FOCUS

I want you to that a simple test for me…The next time you are driving down the road, and you see a person or animal walking or standing beside the road, I want you to look over that way and focus on that object for just a second or two…don’t look too long or you might wreck…

I bet that when you do look or focus on that peculiar object, you will be pulled that way…

While driving down the road, focus on the oncoming auto and I bet you will be drawn toward that object... WHY?

The truth is whatever you focus on pulls you towards it…Whatever gets your attention, gets you…

If you focus on sinful things, then you will be drawn toward those sinful things…

If on the other hand you focus on Godly things, that focus will pull you in that direction…

Temptation always follows a predictable pattern: attention, arousal then action…

Your mind gets hooked, your desire kicks in, and then you act on it…good or bad…

You cannot always control your circumstances; just the opposite is true, because circumstances dictate our lives…

We cannot always control the way we feel, but we can control what we think about…

That is always your choice, and if you change the way you think, it changes the way you feel, and that will change the way you act…

How do you want to act? How you act will always depend on what you focus on…try it and you will see this to be true…

rngffc

Lesson 2: Essentials for Personal Renewal  Nehemiah 2:1-20

In the second chapter of Nehemiah we find the essentials for personal spiritual renewal…

As we discovered in our last lesson, Nehemiah is still in Persia serving as cupbearer for the King and is very burdened about Jerusalem's broken-down wall…

As long as the wall is in ruins, Nehemiah knows the spirituality of his people will also be in ruins…

Therefore, desiring spiritual renewal for his nation, Nehemiah takes action…

His three steps can still produce personal spiritual renewal for us today…

First, Pray patiently 2:1-9

We studied Nehemiah's prayer in chapter one…

What happened after Nehemiah prayed to the Lord? Nothing!

At least not right away... Nehemiah first prayed in the month of Chisleu [Kiss-lave] (1:1), our November-December… Now it is the month of Nisan [Nee-san] (2:1), our March-April...

Four months have passed, and seemingly, nothing has happened…

Have you ever prayed and nothing happened?

Maybe you prayed about a problem at work, a wayward child, or a marriage difficulty, but the next day nothing had changed…

You thought, "I'll be patient and give God a week," but a week passes, and things are still the same…

A month goes by, and the problem remains…

That is Nehemiah's experience because he has prayed for four months expecting God to do something…

He is now discouraged because what do we read in the last sentence of verse 1?
¹ And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king… Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence...

Everyone has a discouragement point…

Nehemiah has come to the place where he begins to wonder if God will ever do anything…

We all have those times in our lives...

When we do, we should remember what promise found in Galatians 6:9?

Nehemiah's discouragement is showing, so the king asks why he is so sad, and Nehemiah is very sore afraid (2:2). Nehemiah has reason to fear because subjects who looked sad around the king and caused him to become sad or depressed could be killed. However, Nehemiah does not allow his fear to prevent him from doing what God has laid on his heart. Fear is one of the devil's most effective weapons in keeping us from doing God's will.

Nehemiah tells the king he is sad because the city of his ancestry lies in waste (2:3). The king then asks Nehemiah what he wants him to do, and Nehemiah immediately prays to the God of heaven (2:4). Nehemiah doesn't keep the king waiting for four or five minutes as he slips out to pray but instead prays a short, silent, emergency prayer. Nehemiah's relationship with the Lord is so close he can pray at a moment's notice. How does 1 Thessalonians 5:17 encourage us to be prepared to pray like this?

At first glance this command seems unreasonable, even impossible. However, this verse encourages short, persistent prayers, not constant praying. When we pray frequent, short prayers rather than rare, lengthy ones, we actually talk to the Lord more and are more specific. How does Paul show this is how he prays in Philippians 1:3-4?

In other words, whenever the Philippian believers come to Paul's mind during the course of a day, he prays for them. As people, problems, or possibilities come to our minds, we should stop right then and say a brief prayer about the matter. We may not be able to pray aloud or with our eyes closed, but we can follow Nehemiah's example and pray silently and quickly.

Nehemiah has been praying extended prayers for four months. Therefore, since he has an intimate relationship with God, he can confidently pray an emergency prayer. Extended prayers keep us prepared for emergency prayers. The shortest prayer in the Bible is the prayer Peter said when he was attempting to walk on the water to Jesus. He prayed, "Lord, save me!" (Mt 14:30). Was Peter's prayer answered? Absolutely!

We need to pray both extended and emergency prayers. Nehemiah's emergency prayer probably lasts only a few seconds because he knows a request to leave the service of the king can be considered a capital offense. However, Nehemiah also knows what truth found in Proverbs 21:1?

Nehemiah asks the king to allow him to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall. Knowing he will face opposition, he requests letters... to the governors of the provinces of the areas west of the Euphrates River (2:5-7). This will guarantee his passage to Judah (see map of page 12).

Nehemiah has been doing more than praying; he has also been planning because he immediately asks the king for a letter of authority for lumber. He needs this to secure materials to rebuild the city wall (2:8). Faith is not a synonym for lack of planning. I am always skeptical of people who say, "I don't have any plans; I'm just letting God lead." Nehemiah is following what principle Jesus gives us in Luke 14:28?

The Bible teaches God blesses planning and organization. People who expect God to answer their prayers always make plans to make the most of the answers. After praying both extended and emergency prayers, Nehemiah records that God answers his requests (2:8b). He then goes to Jerusalem, a distance of more than 1,000 miles, with the king's letters and accompanied by captains of the army and horsemen (2:9). This would take at least two months' travel time (see map on page 12). Personal renewal always requires we pray patiently and...

Second, Probe carefully 2:10-18

Nehemiah has overcome the problem of persuading the king to allow him to go to Jerusalem. However, upon arriving in Jerusalem he encounters more problems. There Nehemiah encounters Sanballat (san-bal-lot) and Tobiah who are exceedingly upset he has come to help the Israelites (2:10). When we attempt to do something for God, we will always have our "Sanballat's" and "Tobiah's." These are the people who, when presented with a new project or way of doing things, say, "It won't work." These are the people who always see the problems rather than the possibilities. Those who walk by faith will always find opposition from those who walk by sight.

After three days in Jerusalem, in the middle of the night Nehemiah and a few choice men go out to inspect the wall around the city (2:11-16). They survey the wall to carefully examine the situation. This is what we need to do regularly in our spiritual lives. We will never experience spiritual renewal until we carefully and systematically probe our lives. This examination should begin with what prayer found in Psalm 26:2?

We must search each area of our lives—spiritual, family, financial, business, etc. We will never experience renewal until we review every area of our lives and do the necessary rebuilding. After examining the ruins carefully, Nehemiah says to his people come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach (2:17b). The walls and gates had been in ruins since their destruction by Nebuchadnezzar about 130 years earlier. The Jews have become content with the ruins, but Nehemiah motivates them by telling them the hand of God is good upon him and also the king of Persia has told them to start rebuilding. Therefore, they begin to rebuild (2:18). After we pray patiently and probe carefully, we must...

Third, Proceed confidently  2:19-20

When Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem (gesh-um) the Arabian, hear of Nehemiah's plan, they mock and ridicule him and those following him (2:19). Sanballat is the governor of Samaria, the area north of Judah. Tobiah is the governor of Ammon, east of Judah. Geshem is probably an Arab chief controlling the area south of Judea. So, Nehemiah is surrounded by opposition. They accuse Nehemiah and those following him of rebelling against the king (2:19), probably threatening to report them as traitors.

When we decide to get closer to the Lord, or do something God has put on our hearts, Satan will try to divert us through criticism. This is why we have what warning in 1 Peter 5:8b?

Not regularly hearing Satan's discouraging roar is fairly good evidence you are not living for the Lord. God's Word teaches Satan is trying to devour us through fear and intimidation. Nehemiah responds to the intimidation of his opposition by saying, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build... (2:20). God will prosper us—He will give us success. We need to believe that promise. Satan will try to discourage us by saying the ruins are too great or the sin too damaging. However, what promise do we find in Philippians 1:6?

Only one person can stop God from completing what He wants to do in your life, and that is YOU. The essentials for personal renewal are to pray patiently, probe carefully, and proceed confidently. What in this lesson has helped you most?

 

Lesson 1. KNOWING WHEN YOU NEED RENEWAL

Lesson 1: Knowing When You Need Renewal

From time to time we all need spiritual renewal...

The problem is realizing when…

No book in the Bible can better help us know when and how to be renewed than the book of Nehemiah… It is the last of the historical books in the Old Testament and records the renewal of the Israelites...

The ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel fall to the Assyrians in 722 b.c… Consequently, they intermarry, and conform into pagan cultures, therefore, they become known as the ten lost tribes...

More than 100 years later, in 587 b.c., the Southern Kingdom of Judah falls to the Babylonians…

What does 2 Chronicles 36:18-19 record the Babylonians do to the temple and Jerusalem?

2 Chronicles 36:18-19 (KJV) ¹⁸ And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes; all these he brought to Babylon... ¹⁹ And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof…

The Jews of the Southern Kingdom do not lose their racial identity because they do not intermarry…

The Babylonians eventually fall to the Persians, resulting in a decree from the Persian king Cyrus in 538 b.c., allowing the first group of Jews to return to Jerusalem under Zerubbabel (zuh-rub-uh-bel), heir to the throne of Israel...

This first group rebuilds the temple but falls into a state of spiritual decline... Then, about 80 years later, Ezra comes with a second group, bringing reform  and reinstituting the Passover...

What results are recorded in Ezra 6:21? Ezra 6:21 (KJV)
²¹ And the children of Israel, which were come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the LORD God of Israel, did eat,

Almost 100 years has passed since the first return of exiles to Jerusalem, and although the temple has been rebuilt, the wall and the city are still in ruins, and the people are discouraged…

Therefore, God raises up Nehemiah to rebuild the wall so His people can be renewed and secure...

In the first chapter of the book of Nehemiah we find how to know when we need renewal... First, we must...

1)  Recognize the problem  1:1-4

The phrase the words of Nehemiah (1:1a) and the fact much of this book is written in first person shows this is the personal record of Nehemiah…

During the twentieth year (1:1) of the reign of Artaxerxes (ar-tuh-zurk-seez) in Persia, Nehemiah is serving as cupbearer (1:11c) for the king…

A cupbearer was a member of the royal court and safeguarded the king's wine from poisoning… Thus, Nehemiah has personal access to the king...

While he is in the Persian winter palace in Susa (which is in modern southwestern Iran, some men come from Judah, and Nehemiah questions them about the Jewish remnant and Jerusalem (1:2)…

In Nehemiah's secure position how easy it would have been not to ask questions!

One way to know if we need spiritual renewal is our interest in the spiritual condition of others… Do you ask your relatives, friends, and co-workers about their spiritual lives?

Do you ask them if they go to church or other non-threatening questions that would help you determine their spiritual condition?

When we are so consumed with our own lives that we are not interested in the spiritual state of others, we need spiritual renewal…

Nehemiah is told those that are left of the captivity... are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire (1:3)…

When Nehemiah hears these things, what is his response in verse 4? Nehemiah 1:4 (KJV) ⁴ And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,

Nehemiah doesn't act "holier-than-thou" and say, "What that 'bunch' in Jerusalem needs is...."

He doesn't complain or condemn… Therefore, Nehemiah is an excellent example of what we should do when we need renewal or when we want to help people who need renewal…

Instead of complaining and saying, "What our church needs is..." or "If our pastor would just...," we should do as Nehemiah does… He weeps…

Why does he weep? Nehemiah knows his people are known as the children of Jehovah God…

The temple and the city of Jerusalem represent the blessing and protection of their God…

The enemies of Israel could now say, "What kind of God do you serve? Look at the mess of your holy city…"

The condition of Jerusalem is a terrible witness and a cause for reproach by non-believers…

This causes Nehemiah to weep… Does your spiritual life look like a pile of rubble to non-believers?

In 2 Corinthians 12:20b, what kind of spiritual rubble does Paul mention as being a dishonorable witness to God? 2 Corinthians 12:20 (KJV)
²⁰ For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults: We should not let any of this "rubble" be present in our lives to shame the God we are supposed to serve. So, the first step in renewal is to recognize the problem. Then, we should...

We should not let any of this "rubble" be present in our lives to shame the God we are supposed to serve… So, the first step in renewal is to Recognize the problem. Then, we should...

2)  Respond in prayer 1:5-11

Nehemiah's prayer to God on behalf of this situation is recorded in the rest of this chapter...

When God uses space in His Holy Word to elaborate on something, He has an important reason… God records what Nehemiah prays so we can have a wonderful model to follow...

Before we take any action in the area of spiritual renewal, we should first go to the Lord in prayer, following the principles of Nehemiah's prayer…

We can use the word "A-C-T-S" as an acrostic for the elements of effective prayer…

"A" stands for adoration, "C" for confession, "T" for thanksgiving, and "S" for supplication…

This acrostic must have been developed from this prayer of Nehemiah's... Rather than trying to "reinvent the wheel," let's follow this acrostic as we look at the four elements of Nehemiah's prayer, beginning with...

Adoration (1:5)… This is simply praising or worshipping God for who He is… Nehemiah begins his prayer, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible [awesome] God... (1:5)…

Reminding ourselves of the greatness and awesomeness of God builds our faith in His ability to answer our prayers…

How does Jesus teach us to follow this pattern of prayer in Matthew 6:9?
⁹ After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name…

What we believe about God will determine what we believe about prayer… If we don't believe in a great and awesome God, we will not believe what promise found in Jeremiah 33:3 (KJV) ? ³ Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not…

While we should praise God for who He is, we should also praise Him for what He does…

Therefore, Nehemiah also praises God for keeping his covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments (1:5b)… This doesn't refer to sinless perfection; for all of us stumble from time to time in our spiritual lives and need renewal…

Rather, it is a desire to live for God… In the presence of a holy and awesome God we become very sensitive to any sin in our lives…

Adoration will naturally lead to the second element of effective prayer, which is...

Confession (1:6-7)… Nehemiah 1:6-7 (KJV)
⁶ Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned…⁷ We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.

Nehemiah confesses that the Israelites, including his father's house and himself, have all sinned against God by not obeying God's commandments, statutes, and judgments given through Moses (1:6-7)...

Although he has certainly remained more faithful to God than most of Israel, Nehemiah does not rationalize away his sin by comparing himself to others...

To experience renewal, we must always be sensitive to sin in our own lives and not be guilty of judging others…

If we are always comparing ourselves to those who appear less faithful, we need renewal…

Like the words of the old song, we need to pray, "It's not my brother, nor my sister, but it's me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer…"

To be renewed, we must humbly and honestly confess our sins…

Why, according to James 4:6 (KJV) ?⁶ But he giveth more grace… Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble…

When we fail to confess and forsake our sin, we can no longer be used of God…

Few believers are guilty of adultery, drunkenness, or bank robbery…

However, according to James 4:17, what kind of sin must we be careful to include if we are to confess all our sins? ¹⁷ Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

Sin is not just doing evil; it is also the absence of doing good… To know if we need renewal, we should ask, "What good things have I done this week that I would not have done if I were not a Christian?" If the answer is "nothing," we must pray for renewal, which requires adoration and confession, followed by... Thanksgiving (1:8-10)… Nehemiah thanks God for the promise that His people can return to Him if they repent… Nehemiah knows because his people have been unfaithful to God, they are scattered among the nations (1:8)… However, he thanks God for the promise... if ye turn unto Me, and keep My commandments... will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set My name there (1:9)… What does God also promise in Psalm 32:1 to believers who repent of sin? 1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered… The word blessed means "happy…" The happiest believers are those who know their sins are forgiven… Nehemiah also thanks God for salvation by praying,... whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand (1:10)... Only one thing can keep you from being happy and experiencing God's blessings—sin—and only one kind of sin… Not your brother's, nor your sister's, only whose? Yours! After adoration, confession, and thanksgiving, there should be... Supplication (1:11). This means "a humble request, or petition…" Nehemiah requests God give him success in persuading the king to let him return to Jerusalem (1:11)… Going to Jerusalem means Nehemiah will have to leave the luxury and security of the royal court and go where his life will be at risk... Prayer that brings renewal causes us to want to do God's will, even at great cost... God grants Nehemiah's petition… How does 1 John 5:14-15 teach we can be confident God will grant ours? 1 John 5:14-15 (KJV) 14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. Nehemiah's prayer gives us a simple way to see if our prayers are in God's will... Does my prayer contain an unselfish request? Does my prayer seek an answer that will bring glory to God? Have I confessed all my sins, both of commission and omission? Am I willing to do my part to bring about my requests? If the answer to all these questions is "yes," we can be confident our prayer is in God's will… At various times in our Christian lives we all need spiritual renewal. When we do, what prayer found in Psalm 51:10 should we pray? Psalm 51:10 (KJV) 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me…