Nehemiah – Week 3 – Vision
On Sunday, we relived the the last half of Nehemiah, Chapter 2 and all of Nehemiah Chapter 3. We looked on as Nehemiah quietly checked out the devastation of the Jerusalem Wall, and then went to the leaders of the area to inspire them to start rebuilding. Then we saw how the job was divided up into sections of the wall and gates. Whole families and groups saw the overall vision of the rebuilding job, and then took their part seriously enough to get to work. We even saw that the High Priest was hauling rocks and slinging mortar. The vision of Nehemiah became a rallying point that everyone embraced and dived into with passion.
A few thoughts come to mind. A couple are phrases about vision that have been rolling around in my head since my former life as a bush league church and business consultant:
Without vision the people perish. – the Bible
If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there. – Some Wise Dude
It seems true that if there is no clear vision or specific picture of what God is calling us to, we humans just kind of get mired down in the drama of existing. We have nothing to pull us forward and together so we get stagnant and aimless. I don’t think that God has EVER called us to stagnation and aimlessness!
So, we too, here in Ashland, Ohio, need a vision for all of us and a vision for each of us. A vision for the whole wall and a vision for our individual gates.
Some of us have been reading Andy Stanley’s book, Visioneering and in it he says that a real vision will require the communication of four important things : The Problem, The Solution, Why Something Must Be Done, and Why Something Must Be Done Now.
Here are my thoughts on how this plays out in the here and now:
The Problem:
We have convinced ourselves that the way it is is the way it’s gonna be. And we wait for others to lead. People say that “it is what it is” but the problem is that we should all be saying…”it is not as it should be.”
- People around us in this community are dying a slow, numbing death because they aren’t aware of the freedom and hope that Jesus and His people bring. Even we here have allowed this lack of passion for Christ and this indifference toward our purpose to put us to sleep. We are settling for much less than god wants to share with us, and we are not fulfilling our role to show this life to other people.
- We are okay with just kind of looking out for ourselves and our own sense of satisfaction when we don’t realize that the most satisfying thing we will ever do is take part in looking out for other people and taking care of them.
The Solution
God is calling us to take responsibility for the spiritual, social and cultural well-being of our community. He has equipped us with everything we need to do the job except for the desire and confidence to do it.
- We can bring words and acts of love that heal people’s spirits and set them free.
- We can put our hands to work in becoming an answer to our own prayers and to those who are needy and hopeless. We can feed the hungry, visit the lonely, bring care and prayer to the sick, help the unemployed find jobs, and bring light to the depressed.
- We can use our creativity and imagination and sensitivity to create art, music, food, entertainment and business to our community that bears the mark of life and that restores joy and beauty and interest to our surroundings. We can not only bring the life of Christ to people but also our culture.
- We can lend leadership and support to this effort. Our community sits and looks to others to lead into new expressions of hope and thriving…We are the people this community has been waiting for!
Why Something Must be Done?
People in our neighborhood are becoming too familiar with indifference and resignation to a bland existence without the adrenaline rush of hope and energy and passion and purpose that comes from knowing Christ and living out His dreams for our lives. This indifference is not how it has to be and is actually a huge weapon of the Enemy to take away our identity and to disarm us. He is sucking life away and we can’t stand for it. People are choosing spiritual sleep instead of life. We have to make a choice ourselves to snap out of it and then begin to breath the life of Christ into everything around us.
Why Something Must be Done Now
Our neighborhood has never been more ripe and the time has never been more perfect for the Children of God to be revealed in this city than right now. All of the things that we have depended on for life are wearing thing and giving out:
- National security, economy, weather, politics, environment, poverty, health, depression are all concerns that have us feeling worried and hopeless.
- People are looking for real and lasting meaning and purpose, and we have the message and ideas that they are looking for. People inside and outside out faith need a breath of fresh air that comes from people who know Christ and are motivated by the power that comes from His hope and freedom.
- We need people to find their roles in this, their section of the wall or gate. It takes everyone and it takes each of us working together.
We need people to step forward and stop waiting for leaders of the church or of the government to get things started. It’s time for ownership and leadership to do things like:
- Organize community gatherings, build new relationships, bring ideas alive that revitalize our neighborhood and the people in it,
- Find the cracks in that wall and do something about it.
- Make all of life wrapped around this!
So, here are some questions for each of us:
- Where do you fit in?
- Where do you see yourself fitting into this overall picture of renewing our neighborhood and community?
- What will it take for you to step out sleepy existence into passionate purpose?
Stay tuned…this Sunday we’ll talk about the importance of spiritual development and we pursue our vision. We’ll emphasize the importance of having each other’s backs and keeping each other sharp spiritually.
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