There's a gentleman named Edwards Deming. He's a omnitalented gentleman, a management expert, a statistician, an engineer. There seems no depth to his talents. And he wisely observed as he was counseling global corporations that our system, whatever it be, whether it be in the factory, whether it be in the workplace, whether it be at home or school, whatever system we are employing day to day in whatever sphere of life we find ourselves, that system is perfectly designed to produce the results that we are getting. And this point in saying that was to say that if we would experience any change in results, different results or better results, we must be looking toward whatever way we are living our lives, whatever way we are practicing our beliefs and be willing to change. If we would have a change in results, we need to change what we are doing to set different priorities, perhaps, to make changes and stick to them. In a much less sophisticated way, somebody made something of the same point when they said the very definition of insanity is doing the same thing time after time the same way, but somehow expecting different results. If we would experience different results in every sphere of life, we must be prepared to make change. So my question to you this morning is we begin this morning's message as we enter into a new year 2020. Let me ask you this and privately, just in a moment of introspection, would you take a moment to seriously consider what changes would you like to make in your life this coming year? Now it could be the everyday stuff of life. If you're married, maybe it's a change in your marriage. Maybe things aren't that bad. You just know that they could be a little better. You might enjoy your spouse's company a little bit more, create more opportunities to share in some great experiences together. Maybe you would like to have that kind of intimacy in your relationship with your children. As they've grown, you've grown, perhaps you don't spend as many sweet times together as you did when they were younger, or maybe you didn't have the time to spend with them when they were younger that you would like to spend with them now. Maybe it's a change in the workplace. When you go into work, maybe the relationships you have, the particular tasks entrusted to you, you'd like to see them shift a little bit, improve for the better. Maybe it's in your finances. Maybe you entered into 2020 knowing that you need to make some changes so that you don't end this year, the way you ended 2019. It could be more heavenly though. If you call upon the name of God, if you are one of Christ followers, maybe you sense in your own life that you don't enjoy that communion with God, the way that you think perhaps is possible, or maybe even you should. Maybe you don't pray as you feel you ought, but you don't really want to pray just from a mere sense of duty. You want to pray out of a sense of delight that it's exciting to avail yourself to the high privilege God has given you, to bend his ear anytime you want in ceaseless prayer. Or maybe you've been in the church for many years, but you come to passages like Nehemiah and you think to yourself, this is an Old Testament book with which I'm not terribly familiar. There are so many parts of Scripture that I'm not terribly familiar with. I need to grow an understanding of the Scriptures, and I'd like to know more of what God is teaching in. And when I come to my Bible reading, I want to do it because I really want to do it, not because I have to, or because I was guilted into setting some goal as we come into a new year. Whatever it is, whatever change you long to make, it's one thing to set those goals, and quite another to do them. It's one thing to set priorities, it's quite another to stick to them, to pursue through a series of objectives and finally ultimately obtain the goal. And this morning with that in mind, that's where I want to turn our attention. And we are greatly aided if we turn our attention toward that question, because God in His graciousness has given us some great examples in Scripture of people who understood rightly who they were in God's grace, albeit imperfectly, but perhaps in a mature, if not perfect man, or understood who God created them to be, and lived in view of that perspective a series of priorities, and put into consequent action a series of practices that help them live out God's plans and purposes for their lives. And if you were to go in the Old Testament, you'll probably find no better example, no superior example to that of Nehemiah. Sure, we might think of others like Daniel or Joseph, but we would be hard pressed to find even in them what transcends the example of this ancient gentleman named Nehemiah. If you were here last week, you know a little bit of a story. If you weren't here last week, let me just give you a brief review. Nehemiah was an exile. God warned his people over centuries, the nation of Israel, that if they did not turn back to him, that if they did not walk in his ways, that if they did not heed his warnings, and instead go their own way, that their wisdom would lead them astray and open them up to all sorts of threats. One of the greatest threats they faced was the threat of invasion, and God said to them that if they would not turn back, God would allow foreign nations to invade and overpower and conquer them, even carry off to distant parts of the world, members of the nation. These are called the exiles, taken away from their home, shipped to a foreign land. In many cases, compelled to learn foreign languages in different customs, in a completely different culture. Nehemiah was one, Daniel was another. You might remember the name Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. You might even remember the name of that Persian queen, born a Hebrew Esther. These were all exiles, living in a foreign land, looking forward to that day when God would bring back his people to the Promised Land, where they would rebuild the places long devastated, the temple, and the walls surrounding Jerusalem, and Nehemiah sensed that perhaps the time had come, and that perhaps God in his providence had placed him in a position of authority, power, and influence, where he could affect a significant change in the trajectory of God's people. Nehemiah was a eunuch. That is, he was deprived of a future and a family. He was to be devoted 100% in service to a Persian king named Artisercces. His specific task was to prepare or oversee the preparation of Artisercces food and drink to ensure that it wouldn't be poisoned. I said last week he was something of a secret service agent, slash chef, for Artisercces. Nehemiah served in this powerful and influential position, but he never lost sight of who he truly was. Although he was called in service of an earthly king, he never forgot that he had a heavenly king, and a higher citizenship in God's family, and in view of that, when some of his family members came to him from Jerusalem, a city devastated by conquest, its walls destroyed, its gates burned with fire, they reported those facts to Nehemiah, and we said last week he wept and he mourned, not for moments, but for days. He wanted things to change. How did he do it? I want to share with you a few things that he did as we look at chapter 2 this morning, and then I want to invite you, whether you are a middle school student, a high school student, a college student, somebody new in the career, or whether you are an adult, or maybe even a seasoned wise adult, we never outgrow the need to change. Growth is a requirement of those who call upon Jesus as Lord. Let me encourage you to see in Nehemiah's example, someone who understood who he was and lived in view of it, and maybe in following his example to whatever degree God graciously allows, we might experience and see some of the same graces that he enjoyed. The first thing that we are going to see this morning is that discomfort can drive you, or it can defeat you. Discomfort can drive you or defeat you, and I want to draw your attention specifically to the first four verses of chapter 2. In the month of Nissan in the 20th year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, Nehemiah said, I took the wine and I gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before, so the king asked me, why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of the heart. Nehemiah continues, I was very much afraid, but I said to the king, may the king live forever. Why should my face not look sad, when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire? Here we read that Nehemiah bravely, maybe even some might say recklessly, showed emotion before his king. This is a breach, no doubt of the court protocol. This is not something a servant was to do. The servant was there to serve the king, not the king, the servant, to not be a distraction, but instead to fade into the background. No doubt Nehemiah made himself liable to a rebuke at the very least, maybe even much worse. But if you remember the events of chapter one, you remember that Nehemiah prayed, and he offered a specific prayer, that God would give him favor in the eyes of the king, and here in these first four verses we see that God answered that prayer. Artisoke sees the great king of the Persian Empire condescends to be interested in the life of his servant, and in so many words says, why so glum? What's wrong? Don't let it be lost on you, just have shocking. This question would have been, what would Artisokes be to care what Nehemiah fought or felt, and what would Nehemiah be considered to have the privilege of making an appeal, or even speaking so frankly with the king. It was in that moment that Nehemiah faced a difficult choice. You know Nehemiah could have done something that would have quickly glossed over that to which God artisokes attention. He could have simply said, oh it's fine, I'm fine. Wipe away his tears, apologize, and carry on in his official duties. That was no doubt safer, but Nehemiah chose to do something else, to face facts, to acknowledge that there was something in his life, and in the collective life of his people, his family so to speak, that needed to change. He chose to face facts and to speak up and to risk it all and so doing. Courageously, he chose the latter, and the question is why. Why did Nehemiah speak in such a way? And I think part of the reason why, as we read this text, is that Nehemiah knew that staying quiet and doing nothing would change nothing, that keeping things as they were, preserving the status quo, was so uncomfortable that it was more uncomfortable to stay the same than it was to risk change. I don't know what changes came to your mind in heart this morning, but I know many of you probably desire some changes in your life that are increasingly so significant and so desirable that you're willing to step out and do whatever it takes to make it happen. Some of you have difficulties before you that are so discouraging and even demoralizing that you might wonder if you could change. But I want to submit to you today for your consideration that Nehemiah's desire to see the walls of an ancient city repaired so many miles away is no greater and obstacle than anything you face, yet he went to the Lord in prayer and he persevered. His difficulty is discomforts drove him. They did not defeat him. Don't let the challenges you face defeat you either. You have a great God on your side just as Nehemiah did. But let me show you a second thing, is that whatever success Nehemiah would enjoy would not come by taking a single swipe at the problem. It required sustained effort. Verse 4, Nehemiah says, the King said to me, what is it that you want? He said, then I prayed to the God of heaven again, this is the pattern of Nehemiah, ceaseless prayer, and I answered the King. If it pleases the King, and if your servant has founded favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it. Verse 6, then the King said, with the Queen sitting beside him, very, very interesting detail. Why would Nehemiah include a mention of the Queen? She doesn't speak anything. I think there's two likely options here. For an explanation, one is that the Queen had some influence over the King on Nehemiah's behalf. And perhaps Nehemiah is giving her a nod in recognition that she played a role in accomplishing these wondrous purposes of God. And I think in that way, exalting her. That seems at least one likely option. Another is perhaps Nehemiah includes this to put in even greater and more stunning relief that, or contrast, that this King has humbled himself and is doing the bidding or about to do the bidding of a servant even before his wife. What a great softness of heart the Lord accomplished in him. The King with the Queen sitting beside him, asked him, how long will your journey take, and when will you get back? It pleases the King to send me, so I said a time. Verse 7, I also said to him, if it pleases the King, may I have letters to the governors of the Transufreides, so that they will provide me safe conduct until I arrive in Judah. And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal parks, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple, and for the city wall, and for the residents, I will occupy. And because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the King granted my requests. So I went to the governors of Transufreides and gave them the King's letters, and the King had also sent an army of officers with me in cavalry as well. What is Nehemiah done here? Don't lose sight of it as you read it. He's pretty much said to the King of Persia, a global superpower of the age. Here's what I would like King. I would like you to let me take a leave of absence for my official duties. I'd like you to give me a break, a sabbatical, if we will, and I'd like you to fund it. I would like you to give me letters so they can travel through your empire and even through other places, and in pretty much have diplomatic immunity wherever I go. And then I would love a letter, if you would, where I could swing by your lumber yard and pick up all the supplies that I want. I would like a gift card to lows or Home Depot. And I'd like you to fund it. And when I swipe it, I don't ever want to hear decline. I just want to take whatever. And then I want to go back and I want to build a citadel to keep the temple safe. I would love to rebuild the walls and the gates around the city of Jerusalem, a city. And I would love for you to build me a house in which I could live. These are shocking requests. What I want you to take from this, at the very least, is that Nehemiah is not taking swipes at the problem. Nehemiah is swinging his whole body at this problem, thinking, you know what, if I'm going to go after this, I'm going to go after it. Sustained effort, sustained focus. He resolved to make a change. He didn't hold back to make it. Of course, not everybody likes Nehemiah's plan. That brings us to a third truth, that not everyone is going to be for you and whatever change you undertake. Verse 10, when Sandbath, the Hora Knight and Tobiah, the Ammonite official heard about this. They were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites. These are people that lived near Jerusalem. They were not Israelites, they were not Hebrews. They benefited when God's people were overcome and carried off. They didn't want to see the Jews return. Because whatever they took unto themselves, they knew that they would lose. They're a lot increased in the absence of the Jews. Nehemiah soon found that he would have enemies in the region, people seeking to distract him from his work or even destroy that work. He had to make peace with an uncomfortable truth, that not everyone is for you. And here's the thing, whatever change God calls you to, you need to be prepared that there are some people in your life that like the status quo. They like what you're currently doing. And if you were to change, it will not only change your life, it will change their lives. And so you need to be prepared for some measure of opposition. I don't know if you've ever heard of the name Sarah Blakely. She is an American entrepreneur with no formal business education. She came upon a great idea in women's fashion years ago and quietly planned out the launch of this product with only $5,000 of her own money. Sarah Blakely is now a billionaire. She appears on a lot of different television shows like Shark Tank and others if you've ever watched that. And she also recently did a podcast where she explained some of her origin story and how she built up this business and gave tips to young entrepreneurs. And I know many of you are entrepreneurial and mindset, whether in business or in other places. One of the tips and pieces of advice she gave mirrors, Nehemiah's practice so wonderfully. She said that at the earliest stage of the vision she had for her business, she was very careful not to share it with too many people if anyone. And she said there were two reasons she did that. She knew that there would be competition people that would hear her idea and want to steal it or undermine it because it threatened their business so she wanted to keep it quiet. That's Nehemiah to some degree wants to keep his plans quiet recognizing not everyone is for him. But she actually said something that surprised me. I expected that insight. What I did not expect is she said I also kept my plans from the people who love me most. And I was immediately curious. Why would that be? And she went on to explain that I thought in a very, very compelling way. She said I knew that if I shared my plans, even with the people that love me most, they would desire, listen carefully, my safety over my success. They would want me to stay in the status quo because it was safe. They would not want me to move out into something greater even though it might produce success. And I just want to encourage you in that regard to a fourth truth that Nehemiah exhibits and is consistent with what Sarah Blakely says, you need to guard what God gives you. If God gives you a vision for your life, maybe not the ultimate vision for your life, but maybe a vision for this season of your life, some change that God desires you to make, some stepping out in faith into a new venture, a new idea or to strengthen as Nehemiah did what his fallen into disrepair. If God has given you a vision, guard it because it will never be more vulnerable than at the earliest stage. And there will be two kinds of opposition to it. One would be those who are threatened by it. And let me be candid. Let's just have real talk for a second. The people that might be threatened by your improvement might be people that surprise you. It might even be people that you consider your closest friends and allies. It might make them at the very least uncomfortable. And you might find that sadly some aren't as for you as perhaps you thought they were. So if you're endeavoring a great change, be very careful with whom you share it. And secondly, keep in mind that there are people who love you that will be prompted for noble reasons to try and stop you from making the change even though it might be God's vision for your life, to bring you success even if it's not safe in the moment. So guard what God gives. That's what Nehemi does. Let's look at verse 11. He said, I went to Jerusalem after saying 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. So Nehemi has official documents, safe passage, an armed cavalry in supplies, arrives in the city, no doubt drawing attention to himself. But when he gets in that city, spends three days and then after the hustle and bustle dies down, he goes out under the cover of night and does very counterintuitive things. Whenever I've done a home repair, I've never inspected what needed to be done at 4 a.m. in the cover of darkness. That would not be great advice. Hey, if you have to do a paint job, do it in the dark. You would never do that. Why is Nehemi inspecting the walls in the dark? Well, he figured inspecting the walls in the dark in privacy, even with its limits would be greater than doing it as part of a distracting spectacle. Beyond that is he went through, he took only a very few with him because he wanted to guard what God gave. Nehemi kept his circle small, his profile low for excellent reasons. And as you embark on whatever change God is calling you to, you might be very, very wise to keep your circle small and your profile low. Not to be secretive in a deceitful way, but with wisdom and trudeness protecting until you know exactly what it is that God has called you to do and how to do it. There's a final truth here that I think is particularly important. It's this is that Nehemiah knew before he got to Jerusalem that he had all the approval he needed. After surveying the walls, he devised a plan. Nehemiah then invites the remnants of God's people to begin reconstruction. He tells them the plan and how they might join him in it and immediately, predictably, San Ballad and Tobiah. And then the story says, it's not just these two this time mentioned earlier, in verse 11, it's an additional person. In other words, they're working the room to get as many people to oppose this as possible. They add to it, get them the Arab, they countered. And then verse 19 through 20, notice Nehemiah's response to this opposition. But when San Ballad the Hora Knight, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Guestium the Arab heard about this, what do they do? They mock and they ridicule. What is this you're doing? They ask, are you rebelling against the king? They question the motives, they malign him and they mock him. And if you endeavor any great change in your life, you might be wise to expect, at least from some quarters, the same. Oh, who do you think you are? endeavoring that grand plan? You must really think something of yourself. And those words can cut us so deeply that we quit even before we begin. But notice Nehemiah's response verse 20, I answered them by saying that God of heaven will give us success. In other words, you're not really opposing me. You're opposing what God is doing in me. And what God intends to do through me. And so I'm not really your enemy. You've set yourself up against God. He said, we are his servants. We will start rebuilding. But as for you, listen, this is so important. You have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it. You know what Nehemiah is saying? This is great. This area of my life and this area of the world, it's not yours. You have no right to speak to it. In some of you this morning need that authority to say over some area of your life, you have no right. You have no right to tell me, I respond to the Lord and in the Lord I'll have success. If it's in your family, that you need to draw a line, draw the line. If it's in the workplace that you need to draw the line, draw the line. If it's in the school where you go to school, draw the line. Mark yourself out as God's because that is what you are. There are people that are going to try and steer your ship. There are people that are going to try and cut your sail. There are people that are going to try and sink you and they may be rowing when you're looking at them but drilling holes in your boat when you're not. Those are people that don't get a say in your life. God has the last say in your life. So keep your circle close. Guard what's entrusted to you. Let me give you some challenges as we close. And these are just times of introspection. If you have a pen and paper or you have a cell phone, I would encourage you to jot down some of these questions as best you can and maybe make a date with yourself this coming week. Go to Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts or some restaurant, tuck yourself away in a corner and reflect on these things. The first challenge is this. Face facts. What problems are you avoiding in your life? Is there a problem that you're avoiding because it seems too overwhelming for you? If so, what is it? And I want to encourage you in this regard. Don't go immediately to trying to solve that problem and certainly don't run immediately to all the obstacles real and perceived that are associated with that problem. Detach that segment of your brain. Only identify it and be brutally honest. What is the problem that you're avoiding because it seems too overwhelming for you? Nehemiah was moved to tears over the plate of Jerusalem. How many thousands just accepted it? But Nehemiah said no more. What change could you make in your life right now that would bless you and those you love? What change could you make in your life right now? Could you leave Willow Creek Church this morning thinking I'm going to turn my attention toward that? And as you fuel yourself to face those facts and orient your life toward change, let me ask you to consider this because this is an important associated question. What will you miss and what are you missing by not making that change? Because when you understand what's possible through that change, suddenly you have impetus to pursue that change. I cannot imagine that Nehemiah did not envision the beauty of the walls reconstructed, the glories of God's people returning to the temple in offering sacrifice. I have to believe that Nehemiah had a vision for the beauty that was missing and would be possible if only the change would happen. And here's the thing I'll encourage you, you are like Nehemiah. God's beloved child. Pray for courage. If you say to yourself, I can't tackle that. I mean, I don't have the courage. Well, I know. None of us do, but our God does. And our God has promised by his spirit to give you all you need to do his will. If this change is his will, it is totally attainable, no matter how great it is. Let me give you a second challenge. Whatever problem that is, press into it. Don't get distracted from it. Don't get demoralized by it. Look it right in the face and walk toward it. Ask yourself, what would it take to make that change? Once you've identified it, what would it take to make that change? Maybe you're saying yourself, I don't know. I don't know what it would take to make that change. Well, if only you had an omniscient creator that knew all things and promised you that if you would pray, he would give you wisdom. You do. The book of James, if any of you lacks wisdom, he need only ask God and God gives generously without finding fault. You might think to yourself, why would God answer me now when I made such a mess of things? That's why James says he gives it generously without finding fault. God's not interested in blaming you. He already blamed his some Jesus on your behalf. So turn back to him. Say, I've made a real mess of things. Lord, I need your help. Would you give me wisdom like Nehemiah? Pray for it. Nehemiah got it and you will too. That's God's promise. Third challenge is press on. It's not going to be easy. If it was easy, it'd already be done, right? But press on, what are the negative voices in your life that you're going to have to overcome? Sometimes they're going to be those outside voices. Those voices of negativity and opposition. Sometimes it's going to be the people in your life who are for you that are just giving you bad advice because they love you. Don't risk it. It's dangerous. But you know the one voice you're going to have to tell the shut up more than any other voice is your own voice. The voice in your head, you need to let the good shepherd's voice thunder over the voice in your head. And you can't do that. If you don't remember God's promises, Nehemiah was a man well acquainted with God's word and you need to be somebody well acquainted with God's word because you can't hold God to his promises if you don't know him. He was somebody of prayer too, spoke openly and often with the Lord. He encourages you to do the same. Like Nehemiah's God's beloved child, pray for focus and sustained effort. God gives strength. We don't have apart from him. Jesus said that if you abide in me, nothing will be impossible. Let me give you two others and then we'll close. Choose your circles. You know, as Christians we're called to love everyone, right? We love those of the household of God. The Bible says, Bible says we actually especially love those of the house of God. We have a duty and an obligation first to our family, right? We're a benevolent gang. We're a benevolent mob. We're a family of faith. You touch my sister and my brother. I'm going to rush in. I'm not going to let that happen. That's what Scott was talking about before. We're on one another side but then we're commanded to love our neighbors ourselves. So in whatever subdivision we live, we love our neighbors. And the Bible says we even love our enemies. But here's the thing. You don't have to trust everyone the same way. Trust. God didn't say trust everyone. He said, love everyone. And it's okay to have concentric circles of influence in your life. In that core influence, that should be very narrow. Be very careful who you let into your inner circle and let them prove their devotion and wisdom to your good. And one of the best ways to prove the devotion to wisdom is do they say only what you want to hear? Or are they willing to risk telling you what you don't want to hear because you need to hear it? You only know that over time and that's one of the benefits of of being in a church for a long time. Not just jumping from one church to another because you got to build those relationships those are cultivated over decades. Not mere minutes. And finally and this is the ultimate encouragement. Remember who you are. Remember who you are. What is your claim? What is your historic right? The fact of the matter is you are God's child. You are a prince or a princess in the kingdom of God. You are in the royal household. Hold. You are a royal nation. The Bible says a holy priesthood. You have rights given to you by God. And you have a claim given to you by God. Your marriage is your claim. Your family is your claim. Your workplace and your work is your claim. This church is your claim. And there are others who share to whatever degree is appropriate in those spheres a rightful claim. But make no mistake. There are those in your life who have no claim. No right to speak. Be prepared to make your claim. Demand your right and tell those who weigh in without authority just as Nehemiah did. You have no right. You have no claim. Therefore you have no voice. In a much more excellent way Jesus did for God's people all that Nehemiah did for the remnant of Judah so many centuries ago. What did Jesus do for us? He faced the horrible facts of our sin and our rebellion. He looked right into them. Jesus entered our world eyes wide open and he pressed into our fallen world and he pressed on in our fallen world to accomplish our redemption. Jesus was careful to choose his circles carefully. Never forgetting his identity and never losing sight of his mission. He turned his face toward Jerusalem. He would not be turned back until he accomplished that for which he was sent and in accomplishing it. He is freed you from the power of sin and death. He's freed you from the power of external forces. He's freed you to live a new kind of life guided by the Holy Spirit and powered by his spirit to experience the healing that only he can bring. In the view of that acceptance, you have no fear, no rightful fear. You can face facts, press into your problems and press on and his strength. You can lay hold of your claim exercising your divine right as a prince or princess and God's kingdom. And that's what I hope you will do more and more every day and toward that end.