“Proclaim & publish” from the lesson series, Return from Babylon | scattered & gathered, June 2020
our Scripture
And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law.
14 And they found it written in the Law that the Lord had commanded by Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, 15 and that they should proclaim it and publish it in all their towns and in Jerusalem, “Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written.” 16 So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the Water Gate and in the square at the Gate of Ephraim. 17 And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths, for from the days of Joshua the son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing. 18 And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. They kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the rule (ESV).
Nehemiah 8:9-18 NASB, Nehemiah 8:9-18 NIV, Nehemiah 8:9-18 Message, Nehemiah 8:9-18 NLT
our lesson
Do you have goals for your life?
Success coach Brian Tracy says, “The ability to set goals and make plans for their accomplishment is the ‘master skill’ of success.” His article, “Success Through Goal Setting,” is posted on his website.
What do your goals look like? Do they include a “bucket list” of things you would like to do or see? Are there things you would like to accomplish? Are they professional goals? Personal goals? How achievable are the items on your list? Do you know how to set them? If not, here is a link to SMART goals and how to write them.
In an article carried on the Inc. website, research says that while we may set them, we really don’t keep them. According to the University of Scranton, an incredibly large 92% of people who set New Year’s goals never achieve them. I fall into this category, do you? Failing to meet goals is both frustrating and discouraging.
Has 2020 been your year to finally achieve some of your goals? Has the pandemic sent your goals flying out the window and your world reeling to the ground at a record pace? The website thefinancialdiet.com includes an article talking to nine people whose 5-year plans have been impacted by COVID-19 and how they plan to get things back on track.
[su_pullquote align=”right”]Points to Ponder
1) Success mentor and coach, Brian Tracy, writes, “Goals enable you to do the work you want to do, to live where you want to live, to be with the people you enjoy and to become the kind of person you want to become.” Do you agree with his thoughts? Where does this statement fit into the life of a person of faith?
2) Has living in exile during the pandemic caused you to alter some of your goals? How so? [/su_pullquote]
Why don’t some people set goals?
Yogi Berra was an outspoken athlete, a catcher for the New York Yankees during the team’s heyday of 1946 through 1963. He was inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame as a player in 1972. Berra was loved by the press because he was always spouting lines that would be quotable for the next day’s paper. On setting goals, Yogi once quipped,
If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.
Why are there so many people that don’t know where they are going? Here are five reasons that many people fail to set goals.
- People are not serious, not committed to achieving things. Let’s face it. We become adults, but a part of us doesn’t like “adulting.” We don’t like responsibility and accountability.
- Another reason people may not understand the importance of setting goals. Our study should clear any doubts in your mind.
- The third reason why people don’t set goals is they don’t know how to do so.
- A fourth reason why people don’t set goals is the fear of rejection. Holding back on goal setting seems natural when others say it’s a waste of time or they can’t achieve them. Peer pressure is strong. Don’t share your goals – or even the fact that you are making them – with others, unless that person is also committed to achieving goals of their own.
The biggest reason people don’t set goals
- Probably the biggest reason for not setting goals is the fear of failure. How many times have we failed to do things because we were afraid of failing? You have to be vulnerable to risk failure for the chance of achieving success.
In the research for his book, The Law of Success, Napoleon Hill interviewed 500 of the most successful people in America. Every one of them admitted they had achieved their greatest successes just one step beyond the point where they had experienced their greatest failures.
[su_pullquote]So they published this decree and had it posted in all their cities and in Jerusalem (Nehemiah 8:15a MSG)[/su_pullquote]
How important is it to have goals?
Geoffrey James, in an article on the inc.com website, writes, “I’ve seldom met a successful person who didn’t start out with a set of ambitious goals. However, the power of goal-setting isn’t just anecdotal. It turns out that there’s a wealth of scientific research into how goal-setting changes the way your brain functions.”
A landmark study performed by the University of Texas discovered that setting goals effects how the brain functions. The technical research boils down to this: Goal-setting restructures your brain to make it more effective. In some ways it actually heals the brain. It is like optimizing your hard drive on the computer so that you achieve your goals.
Bill Copeland said, “The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score.” In an article on the keepinspiring.me website, Quincy Seale identifies six reasons why you need to set goals. Most importantly, goals establish a pattern inside. You set your mind to something. You get excited about it. You work hard to finish the task. Having a specific goal helps the motivation from wearing off.
Seeing progress is addicting. Research proves it. Think about the last time you were “on a roll” or really “in the groove.” The momentum of success breeds the motivation for more success. Famed psychologist Mikhail Csikszentmihalyi calls the momentum “flow,” which he says is the optimal state of mental performance.
Are there steps to setting good goals?
Goal setting doesn’t have to be boring. It can be personal and visionary. There certainly are many benefits for setting goals. Jeff Boss, a contributor at the Forbes.com website, writes “you can’t manage what you don’t measure and you can’t improve what you don’t manage.” The key to setting goals is to find an organized plan that works for you.
There are many reasons that setting goals really works. Let’s talk about some ways to set good goals. We have already made reference to the plan called SMART goals. SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic and Time-related goals. Management guru Peter Drucker developed the concept. There are several approaches to writing SMART goals.
Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, a British multinational venture capital conglomerate, has a five-step process for setting goals. His thoughts include: don’t self-censor (write down everything); multiple lists are better; cheer yourself on with checkmarks; measure your way to success; and share your goals with others.
Stephen Covey, American author, educator and businessman proposed that the goals needed to be more than just words on paper. He insisted they become habits – habits the effective people all practice. The image of his habits links to the organization’s website.
You can also add several books to your Kindle or your bookshelf about goal-setting. The Success.com website lists six books to help make your vision a reality.
Should your goals be written down?
There are impressive studies that back up goal setting. Statistics also make a strong argument at getting good at the skill of writing them down. A Harvard Business Study conducted in 2017 found that the 3% of graduates from their MBA program who had written down their goals ended up earning ten times as much as the other 97% put together. While the study was not controlled in the way some scientific studies are conducted, the findings are still compelling.
Forbes.com concludes that one reason is that the goals have become articulated and are visible. As juvenile as it might sound, sit with markers, crayons, paint or any other means that you have for displaying them – just as if you were back in grade school. The creative process will cement the goals in your mind.
Michael Hyatt agrees and stresses that writing the goals is actually important for five reasons. In fact he says writing is the secret to accomplishing what master most to you.
- Writing the goal is important because it will force you to clarify what you want.
- The act of writing the goal helps motivate you to take action.
- Goal writing also provides a filter for other opportunities.
- Achieving goals encounters resistance. Writing goals helps you process ways to overcome the resistance.
- The written goals enables you to see – and celebrate – the progress and victory.
An article on the Inc.com website adds that when you write your goals, you are 42% more likely to achieve them. Dr. Gail Matthews, at the Dominican University in California, led the study on goal-setting and concludes that the process of putting your goals on paper will force you to strategize, to ask questions about your current progress, and to brainstorm your plan of attack.
What about goals for your faith?
Setting goals in the Christian faith walks the perilous tight-rope between grace and works. We don’t want to fall off either side of the precarious position. The one side clamors for us to become pharisaical, keeping track of works in a way that hopes God will be pleased, and hopes that we can make our salvation sure. The other side laughs and says what we do doesn’t matter, for God will allow everyone in heaven anyway.
Years before Rick Warren’s best-selling work, The Purpose Driven Life, Dr. Joe Ellis was teaching seminary students that purpose clarifies direction and helps motivate action. His book, The Church on Purpose: Keys to Effective Church Leadership was published in 1982 and provided biblical explanations and achievable guidelines for developing a growing, fruit-producing church.
Warren’s work is landmark. God’s purposes for you extend beyond the few years that are spent here on earth. The Purpose Driven Life maps out the details for Christian living today. Using over 1200 Scriptures and references, it challenges the traditional definitions of conventional theology.
In answering the book’s subtitle, Warren finds five purposes that explain “What on earth am I here for?” You are …
- Planned for God’s pleasure (worship)
- Formed for God’s family (church)
- Created to become like Christ (discipleship)
- Shaped for serving God (ministry)
- Made for a mission (mission)
How Should We Form Our Goals?
If one of the goals of the Christian life is to become like Christ, then the traits of our character are steps toward mirroring His personality. Paul describes those characteristics as fruit (Galatians 5:22-23 NIV) and more than implies that the Holy Spirit is invested in their development. Peter describes traits that accompany faith (2 Peter 1:5-8 NIV). Love and self-control are common to both lists.
Some Christians take a particular trait and work on it the entire year. Others try to eliminate gaps (“This year I will be more patient.”) May I suggest forming your goals around three concepts – let’s call them “habits.” These are the general areas I want to focus on. At a regular interval (three months, six months, or a year), I will make specific applications for each of these three areas.
Breaking it Down
First, I want to be gracious. We live in a harsh, biting world. Non-religious people notice the gracious spirit. People see the need for it in relationships, business and for success. Perhaps grace would be the salve that the wounded, hurting world could use for healing.
The second and third habits center around a question asked to Jesus. An expert in the Law inquired of Jesus about the most important commandment. Jesus responded there were two great commands, “First, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.” He continued by saying, “The second is to love your neighbor as yourself.”
If I want to learn to love God in such a rich, complete way, I have going to have to be a life-long learner. I will want to know everything there is to know about God – who He is, what He has done, and what He says. I will also have to learn as much as I can about me. How does my heart work? What kind of strength do I have to use when I love God? How will that kind of love touch my soul?
If I want to love my neighbor as myself, I am going to need to be empathetic. I will need to understand the needs of my neighbor. I will need to care enough about them to be sensitive enough to help. I am going to have to be selfless and sacrificing. As I do, I am going to become more Christ-like in my character and my behavior.
[su_pullquote align=”right”]Words to Wrangle
The word that are striking in today’s passage are the words “proclaim” and “publish.” The words are often associated with verbal and written communication. Both the Old and the New Testaments ask, “How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?”
1) How do you “proclaim and publish” the validity of your faith to your closest audience, your family? Does this relate to Peter’s admonition to “always be ready to give an answer when someone asks you about your hope” (1 Peter 3:15 CEV).
2) Is it difficult for you to admit that you are doing gracious things because God has been gracious to you? What is the best way to say that? [/su_pullquote]
Making the Goals Real
John Piper says, “The most loving thing we can do for others is love God more than we love them. For if we love God most, we will love others best.”
If we were to make goals out of these commands, we ought to apply the concepts of the SMART goal process to our theology. How can I make a goal that would emphasize my need to love God with all my heart, while graciously loving my neighbor as myself?
S – SPECIFIC – I will show God that I love Him with all my heart by giving money to the church.
M – MEASURABLE – I will give $25 a week beyond my tithe for the next six months.
A – ATTAINABLE – My tithe and an additional $25 a week fit into my salary and my budget.
R – RELEVANT – My church is trying to raise money for the next six months to aid our mission to the camp in Arizona.
T – TIME BOUND – The goal of giving is once a week, every week, for the next six months.
This particular goal aligns a gracious spirit with both the command to love God and to love our neighbor.
Are there lessons from Nehemiah?
As we close our study from Nehemiah, let’s look at some important concepts the people kept in mind as they sought to put their faith into practice as they returned from their exile in Babylon.
[su_pullquote align=”right”]Conclusions to Consider
1) A primary truth in this lesson is that we are to publish and proclaim our commitment to faith. How do we remember what God has done in our lives? How do you record or publish what you want to do for God?
2) In what ways have you personally proclaimed the message of your faith? How did you become a Christian? How is God working in your life right now? [/su_pullquote]
This day is holy … do not mourn or weep
The people understood there was a holy nature to the work they were doing. Building walls and re-establishing their practices were physical, mundane activities. It doesn’t necessarily “feel” that there is a lot spiritual about what they were doing. But Nehemiah and God’s Word helped them understand the work done to further God’s kingdom was a spiritual matter as well as a physical one. This was a holy thing they were doing. They were to celebrate.
We usually think the opposite, don’t we? If the day is holy, we are to be quiet and reverent. We see those characteristics as evidence of holiness. “Be quiet! You’re in church.” There is celebration in the holiness of God – and in the holy work that we are accomplishing in His name.
As we set goals, there should be both a holiness and a celebration applied to our efforts to serve the Lord.
They found …in the Law … they should proclaim it and publish it
Consider the concepts of verses fourteen and fifteen. “They found written in the Law” contains a simple, yet profound message. We need to look in the Scriptures for the truths containing the principles for how we are to live. But the use of the word “found” almost implies the truths were lost. Perhaps they hadn’t looked. Maybe they over-looked.
“They should proclaim and publish it” speaks a lot to our conversations today about setting goals and writing them down. Here is what we are going to do. These are the written plans that will govern our behavior. Let everyone know what we are doing and why.
Years ago the city of Cincinnati was enduring one of the hottest months of August on record. The sweltering heat was causing exhaustion and illness throughout the city. It was also causing a shortness of breath and a shortness of patience and holding tempers everywhere. Add to the busyness of downtown traffic and you have a recipe for disaster. One of the churches in the area, The Vineyard, gathered a crew of volunteers and passed out ice cold bottles of water to the hot drivers of cars on a downtown street corner.
They did not hand out tracts with the water. They did not hand out flyers advertising their church. They walked up to a car as it was stopped in traffic and handed them a cold drink.
If someone asked, and many people did, “What is this for?” they simply responded, “We are handing out cold water in the name of Jesus who gives Living Water. Enjoy your drink.”
Proclaimed and published.
So the people went out … and made booths
When the people read the Word, they discovered they were to do things that reminded them of what the Lord had done for His people. They found they were to build temporary shelters and spend time living in them, pointing their minds back to the time when Israel was freed from their slavery in Egypt into the Promised Land.
So the people went out and made tents. They didn’t just read the things on the scrolls of the Law. They went out and did what the Law said. They took part in a festival of remembrance. They realized that such a feast was in fact a celebration.
And their joy was very great.
The body of believers today has a festival that remembers what God has done. “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26 NASB).
Some churches celebrate communion every quarter. Other churches celebrate it once a month. Many churches celebrate the Lord’s Supper each Sunday. We remember the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus as a payment and sacrifice for our sins. We do it – as often as we remember.
Don’t weep. Don’t mourn. This is a holy experience. It is a festival of celebration.
Let your joy be great!