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Skip Heitzig: My mom has been in heaven a while now, but I have such fond memories of her. She was a gal I could come to about anything. I usually would go to my mom, not my dad, whenever there were problems and I needed good counsel throughout my life. When I was a little kid and I was bummed out because I was so skinny and had big feet, she knew what to say and do. When it came to making choices for college and career paths, I could go to her to fix just about any problem.

That is what I'd like to talk about today in Nehemiah Chapter 2: how to fix a problem. I deliberately chose this generic title because I thought it was easier to say than the title "Why Travel 900 Miles to Fix a Broken Down Wall?" That was just hard to fit into a title, so I'm calling this "How to Fix a Problem." You could entitle this "How to Tackle a Project," "How to Finish a Task," or "How to Do God's Work," but I'm going to call it "How to Fix a Problem."

Nehemiah was facing an overwhelming problem. The city that he loved, his ancestral capital, Jerusalem, lay in ruins. It was a massive building project. The city had a history of defeat. Those who lived there were very discouraged and they probably thought, "My city is never going to change," until Nehemiah showed that probably wasn't the truth.

If you'll remember from Nehemiah Chapter 1, he was a cupbearer for King Artaxerxes of Persia. He fulfills that role throughout Chapter 1 and half of Chapter 2. Now in Chapter 2, beginning in verse 11, he steps into a different role. It is the role of a builder, a building contractor, and one who encourages the people to build the wall.

The first message was "Loving Your City," the second message was "Finding Your Purpose," and this third one is "Fixing a Problem." I realize it is Mother's Day and some of you moms are facing the problem of your kids forgetting that it was Mother's Day. I'm seriously hoping that whether you're a mother or a father, a son, a daughter—whatever your role in life is—you will be able to look around at your relationships, make a good assessment of them, and fix any problems that you may find.

From a factual viewpoint, what we are about to read is a man who saw a need, traveled a long distance to meet that need, and then rallied a group of people around that vision he had to build the wall. If you just step back a little bit from the facts, you find the principles. I love this about God's word; it gives us a very practical set of steps that we can take to fix just about any problem we have in life.

Some people find it very difficult to fix their own messes. They're good at making them, but they're not really skilled at fixing them. Some people get stuck when it comes to problem-solving. They get stuck for a number of reasons: they're afraid that whatever decision they make, it will be the wrong decision. Other people get emotionally triggered when they go to solve an issue; they feel overwhelmed by the problem they face.

Some folks fear change. They've gotten so comfortable in the mess, you might say, so used to the problem that they're just settled into it. I think that many people in Jerusalem felt that way by the time Nehemiah showed up. I was going through several articles this week and one that I found fascinating was an author that even gave this a name. He calls this Problem-Solving Deficit Disorder.

Everything's a disorder, if you've noticed. Everything is so over-diagnosed and over-treated, but here is another one: Problem-Solving Deficit Disorder. I didn't know if this author was serious or if this was a joke, but I read through the article and I think he was serious. He describes this person as hard to engage in unstructured activities. They lack creativity, so they don't look for different ways out of the problem, and they have difficulty resolving conflict without aggression. That is, when they're in a jam, they just get mad. That's their coping mechanism.

I'd like to give you some necessary ingredients to problem-solving. I'm going to give you five components and I'm going to state them in short three-word sentences. I'll give you five of them. It will not be too long of a sermon; it is Mother's Day, I understand. Nehemiah, the one who wrote this book, is a product of the Babylonian captivity. He was born in captivity. He had never seen Jerusalem before. His stepmother was somebody very famous, a woman by the name of Queen Esther, which probably accounts for his position in the Persian court as an esteemed advisor to the king. He was the cupbearer.

One December, he hears about the group that went to scout out Jerusalem and came back 900 miles away. The group tells Nehemiah that the walls are still broken down, the gates are still burned with fire, and what's heartbreaking to Nehemiah is that the Jews had been back in Jerusalem for 100 years already and it seems as though nothing had changed. Four months later, around April, an opportunity comes for him to ask the king very boldly to do a few things for him.

First, change his foreign policy regarding Jerusalem. He had put a mandate on no building in Jerusalem. Nehemiah says, "Not only do I want you to reverse that policy, I want to be the guy to rebuild the city." And then number three, "King, I'd like you to pay for it. I'd like the Persian government to sponsor this endeavor." The king says, "You got it." All of that was a confirmation for him to go. And so he does, and now he arrives at his destination.

The first of the five ingredients for problem-solving is to go the distance. Look at Nehemiah Chapter 2, verse 11: "So I came to Jerusalem." Stop right there. Those five words pack in time, effort, and distance. Remember, it's 900 miles to go from where he was in Persia to where he is now in Jerusalem.

After first hearing about the problem from Hanani, his brother, and after waiting for four months before talking to the king about the issue, after testing what he felt was from God and then after making preparations for that, he makes the long journey and now he arrives. I'm guessing it took him at least four months to travel from Shushan the Citadel, Susa in Persia, to Jerusalem in Israel.

I think I have that on good authority because according to Ezra Chapter 7, his journey from the same place took him five months. I'm just giving him a month shorter because he had an entourage to protect him, so let's just say it took him four months. They would have traveled along the Persian road, a network of roads built by King Darius that moved people mostly northward throughout his empire. King Darius built that network of roads to connect Iran, Persia, with the Aegean Sea for trade purposes.

Nehemiah and the group would have gone northward but then at some point would have had to turn west and then due south to make it to Israel, off the main road. They would have encountered diverse terrain including deserts and mountains. They would have encountered all different types of weather during those four months. I'm also guessing that he faced some hostile tribes; not everybody was sympathetic to the Persian Empire.

Nehemiah knew that. He knew how hard it was. He knew how long it would be to get there. He knew how difficult it would be, but he decided to go the distance, the 900-mile distance. If you are going to fix a problem, at the onset you have to be willing to go through what it takes to get victory.

Guest (Female): You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. Every day, the generosity of friends like you helps make clear, verse-by-verse Bible teaching available to people searching for truth, direction, and hope. This month, we want to thank you with two powerful resources to help you follow God faithfully, even when life feels uncertain or challenging. When you give, you'll receive the Expound Nehemiah seven-message CD series with digital download, along with Pastor Skip's booklet, *Overcoming an Anxious Mind*. Together, these resources show you how God rebuilds what's broken, strengthens you when you face opposition, and gives you peace, even in seasons of pressure and waiting. We'll send both resources as our thanks when you give $50 or more to support Connect with Skip Heitzig. Call 800-922-1888 or visit connectwithskip.com/offer. Now, let's return to today's teaching with Pastor Skip Heitzig.

Skip Heitzig: You have to be willing to go the distance. You have to understand how hard it's going to get and be willing to do it. Your will is paramount. Some problems don't get fixed because people are just not willing to make the effort to fix them. It's too hard. So many people start with a bang and end with a whimper. They lose enthusiasm.

I saw this when the film first came out in 1981. It's always been one of my favorite movies, *Chariots of Fire*. *Chariots of Fire* is a show about Eric Liddell, the long-distance runner who won the Olympics. There was one particular scene where he is racing against a guy named Harold Abrahams. Harold Abrahams, who is this esteemed runner, a champion sprinter, suffered his first defeat to Eric Liddell.

The camera shows Harold Abrahams sitting in the bleachers. He's pouting, he's with his girlfriend, and he says to her, "If I can't win, I won't run." She snaps back at him, "If you don't run, you can't win." It's a good word to hear. You've got to run, you've got to go the distance, you've got to keep at it. You can't stop. You have to be willing to face the hardship.

I think of Moses. He went the distance. God called him to deliver the children of Israel out of Egypt, but there was one oppression after another. He was opposed by Pharaoh, he was opposed by his own people. They complained for 40 years in the desert, 40 years, and he never even made it to the land, but he went the distance.

I think of Jacob, who wanted to marry a beautiful girl named Rachel. Remember his story? He fell in love with her, and so he worked a deal out with her father that if he worked for seven years under his employ, he would reward him with giving him his daughter. He worked seven years, but her father pulled a switcheroo and put his other daughter in there. So he had to now work seven more years, and he was willing to work 14 years to marry that girl. I know some guys who can't wait 14 weeks. 14 years, that's going the distance.

Then there was Ruth. Ruth left her home in Moab, traveled with her mother-in-law Naomi—both had lost their husbands—worked in the fields of Boaz, and waited until Boaz stepped into her life. She went the distance. Winston Churchill was elected as the British Prime Minister during a very difficult time in England's history. France had just fallen to Germany. England, they thought, was next, threatened by the Nazis. Churchill comes into his office three days after he is elected as Prime Minister and gives a speech, a very moving speech.

He says this: "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat. 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 nor fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on 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." Do you think he was willing to go the distance? Sure he was. Then he said to President Roosevelt in February of 1941 during a radio broadcast, "Give us the tools and we will finish the job."

That's the first factor in solving a problem: go the distance. Second, assess the need. Verse 11: "I came to Jerusalem and I was there three days. Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem; nor was there any animal with me except the one on which I rode. And I went out by night through the Valley Gate to the Serpent Well and the Refuse Gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were burned with fire. Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King's Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to pass. So I went up in the night by the valley and viewed the wall; then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I had done; I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, or the others who did the work."

I came to Jerusalem and I was there for three days. Ever wonder what he was doing for three days? Can you guess? Well, now he's traveled 900 miles, so I'm guessing he's resting. He didn't take an Uber. He wasn't on a train or an airplane. He walked or rode an animal 900 miles through different terrain and weather, so I'm sure he's just resting, chilling out for three days. I'm also guessing that he is meeting with Ezra. Ezra has been there 14 years already. They're probably comparing notes.

Based on what I know of Nehemiah so far, I'm going to make another guess: he was praying. He was praying about this enormous task that is ahead of him and he was doing it in solitude. Problem solvers know the value of solitude, thinking before acting, looking and assessing before doing. Then after three days, I'm guessing under a full moon, he took a ride at night. Since he arrived in Jerusalem from the north, his night ride began on the western side. He would have gone down the valley called the Tyropoeon Valley to where it ends at the Hinnom Valley, and then over to the Kidron Valley, all looking at the walls and the structures of the city.

Why at night? So he wouldn't be spotted, so the enemies wouldn't know what's going on yet. They will soon enough. So as not to invite attention, he inspects it at night. Look at this phrase; it's one of my favorite ones in this book, verse 12: "I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem." I love that.

I think that before God can do any significant work through you, he has to do his work in you. He's got to work on the heart. I think that began months before. It began when he first heard about the problem in Jerusalem and he discovered in that moment, "This is my purpose in life. This is what I was born for. I'm going to commit myself to this," when he was still back in Persia. But now he is here and he is looking and he is developing what we typically call vision.

You've heard that term, that person is a visionary. He's a man or she's a woman of vision. That means somebody with foresight, somebody with great dreams, the ability to envision what no one else can envision. I've always loved Michelangelo's description of his work. Michelangelo would look at a block of marble and he would say, "I saw an angel in the marble and I carved it until I set it free." He said every block of stone has a statue inside it and it's the task of the sculptor to discover it.

That's what Nehemiah is doing. He is discovering by assessing, by looking at those walls and these broken-down structures, what he's going to do in building it. He's assessing and making careful, prayerful investigation. In verse 13 and verse 15, there's the little word "viewed." "I viewed the walls," and then again, "I viewed the walls." Some of your translations might say "examined." It was a medical term for probing a wound to see the extent of the damage before the doctor would apply the cure.

A problem solver knows how to do this: gather the facts, get a lay of the land. Before you start building, you need to see the extent of the damage. It's only when you see what is broken that you can make a plan to fix what is broken. A.W. Tozer said, "Aimless activity is beneath the worth and dignity of a human being. Activity that does not result in progress toward a goal is wasted, yet most Christians have no clear end toward which they are striving." There's nothing worse than active ignorance, just getting in there and thinking, "I'm going to fix this." Do you even know what the problem is yet? Before you start making too many movements, find out what you need to do. Before you can fix a problem, you've got to answer the question: what is the problem? He finds that out.

We have two ingredients to problem-solving: go the distance and assess the need. Here's the third: get a group. Don't do it alone; get a group. You'll notice in this little story here, Nehemiah gets two groups: one small and then one large, larger. The first smaller group is in verse 12: "I arose in the night, I and a few men with me." He found a group of men he could confide in to go with him to assess the need, to make sure that he is seeing what he thinks he's seeing, to make sure we have witnesses for what needs to be done. I don't know who these men were. They could have been locals. My guess is they were part of the entourage that came with him from Persia. Just a few.

Guest (Female): Thanks for joining us today on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we go, remember: your generosity helps share God's word with people all around the world, offering truth, hope, and encouragement where it's needed most. And this month, we'd love to thank you for your gift of $50 or more by sending you the Expound Nehemiah seven-message CD series with digital download, along with Pastor Skip's booklet, *Overcoming an Anxious Mind*. These resources will help you see how God rebuilds what's broken in your life and gives you peace, even in the midst of pressure and uncertainty. Give today at connectwithskip.com/offer or call 800-922-1888. We'll see you next time on Connect with Skip Heitzig.