.680 If you're an Anglican, that's the worst time for anything to happen other than going to church 00:28:26.680 --> 00:28:29.180 because there's a lot of church that week. 00:28:30.079 --> 00:28:30.680 And… 00:28:30.680 --> 00:28:32.160 But we had to act. 00:28:32.319 --> 00:28:32.620 Right? 00:28:32.619 --> 00:28:35.359 And now we're having to take some real risks together. 00:28:36.359 --> 00:28:41.239 It is very risky to purchase a building in the heart of the city in 2024. 00:28:43.079 --> 00:28:44.159 That's a risky thing to do. 00:28:44.359 --> 00:28:49.500 It's risky to move out of this beautiful, comfortable building into a space that needs a lot of work. 00:28:49.500 --> 00:28:53.819 You know, earlier this year, we did a feasibility study. 00:28:53.880 --> 00:28:59.500 And part of that was surveying our congregation, so many of you, on people's feelings about this whole venture. 00:28:59.599 --> 00:29:04.339 And on the one hand, you know, a vast majority of people are excited and supportive. 00:29:04.339 --> 00:29:06.039 And there's a lot of great things. 00:29:06.799 --> 00:29:09.279 But also, we saw there's a lot… 00:29:09.279 --> 00:29:11.480 There's a significant amount of fear and uncertainty. 00:29:12.579 --> 00:29:14.079 There's a lot of fear and uncertainty. 00:29:14.079 --> 00:29:25.319 And I think that means this is a tremendous opportunity for us as a community to grow in our faith by taking risks together 00:29:25.319 --> 00:29:32.000 and by putting ourselves in a position where we are trusting that as we step in this direction, God is going to hold us up. 00:29:32.559 --> 00:29:34.339 We may hear the boards creaking. 00:29:34.439 --> 00:29:36.119 We may hear the water rushing below. 00:29:36.299 --> 00:29:38.000 But God is going to hold us up. 00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:47.460 It puts us in a position where God can delight and astound and surprise us and go far beyond what we can even ask or imagine, as Ephesians 3 says. 00:29:50.299 --> 00:29:59.480 And when it comes to our individual lives, we also need patience and the courage to act, depending on where we find ourselves. 00:29:59.640 --> 00:30:03.160 I know that some of us, some of you are waiting on things right now. 00:30:03.160 --> 00:30:12.060 You know, it could be marriage, could be pregnancy, could be a job opportunity, health issues, resolution of some issue that you feel like you have no control over. 00:30:13.660 --> 00:30:19.300 We need to be reminded as we wait that we can trust God with the outcome, whatever it may be. 00:30:20.540 --> 00:30:24.840 And I encourage you to pray and ask, God, what are you doing in me during this time of waiting? 00:30:27.240 --> 00:30:31.380 And then some of us are in a place where, frankly, we need to be taking action. 00:30:31.380 --> 00:30:36.760 Maybe you're paralyzed and you can't take a step forward because of fear. 00:30:37.720 --> 00:30:38.920 Maybe it's a fear of failure. 00:30:39.060 --> 00:30:40.240 Maybe it's a fear of loss. 00:30:40.400 --> 00:30:41.620 Maybe it's a fear of rejection. 00:30:42.180 --> 00:30:43.280 Maybe it's a fear of harm. 00:30:44.420 --> 00:30:50.180 And we need to be reminded also that we can trust God to hold us up no matter what happens. 00:30:50.280 --> 00:30:52.040 We need to be willing to step out in faith. 00:30:52.700 --> 00:30:58.120 And if you don't know what season you're in, we can pray the serenity prayer. 00:30:58.120 --> 00:31:01.360 If you've ever been in the addiction recovery world, you've heard this. 00:31:02.360 --> 00:31:07.800 God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the 00:31:07.800 --> 00:31:11.240 things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. 00:31:13.080 --> 00:31:14.620 And the wisdom to know the difference. 00:31:15.300 --> 00:31:20.700 And friends, as we close, we as Christians have something Nehemiah never could have dreamed 00:31:20.700 --> 00:31:21.020 of. 00:31:21.180 --> 00:31:23.620 And that's the assurance that comes through Jesus Christ. 00:31:24.740 --> 00:31:27.240 The assurance that we have through the gospel. 00:31:27.240 --> 00:31:27.799 Right? 00:31:28.759 --> 00:31:33.759 That no matter how long we have to wait and how hopeless things may seem, our future is 00:31:33.759 --> 00:31:35.620 secured and guaranteed in Christ. 00:31:36.240 --> 00:31:37.859 We know how the story ends. 00:31:37.920 --> 00:31:40.420 We know the ultimate outcome is secure. 00:31:40.420 --> 00:31:47.380 And no matter how much we might be called to risk, it is nothing compared to what Jesus 00:31:47.380 --> 00:31:48.720 had to risk. 00:31:48.720 --> 00:31:55.339 And where we know that our future is secure, He knew that He was…that the bridge was going 00:31:55.339 --> 00:31:55.900 to collapse. 00:31:56.960 --> 00:31:57.400 Right? 00:31:57.420 --> 00:31:59.420 That He was going to go plunging into the darkness. 00:31:59.420 --> 00:32:03.640 And yet, He was willing to do that because of His love. 00:32:03.740 --> 00:32:08.600 And because He did that, we know that we will never have to face anything like He faced. 00:32:08.660 --> 00:32:10.039 He has guaranteed that. 00:32:10.259 --> 00:32:16.420 So, whatever might happen, in whatever ways we may take risks, we're never going to have 00:32:16.420 --> 00:32:17.900 to experience what He did. 00:32:18.019 --> 00:32:19.000 We have that assurance. 00:32:19.160 --> 00:32:24.720 So, we can wait in the faith that we have in Christ, and we can risk in the faith and 00:32:24.720 --> 00:32:25.800 trust that we have in Christ. 00:32:25.799 --> 00:32:30.220 And it's in His name that we say all of these things. 00:32:30.279 --> 00:32:30.680 Let's pray. 00:32:32.039 --> 00:32:35.059 Lord, we thank You for Your Word, and we thank You for Your Son. 00:32:36.279 --> 00:32:43.319 And we do pray that we as a community would be granted the wisdom that we need to know 00:32:43.319 --> 00:32:48.259 and to discern when we need to be patient and wait, Lord. 00:32:48.960 --> 00:32:53.559 So, curb our tendencies to be impetuous or to try to control things that we can't control. 00:32:53.559 --> 00:33:00.220 Give us the grace to accept that Your timing is what determines our lives, not our timing. 00:33:01.519 --> 00:33:06.059 And Lord, I pray that You would confirm and strengthen in us the work that You're doing 00:33:06.059 --> 00:33:10.319 through our times of waiting, that we would see fruit as a result of it. 00:33:11.019 --> 00:33:15.579 And Lord, I pray for those of us who need to take action, who are paralyzed by indecision 00:33:15.579 --> 00:33:16.139 or fear. 00:33:16.140 --> 00:33:19.400 I pray that You would spur us to take action. 00:33:20.560 --> 00:33:23.300 I pray that You would call us to be a risk-taking community. 00:33:24.080 --> 00:33:26.620 I pray that that would be a marker of our faith together, Lord. 00:33:27.180 --> 00:33:30.840 And we pray that You would be faithful, that we know that we're not taking reckless, crazy 00:33:30.840 --> 00:33:31.220 risks. 00:33:31.400 --> 00:33:36.960 We're taking risks because we trust and believe that You've called us to go where You've 00:33:36.960 --> 00:33:37.660 called us, Lord. 00:33:37.660 --> 00:33:40.660 And we're trusting that You're going to be there for us to hold us up. 00:33:41.580 --> 00:33:44.120 And we lift all of this up and pray it in the name of Jesus. 00:33:44.620 --> 00:33:44.840 Amen.