Sharing the Vision

We'll begin our worship by singing to God's praise. We'll sing in Psalm 96a, in the Sing

Psalms version, Psalm 96a, singing from verse 1 to verse 9, page 1 to 6 of the psalm book,

the tune is Argyle, Psalm 96a.

Oh, sing a new song to the Lord, sing praises to his name and his salvation day by day let

all the earth proclaim.

We'll sing from verse 1 to 9 to God's praise.

O sing a new song to the Lord, sing praises to his name and his salvation day by day.

Let all the earth proclaim.

His glory and his mighty deeds to every love dear.

How great that God saves the Lord, with him no gods compare.

For other gods are good and stones.

The Lord, we'll sing the Lord, in the name of God.

The Lord, we'll sing by day.

The Lord, we'll sing by day.

The Lord, we'll sing by day.

Of power and majesty and his, he dwells in glorious light.

All nations do, the Lord has died, the glory that is due.

Glory to God's name, the sky to God, and praise His name anew.

Enter in the gates with joy and pain, an opening with you.

Worship the Lord in holy fear, on earth, the core and the love.

Let's unite our hearts together in prayer.

Let us pray.

Lord our God, our Father in heaven, to worship you anew this evening hour, we thank you for the praise which we come with.

We thank you that we can come singing a song to the Lord, singing anew full of praise to you.

For we thank you that that is a song that you have given to your people.

A song that at one point we had no desire to sing and no longing for at all.

But we thank you that so many of the Psalms describe to us that transforming power that you have.

You're the one who is able to lift us up, to bring us out of the clay and set our feet on the rock as another describes,

putting a new song in our mouth.

We thank you, Lord, that we have a song of praise to sing.

And we come this evening, Lord, to worship you as the living God.

And we thank you that we come acknowledging your power and sovereignty,

acknowledging your rule over us as a people and your world as a whole.

For we are reminded in this Psalm how you are the one who has made the heaven's height and all that's contained in them.

And so we come thankful that we have access to you in and through the name of your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thankful that we come not of any good in our sin, or righteousness of ourselves,

but we come humbly through the righteousness of Christ.

For we know that we are sinners, and yet we know too that there is power in the blood of Christ to forgive all our sins.

That we have one who came to take our sins upon himself.

All that we deserve, he took from us and bore our sins on the cross.

And so we come, O Lord, looking to you this evening.

Thankful for all that you have done.

Thankful for all that we can come with this evening.

We are told to come with joy and bring an offering with us.

And we come to offer whatever else we have, we come to offer praise.

We offer our lives up to you, Lord.

We offer all that we are and have up to you as our Lord and as our God.

And we pray, Lord, that you will help us to be still in your presence this evening,

to worship you aright.

Come, O Lord, able to put all other things to one side.

We acknowledge that our minds can be so cluttered and so busy.

We can already be planning the week ahead.

We can already be thinking about all that maybe lies ahead of us in this coming week.

But we thank you, Lord, that you help us just for this time to be still and to know that you are God.

And so, Lord, take away these distractions that so often keep us from hearing what you are saying to us.

And give us ears to hear through your word and by your spirit.

That you are speaking to us, your voice calling to us, to each of us, to come to you.

Whatever situation we are in, if we are believing in you with all our hearts, we come leaning upon you.

We come, O Lord, dependent upon you for all things.

But perhaps others come, O Lord, not knowing that assurance of faith.

Not knowing what it is to know the Lord Jesus as a personal Savior.

Maybe knowing much about him and hearing your word many times and yet still not experiencing that life-changing moment.

Of those who are still maybe struggling to understand you.

Or seeking you with all their hearts but feeling as close to them.

That, Lord, you would open the doors for them.

That you would bring them into your heart.

That you would bring in and build on those who are being saved.

We thank you for the times of blessing that your church has enjoyed down through all the generations.

We thank you for the times of blessing that you are in your word.

As a people.

Here in our midst as a congregation and as a community here, Lord.

We long to see you enlivening us and quickening us in these days, Lord.

When we see so much that we despair at and are despondent about.

Lord, help us to lift our eyes to you.

And to recognize you as the one who is able to change all that we see around us.

And to change it for good.

And the hearts that are hard towards you, Lord, you are able to suffer.

Those who are angry against you.

Those who so often curse you.

Who despise your name and who reject you so often.

We know, Lord, that they are many.

But yet, Lord, you are able to transform.

You are able to work in power.

You are able to bring them to love you with all their hearts.

As we heard this morning of Saul.

How he met the Lord in the midst of a life of chaos.

On his way to persecute Christians.

He met with the Lord and his life was transformed so quickly.

And we thank you that there is that testimony and witness through your word.

And that we see it to this, Lord.

You are able to do so much more than we ask or imagine.

And that keeps us, Lord, coming to you in prayer.

Because we cannot do it ourselves.

We depend on you.

So we come praying for you to work, oh Lord.

Work in our families, in our homes, in our communities and workplaces around us, Lord.

We pray to see your hand upon us for good.

The good hand of the Lord we will read of this evening.

We pray to see it here in our midst, oh Lord.

And we thank you that your church has been here.

And through the other islands as we pray for the communion season in our midst, Lord.

We thank you for these times of refreshing around your word.

And pray it would be so for those who are gathered even this evening in our back.

We pray that they would have had a blessed weekend.

And we pray for Reverend Rory Stott as he is ministering to them this evening.

We pray, Lord, for the congregation as they gather.

Even with some of our own young folk there as well, Lord.

We pray it will be a time of blessing and refreshing to all.

In the fellowship and in the preaching of your word.

Your spirit will be present and be at work in power.

We pray for the upcoming weekend as well in Calanation Cross with communions taking place there.

We pray for your servants who will be ministering, Reverend Alistair MacLeod and Dr. Malcolm McLean.

And we pray, Lord, that you will use them as instruments in your hands.

As we heard again this morning, we pray, Lord, that they will be used by you as they proclaim the riches of Christ.

There will be times of blessing and encouragement around your word.

We pray that for our nation too.

Lord, we thank you that there are many churches around our land here.

We so often focus on the challenges that surround us as a nation and all that is wrong with us.

We thank you, Lord, that many of our cities and towns and villages have a rich gospel witness.

And we pray for your people, people who live in our town here over the summer months,

who come from different parts of the land and different congregations.

We pray, Lord, that where your word is preached with truth and authority,

that your blessing will be upon it.

That you will revive our land and bless us as a nation.

Lord, turn us one more than towards you to know days of your power and your refreshing in our midst.

We remember, Lord, our world as well and so much of what goes on around us, Lord.

Yet again, we thank you that in the wilderness of the earth, you have your people scattered far and wide

in many different lands among many different people.

We thank you for your church that is being built.

We thank you for your people who are faithful to you in all corners of the world.

A praying people, a worshipping people, a people who worship the true and the living God,

even in the midst of those who worship idols made of wood or stone or so many other materials.

We thank you that there are those of your people pointing others towards the riches of Christ

and the hope of the gospel and the joy of eternal life through him.

And so we pray, Lord, that you will build up your church near and far

and that we would see your glory present in all our lands throughout the world.

Remember us as a people.

We pray for you to be near with us, our homes and our families and all our loved ones.

We commit them to you, O Lord, and ask that in every need we have that we will be able to come,

to come with our burdens to you, to cast them upon you,

and to be able, Lord, to see your hand giving us all that we need.

Not maybe what we ask for, Lord, but we know that you will give as we need.

You will give grace that is sufficient for every circumstance.

And so we ask, O Lord, surround our people, surround them in different needs at this time.

Those who are unwell, those who are concerned for loved ones,

or just struggling in different ways at this time.

O Lord, we commit them to you and ask that you will surround them and uphold them

and be very near to them in all their different needs.

Lord, we thank you for the blessing of fellowship and the blessing of prayer

to be able to share together in all these different ways.

And we pray, Lord, that you will hear us together,

that you will hear our prayers even as we offer them up now,

that you will hear our praise as we offer it up,

and that as we come to your word, Lord, you will help us to hear you as you speak to us.

So, Lord, guide our worship, guide us, guide our focus to you,

and help us to lift our eyes up to you,

and to look and depend on you for all things.

So, Lord, go continue with us, we pray,

with us in the week ahead as well, Lord,

guide all our steps and all that we do and say.

May it be to your glory and for your glory,

and for yours alone.

We ask it all for our sins, Lord,

acknowledging how often we fall short,

of how we sin in thought, word, and in deed.

And yet, O Lord, we come,

asking and pleading for forgiveness,

for all our shortcomings.

So, hear our prayers and continue with us, we ask.

So, we ask it all in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Again, sing to God's praise, this time in Psalm 44.

And let's sing Psalms.

Psalm 44 on page 54 of the Psalm books.

Psalm 44, we'll sing verse 1 to verse 8,

the tune is Tiverton.

O God, we with our ears have heard our fathers told us so,

what you accomplished in their days and days of long ago.

Your hand drove nations out and placed our fathers there,

and said, you crushed the peoples,

but you caused our tribes to grow and spread.

We'll sing these verses, verse 1 to 8,

Psalm 44, to God's praise.

O God, we with our ears have heard our fathers told us so,

what you accomplished in their days and days of long ago.

You crushed the peoples, but you caused our tribes to grow and spread.

You crushed the peoples, but you caused our tribes to grow and spread.

In the name of the Lord, we with our fathers to grow and spread.

It was not by their sword or arm that they possessed the land,

but by your love and faith are shown,

and by your mighty hand.

You are my King and God, Lord, I forging all victories.

Through you we travel down our foes and brought our enemies.

My soul does not bring victory.

Lord, do I trust my hope.

You put our enemies to shame and overcome our foes.

In God alone we make our roles,

Rejoice in all day long.

And to your name forevermore we offer praise in song.

We'll turn together now to read in God's word in the Book of Nehemiah,

in the Old Testament, Nehemiah chapter 2.

Nehemiah 2 · chapter mention

We can read the whole of this chapter together.

Nehemiah chapter 2.

Nehemiah 2 · chapter mention

So Nehemiah chapter 2, taking up a reading at the beginning.

Nehemiah 2 · chapter mention

In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Arcterxes,

when wine was before him,

I took up the wine and gave it to the king.

Now I had not been sad in his presence.

And the king said to me,

Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick?

This is nothing but sadness of the heart.

Then I was very much afraid.

I said to the king,

Let the king live forever.

Why should not my face be sad,

When the city, the place of my father's graves,

lies in ruins.

And its gates have been destroyed by fire.

Then the king said to me,

What are you requesting?

So I prayed to the God of heaven.

And I said to the king,

If it pleases the king,

And if your servant has found favour in your sight,

That you send me to Judah,

To the city of my father's graves,

That I may rebuild it.

And the king said to me,

The queen sitting beside him,

How long will you be gone?

And when will you return?

So it pleased the king to send me,

When I had given him a time.

And I said to the king,

If it pleases the king,

Let letters be given to me for the government of the province,

Beyond the river,

That they may let me pass through until I come to Judah.

And a letter to Asaph,

The keeper of the king's forest,

That he may give me timber to make beams,

For the gates of the fortress of the temple,

And for the wall of the city,

And for the house that I shall occupy.

And the king granted me what I asked,

For the good hand of my God was upon me.

Then I came to the leaders of the province,

Beyond the river,

And gave them the king's letters.

Now the king had sent with me,

Officers of the army and horsemen.

But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this,

It displeased them that no one had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.

So I went to Jerusalem,

And I was there for three days.

Then I arose in the night,

I and a few men with me.

And I told no one what my God would do to my heart,

To do for Jerusalem.

There was no animal with me,

But the one on which I rode.

I went out by night,

By the valley gate of the dragon spring,

To the dung gate,

And I inspected the walls of Jerusalem,

That were broken down,

And its gates that had been destroyed by fire.

Then I went to the fountain gate,

And to the king's pool.

But there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass.

Then I went up in the night by the valley,

And inspected the wall.

And I turned back and entered by the valley gate,

And I turned.

And the officials did not know,

Where I had gone,

Or what I was doing.

And I had told the Jews,

The priests,

The nobles,

The officials,

And the rest,

For where to do the work.

Then I said to them,

You see the trouble,

How Jerusalem lies in ruins,

With its gates burned.

Come,

Let us build the wall of Jerusalem,

The longer suffer the Israel.

And I told them of the hand of my God,

That had been upon me for good.

And also of the words that the king had spoken to me.

And they said,

Let us rise up and build.

So they strengthened their hands for the good work.

But when Sanballat the Horonite,

And Tobiah the Ammonite,

Heard,

And Geshem the Arab heard of it,

They jeered at us,

And despised us,

And said,

What is this thing that you are doing?

Are you rebelling against the king?

Then I replied to them,

The God of heaven will make us prosper.

And we his servants will arise,

And build up and build,

And we will not have any portion or claim in Jerusalem.

Amen.

And may God bless that reading from his word.

And before we turn back to look at this passage,

And sing again to God's praise in Psalm 79,

In the Scottish Psalter,

Page 331.

Psalm 79,

Page 331.

We are going to sing from verse 5 down to verse 9,

The tune of St. Minver.

How long, Lord, shall thine anger last?

Will thou still keep the same?

And shall thy fervent jealousy burn like unto a flame?

We'll sing from verse 5 down to verse 9,

Where it speaks of the glory of the Lord being the help towards his people.

So we'll sing verse 5 to 9,

To God's praise.

So we'll sing verse 5 to 9,

To God's praise.

Amen.

Come, Hu.

And shall thy fervent jealousy burn like unto a hill?

Amen.

For that can also tend that to go?

Or you'll sing from verse 6.

Princeономette of the bus with ainsi presented to Class.

Time,

Ar Rock Centre,

To God's praise,

Lambë,

no matter how long,

Hear thy fervent jealousy chillin'.

For that пл indic act shall I take zodiac Excellent.

See her like a true affair.

On his report, thy duty for the time ever known.

And all those kingdoms within name have never called upon.

For these are they who Jacob have devout with grueling.

And they, his amity, his hope have caused ways to lie.

Against us might not for mercies thy tender mercy show.

Let there be a seedily for we all can be low.

For thine is glory.

Help us, Lord, to my Savior be.

Deliver us for thine's sake.

O march away our sin.

Amen.

We can turn back to our reading in Nehemiah chapter 2.

Nehemiah 2 · chapter mention

And we can read again at verse 17.

Nehemiah chapter 2 at verse 17.

Nehemiah 2 · chapter mention

Then I said to them,

You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates opened.

Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.

And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good,

and also of the words that the king had spoken to me.

And they said, Let us rise up and build.

So they strengthened their hands for the good work.

A few weeks ago now we were looking at chapter 1 of Nehemiah.

That Nehemiah and the burden that Nehemiah had when he heard of the ruin that Jerusalem was in

and the people and their despondency.

And he was burdened for them.

And it was a burden that he was taking to the Lord.

Last week we were looking at the New Testament and we were looking at Colossians chapter 4.

Colossians 4 · chapter mention

We were seeing Paul's team ministry and the people that he had around him

and how so many people were used in different ways for the Lord.

Times there as well.

And we're thinking of linking the two together.

However, we see Nehemiah, the fact that was to be done in Jerusalem,

he couldn't do it alone in the same way as Paul couldn't do the ministry of the gospel

that he would hope to do without having those who could help him and be with him along the way as well.

We're thinking there of two men who were strong leaders in the church in their day.

But since we looked at these two passages over these last few weeks,

have you considered them for yourself?

Have you thought about what does it mean for me as a member,

as an adherent here in the congregation in Stornoway?

What do these passages say to me in my own role in the church

and how I might be serving the Lord or how I may be able to serve the Lord?

Has it made a difference to the burden that you feel for this place

or the vision that you have for this place, for this congregation, for this town,

for the work of the Lord?

As we return to Nehemiah this evening in chapter 2,

we return with that remembrance of his burden for Jerusalem in our minds as well

and the burden and vision that he had in Jerusalem.

We saw in the opening chapter, chapter 1,

a simple question that Nehemiah asked of his brother who had come to visit.

A simple question turned his life upside down.

In the beginning of chapter 1,

Hanani, his brother, had come from Judah.

Nehemiah asked him just a simple question,

How are they in Jerusalem?

How are they in Jerusalem?

And the answer that he heard in verse 3 of chapter 1 was this,

They said to him,

The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame.

The wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are destroyed by fire.

It wasn't the answer he would have been hoping for.

And it was an answer that left him troubled,

so much trouble that he said in verse 4 that as soon as I heard these words,

I sat down and wept and mourned for days.

He was distraught at what he had been told,

about what he was hearing about his beloved Jerusalem and its people.

They were in destruction.

They were in shame.

But he wanted to do something about it.

There was a burden on him that would not go.

And that is sometimes the way the Lord works in his people.

Often he gives people a burden.

A burden for a particular people.

For a particular place.

For a particular work.

A burden that just will not go away.

A burden that won't go away until we do something about it.

And Nehemiah couldn't let this go until something was done about it.

And do you know what makes this burden and vision of Nehemiah even more remarkable?

This burden that he had for Jerusalem and its people.

What makes it even more remarkable is this.

He had never been there.

He had never been in Jerusalem.

He was born to parents who had been taken captive from Jerusalem.

He was born about 900 miles away.

As we read of him here, he's in Persia.

In the capital of Persia, which was hundreds of miles away from Jerusalem.

He'd never been there.

And yet his heart was towards his homeland and his people.

He just wouldn't know.

And it made me think of how this year marked 100 years since the Metagama and the Marloch sailed from these shores.

With hundreds of people belonging to our islands here who would never see this place again.

And yet who had a great burden and a love for this place.

And over the last year we've seen some of their family come over to see this place with a real heart and a longing and a burden for this place.

But it begs the question of us.

Do we have a real burden for this place?

Do we have a real love for this place and its people?

As we think of the kind of ruin that we're seeing around us again and again.

The ruin that sin brings into our lives and into our communities.

Does it make us weep and mourn?

Does it give us a burden for this place to see the gospel going out here and making a difference to our people?

And if we do, how do we grasp this burden prayerfully and practically?

How do we seek to fulfill this burden and this vision for our own town and our place to be a place blessed by God?

Well that's what we learn as we look to Nehemiah.

And how his burden that he just couldn't let go.

It became a reality.

It became something that he saw the good hand of the Lord at work in in so many different ways.

And how he encouraged and inspired a people to be involved in the work to the point that they would say in verse 18,

Let us rise up and build.

There are lessons we learn from Nehemiah and his leadership.

About a godly vision.

And about trusting God and going forward in his strength.

Paul in Colossians, he couldn't do the ministry alone.

The spread of the gospel, he couldn't do it by himself.

Nehemiah here, he couldn't rebuild the walls by himself.

He couldn't see God's hand for good upon the people by himself.

And neither can we.

We need a shared vision.

A vision that we all have and a burden that we all have together for the good of this place.

One church leader put it like this.

A godly vision is right for the times.

Right for the church and right for the people.

A godly vision promotes faith rather than fear.

A godly vision motivates people to action.

A godly vision requires risk taking.

A godly vision glorifies God and not people.

That's what Nehemiah's vision and his burden was like.

Let's pray that that would be our vision and our burden here in this town and for the place where the Lord has put us today.

To keep us going in the work of the Lord.

Encouraged.

Encouraged.

Good hand of the Lord upon us in all that we go to do for the Lord.

We're not going to look at every detail of the book of Nehemiah.

But we're going to take steps from key points here and look how we can learn from Nehemiah and the work that the people were involved in.

We read the whole of chapter 2.

But we're going to look at just the latter half of it.

Verse 9 down to the end of the chapter.

But we see the context in the whole of this chapter just for what was happening.

But you notice that there's a big change between verse 8 and verse 9.

Both in terms of time and in the place where they're based.

In verse 8, Nehemiah is still with the king in Persia.

He is still 900 miles away from Jerusalem.

But in verse 9, we've jumped forward probably around four months in time.

Nehemiah and those who were with him have traveled that journey of around 900 miles from Susa down to Jerusalem.

And this is where we pick it up.

So the time has moved on about four months.

The place has moved on.

Coming to Jerusalem.

Nehemiah seeing the place for the first time.

And tonight we're going to look at three lessons from Nehemiah's leadership here.

As he comes to share his vision and his burden with the people of Jerusalem.

And there's three things, three lessons to take with us.

First is this, a time to rest.

Secondly, we see a time to review.

And then thirdly, a time to rise.

So first, a time to rest.

You might expect Nehemiah to arrive at Jerusalem and immediately to get going with the work.

After all, when you read through the destruction that you see in the walls, how they're demolished, the gates are burned.

There's so much to be done.

You think he's just going to get going with it.

That may be our attitude.

When we see there's something that needs to be done.

We just need to get on.

There's so much to do.

Let's just get on with it.

Well, four months of traveling over 900 miles through harsh countryside would take its toll on anyone.

And so verse 11 gives us our first key lesson from Nehemiah.

And that is, fresh for the task.

In verse 11 it says,

Nehemiah, like us all, had his limits.

He had needs, both physical and spiritual needs, to be watched and guarded against first and foremost.

Three days after arriving in Jerusalem, he rested.

He didn't get on with the work.

Immediately, he took these days to rest, both physically and spiritually.

And it's interesting how you look at this chapter in Nehemiah.

Nehemiah had come to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls.

And if you go to the previous book, Ezra.

And Ezra was similar to Nehemiah.

He was used by God, but for rebuilding the temple.

In Ezra chapter 8, verse 32, it says this.

Ezra 8:32

It says this.

We came to Jerusalem, and there we remained three days.

They arrived in Jerusalem, and for three days they rested in the days of Ezra.

The same is true of Nehemiah.

We went to Jerusalem, and we were there three days.

So there's got to be a lesson there for us to learn.

Nehemiah was seeing how much there was to be done, and yet his immediate priority was to rest.

And how important is rest?

And how important is rest when we think of being involved in the world of the Lord today?

Today, the first day of the week, the Lord's Day, it's a reminder to us of the importance of rest.

It's a creation ordinance, as we call it.

Something that God put in place from the very beginning.

The Lord's Day, the seventh day, was to be a day of rest.

And we know ourselves that when we become tired, we're not as effective.

And if we are tired over a long period of time, our work will suffer.

Our production is not going to be what it should be.

Our service for the Lord isn't going to be what it should be.

And if the Lord is commanding rest for his people, we have to make sure that we are allowing for it.

Both personally, but also as a congregation.

That we don't burn people out.

Ezra knew it.

Nehemiah knew it.

The Lord Jesus himself knew the importance of rest.

Of keeping fresh in the work.

In the New Testament, you read of the Lord Jesus at the death of John the Baptist.

In Matthew 14, verse 13, after he'd heard the news,

Matthew 14:13

When Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself.

Something you see often in the life of Jesus.

He finds a place to be by himself.

But he also knew the importance of it for his disciples too.

In Mark 6, verse 31,

Mark 6:31

Jesus having sent his disciples out two by two to go on the work of the spread of the gospel,

They had come back.

And he said to them as they returned,

He said to them,

Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.

For many were coming and going,

And they had no leisure even to eat.

The importance of rest is there for us to see.

And that's what the first lesson that we learn from Nehemiah.

He came to Jerusalem and was there three days.

We have to guard ourselves carefully.

To guard our people carefully from overexertion,

From being overtired, overworked.

When we are tired, like I said,

We won't achieve as much.

The enthusiasm will wane.

It will not be what it should be.

Rest is crucial.

It's a story of two woodcutters.

One was experienced.

One was just starting out,

But young and enthusiastic.

And he challenged the older man.

He challenged him to an all-day woodcutting competition.

And the challenger, the young man,

Worked hard all day.

Hardly stopped all day.

Just a brief lunch break.

And yet every time he was looking across to the older woodcutter,

He seemed to be sitting down and resting.

He couldn't understand it.

And he thought,

I'll be way ahead in this contest.

But at the end of the day,

The challenger was surprised to find

That the older man had chopped so much more wood than he had.

And he couldn't understand it.

I don't get it.

He said,

Every time I looked,

You seem to be taking a rest.

And yet I was working hard all day.

The older woodsman said,

But you didn't notice

That I was sharpening my axe

Every time I sat down to take a rest.

And so often,

We can be like that ourselves too.

We can just keep going,

Thinking we're affecting,

We're doing so much.

When in reality,

We could be achieving so much more

Just with a bit of rest.

We need physical rest,

But we also need spiritual rest as well.

Because Nehemiah in these three days

Had time to spend with God as well.

Because you find that God had put this burden

In his heart.

And God was still putting this burden

In his heart as well.

In verse 12 it says,

And I told no one

What my God had put in my heart

To do for Jerusalem.

It's a continuous tense.

It's an ongoing burden

That the Lord is placing in his heart.

And he was taking his time now

To be close with God.

And again,

There's a lesson there for ourselves as well.

To allow ourselves time

To listen to God

Before rushing in

To the work

That we seek to do for the Lord.

To be still

And listen

To the Lord.

We look around

And there's no shortage

Of things to do.

There's no shortage of things

That we could

And perhaps should do.

But Nehemiah gives us this lesson.

Take time

To be fresh

For the work.

Take time

To listen

To the Lord.

So that's the first lesson

That we learn

From Nehemiah.

The second lesson

Is this

Time

To review.

You would think

After three days

Refreshing himself

Right, it's time

Now to get on

With the work.

But like any good leader

He needs to know

What's ahead of him.

And so he takes time

To review.

To see himself

What is happening

Or what has happened

In Jerusalem.

From verse 13

Down there

To verse 16.

You see

He takes his time

Going around the city.

Inspecting

Everything that is

Going on

Around him.

An American businessman

Called Max Dupree.

He speaks

He spoke of the

Responsibility

Involved

In leadership.

He was a successful

Businessman

And he also wrote

Many books

On leadership.

And he said this

The first responsibility

Of a leader

Is to define

Reality.

Leaders need

To have a good picture

Of what is really

Going on

Around them.

And they need

To help others

Take an honest

Look

At this reality.

Now you might

Say to yourself

Why are we going

To listen

To a businessman?

What does he

Have to say

To us

Here in

Stornoway

Tonight?

Well the key

Lesson from

Max Dupree

Was yes

He was a very

Successful

Businessman

But first

And foremost

He was a

Christian.

He was a

Christian

Who put the

Lord

Front and

Foremost

In everything

That he did.

He is saying

When we're

Looking at

Doing anything

And work

And serving

As leaders

In the church

That we put

The Lord

First

Of course

We listen

We learn

From all

Kinds of

People

From all

Kinds of

Christians

From all

Kinds of

Walks

Of life

And the need

For reality

Is there

Before us

Not to be

Blinkered

To what is

Going on

Around us

Not to

Think

That we

Have all

The answers

And know

Exactly

What's

Going on

And what

Needs

To be

Done

We need

To take

Time

To review

We need

To take

Time

To listen

And to

See for

Ourselves

What is

Happening

Around us

What are

People

Thinking

How are

They engaging

With the

World

Or not

Engaging

With the

Gospel

We know

They need

The Gospel

But do

We really

Know how

To speak

To them

About it

Do we

Know the

Needs

Of those

Who are

Around us

We can

Learn

From others

And we

Shouldn't

Be scared

To do

So

There's a

Great example

For us

In scripture

One of the

Greatest

Leaders of

God's

People

Moses

Who had

Led the

Children of

Israel

From Egypt

Into the

Wilderness

He was

Struggling

To keep

On top

Of things

At one

Point

He was

Trying to

Do it

All by

Himself

He needed

To hear

Someone else

Coming

With some

Advice

To him

And it

Was his

Father-in-law

Jethro

Who came

To him

And saw

What was

Going on

And said

To him

What you

Are doing

Is not

Good

You and

The people

With you

Will certainly

Wear yourselves

Out

For this

Thing is

Too heavy

For you

You are

Not able

To do

It

Alone

He didn't

Take time

To review

Someone had

To come

To him

And tell

Him

What you

Are doing

Is not

Good

But for

Ourselves

What we

Learn here

From Nehemiah

Nehemiah

Who has

Known

In

Verse 8

The good

Hand of

My God

Was upon

Me

We learn

That we

Need

To

To

To

Define

The reality

Of what

Is going

On

Around

Us

The last

Nehemiah

One

I quoted

A man

Called

George

Barna

Again

A Christian

Writer

Who spoke

About vision

For the

Church

And one

Aspect

He spoke

Of was

This

Vision

Is a

Result

Of how

We spent

Much

Time

Absorbing

The facts

About the

Community

Taking

Time

To

Think

Things

And this

Is what

Nehemiah

Is doing

Taking

Time

To himself

To look

At the

Situation

And notice

How he

Does it

Discreetly

In verse

12

He says

I arose

In the

Night

And I

Had a

Few

Men

With me

Just a

Small

Group

They went

Out

To review

The

Devastation

Of

Jerusalem

One of

The reasons

Was

Because

There was

Opposition

Sanballat

And Tobiah

We've heard

Mention of

In verse

10

Will come

Back

Again

God

Willing

But there

Was those

Who were

Opposed

To the

Work

So he

Was doing

It

Discreetly

Doing it

Quietly

But taking

Some trusted

Men with

Him

To see

What was

Going on

Around

Is a

Bit like

He was

Starting

To grow

His team

But a

Review

Did

To be

Carried

Out

To see

The size

Of the

Task

Everywhere

They looked

The walls

Were in

Devastation

There was

Parts

They couldn't

Hardly

Get through

Because of

The devastation

That there

Was

But the

Review

Enabled

Them

To plan

And remember

Nehemiah's

Sorrow

In chapter

One

Heard

Of the

Devastation

Here he

Is now

Seeing it

For himself

For the

First time

And it

Could have

Made him

Go one

Of two

Ways

Just his

Sorrow

To consume

Him

At the

State of

Affairs

Before him

And perhaps

Looking in

The past

If only we

Had what

We once

Had

And losing

Focus

Or it

Could have

Put him

The other

Way

Determination

And trust

And faith

And hope

For the

Future

And that's

Where he

Goes

It gives

Him a

Determination

To know

The good

Hand of

The Lord

Upon them

And to

Go and

Do the

Work that

Was involved

And for

Ourselves we

Need to

Think of

This too

A review

Of what

We do

And why

We do

It

When we

See the

Devastation

Of sin

Around us

It may

Make us

Think of

Just a

Past

If only

Things were

The way

They once

Were

And we

Can get

Consumed

By that

Or it

Can put us

Another way

Determined

To go

Forward

In faith

Trusting

That rebuilding

Is possible

Trusting

That the

Lord

Is with us

We can

Know

The good

Hand of

The Lord

Upon us

The question

Is do we

Have that

Vision here

Do we

Have it

In ourselves

Do we

Have it

Collectively

Together

To review

What we

Are doing

And to

Ask ourselves

Challenging

Questions

At times

But to

Trust the

Lord

Going

Forward

The gospel

Doesn't

Change

But times

Change

People

Change

And we

Need to

Ask ourselves

Are we

Engaging in

The work

Of the

Gospel

In the

Best way

Possible

And doing

It all

For the

Glory

Of God

So the

Second

Lesson is

A time

To review

First

Rest

To be

Fresh

For the

Task

Second

A time

To review

But thirdly

And perhaps

More importantly

A time

To inspire

For the

Task

A time

To rise

When we

Look at

Nehemiah

As a leader

Here

This is where

You see him

Coming to the

Fore

He spent

His time

Resting

He spent

His time

Reviewing

But then you

See him in

Verse 7

17 and

18

Where we

See three

Things that

As a leader

He does

So well

First of all

You see what

He says there

In verse

17

Then I

Said to

Them

This is him

Now beginning

To show his

Vision to

The rest

Of the

People

He says

You see

The trouble

We are in

There is

A responsibility

To define

Reality

A good

Leader

Must have

And here

Nehemiah

Doesn't hide

The troubles

He doesn't

Hide the

Issues that

Are before

Them

And he

Claims

These issues

Himself

He doesn't

Blame them

For not

Having done

Anything up

To this

Point

He doesn't

Look to

The past

And blame

Those who

Have maybe

Doing any

Failures in

The past

He says

This is

Our

Trouble

We are

In this

Together

You see

The trouble

We are

In

And that

Is how

We are

To be

As well

He feels

A part

Of it

And he

Makes the

People feel

A part

Of it

All

Together

Instead of

Looking to

Blame

He's looking

For a

Solution

And surely

That is

What inspires

A prayerful

People

Not to

Look to

Blame

Anyone

For the

Situation

We find

Ourselves

In today

In a

Spiritual

Way

But to

Look for

The solution

To look

To God

And to

Trust

In him

We are

In this

Trouble

Together

You see

The trouble

We are

In

How

Jerusalem

Lies

In ruins

And the

Gates

Are burned

There is

The reality

Of the

Situation

And we

Need

The reality

But we

Need to

Realize

We are

In this

Together

Be a

Collective

Vision

A

Collective

Burden

And that's

The second

Thing that we

See of

Nehemiah's

Leadership

Here

He inspires

We are

In this

Trouble

He says

But then

In the

Middle

Of verse

17

He says

Come

Let us

Build the

Wall of

Jerusalem

That we

May no

Longer

Suffer

He gives

Them a

Call

And he

Gives

Them a

Purpose

Here

The work

Is put

Before them

But also

The goal

Not just

Doing something

For the sake

Of doing it

But doing it

With an

Outcome in

Mind

After reviewing

Where they

Should be

He says

Come

Let us

Build

Together

Let us

Build

The wall

Of Jerusalem

One

Commentator

Writing on

This verse

Says

Here is a

Man

Who is

Ready to

Work for

The Lord

But knows

Exactly

Why he

Is doing

It

Some

Church

Activities

Are habitually

Maintained

Largely

Because they

Have been

In existence

For some

Time

And the

Good people

Who work

In them

Are too

Busy to

Evaluate

Their

Purpose

Motives

And

Aims

Does that

Sound

Familiar

Does that

Sound like

Something

That we

Need to

Ask for

Ourselves

What are we

Doing and

Why

Getting one

Another to

Come and

Build the

Kingdom of

God

Here was

Nehemiah

The walls

Were burned

And ruined

The people

Were in

Dismay

And yet

He says

Come

Let us

Build

That we

May no

Longer

Suffer

Derision

That the

People of

God

May no

Longer

That the

Cause of

Christ

Would no

Longer

Be a

Choke

In this

Place

But that

Together

We would

See

The good

Hand of

The Lord

Upon us

Are we

Working

For the

Lord and

His

Cause

On our

Own

Or are

We doing

It together

Are we

Anticipating

The road

Ahead

As we

Look to

The church

As we

Look to

The work

Of the

Lord

May the

Lord

Inspire

Us

To have

A vision

And a

We too

Would come

To the

Point we

Have

In verse

18

When we

See the

People

Together

As

Nehemiah

Says

I told

Them of

The hand

Of my

God

That had

Been upon

Me for

Good

He shared

The Lord

Had been

Good to

Him

How the

Lord

Had blessed

Him

And put

This

Bird

Heart

And the

People

Respond

By saying

This

Let us

Rise up

And build

It's no

Longer

Nehemiah

Speaking

It's the

People

Let us

Rise up

And build

They're

They're

Engaged

With

Nehemiah's

Burden

And they

Are on

His

Side

Let us

Rise up

So they

Strengthened

Their

Hands

For the

Good

Work

Is there

Any

Greater

Work

To be

Involved

With

Than the

Good

Work

Of

God

There's

Reality

In what

He

Says

We're

In

Trouble

The

Word

Are

Burned

Down

But there's

Also a

Reminder

It is

The

Good

Work

Of the

Lord

Get on

To it

That's

Tonight

Do we

Want to

Be

This

Kind

Of

People

Do we

Want to

Be a

People

Vision

And a

People

Of

Burden

For the

Lord

And for

His

Cause

Here

Urgency

In

Nehemiah

And the

Work

That

Was

To be

Done

And

There's

An

Urgency

For

Ourselves

Today

For

The

Gospel

To

Go

Out

To

This

Town

And

To

Its

People

And

Surely

We

Have

That

Burden

Everyone

Involved

In

The

Work

Of

Sharing

To

Make

The

Good

News

Of

Christ

Known

Will

You

Be

Part

Of

It

Share

In

The

Burden

That

Nehemiah

Had

For

His

People

Will

You

Share

In

A

Burden

For

The

Lord

Here

That

The

Gospel

Would

Be

Proclaimed

That

People

Would

Hear

Of

The

Good

News

Of

Jesus

Christ

And

That

The

Good

Hand

Of

The

Lord

Would

Be

A

Part

of

Us

As

We

Looked

at

Oceans

Last

Week

It's

About

Leadership

And

Teamwork

The

Two

Have

To

Go

Hand

In

Hand

We

Need

To

Keep

Ourselves

Fresh

We

Need

To

Review

What

We

Are

Doing

But

Also

We

Need

To

Come

And

To

The

Task

In

Hand

Someone

Once

Used

The

Illustration

Of

Birds

Called

Sandhill

Cranes

They

Said

These

Birds

These

Large

Birds

They

Fly

Great

Distances

Across

Continents

But

The

Person

Said

They

Have

Three

Remarkable

Qualities

First

They

Rotate

Leadership

No

One

Bird

Stays

Out

In

Front

All

The

Time

Second

They

Choose

Leaders

Who

Can

Handle

Turbulence

And

Then

All

During

The

Time

That

One

Bird

Is

Leading

The

Rest

Are

Honking

Their

Affirmation

The

Person

Describe

This

It's