Do a Great Work

“Now it happened when . . . the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall, and that there were no breaks left in it . . .  So I sent messengers to them, saying, "I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?" But they sent me this message four times, and I answered them in the same manner.” Nehemiah 6:1-4

“for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:10

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” Hebrews 12:1-2a

“Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place--unless you repent.” Revelation 2:4-5

During our homecoming service we were challenged to leave a legacy, as a part of the great “cloud of witnesses” referred to in Hebrews 12.  Each of those Old Testament heroes in Hebrews 11 accomplished great things through God’s Spirit.  Their stories are recorded in order to give us hope that great things can be accomplished by God even with sinners/ mistake-makers.

Approximately 80% of Hart County residents do not attend church on any given Sunday.  Since we love to hang out with our Christian brothers and sisters, it is easy to look over the lostness even here in Kentucky.  We as a group have a great work that needs to happen; we need to reach as many of these people as we can. 

Yet, in each of our lives there is likely at least one thing which is hindering our growth.  You know what this ‘thing’ is, because it has already come to your mind as an excuse as to why you can’t do anything about the lostness of Hart County.  We must take care of it now, and go to work.

In the book of Nehemiah, Jerusalem has been destroyed, the people are exiled into foreign countries, and it made them mad and embarrassed as a prideful people.  Nehemiah knew the unfortunate situations, and he decided to do something about it.  Nehemiah had to rebuild the walls before the rest of the work could begin, what do we need to do?  There were obstacles, setbacks, and discouragements thrown in Nehemiah’s direction but he refused to quit and answered what is shown above.

There are opportunities ahead of us which demand our attention and we desire to press forward.  In order for this to happen there is likely one obstacle we need to clear, maybe a couple.  It could be a sin you need to stop, or a ministry we need to start.  What is your ‘great work?’

I love to listen to Andy Stanley, this is partially derived from a message of his called, "This One Thing"