What is Your Great Project?-Nehemiah 6:1-19
Key Verse: 6:3
“So I sent messengers to them with this reply: I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?”
Chapter 6 describes continued efforts of the enemies to hinder the work. They used all the weapons of mass destruction on Nehemiah. The quickest way to stop a movement is to knock off the leader. Everything rises or falls on leadership. In football, one of the primary goals of the defense is to sack quarterback. If you can sack the quarterback, chances are, you’ll win the game. With God’s help, Nehemiah stood firm in the midst of enemy fire. After 52 days, his BHAG (Big-Hairy-Audacious-Goal) of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem was finally completed. It was clearly a sign of God’s abundant blessing. May God help us discover our own great project. May God help us overcome distractions, slander and fear and complete our great project for His glory.
First, Nehemiah had a great project
Look at verse 1, 2. These verses tell us that the work on the wall was progressing well, to the point that there were no gapping holes on the walls. All the wall were joined together; however the doors had not yet been hung at the gates. The people were accomplishing the work despite the problems and hindrances. The people were focused to complete the walls.
Their success was reported to Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem the Arab and the rest of the enemies. In the previous chapters, they ridiculed the work, accused the Jews of violating the king’s commands, and threatened to stop the work by violence. Intimidation did not work on Nehemiah, so they decided to try a new tactic: diplomacy. They tried to be nice guys. They said, “Nehemiah, you are working too hard. Let’s have a peace conference. We will prepare a nice dinner and discuss future plans.” But their intent was to take him captive or even kill him, so that the work will be forced to end.
How did Nehemiah respond? Look at verse 3 “so I sent messengers to them with this reply: I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?”
Look carefully at Nehemiah’s response. He said I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. What is this great project? It is the rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem.This project consumed him day and night. Wherever he was, whether in the bathroom, while in bed or walking his dog, he thought about the great project. Nehemiah would not allow himself to be distracted until the wall was finished. Four times they sent him the same message and each time he said no. Nehemiah knew the enemy wanted him to get sidetrack and delay the great project. Nehemiah’s had a motto in his heart, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”
Through Bible study, we learn that God created each of us to complete a great project for His glory. Some people have a fatalistic view of life. They only see life as one endless cycle of suffering ending in the grave. But this is not true. God created us to complete a great project during our lifetime. We are each endowed with unique abilities and talents to complete a great project. What is the great project God made us to complete? According to Genesis 1:28, we were called to be “fruitful and increase in number…” In Genesis 2:15, we are called to be stewards of God’s world. Ultimately, our great project is to be like our Lord Jesus. Jesus said in Matt 11:29 “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
The majority of people would rather invest their youth, time, money and effort to worldly projects. Some have invested their lives in the project of making money, for some it is building their career. For some it is finding Mr. or Mrs. Right. If these things are worthy life investments, then everyone in Hollywood should be the most happy and content because they have everything they want. However, this is not the case. We hear so many tragic stories of suicide, divorce and violence.
We also learn that a God’s great project makes a person truly great. Abraham was a sorrowful old man. But God gave him a great project in Gen 12 to make him into a great nation. God gave Mary the great project to bear the messiah. God gave Jesus the great project to die on the cross for the sins of the world. There is a beautiful story of Joni Eareckson Tada who found her great project in God. At the tender age of 17, she became a quadriplegic during a freak diving accident. She was so beautiful, but now she lost all hope of life especially marriage. He despaired that she could not even lift her fingers to commit suicide. Through her painful trials, she accepted Jesus as her friend and savior. She repented of her despair and fatalism and accepted the fact that God has a great purpose in her life. With God’s help she found her unique project in God. She became a famous Christian Artist, a best selling author and talk show host. She has also founded an organization called “Joni and friends” to help others with similar disabilities.
Ask yourself, do I have a great project from God? Are you motivated to wake up every morning thinking about your great project? If not, then come to God and ask him to reveal his great project for your life. Projects can be short-term or long-term. We should all have some short term projects such as mastering our field of study. For some their short term goal is graduate, to lose weight or to read the Bible within a year. We should also have long-term goals. This can be to be a missionary, to be a great musician for the glory of God or to raise 12 disciples. May God bless us with his personal project and vision. At West Loop God inspired Dr. Ben to have a long term project to raise 1000 members, establish 10 house churches a year. For this God wants us to setup short-term projects to reach our main goal. Some short-term projects are outreach programs, improving our music programs and improving the quality of our messages. May God bless us with passion and a clear focus to keep the “main thing” the “MAIN THING!”
Second, keep working in spite of distraction and slander!
Once we decide to take on God’s project, the devil will certainly try to distract us. In verses 1-2, Nehemiah’s enemies tried to distract him stop the work and enjoy a short vacation. In verses 5-6, they tried to use slander against Nehemiah. Sanballat wrote an unsealed letter claiming Nehemiah was trying to build an empire. He said Nehemiah was trying to setup himself as king and hiring prophets to promote his campaign. Then he added if Nehemiah listened to them then they won’t circulate the letter. Its intent was to circulate it among the people and surrounding nations. In modern terms, it is like posting a hateful blog on the internet against someone.
Distractions make us procrastinate, settle for mediocrity and tempt us to give up. Every New Year we make resolutions to loose that extra pounds, be a better student or parent. But it is so difficult to keep because our daily life is full of distractions. In some cases, distractions can be down right dangerous. Last year, the Chicago Police started issuing tickets to drivers who talk on their cell phones while driving. The reason is obvious; there are too many accidents because of distracted drivers.
When Nehemiah decided to take upon himself the project of rebuilding the wall, the enemies tried their distract him and stop the work. It is the same for us. Once we make our decision to live for Jesus and His Kingdom, the devil works overtime to distract us and to side track us. One of my best friends was growing in the faith; soon the devil distracted him by the sweet smile of one girl and by his fraternity friends. The devil even distracts Christians with temptations of a comfortable life without any mission. It is so important to guard our hearts. How can we overcome distractions? Heb 12:1, 2b tells us to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.” Each person must decide to throw off that thing that distracts or causes them to sin. For some it is to get rid of the TV or the German chocolate cake in the fridge. For some it is to get out of an unhealthy relationship. Most importantly, we have to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” We are not perfect. We are prone to get distracted and fall on our face. But Jesus is perfect; he helps us to keep up our lives of faith. He strengthens us and keeps us motivated. Let us look upon Jesus.
How did Nehemiah respond to all the distractions and slander? Look at verse 8 “I sent him this reply: Nothing like what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head.” Nehemiah discerned their motives. Nehemiah simply denied the charges and responded that it was from their own imagination. Since, no proof was offered, he continued with the work. Probably the most difficult thing to do as a leader is to keep quiet in the midst of false accusations.
What did Nehemiah do next? He prayed. Nehemiah was a prayer-addict. His first response to everything was prayer. No matter what happened, he first prayed. Our first reaction when we are slandered is to retaliate back or punch them. Instead of taking it out on the person, Nehemiah talked to God in prayer. Look at verse 9 “They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed. But I prayed, now strengthen my hands.”
We might think Nehemiah was a superman. But he was a typical man with feelings. He was prone to temptation and fear. He felted his hands started to weaken. He prayed to God to give him strength to endure the hardship and to keep on with the work. Keith Green, the musician understood Nehemiah struggles and wrote the following lyrics in his song “Until that final day:” My flesh is tired of seeking God, but on my knees I’ll stay. I want to be a pleasing child, until that final day. There are times when we feel it is too much. We are tired and burdened of seeking God. That is the moment we need to pray and ask God’s strength to be his pleasing child until that final day.
Third, Nehemiah, a man of courage.
The next effort to hinder and discredit Nehemiah’s work came from a man name Shemaiah. Look at verse 10. Evidently this man, Shemaiah was a friend of Nehemiah and he was a priest. However, Sanballat tempted him with money to betray his friend. Tragically, Shemaiah gave in to the devil’s temptation. He was paid to scare Nehemiah to run to the temple to avoid a murder plot. Shemaiah reminds us of Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus for thirty silver coins.
How did Nehemiah respond? Look at verse 11 “But I said, Should a man like me run away? Or should one like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go!” If Nehemiah ran away, the morale of the people would suffer. They would give up since the leader abandoned the project. Nehemiah argued that one in his position should not show such fear. He should not flee and he should not go into the temple to save his own life. So he refused to go in.
Fear could have gripped Nehemiah’s heart. An author said the definition of FEAR is—False Evidence Appearing Real. Fear makes us imagine the worst case scenarios. Fear makes a cute kitten look like a ferocious saber-tooth tiger. Another byproduct of fear is the insatiable desire to RUN!! Fear makes us run out of the job, out of the marriage, run out of the relationship, and even runaway from Bible study. Satan plants fear in young Christians, “Hey, you better run now, Jesus is going to take all your fun away.” The runaway problem is very serious in our country. Recent statistic says one in three American children live in fatherless homes. Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Census Bureau: 63 percent of all youth suicides; 71 percent of pregnant teenagers; 85 percent of all youth in prisons; 90 percent of all homeless and runaway children; and 71 percent of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes. These statistics really compels us to pray for families of this nation. Let us pray sincerely for fathers to be like Nehemiah. Real men are those who stand in spite of the situation.
How can we battle this desire to run from our situations? We need courage to stand our ground. We wish courage can be attained as easily as the Wizard of OZ handing us a courageous heart like he did with the cowardly lion. Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is moving ahead in spite of your fear. That’s what makes a courageous person.
In John Chapter 6, Jesus teaches a crowd that he is the bread of life. But many didn’t like his message. Some were offended and said “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” Many left and no longer followed Jesus. Some of his disciples wanted to leave. But Peter took a stand. He said in 6:68 “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” Peter was fearful, he also wanted to runaway, but he had courage to stay with Jesus. He did not know what would happen, but he committed his life to Jesus. When he did, he became a great leader for the early Christian Church. From Peter we learn, the moment we have any fear, we must come to the word of God.
In verse 12-14, Nehemiah again prays for his enemies. He saw the value of prayer in times of temptation and opposition. He repeatedly turned to God in prayer for strength to deal with his enemies. Nehemiah could seek revenge by hiring some hit men to take out his enemies. But he prayed for God to vindicate him. As Christians, we should not take personal revenge on those who slander or falsely accuse us, but leave vengeance to God.
Look at verse 15 “So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days.” Despite the best efforts of the enemies, the work continued till the wall was finished. It is truly amazing considering the conditions he had to endure. To do it in 52 days is almost incredible. This verse clearly testifies to the great qualities of leadership that Nehemiah possessed. Nehemiah endured discord, discouragement, defeat, derision, distraction and danger. He was extremely focused on the great project. He motivated many people of different backgrounds to work together for one common purpose. Most importantly, he was a man of prayer and he depended on God to give him success step by step. When they enemies and surrounding nations heard that the wall was completed, they were discouraged. The tables were now turned. Their enemies realized that the work had been the result of God’s own blessing. Here we learn God blesses us when we are faithful and keep our mission.
In this passage we learn how Nehemiah could complete a great task. He had a compelling vision in his heart. He was not distracted by the enemy, but persistently kept his focused on the great project. Finally, he was a man of prayer. Through prayer he found God’s strength and wisdom to complete the wall. May God bless us each to discover our personal great project.
