A (3:43)

And let me give you a little setup before I show you some of the. The insights that we can learn from this last chapter in the Book of Nehemiah. Just a reminder. Nehemiah worked under the king of Persia, Artaxerxes, and Nehemiah hears that the walls in Jerusalem are broken down, and he's. He's burdened for the people of Jerusalem, his ancestors, because they're in disgrace. So he goes to Artaxerxes, the king of Persia, and says, can I go to. Can you send me to Jerusalem? I want to repair the wall. Artaxerxes agrees, but says, you're going to eventually come back to Persia, right? Nehemiah agrees to come back to Persia, but he goes to Jerusalem, and he says to the people in chapter two, let's rebuild the wall so we are no longer in disgrace. In 52 days, they rebuild the wall, which nobody thought was possible. I mean, it's a masterclass in coordination and visionary leadership and servanthood. So many lessons throughout the Book of Nehemiah. But then Nehemiah isn't content when the wall is complete. Cause he doesn't want a completed wall and, and a crumbling people. And he knows that the people's hearts have drifted from God. So he challenges them to change their beliefs about God and their behaviors. We saw this over the last several weeks and he says to them, you must repent and turn back to God. The wall is complete, but God really wants your heart. So the people then make these massive commitments. And if you read the book of Nehemiah, you see that they have a worship service and they sign a covenant. They basically make their promises to God in writing. There's three things they promised. They said, God, we're going to promise to finance the temple. We're going to be generous with our resources and give sacrificially to your temple. First promise. Second promise. We are going to honor the Sabbath. We're going to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. Third promise. We're not going to intermarry with neighboring nations. This was not a racial commitment. This was a religious one because the neighboring nations had little g Gods, idols that populated the land of Israel. We're going to stop doing that. We're only going to worship Yahweh. Ah, Nehemiah, it feels like he has accomplished so much. Then he goes back to Persia just like he agreed. And I imagine as a leader, and if you're a leader you perhaps have had this season, he goes back to Persia and he rests really well because he's accomplished so much with the people that he served alongside. You've had these seasons, I hope as a leader where you're like, yes, this works. The team I'm on, this was so flipped, fruitful. This was so fulfilling and so fun. And he sleeps really well for a little bit. But as a leader, you still have that restlessness. You accomplished much, but now you still want to do something else. You want to. You want to do something more, you want to try something else. You want to take on a new plan, a new initiative. And so Nehemiah goes back to Israel again. He goes back to Jerusalem. He wants to get back in the game. He wants to do something else. He. He wants to lead again. So he goes back to Israel, back to Jerusalem, to the people who made those three big promises to God. And you know what he finds when he gets back?

A (6:38)

They have broken every single one of their promises. They couldn't keep one. And the book of Nehemiah ends. Merry Christmas.

A (6:52)

Actually, you're gonna see how it takes us to Christmas in a moment. But it ends like, what? No, no, this can't happen. You're gonna see how Nehemiah responds and you're gonna see the fruit of resolve in Nehemiah's life because even though things go completely unexpected, he continues leading. When he arrived to Jerusalem in chapter two, he expected there to be challenges. When he arrives in chapter 13, he doesn't expect there to be these challenges, yet he continues to lead because he's filled with resolve. We're gonna see the fruit of resolve. Resolve is about pre deciding, knowing how you're going to respond before the chaos hits, Knowing before you are attempted to abandon your integrity, how you're gonna respond, knowing that you're gonna be faithful before the temptation to be unfaithful comes. Resolve is about pre deciding. And Nehemiah pre decides. Notice what happens when he gets back to Israel, back to Jerusalem. All three commitments have been abandoned by the people. Verse 6 and 7. It was only later that I asked the king for a leave of absence so I could return to Jerusalem. Then I discovered the evil that Elisiab had done on behalf of Tobiah by providing him a room in the courts of God's house. So no, no, no, guys, the temple. We promised that the temple was gonna be honored, but here they are renting a room to somebody in the temple. If you read the Old Testament, you find that all. Only the temple. Most holy places were supposed to be reserved for the priest, and they weren't supposed to spend the night there. Here's a guy renting a room in the temple. This is dishonoring the temple. Notice verse 15. They also break their commitment when it comes to the Sabbath. At that time, I saw people in Judah treading wine presses on the Sabbath. They were also bringing in stores of grain and loading them on donkeys along with wine, grapes and figs. All kinds of foods were being brought to Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So they're dishonoring the God and his command to honor the Sabbath. And then verse 23. In those days, I saw. I also saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Amnon and Moab. And so they are now intermarrying, which is going to cause the land to be filled with little G gods, with idols. Once again, the people have broken all three of their commitments. Nehemiah returns and it's utter chaos. You've had this day. If you're a leader, the unexpected has hit you. Wake up to an email that crushes you. You have mid morning meetings and then there's the lunch meeting to try to see if everything has been buttoned up. And you have news that hits in the afternoon and the news in the afternoon is more devastating than the news that you had in the morning. And on the way home, if you see a guy with a pizza sign at the red light, you won his job.

A (9:26)

Have you had a day like this? So how do you keep going? Notice that you're gonna see Nehemiah takes decisive actions as a leader. So this is a time where if you're just honest, Nehemiah would be like, I wanna go back to Persia. I don't want to lead anymore. This is why Nehemiah inspires me so much. Because at the end, after everything has fallen apart, he's still willing to serve and lead. It's really incredible. Notice the decisiveness, the actions that he takes. I'm just gonna give you a really quick overview. You can circle some of the verses in your magazine and you can then looked him up later. But after learning that the temple was being neglected, notice all he does. He throws out all of Tobias household possessions. He orders that the room's purified. He has the articles restored. He also found out about the portions. So he's inspecting. He rebuked, he was asking, he gathered, he stationed, he appointed. He's very active in responding to this crisis. And then after seeing that the Sabbath was not being honored, same kind of act of leadership. I warned them, I rebuked them, I said to them, I gave orders, I posted, I warned, I warned, I, I instructed. Very active, decisive leadership. And then after learning that the marriages that intermarriages with other religions was occurring again, he rebuked them, cursed them. There was clearly no HR department in ancient Israel at the time. I forced them to take an oath. I drove him, I drove him away from me. He was so decisive on a time when he could have wanted to pick up a pizza sign. He kept leading. How, how was he sustained when everything was falling apart? Here's the lessons you can learn from Nehemiah. He had this restlessness. And some of you have been made to feel guilty about your restlessness. And I want you to see that your restlessness can be a gift that God's given you as a leader. That your restlessness does not need to be something you feel guilty of. It can actually be holy if, if it's combined with the resting that you see in Nehemiah. He's restless, but he's also resting. I want you to notice this. This is really the incredible insight for me that God's shown me from the book of Nehemiah that in the midst of his restlessness, he also rested in his God after learning the temple was being neglected. Look at verse 14. He prays this to God. Remember me for this, my God, and don't erase the deeds of faithful love I have done for the house of my God and for its services. God, I'm just asking you to remember me. I've done the work, but I'm trusting you. He prays the same kind of prayer when he finds out that the Sabbath is being dishonored. Remember me for this also, my God, and look on me with compassion according to the abundance of your faithful love. God, I'm resting in your love over my life that I'm your son, Lord. Ultimately, your faithful love given to me is what I'm resting in, is what he's praying. And then when he hears of the intermarriages, he prays as well. Verse 29. Remember them. He's been praying. Remember me. Now he's like God. Remember them. Remember them, my God. For defiling the priesthood as well as the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites. This is God's word. Here's what you're saying. If you read Nehemiah 13, you see that there is restlessness and resting at the same time in the heart of Nehemiah. And this is what forms his resolve. In fact, the entire book of Nehemiah ends this way. You'll see it. Notice the restlessness and the resting. Here's how it ends. Verse 30 and 31. So I purified. Here's his restlessness. I purified them from everything foreign and assigned specific duties to each of the priests and the Levites. I also arranged for the donation of wood at the appointed times and for the first fruits. That's his restlessness. And notice how the book ends. Just resting. Remember me, my God, with favor. And the book ends. The book ends. Remember me, my God, with favor.

A (13:41)

Resolve is living with restlessness and resting at at the same time. Lots has been written about leaders having the fruit of resolve. We all want the fruit of resolve in our lives. That we're gonna be people who keep going, that we're gonna be people who we already know. We're not gonna compromise here. We're not gonna give up our integrity or our good name for this thing. We are people of resolve. But if you want the fruit of resolve, beneath the surface, there's intermingling of your restlessness and your resting. So I wanna spend a couple of moments talking to you about both restlessness. Some of you. Actually, you don't need to be talked about your restlessness. You're well aware of it, you have it. But I want to talk to you about how it can be holy and pure. The reality is restlessness exists in leaders. You have it, you're going to have it. You're going to live with this restlessness. And it can be a gift that God uses in your life if it's used in a holy way. Restlessness exists in the life of leaders because drift always occurs in organizations and the teams and the people that leaders lead. And because drift occurs, God will use the restlessness in a leader to address the drift. It's what happens in Nehemiah 13. The people have drifted away from their commitments to God. God gifts Nehemiah with a burden of restlessness. And it's his restlessness that causes him to take decisive action and to address.

A (15:10)

Drift is going to happen in any organization or team or group of people that are being led. Drift happens in the cars that we drive. Over time, your car gets out of alignment. It just does. You may show up at church this morning in the parking lot and you know, and you're like, dang it, I need to get this fixed. God, will you fix the alignment while I'm worshiping you at church today? Maybe you've thought maybe he will, but likely, not likely. You take your car in and it takes an intervention. A mechanic must intervene to address the drift of a leader. Must intervene to address the drift. So how do leaders address drift? How do leaders live with restlessness in a holy way? Notice that Nehemiah inspects. He comes back from Persia, steps back into Jerusalem, and he inspects everything that is going on. There's a leadership adage, which is true, and you've heard it before, likely, that leaders must inspect whatever it is they expect. Nehemiah expects that the people are gonna be honoring God. So he arrives back in Jerusalem and he inspects to be sure that they are living up to the values that they've articulated. If you lead a group of people, it's insufficient to hang a value on a plaque on a wall or pass out a document with your stated values and never inspect to see if they're actually being lived out among the people. Leaders must inspect whatever it is they expect. And so Nehemiah does that. We learn this. This is really insightful leadership from Nehemiah. Nehemiah also re.

A (16:39)

What is Most important, Max Dupree, a famous leadership author, has said that leadership is a lot like second grade. It remains. It means repeating the significant things over and over again. Nehemiah arrives and he re articulates. Listen, here's how we live around here. We're not gonna worship little G gods because that would be like Solomon. You'll see this in Nehemiah 13. Solomon caused the nation to be divided into two because he worshiped little G gods. That's not who we are. We're Yahweh's people. We worship the one true God. He rearticulates. What's important. I learned this when I was leading a really challenging leadership assignment. I was the soccer coach for Evie's five year old team, the Soccer Rockers. We went 7 and 1. Not that I'm bragging, but I am. We went 7 and 1 that year and I had to repeat the significant things over and over again. Listen, we're going to score on this goal. You don't kick towards this goal. You kick towards this goal. This is soccer. Use your feet, not your hands. But leaders. It's what we do. We have to re articulate. Here's who we are, here's how we live around here. This is how Nehemiah leads. He re articulates. If you lead a team, you have to keep rearticulating what is most important. And then we learn from Nehemiah. This is what you do with your restlessness and this one's challenging many of us avoid this. He is willing to confront. He confronts problems and he confronts problem people. The reality, and I'm not the only leader to admit this, is that I have often been too slow to confront and I've never confronted too quickly. I've always confronted too slowly. And I've learned, and I still have so much more learning to do, that problems rarely self correct. And that if under your stewardship now, as a leader, in your place of work or your startup or your family. Family or the team that you're leading, if under your stewardship you are aware of problems that you are not confronting, you know this. I'm just reminding you that six months from now, they're not gonna be better. The problems are only gonna get exasperated and the confrontation will be more painful the more you wait. Nehemiah arrives back in Jerusalem and he confronts. He has this restlessness now. His restlessness is. Is holy. Because everything Nehemiah is doing, he's not doing it for his own name. He's doing it for the renown, for the name of God and his restlessness is holy because he mixes his holy angst, his holy restlessness, with ultimately resting in God. And that's what makes it resolve. This chart will help you see, this resolve is when you have high restlessness and high resting, both. If you only have high restlessness, but low rest, you're an anxious leader. And some of you are this way. You are. And you even know this about yourself. It's like, come on, come on, let's get this. Let's get this. Let's get this thing done. Let's get this thing done. Come on, come on, come on, let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go. And there's no rest in you at all. And what you're sending a signal to the people you're leading is that your anxiousness is founded because you actually believe your worth is determined on if the project goes well or not. See, for the Christian, we can rest because our worth is not determined on the success of the project or our worth has been determined by. We've received the grace and the mercy of Jesus, and our worth is secure. So we can rest. We can rest.

A (20:04)

So if you have high restlessness and restlessness can be good, but it's never good if it's mixed with low rest. If you have high restlessness and low rest, you're an anxious leader and you create anxious people. If you have low restlessness and high rest, if you're one of those people, like, man, everything's just awesome all the time. You're in the complacency bucket, and you won't accomplish much in life. In the complacency bucket, if you have low restlessness and low rest, you're dead. You have no pulse. Like, you don't. You're not existing. Where you want to live is in the high restlessness, high rest, because that's actually resolve. Nehemiah had both. He ended his journey resting, which I know who I pastor, I really want you to pay attention to this part because many of you know your restlessness. I need to talk to you about your rest. And when I say rest, some of you are thinking, oh, he's going to challenge me to take a day off or a vacation. Listen, those can be good, but I'm talking about something even deeper than that. I'm talking about an ongoing rest in the middle of your restlessness. Notice how Nehemiah ends the entire Book, verse 29 and 31. Remember them, my God, for defiling the priesthood. Remember me, my God, with favor and the book ends. He's essentially saying, God, I'm asking you to remember them. I'm handing them over to you. I'm doing all I can in my restlessness, but I'm ultimately resting in, you are the only one who can change the human heart. You are the only one. I'm handing this over to you. I'm trusting you. I give them to you. And he also says, remember me, God. Remember me. I'm your son according to your unfailing love. Remember me. I'm resting in you. Nehemiah was able to end the book of Nehemiah, chapter 13, which was filled with a lot of perceived failures. He's able to end the book resting. Not every problem is solved, but he's trusting in the one who governs over all things, His God. And understand, as a leader, you know this never are you gonna have a moment where every problem is solved. There's always another email to respond to. There's always another task to accomplish. There's always another initiative to take. There's always another goal to set, another hill to take. You aren't gonna be able to rest if you are resting in your work. The only way you can rest is if you realize that Jesus, God the Son, came here for you and his work, the finished work of Jesus on the cross is what allows you to rest because he secures your identity and your forgiveness. You can rest because of Jesus, not because of you.

A (22:48)

Nehemiah placed his hope not in his perfect plans. He placed his hope in his perfect God. He placed his hope not in the perfection of the people that he was leading. He placed his hope in his perfect God. And as a leader, the only way you're gonna rest is if you put your hope not in the perfect five year plan, the perfect strategy plan, the perfect vision, doc. The perfect strategic initiative. You're not gonna rest if you put your hope in that. You're only going to be able to rest if you put your hope in your perfect God. There's a really bad Christian cliche, quote, unquote, Christian. It's really not a Christian message at all, but it's on lots of T shirts and bumper stickers and it's really, really bad. You've seen it before. Perhaps some of you have reposted it from Instagram. And it's horrible. It's really, really bad. Here's the cliche. Do your best and trust God with the rest. It's bad. It's really bad. Why would you. Why? Why would you do that? Why would you do your Best. And then just trust God with the rest.

A (23:53)

Why not trust him with all of it? With every bit of it. With all that you are, with all of your work, with all that you are stewarding. Trust him with all of it. Not do your best. And when you get to the end of yourself, then trust God. No, you trust him with all of it. All of it. You, as you are restless as a leader, you are constantly trusting him and relying on Him. You don't rest in your work. You rest in his finished work. But Eric, it is so hard to rest.

A (24:27)

Listen, this sermon is much easier to preach than it is to live. It is really hard to rest. It's really hard to remind myself, which I must continually do, that my identity and worth is not found in the accomplishments. It's not found in what I do for God. That my identity isn't found in what I do for him or what I do for you. That my identity is found in what Christ has done for me and what he's accomplished for me. I must remind myself of this truth over and over again. Because my recurring struggle is to find worth in something I do and not what's been done for me. And when I find my identity in something that I do, I then struggle to rest. And when I struggle to rest, then my restlessness is never holy. But if I'm resting in him, my restlessness can always be holy. See, a Christian can rest even as he or she leads. But someone who's not a Christian can't rest even when he or she's on vacation.

A (25:33)

Listen, someone who doesn't know Jesus, because Jesus is rest can be on a vacation in the Caribbean, on a beach, on the outside resting, but on the inside working for his worth or her identity. A Christian can be working on the outside and resting on the inside, because we have come to the one Jesus, the Christ, who has said, you come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. I will give you rest.

A (26:08)

So vacation is great. A day off is great. But this is a deeper rest. This is you resting. That you are secure because of what Christ has done for you. I read an article after the Olympics a couple of years ago that I thought was heartbreaking and insightful and made me thankful for Jesus. It was called Going for Gold, or the Dark side of Going for Gold. And psychologists, sports psychologists and therapists were meeting with athletes who crashed after the Olympics. And these were incredible athletes, Olympic athletes. Some had won the gold and some didn't place. But it didn't matter whether they won the gold or didn't win the gold. What they found, these sports psychologists, is that when the majority of the Olympians came back from the Olympics, they crashed because they felt as if the peak identity they had as an Olympic athlete was gone. And whatever identity they would have for the rest of their life would be a lesser identity. Like, that's crushing to think that when you're 22, you've peaked, that when you're 22, you've had the top identity you'll ever have in your life. So these sports psychologists, they sit with these athletes and they help them think through what are you going to be known for? What's your identity? Who are you? You have to find another identity when you come back from the Games, you have to find something that you are. Are something that you're known for. I thought it was wise and insightful, but also sad with lots of pressure. It's a lot of pressure. It's a lot of pressure for someone to say, hey, listen, listen, you gotta find an identity. You have to find an identity. This made me so thankful for Jesus, God the Son who entered this world and does not put the pressure on you to find an identity. To achieve an identity. He gives you the greatest identity there is, that if you believe in him, you receive, not achieve, you receive the identity of being his son or his daughter. And there's no greater identity in the world and that identity cannot be taken from you, that you're his forever. His forever. And you're able to then rest, you can rest in knowing that you belong to him.

A (28:20)

Nehemiah ends. And let's be honest.

A (28:25)

It'S an anti climactic ending. And if you've ever read the Old Testament, if you're new to the Christian faith, we're so glad you're here. I know that this is like, wow, the Book of Nehemiah. I didn't even know it was a book in the Bible. I'm so glad you're walking through the Bible with us. And if you're new to the Christian faith, you may not know that the Old Testament is the books in the Bible that happen in the Bible before Jesus arrives. Jesus arrives, which we're about to celebrate at Christmas, and then that looks after Jesus arrives is called the New Testament. The Old Testament. If you ever look at a Bible that's in chronological order, you'll see that the end of the Old Testament is Nehemiah. So the Old Testament ends like this. It's a, it's a tragic ending. If you don't have the New Testament if you don't have Jesus. This is how the Old Testament ends. It begins with God's people breaking their promises. The Old Testament begins with Adam and Eve in the garden saying, God, we'll obey you. We won't eat from that one tree you say not to eat from. And they break their promise. Yet God is gracious. He still pursues people. He chooses to adopt a people for himself called Israel. And God tells them, listen, you're only to worship me. God rescues them out of Egyptian slavery and gives them the Ten Commandments. We're in the second book of the Bible, Exodus, chapter 20, verse one. God gives the first of the Ten Commandments. You shall have no other little G God before me. The people say, we'll only worship you. We'll only worship you. They break every one of their promises. God still loves them. And God brings them into the land, the chosen land, the promised land that he has for his people. And God says, I'll keep you in this land if you will only worship me. The people say, we only worship you. We'll only worship you. We'll keep our vows. We'll only worship you. They start to worship little g gods. They proliferate their land with idols. God sends prophet after prophet to warn them, if you keep worshiping these gods, I will take you from the land and pull you into captivity. They keep worshiping little g gods, breaking all of their promises. God always keeps his promises. So God removes the people from the land. But God's also promised that one day he'll bring them back to the land. This is where the book of Nehemiah comes in. The people go back to the land. Nehemiah repopulates the city. And he tells them, we have a fresh start. Once again. Let's make promises to God that will only worship him. The people celebrate, they sing, they worship. They write down their promise will only worship God. A covenant before God. Nehemiah goes back to Persia. He comes back, and yet again they've broken their promises. And the Old Testament ends with people being unable to keep their promises. And then there's 400 years of silence.

A (31:00)

I mean, without the New Testament, it's a dark ending.

A (31:06)

Us, humanity. Yet again, we can't keep our promises.

A (31:12)

400 years of silence.

A (31:18)

And then Christmas.

A (31:22)

And then Christmas.

A (31:27)

400 years of silence. 400. Followed by God the Son keeping every single one of his promises, entering this world to rescue you, to pursue you, to take your heart of stone and melt it and turn it into a heart of flesh him keeping every one of his promises. All of his promises are yes and amen. He keeps every single one of his promises. He promised after the first sin of us in the garden that one would come who would crush the head of our enemy. Christmas is the arrival of the one who's come to crush the head of our enemy, who lives perfectly on our behalf, who obeys the law of God, who keeps every commandment, who never has a wrong motive. And then he goes to a cross and places Himself there. The one who entered this world through the womb of a teenage virgin, who was placed in a manger, then places himself on a cross to take upon his flesh. All of our disobedience, all of our broken promises he absorbs. And in exchange he gives us all of his righteousness and all of his perfection, so that those of us who believe in him, we are declared perfect before him by his grace, not by our grit. Because we have a God who keeps every one of his promises, though we haven't kept any of ours. He is the promise keeping God, the promise keeping God.

A (32:50)

Nehemiah is crazy. The ending, it ends hopeless on purpose so that you will live with the sting of your inability and then your heart will be refreshed by his ability to come here and do for you what you could not do for yourself. He is able. He is the God who keeps his promises. He is the one who is worthy of our worship. Let's stand and let's worship our great God together.

A (33:21)

All right, Extend your hands please, and let me pray a prayer of blessing over you as we go. Jesus, I pray you'd bless your sons and daughters this week, that you would remind them that you are gentle and approachable and that you love them, cause your face to shine on them. I pray they will experience your mercy and your joy this new week. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Go in peace. Have a great week.

A (33:51)

Thanks for tuning in to the Mariners Weekend Message Podcast to support the ministry of Mariners Church. You can click the link in the show notes or download the Mariners App at your favorite app store. If you've been navigating God's wisdom with us through this year's annual read and would like to hear personal reflection from pastors in your community, check out the Gospel Every Day podcast. Imagine feeding your heart, mind and soul with the kind of practical wisdom that will change your life. If you haven't picked up the annual read yet, visit MarinersChurch.org or download the Mariners App for more information on where to find it.