Stepping Up to the Great ChallengeNehemiah 1Completing the Great Commission in Our Generation!The way we look at the world reveals what we think about life. More often than not, we are self–focused, family–focused, or perhaps even church- or city–focused. These can be good when we are examining ourselves and our resources, but more often than not, we end in this quest with a limited focus on these things. Truly, the Lord has called us to look beyond ourselves, our families, and our local churches to His greater purpose. This purpose is His Great Commission, where He calls His people to make disciples among the nations. Unless we subscribe to the Lord's purposes, we will waste our time, money, skills, and blessings. In fact, we will not see the greater blessings that He has for us if indeed we seek His purpose with a great enthusiasm. Nehemiah was many miles away from the smoldering Jerusalem and had every reason to live comfortably as God's representative there in Susa, serving the emperor. God began to speak to Nehemiah, however. He could not remain the same after hearing the plight of God's people there in Jerusalem, many hundreds of miles away. Others have written well on his response. He was open to hearing about the needs far off. More than that, because of his godly living, he knew God would hear his prayer for that desperate land. The point we want to focus, though, is on the mission. Nehemiah captured this mission well by quoting the scripture in his prayers.
We see that Nehemiah valued God's Word enough to cause God to live up to His promise. God's people were in a bad way, but they didn't need to be. He and others were seeking God and felt led to say that the time has come for God's hand to be with His people and restore them to Jerusalem. This was the mission. This was God's promise written in the words of the curses of those who break God's covenant. I suggest that we now must do the same with the words of Jesus Christ. We know what He has on His heart. We are sure that God desires a multitude from every nation or people group to exalt Him. But we have taken a detour. In some cases, we might be like Nehemiah. What we do and where we live is a result of the disobedience of the church of God in the past. Nehemiah was not freely worshiping God with God's people in Jerusalem as it should be. There was no light shining out to the world. Nehemiah awoke to God's greater goals that went beyond himself, his capital city of Susa, and other concerns in his life. We must step back, now, and realize that we have not been faithful in carrying out God's great purposes around the world either. It is true we might not understand how to do it, but this knowledge is given after a burden is set upon our hearts. The church, for the most part, has been too self-focused over the centuries. There have been spurts of genuine interest, but, as in Acts, they were more motivated by persecution than by mission. My prayer is that God would raise up a people dedicated to finishing our Master's mission, no matter the cost. We might be concerned about where our children go to school, but there will be a greater burden on us. We might be concerned with where our meals will come from, but there will be a flame within our hearts that stirs us along God's path. Like Nehemiah, we realize that we cannot allow God's will to be ignored. The people's desperation is great. The stench of sitting amidst a disobedient people is too great. But more than this, we have a great love for what God loves. We know things do not have to be as they are. We can arise in His power and provisions and see Him accomplish His great purposes through our lives. There is no doubt that trials and tests will fill our path, but with faith like Nehemiah, we will go on. We will trust God, and His purpose is greater than all of Satan's might. The problem is not these obstacles, but that we, His people, have been disobedient and just tolerated living in a fallen world. We might not know how to reach the third world effectively. But what if all the churches in your town or city suddenly started praying one night for a certain country overseas? Can you guess what will happen? We just have not envisioned what God might do because we are too occupied with living comfortably in this world. But let us step even closer to God's vision. God's vision is built on love. Can you see the world being touched with God's love message? We don't have time to waste on war. Think back to when God changed your life. Do you remember the love of God healing your broken lives? Do you remember how He used His powerful love to heal a neighbor's marriage? We can have more of it. We can be full of it. God was waiting for His people to call on Him. The burden of revival and restoration has always been on His people. God has already released His life, love, and light. We just need to step in and be His faithful vessel. Will you repent for not being ruled by God's mission? Will you repent from living for yourself and feeling comfortable in this world?! Every moment we waste, the death of darkness creeps closer to our doors. Let us not wait for the time we are being persecuted and then finally wake up. Let us instead be those people like Nehemiah who responded to God.
(A Song of Ascents.) When the LORD brought back the captive ones of Zion, We were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with joyful shouting; Then they said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them." The LORD has done great things for us; We are glad. (Psalms 126:1-3, NASB). |