Send me

Yesterday, we read how Nehemiah was moved by something that broke God’s heart. Today, we see his opportunity to do something about it.


Nehemiah 2
1 Early the following spring, in the month of Nisan, during the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was serving the king his wine. I had never before appeared sad in his presence.
2 So the king asked me, “Why are you looking so sad? You don’t look sick to me. You must be deeply troubled.” Then I was terrified,
3 but I replied, “Long live the king! How can I not be sad? For the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”
4 The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?” With a prayer to the God of heaven,
5 I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.”
6 The king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked, “How long will you be gone? When will you return?” After I told him how long I would be gone, the king agreed to my request.
7 I also said to the king, “If it please the king, let me have letters addressed to the governors of the province west of the Euphrates River, instructing them to let me travel safely through their territories on my way to Judah.
8 And please give me a letter addressed to Asaph, the manager of the king’s forest, instructing him to give me timber. I will need it to make beams for the gates of the Temple fortress, for the city walls, and for a house for myself.” And the king granted these requests, because the gracious hand of God was on me.


Send me. It has been about four months since Nehemiah began asking God for an opportunity to speak with the king about the situation in Jerusalem. Finally, one presents itself. I love the fact that Nehemiah makes one final request in that moment. The key to this entire scene is that Nehemiah volunteered to go. Remember, Nehemiah was a trusted employee with a pretty good job. Why would anyone give that up for the possibility of losing their job, being considered a traitor, taking on an almost impossible project or even getting killed?! Why not suggest someone else go ... maybe someone that was a little bit more skilled at building a wall and leading an army (check out the rest of the story) ... pick anyone?! Instead, Nehemiah volunteered. He asked to be sent. If you are looking to live an extraordinary life, here are some keys from Nehemiah’s extraordinary life: 1) ask God to give you a heart for what He is passionate about; 2) ask God for an opportunity to help Him with whatever He put on your heart and 3) when the opportunity presents itself, ask God to send you.

Wept

This week, we have been talking about the possibility of living an extraordinary life. Over the next two days, I want to introduce one of my favorite characters in God’s story ... Nehemiah. Just to give you some background, the nation of Israel settled in the Middle East around 1300 BC. With God’s help, David led Israel to its pinnacle as a national power and established Jerusalem as its capital around 1000 BC. In 586 BC, the Babylonians overthrew Jerusalem, tore down the walls, burned the Temple and took most of the remaining Jews captive as slaves. Around 539 BC, the Persians conquered the Babylonians. Nehemiah’s story begins around 445 BC as a captive of Persia.


Nehemiah 1
1 These are the memoirs of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah. In late autumn, in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was at the fortress of Susa.
2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came to visit me with some other men who had just arrived from Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had returned there from captivity and about how things were going in Jerusalem.
3 They said to me, “Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”
4 When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven.
5 Then I said, “O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands,
6 listen to my prayer! Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel. I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned!
7 We have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, decrees, and regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses.
8 “Please remember what you told your servant Moses: ‘If you are unfaithful to me, I will scatter you among the nations.
9 But if you return to me and obey my commands and live by them, then even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth, I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored.’
10 “The people you rescued by your great power and strong hand are your servants. 11 O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me.” In those days I was the king’s cup-bearer.


Wept. Nehemiah, up to this point, had enjoyed a pretty good life. He was the cup-bearer, a role many scholars equate with being second in command, to the king of the most powerful nation at that time. However, his life didn’t become extraordinary until he became passionate about God’s plan. Remember, Nehemiah didn’t grow up in Jerusalem. He didn’t have any special connection with the city ... at least none that would seem worthy of eliciting such a passionate response ... except that he knew the city of Jerusalem and the people of Israel had been chosen for a special purpose in God’s plan. I think the idea of that city and those people being defenseless broke Nehemiah’s heart because he knew it broke God’s heart. I also think that part of experiencing an extraordinary life includes being passionate about God’s plan; and, as Nehemiah did, asking God to enable you to be a part of that plan. You may be thinking ... “I’m not that passionate” or “I don’t know what breaks God’s heart”. Do you want to? Are you sure? Then here’s your challenge ... we ended last weekend’s service with the song “Hosanna” which includes an amazing and challenging line ... “Break my heart for what breaks yours”. I challenge you to pray that simple prayer every day until the end of the Extraordinary series (May 15th) ... and then see what challenge God opens your eyes and your heart to.

Rejoice

So, we are midway through our first week of the Extraordinary series. Have you been able to begin processing this idea of living an extraordinary life ... even though it is such an ordinary, gloomy Wednesday? One of the verses Jonathan referenced this past weekend was Psalm 118:24. FYI, the word Psalm comes from a Greek word (psalmoi) which means “songs of praise”. I thought it might be helpful for us to read through the “song of praise” that verse came from to help remind us that we can express joy and praise and thanksgiving even on an ordinary, gloomy Wednesday. Some might call that living an extraordinary life. One last thought, some scholars believe Jesus sang this song with His disciples the night he was betrayed and arrested (check out Matthew 26:30).


Psalm 118
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.
2 Let all Israel repeat: “His faithful love endures forever.”
3 Let Aaron’s descendants, the priests, repeat: “His faithful love endures forever.”
4 Let all who fear the Lord repeat: “His faithful love endures forever.”
5 In my distress I prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered me and set me free.
6 The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?
7 Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me. I will look in triumph at those who hate me.
8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in people.
9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.
10 Though hostile nations surrounded me, I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.
11 Yes, they surrounded and attacked me, but I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.
12 They swarmed around me like bees; they blazed against me like a crackling fire. But I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.
13 My enemies did their best to kill me, but the Lord rescued me.
14 The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.
15 Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly. The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!
16 The strong right arm of the Lord is raised in triumph. The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!
17 I will not die; instead, I will live to tell what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord has punished me severely, but he did not let me die.
19 Open for me the gates where the righteous enter, and I will go in and thank the Lord.
20 These gates lead to the presence of the Lord, and the godly enter there.
21 I thank you for answering my prayer and giving me victory!
22 The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.
24 This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Please, Lord, please save us. Please, Lord, please give us success.
26 Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord.
27 The Lord is God, shining upon us. Take the sacrifice and bind it with cords on the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise you! You are my God, and I will exalt you!
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.


Rejoice. Did you notice the repetition? Of course you did, you guys are bright, intelligent people. There is something about repeating a word or a phrase that allows it to really sink in. Here is my challenge for you today ... pick any of the repeated phrases ... “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!” ... “His faithful love endures forever.” ... “It is better to take refuge in the Lord” ... “The Lord is for me” ... “The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!” ... and repeat it to yourself throughout the day. Every time you do, it will remind you of God’s goodness and faithfulness and love and strength. It will help you rejoice and be glad in this day that God has made.

Voice

One of the other verses Jonathan referenced this past weekend was actually one of my favorite verses ... John 10:10. It offers a clear contrast between Jesus’ purpose and anyone working against Jesus’ purpose; but its context offers an important hint in realizing that purpose in our own lives.


John 10
1 “I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber!
2 But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4 After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice.
5 They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”
6 Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant,
7 so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.
8 All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them.
9 Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures.
10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.
12 A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock.
13 The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me,
15 just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.
16 I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.


Voice. No one would say no to a “rich and satisfying life”; and yet, many people (even Jesus followers) wouldn’t check “rich and satisfying life” on a survey. Where is the disconnect? I think the key might be found in verse 4 ... “they follow him because they know his voice”. Do we really know Jesus’ voice? In the midst of all the “voices” in our life, are we able to slow down long enough and listen carefully long enough to hear it? Even if we heard it, would we be able to distinguish it as his voice or could we fooled by a false voice disguising itself as Jesus? This is why it is so important for me to be in the Bible on a regular basis. It is the only way for me to become familiar with Jesus’ voice ... to know His passions, His beliefs, His heart ... so that I can pick His voice out of the crowd in my head and let Him lead me to the extraordinary life He wants to give me.

Guest

This past weekend, we began a brand new series entitled “Extraordinary”. During this series, we are going to try an experiment with Eastside Journey and in our Community Groups. All of the daily entries on the blog and all of the material for the groups will correspond to the weekend messages. My prayer is that having all three work together will make your journey more successful.

This weekend, Jonathan kicked off the series by challenging us to live an extraordinary life. He challenged us to remove the word someday. He challenged us to do and be all the things we were created for now. He challenged us to figure out if we were running the right race. He also had us read together Psalm 39:4-5 ... the theme for this series. I thought we would kick off the week by revisiting those verses in their context.


Psalm 39
1 I said to myself, “I will watch what I do and not sin in what I say. I will hold my tongue when the ungodly are around me.”
2 But as I stood there in silence - not even speaking of good things - the turmoil within me grew worse.
3 The more I thought about it, the hotter I got, igniting a fire of words:
4 “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered - how fleeting my life is.
5 You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.”
6 We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it.
7 And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you.
8 Rescue me from my rebellion. Do not let fools mock me.
9 I am silent before you; I won’t say a word, for my punishment is from you.
10 But please stop striking me! I am exhausted by the blows from your hand.
11 When you discipline us for our sins, you consume like a moth what is precious to us. Each of us is but a breath.
12 Hear my prayer, O Lord! Listen to my cries for help! Don’t ignore my tears. For I am your guest - a traveler passing through, as my ancestors were before me.
13 Leave me alone so I can smile again before I am gone and exist no more.


Guest. This Psalm contains some really great phrases ... all important realizations. The first realization... “remind me how brief my time on earth will be” ... is the theme for our series. The second realization ... “My only hope is in you” ... is the most important realization you will hopefully ever come to (the answer to which race we should be running. The final realization ... “I am your guest” ... is probably less obvious; but equally important for Jesus followers. We are not in charge. We are not in control. We are guests. The sooner we realize that fact ... the more successful our journey will be, along with every other aspect of our life. Which realizations have you come to in your journey? What prompted those realizations?