Nehemiah 2:13-20
1 Samuel 17:1-54
“You know very well what trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire. Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and end this disgrace!” Nehemiah 2:17 NLT
Chuck Swindoll talks about Extrinsic or Intrinsic Motivation:
“We give children prizes for bringing their friends to church, memorizing Bible verses, or having a perfect attendance record. That might work with kids for a while, but something is wrong when it has to continue. As we grow older, intrinsic motivation should have greater appeal.”
When you listen or read the speeches of Winston Churchill you will realize that he never used external motivation to bring hope to the British people. He never tried to buy them with federal money or with welfare programs. He always went for the heart of the British people to motivate them.
Listen to his words:
“I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and seat.”
“Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival.”
“…we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight in the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air; we shall defend our Island whatever the cost may be.
We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”
When the British people were paralyzed by FEAR of Hitler and his army destroying their country, Winston Churchill addressed the House of Commons on December 30, 1941. Here is a small portion of that speech:
“When I warned the French that Britain would fight on alone whatever they did, their generals told their Prime Minister and his divided Cabinet, ‘In three weeks England will have her neck wrung like a chicken.’ Some chicken; some neck.”
What about the church today? What about you and me today? Is there not a cause? Why are we still here? What is our cause?
Michael Horton “Beyond Culture Wars”
“Only Christianity gives a person justification for seeking to CHANGE things rather than passively accepting fate, yet providing at the same time a sword-bearing angel at the gate of Utopia. Theologians often speak of the kingdom of God in terms of the ‘already’ and ‘not-yet.’ It is difficult for us to wait for things, especially in our highly automated, service-oriented society. WE refuse to wait for the redemption of our bodies, so we ‘name and claim it’ here and now; we want money, success, happiness. We want the world to be made the kingdom of God and Christ. But wait we must.
The kingdom of God is here, as Christ said, but it is spiritual. And yet, we have the promise that one day there will be Utopia, that the kingdom of earth will become the kingdom of Christ, as Eden and Israel were designed to foreshadow. One day, those who cause war will be driven from the City of Peace; those who oppress through violence and injustice will themselves be imprisoned, and the Son of Righteousness will be the light of the world. But until that day, we must be content with the spiritual presence of that glorious kingdom. We must not place our hope in projects of building ‘Christian nations.’ We are not called to take over power bases, but to be ‘salt’ and ‘light’ wherever we are, knowing that vengeance and final judgment belong to God.
Even in America, we are in exile. Our nation does not correspond to Israel in Scripture, but to Egypt. All nations are ‘Egypt’ to the believer. It is a constructive exile, where we learn skills, pursue our callings, raise our families, participate in common life with unbelievers, and enjoy fellowship with our fellow-exile.
We may even have, hopefully, a Joseph or two in Washington every now and then, but it is always Egypt, always the exile. Whenever we worship as the assembly on earth, the Holy Spirit links us to the heavenly congregation where, with them, we are feeding on Christ and seated with Him in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:5). This is what it means to pray,
‘Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’ As those believers who have gone to their reward are seated around the throne, caught up in praise and worship, may we worship God in Spirit and truth here on earth until the Gospel has been preached to the ends of the earth.
‘Then all nations shall know that I am the Lord your God.’ And only then will God bring heaven to earth – this time, forever.”