Faith To Build: Before You Build

February 12th, 2023 | Casey Middle School

Generosity Challenge: Raised $60,319.89 toward movement builders offering.

At the close of last year we cast vision and we announced the theme for 2023. Themes are a big deal. They set the overarching vision for how you will set priorities, make goals, and create sustainable rhythms for this season of your life. I set a personal theme for my life for 2023, but we also set a yearly theme for our church.

Over the next several weeks we’re going to unpack the theme for our church and how I believe it will set the trajectory for how we pray, plan, and the decisions we make in 2023. The theme for this year is FAITH TO BUILD! Not faith to work, not faith to dream, but FAITH TO BUILD!

“If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” - John 14:14

“This is the confidence we have before him: If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked of him.” - 1 John 5:14-15

“Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” - Hebrews 11:6

“Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’? Everything is possible for the one who believes.”” - Mark 9:23

Anything worth building requires faith! So we ask in Jesus name, according to His will, believing in His existence, authority, and nature, and with confident hope that anything is possible, if we believe

Question: What is God calling you to build in 2023? Where is God calling you to go in 2023? Who is God calling you to influence in 2023?

I like these questions better than “What do I want to do?”, “Where do I want to go?”, “Who do I want to influence?” I have found it to be true in my life, that when I depend on God for guidance and direction, then I know everything is going to be alright.

God’s plan for my life is much better than my plan. His guidance leads to an abundant life, His wisdom yields fruit in my relationships, His power leads to miracles and supernatural provision, and His favor is greater than any human effort I could afford.

“A person’s heart plans his way,

but the Lord determines his steps.” - Proverbs 16:9 CSB

Determining God’s “calling” on our lives can be a challenge. There seems to be a gap between where we are and where we feel God is calling us to go. There’s also this tension in the Christian life between our efforts and God’s sovereignty. Is this my plan or God’s calling? Is this my effort or God’s favor? Is this my process or God’s purpose? Ahhh!?!? The pressure!!!

Personal Story: I consistently wrestle with this reality in my own life. I want to be a high achiever, excel in all areas of life, and be the best I can possibly be. I want to be considered healthy and athletic, successful, high capacity, well read… etc. This passion and pursuit of excellence often leads to a disciplined and driven life, but it can also create a false sense of self worth, exhaustion, and anxiety if left unchecked. Here are some simple self evaluation questions…

I don’t just want a desire to build, a passion to build, I need faith to build.

SO WHERE DO I START?

Questions To Consider: Am I seeking God in prayer first? Am I depending on Him for the results? Am I giving Him credit for all the good things in my life? If we’re going to be a people that has FAITH TO BUILD, then I believe we have to be striving for something bigger than ourselves.

“It’s possible to be doing all the right things, in the wrong direction.”

That is why it is critical that we WALK by faith, walk in step with the Spirit, and that He is our guide in this life. When we pray, and submit to God, then we can have faith to build.

This brings us to the book we are going to be studying over the next several weeks, the book of Nehemiah.

Passage: Nehemiah 1:1-4 CSB

During the month of Chislev in the twentieth year, when I was in the fortress city of Susa, 2 Hanani, one of my brothers, arrived with men from Judah, and I questioned them about Jerusalem and the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile. 3 They said to me, “The remnant in the province, who survived the exile, are in great trouble and disgrace. Jerusalem’s wall has been broken down, and its gates have been burned.” 4 When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for a number of days, fasting and praying before the God of the heavens.

Pray:

Background:

Nehemiah had a call on his life to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 B.C. The Hebrew people had been overtaken 3 different times and placed in exile. It was 141 years later, in 445 BC under the rule of King Artaxerxes that Nehemiah heard about how his people had returned and were in distress. Not only are they in distress but also the walls of Jerusalem are broken down. The wall in a pile of rubble was a disgrace to the Hebrew people. He knew God had called him to this task and he was committed whatever the cost.

Nehemiah was a cupbearer to the King of Persia. This was both a position of great trust and prestige, but it was also the worst job in the world! Not anyone could hold this position. To be considered for this position meant that you understood the culture, were intelligent, had high integrity, and that you were good looking. It was a protective position for the king. To be a cupbearer meant that you drank the king's drink before he did so as to see if it was poison.

He was also a Jew, serving in the Persian court far from Jerusalem. It was at this time that he heard about his people in distress. The walls are broken down and the gates burned, and they are left defenseless. Nehemiah was not weeping for the broken walls, but for the brokenness of his people. He felt compassion for their welfare and this news led Nehemiah to both deep sadness and courageous action.

Nehemiah was a great leader, but the book is not about leadership or strategic planning. It is not a book on improving society or efficient managing principles. “The book of Nehemiah is about God’s restoration of His people in preparation for the fulfillment of His covenant through His Son, Jesus.” - DA Carson.

Let’s look first at the response of Nehemiah to this news… he mourned, prayed, and fasted.

Title: Before You Build

Main Points: Pray First!

1. Prayer without a burden

   1. “When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for a number of days, fasting and praying before the God of the heavens.” - Nehemiah 1:4
   2. Question: What breaks your heart? Who do you have a burden to reach? When was the last time you wept for a people or an injustice in the world?
   3. People or Cause
      1. People - Family, gym friends, co-workers, waiter at The Buff, barista at Boxcar, homeless, children, sick in the hospital, etc
      2. Cause - human trafficking, foster care, adoption, the poor, the depressed, the lonely, clean water, sustainable farming, etc.
      3. “If your cause can’t move you to tears in 30 seconds or less, then maybe you have lost your passion. Either go back and find it, or get out of the way and let someone else lead in your place.” - Wes Stafford
      4. How are you going to reach people that you aren’t first broken over? Or better yet, why would you reach a people you’re not broken over?
      5. If there’s not a cause or people that compel you, could it be that you are too focused on yourself and your own personal interests in this world?

   4. “A burden is often a catalyst for a breakthrough in your life.”

      1. You will be surprised at the initiative that you gain when your heart breaks for people. It becomes all you can think about. You’re leveraging your time, energy, and connections to make an impact.
      2. If you want to live with purpose, then get a burden for something bigger than yourself.

      3. FAITH TO BUILD is not about your legacy, but about His! It’s not about your kingdom, but His Kingdom, it’s not for your glory, but His alone!

         5. That which bothers you, concerns you, and often frustrates you, may be the need God is calling you to meet.
         6. Complain or be the solution

      4. Nehemiah didn’t have a religious title, he was not a priest or prophet, but he had a burden and a vision. He was a person that was overcome with compassion for the broken and hurting in Jerusalem and it led him to PRAY!

      5. He didn’t weep and then say “I wish someone would go and rebuild that wall.” Or “I can’t believe the walls are in ruin. Why are those people so lazy.” No! Nehemiah chose to be the solution instead of the critic. He chose to be a builder instead of a barrier.

         7. Anyone can be a critic, but it takes sacrifice and initiative to be the solution.

      6. Examples: inside the church, outside the church, in our city, around the world

      7. Question: What’s your tendency when you see a problem or feel frustrated?
      8. Complaining is not a calling! Criticism is not a spiritual gift! Calling out is not a catalyst for change!
      9. Are you going to be the one to stand in the gap? Are you going to be like Nehemiah and say “I’ll take this one! This burden is for me!”
      10. We’re going to be a church that doesn’t look away from the broken, we don’t walk away from the broken, but we run to the lost, hurting, and hopeless in our lives!

2. A burden without prayer

   1. “let your eyes be open and your ears be attentive to hear your servant’s prayer that I now pray to you day and night for your servants, the Israelites.” - Nehemiah 1:6

   2. Question: What is your first response when you feel a burden for something or someone?

      1. A burden without prayer is a passion without power
      2. A burden without prayer is a journey without divine direction
      3. “Anything that doesn’t first start with prayer and fasting is flawed from the beginning.” - James Forlines

      4. “We believe that God can do more in a second of prayer than what we can do in a lifetime of our own efforts.” If you truly believe that, then shouldn’t everything we do first begin with prayer?!

         3. Application: 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting (2X) a year as a church as a way to establish our priority in the battle, but it’s more than a corporate experience, it’s meant to be a catalyst for personal prayer and devotion.
         4. “The biggest weapons we have are prayer, fasting, and worship.” - Shodankeh Johnson
         5. Nehemiah didn’t just have a cause and feel a burden, he prayed and took his cares before God.

      5. “casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you.” - 1 Peter 5:7

      6. His name means “Yahweh comforts” or “God is my comforter”

3. Prayer and burden without action

   1. “During the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence, 2 so the king said to me, “Why are you sad, when you aren’t sick? This is nothing but sadness of heart.” I was overwhelmed with fear 3 and replied to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should I not be sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” 4 Then the king asked me, “What is your request?” So I prayed to the God of the heavens 5 and answered the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor with you, send me to Judah and to the city where my ancestors are buried, so that I may rebuild it.” 6 The king, with the queen seated beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you return?” So I gave him a definite time, and it pleased the king to send me.” - Nehemiah 2:1-6

   2. Prayer and a burden without action make you a spectator. Prayer, a burden, and action makes you a contributor.

      1. “He sat down and wept, he knelt down in prayer, and he stood up to work.” - Skip Heitzig
      2. There were 4 months from the initial prayer to the time that he addressed the king.
      3. A burden rarely requires immediate action, but it always requires patience and waiting on God.

      4. Application: God is working in the waiting.

         3. FAITH TO BUILD

      5. FAITH TO BUILD in your marriage

      6. FAITH TO BUILD in your home
      7. FAITH TO BUILD with other churches
      8. FAITH TO BUILD with the hopeless
      9. FAITH TO BUILD with the broken
      10. FAITH TO BUILD with the outcast
      11. FAITH TO BUILD with the politicians
      12. FAITH TO BUILD in the schools
      13. FAITH TO BUILD in your work

      14. FAITH TO BUILD and point people to Jesus.

          4. When you have FAITH TO BUILD it will both scare the religious and it will confuse the world. When you build you will face friendly fire and front line enemy engagement.
          5. FAITH TO BUILD doesn’t have to be big to be significant. It doesn’t have to be fast to be efficient. It doesn’t have to be wide to be effective. It doesn’t have to be perfect to be useful. But it does require the grace of God and His undeserved favor on your life to be successful!
          6. Favor is not found in the grind, it’s found in grace.

      15. Nobody deserves the favor of God. Nobody can earn the favor of God. Nobody can force the favor of God.

          7. Favor is the anointing of God given to humanity for the purpose of advancing the Kingdom and bringing honor to God.
          8. Favor is a gift we receive by grace, and obedience positions us to enjoy it.

Closing:

Prayer and a burden without action make you a spectator.

Prayer, a burden, and action makes you a contributor.

Prayer, a burden, and God’s favor, makes you unstoppable.