Life Renovations
A New Years Sermon by Pastor Rob Miller -- Woodlands Ev-Free, Plover WI
Life Renovations
Nehemiah 2:11-20
A house in good repair is easier to add onto than a house in disrepair!
We often make New Year's resolutions with the hope of creating a positive addition or two in our lives. Before we begin building these additions, it can be helpful to us if we evaluate the condition of our lives currently to see if any renovations are needed. Everyone should evaluate the need for life renovation because of these four advantages over life debris.
It's all about prayer (Nehemiah 1:4): This is where the renovations start!
Advantage #1: No Ostriches!
An Ostrich can weigh up to 300 lbs., Be 9 ft. tall, run up to 30 m.p.h., and has a kick that can kill a lion!
The stigma that Ostriches burry their heads in the sand at the first sign of danger is very false!
An Ostrich can very quickly Evaluate if it can fight or if it needs to run. But if it determinse that it cannot win the fight and cannot escape, it will flop on the ground. The Ostrich's neck is a light brown color and very easily blends with the sand...it blends in and can possibly look like it has burried it's head in the sand, but in reality it is just hiding!
What does this have to do with Nehemiah?
In vs. 11-15, Nehemiah starts to evaluate the situation! Should he fight or take flight? He doesn't just burry his head in the sand.
We also must take this example and apply it to our lives...for we have another advantage here! Christ Jesus is the one who gives us Strength! Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through him (Christ) who strengthens me."
Advantage #2: Red Rover!
The childs game where there are two lines and each team tries to break through the other to strengthen itself. As a person is running to the other team to break through, they are evaluating where the weakness in that team is. In this game Strategy works, but what is really needed is Strong Arms.
What does this have to do with Nehemiah?
In vs. 13-18 Nehemiah strengthens His team by adding
We need to look at our House "Team" and evaluate were it is weak and where it needs to be fixed.
Wall: An upright structure of masonry, wood, plaster, or other building material serving to enclose, divide, or protect an area, especially a vertical construction forming an inner partition or exterior siding of a building.
We all know that walls are built to enclose and protect...but they are also to divide!
Divide what? How about Poor choices from Good choices? Edifying TV from Immoral TV?
We need to evaluate our House, where is it weak and needs to be rebuilt before we can add on!
Advantage #3: Chocolate Cake for Breakfast!
Bill Cosby once told a story about how is wife asked him to make breakfast for the kids. The first child asked for Chocolate Cake! Now Bill's first reaction was No Way, but as he thought about it, he realized that Eggs are in Chocolate cake, and so is Milk! Those are healthy foods! So he gave her a slice of Chocolate cake! The next two children came down and also wanted Chocolate Cake and he gave it to them...and as they were enjoying a wonderful Chocolate Cake breakfast and singing choruses of Dad is wonderful, thanks for the Chocolate Cake, in walks mother...and the atmoshphere quickly changes!
What does this have to do with Nehemiah?
In vs. 16-18 there are 5 things that Nehemiah does!
1. Hehemiah had done his homework...he evaluated the situation!
2. He appealed to the peoples senses! -- Guys look around, the walls are useless! Do you really want to live like this?
3. He stated the obvious -- The walls are broken they cannot serve their purpose!
4. He gave a plan of Action -- Lets us fix these broken walls! Key point: US, let US -- He helped out!
5. He reflected on the faithfulness of God and shared all that God had told him and had accomplished!
We need to run to God like kids run to Chocolate Cake for Breakfast!!!!!
"Hanging by a Moment" by Lifehouse
Desperate for changing; starving for truth
Closer to where I started
Chasing after You
I'm falling even more in love with You
Letting go of all I've held on to
I'm standing here until You make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with You
Forgetting all I'm lacking; completely incomplete
I'll take your invitation- You take all of me
I', alling even more in love with You
Letting go of all I've held on to
I'm standing here until You make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with You
I'm living for the only thing I know
I'm running and not quite sure where to go
And I don't know what I'm diving into
Just hanging by a moment here with You
There's nothing else to lose... There's nothing else to find
There's nothing in the world... That could change my mind
There is nothing else, There is nothing else, There is nothing else.
Advantage #4: Tamper Resistant Packaging!
Dr. Henry Browl -- the inventor of the Child Proof Safety Cap! He got so tired of pumping childrens stomachs that he invented the Safety cap. This reduced the number of poison related deaths in children by 94% over the next 3 years!
Now studies show that children between 3-5 can break into the bottles with Safety Caps within 5 min. or less!
What does this have to do with Nehemiah?
In vs. 19-20 People try to thwart God's plans!
But God's plans are Perfect and Best Jeremiah 29:11-14 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me. When you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile."
God's plans can't be messed with, they cannot be broken!
Turn your house over to God! He builds a New House he starts from scratch! He makes all things New Revelation 21:5-6 "And he who was seated on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.' Also he said, 'Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.' And he said to me, 'It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.'"
2 Corinthians 5:12-21
"We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
In Christ,
David
Life Renovations
Nehemiah 2:11-20
A house in good repair is easier to add onto than a house in disrepair!
We often make New Year's resolutions with the hope of creating a positive addition or two in our lives. Before we begin building these additions, it can be helpful to us if we evaluate the condition of our lives currently to see if any renovations are needed. Everyone should evaluate the need for life renovation because of these four advantages over life debris.
It's all about prayer (Nehemiah 1:4): This is where the renovations start!
Advantage #1: No Ostriches!
An Ostrich can weigh up to 300 lbs., Be 9 ft. tall, run up to 30 m.p.h., and has a kick that can kill a lion!
The stigma that Ostriches burry their heads in the sand at the first sign of danger is very false!
An Ostrich can very quickly Evaluate if it can fight or if it needs to run. But if it determinse that it cannot win the fight and cannot escape, it will flop on the ground. The Ostrich's neck is a light brown color and very easily blends with the sand...it blends in and can possibly look like it has burried it's head in the sand, but in reality it is just hiding!
What does this have to do with Nehemiah?
In vs. 11-15, Nehemiah starts to evaluate the situation! Should he fight or take flight? He doesn't just burry his head in the sand.
We also must take this example and apply it to our lives...for we have another advantage here! Christ Jesus is the one who gives us Strength! Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through him (Christ) who strengthens me."
Advantage #2: Red Rover!
The childs game where there are two lines and each team tries to break through the other to strengthen itself. As a person is running to the other team to break through, they are evaluating where the weakness in that team is. In this game Strategy works, but what is really needed is Strong Arms.
What does this have to do with Nehemiah?
In vs. 13-18 Nehemiah strengthens His team by adding
We need to look at our House "Team" and evaluate were it is weak and where it needs to be fixed.
Wall: An upright structure of masonry, wood, plaster, or other building material serving to enclose, divide, or protect an area, especially a vertical construction forming an inner partition or exterior siding of a building.
We all know that walls are built to enclose and protect...but they are also to divide!
Divide what? How about Poor choices from Good choices? Edifying TV from Immoral TV?
We need to evaluate our House, where is it weak and needs to be rebuilt before we can add on!
Advantage #3: Chocolate Cake for Breakfast!
Bill Cosby once told a story about how is wife asked him to make breakfast for the kids. The first child asked for Chocolate Cake! Now Bill's first reaction was No Way, but as he thought about it, he realized that Eggs are in Chocolate cake, and so is Milk! Those are healthy foods! So he gave her a slice of Chocolate cake! The next two children came down and also wanted Chocolate Cake and he gave it to them...and as they were enjoying a wonderful Chocolate Cake breakfast and singing choruses of Dad is wonderful, thanks for the Chocolate Cake, in walks mother...and the atmoshphere quickly changes!
What does this have to do with Nehemiah?
In vs. 16-18 there are 5 things that Nehemiah does!
1. Hehemiah had done his homework...he evaluated the situation!
2. He appealed to the peoples senses! -- Guys look around, the walls are useless! Do you really want to live like this?
3. He stated the obvious -- The walls are broken they cannot serve their purpose!
4. He gave a plan of Action -- Lets us fix these broken walls! Key point: US, let US -- He helped out!
5. He reflected on the faithfulness of God and shared all that God had told him and had accomplished!
We need to run to God like kids run to Chocolate Cake for Breakfast!!!!!
"Hanging by a Moment" by Lifehouse
Desperate for changing; starving for truth
Closer to where I started
Chasing after You
I'm falling even more in love with You
Letting go of all I've held on to
I'm standing here until You make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with You
Forgetting all I'm lacking; completely incomplete
I'll take your invitation- You take all of me
I', alling even more in love with You
Letting go of all I've held on to
I'm standing here until You make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with You
I'm living for the only thing I know
I'm running and not quite sure where to go
And I don't know what I'm diving into
Just hanging by a moment here with You
There's nothing else to lose... There's nothing else to find
There's nothing in the world... That could change my mind
There is nothing else, There is nothing else, There is nothing else.
Advantage #4: Tamper Resistant Packaging!
Dr. Henry Browl -- the inventor of the Child Proof Safety Cap! He got so tired of pumping childrens stomachs that he invented the Safety cap. This reduced the number of poison related deaths in children by 94% over the next 3 years!
Now studies show that children between 3-5 can break into the bottles with Safety Caps within 5 min. or less!
What does this have to do with Nehemiah?
In vs. 19-20 People try to thwart God's plans!
But God's plans are Perfect and Best Jeremiah 29:11-14 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me. When you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile."
God's plans can't be messed with, they cannot be broken!
Turn your house over to God! He builds a New House he starts from scratch! He makes all things New Revelation 21:5-6 "And he who was seated on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.' Also he said, 'Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.' And he said to me, 'It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.'"
2 Corinthians 5:12-21
"We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
In Christ,
David
posted by Mark 1:17 at 10:14 AM
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