if you would, very quickly tonight to the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah chapter number 2. Nehemiah chapter number 2. And I guess we're going to treat this message sort of like loaf bread. We'll just slice it off and come back. How about that? And we'll probably have a part 3 to this one then. We're in the book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah is a cupbearer to the king, king Artaxerxes. He's in Shushan the palace. Word comes through Hanani, his brother, and some other Jewish brethren, I believe which was his brother in the flesh, his physical brother. as well as Jewish brethren that had traveled back from Jerusalem. They had been about 800-1,000 miles. They had traveled there where the remnant had returned after the Babylonian exile. The temple had been rebuilt, but the walls were still broken down. The gates thereof had been burned with fire. The people, the children of Israel, the inhabitants of Jerusalem were at the mercy of their enemy. They were being plundered, they were being attacked and plundered, and their lives were just in disarray. And it impacted Nehemiah's life so much that it stunned him. He sat down in his seat and he mourned and he wept and he prayed, and the Bible said, certain days. We know that there was a season of prayer. And God, through that season of prayer, began to crystallize in Nehemiah's heart a purpose. Look, if you would, please, chapter 2 and verse number 1. And it came to pass in the month Nisan, this is probably March-April in the Persian calendar, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him. And I took up the wine and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been before time sad in his presence. Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? This is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid, and said unto the king, Let the king live for ever. Why should not my countenance be sad when the city, the place of my father's sepulcher's life, waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire? Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven, and I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, and to the city of my father's sepulchres, that I may build it. And the king said unto me, the queen also sitting by him, For how long shall thy journey be, and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me, and I set him a time. Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah. and a letter unto Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertain to the house and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me according to the good hand of my God upon me." What a wonderful, wonderful passage of Scripture. I began to look and notice that Nehemiah was a man who lived his life with purpose. So many people go through life, even Christians go through life, and they wander aimlessly. They never really have a purpose for their lives. Others have purpose, but it's worldly purpose. It comes of their own selfish dreams and desires and pursuits and aspirations. and ambitions in life and they come to the end of life and they're filled with regret and disappointment and emptiness because they've lived for something that will not last. You see, everything about this world is passing, but I'm glad there's a world coming that's lasting. Amen? And that we don't have to live for that which is going to pass, we can live for that which will last. I don't believe there's anything sweeter in the life of a Christian than living with a godly purpose. of finding God's purpose, God's plan for my life. You say, preacher, you don't understand. I've already lived much of my life. I'm in the sunset years. God can't possibly have anything for me. Listen, I'm convinced of this. If you are living and breathing as one of His children on planet Earth, God has purpose for your life. God wants you to make a difference. God wants to use you. God wants your life to have influence and meaning for Him. And if I'm going to have a purpose, young person listen to me tonight, young adult, if I'm going to have to have purpose, if I'm going to have purpose, a God-given purpose in my life, then it's going to come through a season of prayer. Notice we're in chapter 2 and it's the month Nisan, but when Nehemiah hears these words, it's in the month Kislu, it's in December. We see that in chapter 2 verse 1 that four months have went by. that there's been a season of prayer in the life of Nehemiah where Nehemiah has gotten alone with God. He sought God's mind. He sought God's heart. There is a people and a city on his heart. And God began to form a purpose in Nehemiah's heart of Nehemiah, why don't you do something about this? Nehemiah, why don't you take care of it? Nehemiah, in somebody else building the walls, why don't you build the walls? Have you ever noticed how that in a season of prayer some burden is on our heart like it was Nehemiah? And God will come along and tap us on the shoulder and say, well, why don't you do something about it? No doubt more than one person sitting in this room, you had a burden during a missions revival or a missions conference, and you were praying for the billions that have yet to hear, and God tapped you on the shoulder and said, why don't you do something about it? Why don't you go? By the way, can I tell you, God's still calling, and God's still looking, and God's still desiring men and women that will give their lives, young people who will give their lives for a godly purpose. Now we learned this morning, you don't have to be a missionary or evangelist or a pastor to make a difference for God. Your godly purpose might be being the husband, the wife, the grandparent that God wants you to be. It may be that God has called you to a group of children in our church, and you minister there, or maybe in an RU, or maybe on care outreach, or any myriad of ways that we serve through this local church. God's called you to your place of work. Nobody's where they are by accident. God has sent us, I'm getting ahead of myself, into that place. God's giving us purpose. We represent Him. We're His salt, His light in the world in which we live. Whether it's a homeschool mom, whether it's a Christian school teacher, whether it's a nurse caring for a patient or a construction worker building, God is giving you a circle of people to influence and impact for His glory. It's called purpose. It comes through a season of prayer. You'll never discover God's purpose for your life if you're not willing to spend time with Him. Number two, I want you to get it tonight. Purpose always comes with a cost. It always comes with a cost. You see, any time that we set out to do something for God, there's a cost involved in that. And Nehemiah, during the four months of seeking the Lord, praying, fasting, weeping, I believe he counted the cost. Notice, if you would, the risk that he took. Let's pick up in our text in verse number 1. We're in the palace there in Shushan. It's in the month, Persian month, Nisan, our April. Nehemiah is performing his royal duties. He's not just a butler. He's a man of high position. He's on the cabinet of Artaxerxes. He's a very trusted man. It was his job to ensure the safety of the king to taste the wine. the food before it went to the king. I'm just telling you, being a king in Persia was hazardous business. There was some occupational hazard there. There was somebody always wanting to get you out of the way and take your place. And so, you trusted those people around you. And so, Nehemiah is doing his duty before the king. Notice verse 1, last phrase, I took up the wine, gave it unto the king. Now, I had not been before time sad in his presence. Have you noticed the burden starting to show through? I mean, he can't hold it in any longer. This thing's been pressing on his heart for so long. It's beginning to show up on there. You know how somebody has godly purpose? You can see it. I mean, you can hear it. It's going to come out in their life. And here it's getting ready to come out in Nehemiah's life. But it's a dangerous, there's a risk here. Notice, look, verse 2, Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad? Seeing you're not sick. Now if you're sick, Nehemiah, I'd understand it, but you're not sick. But you have a sad, grievous countenance. Now you know what? If you're a king, you're suspicious. And the thought that Nehemiah may be sad or troubled looking in his presence may have been an indication that something was wrong with that wine and there may be something going on and Nehemiah might have been a part of a coup or something to take his life. And so the king, he wanted everybody happy in his presence. He wanted to know everything's okay. He didn't want any inclination that something bad was getting ready to happen to him. And so, if you're sad in the King's presence, man, He can take your life for that. It's not just losing your job. It's not just going into the cheese line. Oh no, friend, let me just tell you, he was going to lose his life. Because Nehemiah, excuse me, Artaxerxes would have suspected that Nehemiah was guilty in a part of a coup that was getting ready to overthrow his government and somebody replace him as king. Notice, if you would, verse number two, that Nehemiah understood this. He said, this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid. He was willing to risk his life to fulfill God's purpose. Look at verse number 3, and said to the king, let the king live forever. I would have said the same thing if I thought the king was getting ready to take my head off, wouldn't you? I'd want the king to live forever too. He was willing to settle his heart. King, I just want you to know, there's not a problem with you, there's not a problem with me, there's not a problem with the wine, there's not a problem with the food, everything's okay, I'm just upset. I'm just broken inside. King, I'm burdened. There's something pressing heavy on my heart. And out it begins to come. Look, look what he says. He said, Why should not my countenance be sad when the city, the place of my father's sepulcher, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire? Now I want you to notice something. Did you notice he never mentioned Jerusalem? You know why? Because Artaxerxes had shut down a building project in Jerusalem about 20 years before this. And he didn't want to raise any suspicion. So he began to play on the king's heart strings. Because in that Persian culture and in that pagan culture, they set great store by the sepulchers of their fathers. They would even worship their ancestors and they would build monuments to them and they would pray to them. And so it was a big deal. And he said, wait a minute. You're building monuments to your ancestors and my father's sepulchers, their gravesites. They lay waste and the gates are consumed with fire and the walls are broken down. My place, my heritage, where my fathers are, it's in ruins, King. He's pulling on his heart strings. He knew exactly where to, out of a moment of prayer, no doubt God had given him a plan of how to speak to the King. By the way, you never notice that whenever you talk to somebody, it's always good to talk to God first sometimes. And that's what he's going to do here. And then look, the king, look at verse number 4, his interest is piqued. He understands, his heart is moved. Look at verse 4. Then the king said to me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. You see, it was in that moment, before he ever said anything to an earthly king, that Nehemiah went one more time to a heavenly king. It was a telegraph prayer. It was a crisis moment. It was a moment where his heart... I don't believe there's any words coming out of his mouth. I believe he is talking to Artaxerxes, but in his heart and his spirit, he is talking to the God of heaven, because he knew the heart of the king was in the Lord's hand. And if anybody was going to move the heart of this king, God was going to have to do it. And Christian, I want you to understand that we have a heavenly king that can work on earth. Hey, there's nothing impossible with our God. Don't let a purpose in your heart set undone because you think it can't be done. Because with God, nothing is impossible. Amen. Romans 12, 14 says we're to continue instant in prayer. In that instant, he calls on the Lord and he reveals his purpose to the king. Look at verse 5. And I said to the king, if it please the king, he's got to have the king's favor. He already had God's mind on the matter. Now he needed an earthly king's mind on the matter. Permission to go. He knew God could move the heart of that king. If thy servant had found favor in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my father's sepulchers, that I may build it. He said, I want to go and build my monuments. I want to build my graves. I want to restore the city of God and the people of God. And you know what? I believe this. Here's Nehemiah, willing to put his life on the line to fulfill what God had put in his heart to do. See, there was a cost involved. And I believe the reason a lot of Christians never step out by faith and do what God puts in their heart to do is because they're afraid of the risk. They're just unwilling to take the risk that's necessary. Preacher, I can't sing in that choir. Oh no, I might sing in the shower but not in the choir. Oh, I could never get up and speak in front of people. Oh, I could never play my instrument. Oh, I could never. Friend, you know what? You're right. You can't. But with Him, you can. Because we can do all things through Christ which strengthens us. Here's what we need to do. We need to get outside of ourselves. We need to be willing to pay the cost to do whatever it is that God puts in our heart because the heavenly King has given us a purpose. I remember when God called me full-time in the ministry in Lenore, I was bivocational. By the way, let me just say something. There's nothing wrong with being a bivocational preacher. Thank God for men that are willing to work full-time and pastor full-time and carry that burden. But I knew that wasn't God's will for me. I knew that for a period of time that I would have to work a bivocational job, and I'd have to work a job to help support my family while I pastored the church. But I knew there would come a time, and I just believed God, there would come a time that I could take that step to becoming a full-time pastor. And by the way, there in Lenore, that church had existed for over 50 years and never had a pastor that ministered to it full-time. I was the very first one. I was the very first one. I knew that there was a cost, there was a risk involved. I knew there was no way the church could pay me what I was making with both salaries. I knew that. I knew that I was going to have to take probably, in that day, a $300 cut in pay, which was a big deal. And I knew that it was going to be difficult. And I knew it wasn't going to be easy. But I knew that that was God's will for my life. And Lori and I had spent time praying that thing through, and we just knew this was God's will for our family. And no doubt, listen, you know what? Thank God for bivocational preachers, but now watch this. I believe there's many that'll never take the step, they'll never take the risk of going full-time with their church, because you know what? I'm making a pretty good salary here, and I've got benefits and a 401K. and I've got a pretty good little part-time job over here that's bringing in some income, and I'm living pretty good right here, so why do I want to mess that up? And that church will never take the next step. And I knew for Temple Baptist Church to take the next step where it needed to go that I was going to have to take a risk. And I was going to have to trust God to meet my needs and God to fill in the gap. Because you know what? There was a $300 gap there that somebody had to make up. There was insurance needs. There was this. There was that. There was school. All of these things that were involved. But I knew what God had in my heart. And I said, God, I'm well. Listen, can I just help you understand? And I'm thankful for how you take care of my family. But can I help us understand? It's God that takes care of every one of us. Every one of us live from hand to mouth, His hand to our mouth. Everything we have comes from the good hand of God. Our missionaries step out by faith. I can't imagine a church without some type of duress financially missing a monthly support check to a missionary. Do you know that's their livelihood? Listen, there's been times in my ministry in Lenore, I told them, I said, you don't pay me, you pay the missionary. You take care of them, God will take care of me. And God always met the need. I never went hungry. Of course, you can tell that. Never went without. But we made sure our missionaries, because they're out there, and you know what? Somebody, a church has said, listen, we're going to back you, we're going to be behind you, we're going to stand with you. It's not like that when you're in a foreign field that you can go and get you a part-time job. You can't do that. Only in America can somebody come and work. You can't go do that there. And you know what? They don't have a way. And I can't imagine that check. One of the things I instruct our financial people, whatever you do, you make sure every month those missionary checks go out on time. And I tell you what, when you take care of God's people like that, God will take care of our church. I couldn't imagine missing my faith promise or leaving it in my pocket. I couldn't imagine leaving my tithe in my pocket. I couldn't imagine doing that. I'm not trying to be unkind. But I couldn't imagine it. That's the work of God. That's the work of God. My missions that I give is my part in seeing that the world hears the gospel through missionaries going where I can't go. And that is my part in ensuring they get where God wants them to go. My tithe and offering through my local church that Laurie and I give every week And that's the first thing that we do is we give to God. And you say, preacher, why do you do that? Because you're a preacher? No, because I love God, and I love the work of God, and I'm willing to pay the cost because I want to see God's work go forward. And friend, can I tell you, if we honor God, God will take care of us. God is not subject to an election. God is not subject to an economy. God can take care of us. God is faithful. The question is, will we be faithful? There was a risk he took. And then I want you to know there's a sacrifice he made. Look at verse number 6. It may be it right here. Look at verse 6. And the king said unto me, notice his purpose, that I can go and I may build it. We saw verse number 10, he sought the welfare of the children of Israel. Look at verse 6, And the king said unto me, The queen also sitting by, For how long shalt thou journey be? And when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me, and I sent him a time. From this moment on, now watch this, from this moment on for the next 12 years of his life, The overwhelming passion and purpose of Nehemiah was to seek the welfare of the children of Israel, God's people, to rebuild the walls and the gates of Jerusalem. Listen, and more than that, it was more than just about some walls. It was more than some gates. It was more than some graveyards. It was more than all of that. It was the worship of Jehovah. It was the reviving of the people of God. the truth of God going to the world. Friend, listen, God's name was at stake in this. Nehemiah understood that and he was willing to make a sacrifice. You say, preacher, where did all that purpose come from? It came from seeking the face of God. Making himself available for God to use. You say, preacher, I don't know if God will use me. You make yourself available and you watch. He'll use you. Being willing to take the risk and the necessary sacrifice. Now you think with me for a moment. Nehemiah's no less than 800, maybe a thousand miles away. He could look out there at those folks and say, you know what, that's their problem. Do you know that... Brother Badgett, I'm going to take some liberty. Brother Badgett has family in America. He's got grandkids. They love their grandchildren as much as you love your grandchildren. They love their family as much as you love your family. It'd be real easy for Brother Badgett and Miss Laurie to say, you know, we've done our time. We've got family here. You know, that's those people's problem over there. I mean, they're thousands of miles away. You know, it really doesn't affect me over here. I could just, you know what, somebody else will do it. But that's not what they're doing. They're saying, you know, I think we've got another one in us. I think God's not finished with us. I think God still has something for us to do. We believe God's drawing us back over there. And we're going to pay the cost in relationship and time and willingness to go over and reach a people that, can I be honest with you, they don't want to be reached. When they land in South Africa, there's going to be a group of people, there are churches that are excited. But can I tell you, the country of South Africa, they're not going to be standing on the tarmac with bands playing, and people shouting, and big signs saying, all the badgets are back to evangelize us and win us to Jesus. That's not going to happen. You know why? Because they don't want to be evangelized. But Brother Badgett, we know there's a need that they don't know they have. They're lost in the dark. They need somebody to go and let God use them, that they might be found by God, that they might spend eternity in heaven. They're willing to pay the cost. Church, hey, listen, we've got a missions revival coming up. We need to be willing to pay the cost. Nehemiah is nearly a thousand miles away from that situation. He's got a cushy job in the palace of Shushan. He rubs shoulders and talks with the most powerful man on earth every day of his life. He's got status. He's got comfort. He lives there in the palace, and yet he says, King, can I just tell you I'm going to leave every bit of this behind, and I'm going to travel a thousand miles, dangerous journey, Because He's going to go under armed guard to protect Him all the way to Judah. He's going to go there and we're going to find the moment He gets there, they're not playing bands and the people shouting and rejoicing and all the other inhabitants of the land glad that somebody's come to seek the well. You're going to find that they're upset and the moment He gets in the land, up pops the devil and the enemies start showing up and the opposition's going to come. But yet he is willing to pay a cost. Everybody's cost isn't equal. God asked some people to make harder sacrifices than others. But if we're going to do anything for God's church, there's going to be sacrifice. There's going to be cost. You say, preacher, what made him do it? He had God's purpose for his life. That's what made him do it. I mentioned last week the story of Jim Elliott, the missionary to Ecuador, to the Aka Indians, a little-known tribal group. Do you realize that sociologists believe that in the Amazon today there are still people groups that have not yet made contact with the outside world? That means they've never heard the name Jesus. They've never heard the gospel. They've never heard John 3.16. Can I just tell you pioneer missions work is not over. There's still work to be done in the world. There is still work to be done in our community. There are people all around us that have never one time heard a clear presentation of the gospel. It used to be that when you would go out into the community or buses would go out or whatever, most everybody had some kind of Sunday school background. There would be a Bible on the table. They may not go to church. They want their kids to go to church. They want their kids to go to Sunday school. We don't live in that world anymore. We've got people around us that they're more familiar with the pagan gods of ancient myth than they are the person of Jesus Christ. Church, we have a job to do and we have a purpose and we can't let it pass us by. God's gonna bring little children into this church. God's gonna bring young people into this church. God's gonna bring people from all over. God's gonna give, you say, preacher, all I do is open a door. All I do is shake hands on Sunday morning. All I do, let me just tell you something. Those can be God moments in people's lives where a person's life is forever changed. Let God use you. Get outside of yourself. Be willing to pay the cost. You know as well as I do that Jim Elliott, as I mentioned last week, was martyred by the very people that he came to reach. He loved them. He was willing to pay the cost with his life, and he even said it. I told you of a plaque, and I can't help but say it again. I wish I'd have put it on the screen. Brother Lane asked me, he said, anything else you want? I wish I'd have put this up here. It hangs in my home. He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. The world would look at Jim Elliot who died in the flower of his youth as a young man, and here's what they would say, what a loser. But can I tell you Jim Elliot's wife and Nate Saint's wife and the other three men's wife that were part of that group that were murdered that day by the Aka Indians that were martyred, better word. They went back into those same villages with the love of Christ and forgiveness in their heart and began to win those people to Jesus Christ. And you know what? When they got to heaven and they went up and they said to Jim, I just want you to know I didn't understand Jim why you came. I didn't know you came to tell me about Jesus. I thought you was a danger to my family. I thought you was a danger to me. But I'm so glad, Jim, that you were willing to come. And I'm so glad for your family that was willing to forgive me and come back and share the gospel because I'm up here with you because you were willing to pay the cost because of what Jesus put in your heart to do. Friend, I'm going to tell you, it may not mean much right now, but one day all of this is going to be worth it all. I'm just going to tell you, let's be a people that determines in our heart that we're going to live with purpose. And we're going to let God use us. This church for its 55 year history has been a church that's been sold out to God and willing to count the cost and been willing to make the sacrifice and been willing to step out by faith. And Frank, can I tell you this is your day, your hour for God to use you. Let's continue to be all in like Nehemiah was for Jesus Christ. And maybe God's spoken to you about an area of your life. Maybe God's putting something in your heart. Maybe there's an area of unfaithfulness in your life that needs to be dealt with. I don't know, but God knows. And whatever God's doing in your heart, I'm going to invite you to come tonight and talk to Him about it. And maybe tonight, God's calling you to serve Him with your life. Why don't you just go ahead and say yes to Jesus like Nehemiah did? And mom and dad, one of the best prayers you'll ever pray is to lay your children on this altar and say, God, use my child. Use my child. Use my child. How many times has it been said that I'd rather my child be in Africa in the will of God than on a bar stool living a wicked lifestyle? in America right next door to me and their life devastated by sin. What a joy to have a God-given purpose in our lives. Father, take the message. Use in every heart and every life tonight.