Pastor Rick's Daily Hope

Announcer: Hey everybody, thanks for spending some time with us at Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. We are so glad you're here. You know, no matter where you are in life or what you're facing today, God has a purpose and plan for your life. Today we continue our series called Building a Better Future. In this series, Rick Warren explores the lives of biblical leaders who rebuild after seasons of hardship and captivity. You'll discover practical biblical principles to help you move forward with hope and confidence as you trust God's plan for your life. Okay, and here's the final part of the message called Getting People to Work Together.

Rick Warren: Here's the fifth principle we extract from the treasure of Nehemiah 3. When you're getting ready to build your dream, here's what you do. Love everyone, but invest in the willing. Love everyone, but invest in the willing. Now, this is the strategy of Jesus. I want you to follow me. Jesus loved everybody. There was no person that Jesus didn't love. He loved everybody. He fed the 5,000, okay? He preached to the crowd, but he trained the 70, and he discipled 12, and he mentored 3. All right? See how it gets smaller? Okay? He loves everybody, but he spends the maximum amount of time with those who bear the maximum responsibility.

The Bible tells us that only Peter, James, and John got to go up on the Mount of Transfiguration. Only Peter, James, and John were brought into the Garden of Gethsemane a little bit further to pray with him. Only Peter, James, and John got to see Peter's mother-in-law be healed. Was Jesus playing favorites? Yes. He was investing the maximum amount of time with those who would bear the maximum responsibility. Okay? And later in the book of Galatians, James calls Peter, James, and John the pillars of the church. Did it work? Yes, it worked. The ones, the people he spent the most time with, he gave maximum responsibility.

So you love everybody, but you invest your life in the willing, those who want to help in the dream. Now listen, not everyone is going to want to be part of your God-given dream. Don't worry about that. Don't fret about it. Don't sweat about it. Don't get uptight about it. Don't get depressed about it. Not everybody's going to be a part of your God-given dream. That's okay. Nehemiah wasn't discouraged by those who would not. In fact, in this chapter, he just barely mentions their reluctance, and he then keeps on focusing on those who did want to be a part. That's in verse 5 of this chapter. In Nehemiah 3:5, it tells us, the next section of the wall was rebuilt by the men of Tekoa.

Okay, that's the good news. But it says the nobles, the noblemen of that town refused to work or help. Okay, that's all he says about them. The noblemen of that town refused to work or help. We don't know why they didn't want to help. I think it reveals Nehemiah's leadership character that he doesn't elaborate, he doesn't speculate, he doesn't guess about their motivation. Well, they thought they were too cool or they were too important. They didn't want to do menial labor, or no, no, we would do that. We would start saying, well, they don't want to help because of this or that, that. Here's the truth.

You don't know your own motivation much of the time. So why do you think you assume that you can know the motivation of others? You don't. I don't know my own motivation a lot of times. I have so many mixed motivations, and you do too. And if you can't figure out your own reasons why you do what you do, how in the world makes you think you're an authority on anybody else? So you love everybody, but you invest in the willing. You don't get upset by people who don't want to help. Remember, even Jesus, who, by the way, remember, was perfect, had a defector named Judas, who bailed out on him and caused enormous damage.

But Jesus kept his focus on the 11 faithful guys, not the one unfaithful. You're going to have people in your life who betray you, let you down, disappoint you, but you don't keep your eyes on them. You keep your eyes on the people who work with you hand in hand, who are serving as a team spirit. And you love everybody, you keep your heart clean, you don't get bitter, but you invest in the willing. You know, over the last 40 years, I've been disappointed by people who benefited from our church for years without ever giving back. They didn't give back financially, they didn't give back in serving, they were just consumers.

Okay? I've been disappointed by people like that. They came around forever at Saddleback, but they just never gave or served or did anything to help the church. But you know what? They didn't hurt us. They only hurt themselves. And when I would think about those people, I would always remind myself of two facts. And I want you to write these down because you're going to need to remember these about your dream. Okay? When people don't want to support the dream God has given you, here's the first thing to remember. Waste no time judging others. Any time you spend judging others is time you're not working on your God-given dream.

Waste no time judging others. Romans 14, 10 and 12 says this, why do you judge your brothers or sisters in Christ? Why do you think you're better than they are? Remember, each of us will stand personally before the judgment seat of God, and then each of us will have to give a personal account to God. So, he says, stop judging each other. God is God, and I'm not. Now, people who disappoint you in life, they're not accountable to you. They're not accountable to me. But one day they're going to give an account to God. So just leave it at that. One day their excuses for not getting involved will feel pretty embarrassing.

Just let God be God and don't fret about it. Another thing to remember, instead of getting disappointed with people, is remember God will reward what I do. Write that down. Remember God will reward what I do. I don't have to worry about anybody. I'm gonna be rewarded for two things, the Bible says. First, it's Proverbs 14:14. First, I'm gonna be rewarded for how I served. You're gonna be rewarded for how you served. Proverbs 14:14 says this, the faithless will be fully repaid for their ways, but good people will be rewarded. Okay? People, one day they're gonna get their due, and one day you're gonna get your due.

Thing about good people will be rewarded for their service, eternal rewards last forever. Second thing, I'm gonna be rewarded for what I gave. Not just what I served, how I served, but what I gave. Proverbs 22:9 says this, people who are generous will themselves be blessed. Did you know that God is keeping a list? God is keeping a list, and people who are generous will themselves be blessed. Let me ask you, do you want to leave a legacy that outlasts you? Well, here, it's real simple. No one is honored for being self-centered or stingy. Nobody's honored for that. They don't build statues to people who are self-centered or stingy.

Legendary people are remembered for their serving and their giving. Jesus said, I didn't come to be served, but to serve and to give. You know, it's interesting as we read this chapter, 3,000 years later, we're reading the names this weekend of people who served and sacrificed for God's project 3,000 years ago. That's a legacy. Okay, these hard to pronounce names are people that actually lived, and we're still studying the sacrifice that they did when they put, volunteered to do God's project. You know the funny thing about those noblemen of Tekoa who refused to help and did nothing? I doubt any of them imagined that their selfishness would be revealed and discussed 3,000 years later, or for 3,000 years.

Now, Nehemiah models one more secret of getting people to work together, and I want you to write this down. Never stop saying thanks. Never stop saying thank you. Our staff has heard me say this many, many times, that the first duty of a leader is to clearly communicate your dream, but the second duty of a leader is to always say thank you. To say thank you. Live an attitude of gratitude. Live in the spirit of appreciation. Do you know that when you appreciate people, you actually raise their value? If you've ever bought a home in Southern California, you know the value of appreciation. It goes up in value.

If you've ever bought a car, you know the value of the meaning of depreciation. It goes down in value. Do you realize that every time you appreciate people, you raise their value? When you appreciate your kids, you raise their value. When you appreciate your spouse, you raise their value. When you appreciate a coworker, you raise their value. In Ephesians 1:16, Paul says this, I never stop being grateful for you, as I mention you in all my prayers. That's a leader. Now, what does God want you to appreciate in other people? Well, Nehemiah models it in this chapter, and he gives us four things that we need to be more appreciative about in the people in our lives.

Write these down, okay? First, the first thing to appreciate is this: recognize individuals by name. Recognize individuals by name. When you see something being done and you think that's a good thing, don't just say, I want to thank everybody who helped. No, no, no. Be specific. I think it's amazing that Nehemiah in this chapter singles out 71 individuals. There's 71 Hebrew names in 32 verses, and he singles out 71 people for special appreciation. He doesn't only honor the people who are building the wall, he actually honors their parents. He said, and I, and this guy built this part of the wall, his dad was so and so, and that guy built that part of the wall, and his dad was so and so.

He's not just honoring people, he's honoring their parents. Parents love to be proud of their kids. Nehemiah knows that. So recognize individuals, call them by name. The sweetest thing people like to hear is their own name. Don't just say, I want to thank all of you. Get specific. Identify specific people in your life who make a difference. Number two, recognize not just specific individuals, but recognize specific work. Don't just say after a project, well, you all did a good job. Don't just say that at work or in your ministry or in your small group or wherever. Don't just say you all did a good job.

Point out the details. Now, there are many, many examples of this in Nehemiah chapter 3. Let me just give you one, verse 6. He talks about a group, he said they laid the beams and they put the doors and the bolts and the bars in place. That's pretty specific. So don't just say, I'm proud of you. Say, I'm proud of you for doing this, this, this, and this. Recognize specific individuals and recognize specific work. Number three, third thing to be appreciative of, recognize great attitude. When you see great attitude anywhere around you in a world that has bad attitude most of the time, you're gonna, you're going to excel in helping people become what God wants them to be.

And you're gonna have more people helping you with the vision God gives you. Recognize great attitude. You know, in this chapter, Nehemiah singles out one man for his attitude, his enthusiasm, his passion. In verse 20, Nehemiah 3:20, it says this, Baruch zealously repaired another section. Now, he doesn't say that about anybody else. He says this guy repaired this, and she repaired that, and these daughters repaired that, and they repaired that. But this one guy, Baruch, gets zealously repaired another section. It's saying he's doing it with enthusiasm. He's doing it with passion. You want to recognize great attitude.

Who is it around you has a great attitude? And you just need to say, you know, I appreciate that. By the way, let me just give you a personal tip. If you want to get noticed where you work, here's what you do. Just do what everybody else does, but do it with more enthusiasm and more passion, and you'll get noticed. Okay? You just do what everybody else is doing, but do it with enthusiasm, with passion, with zeal. He zealously repaired another section. Great attitude. And then, number four, recognize extra effort. When people go the second mile, when people do more than expected, you have people like this in your life.

Recognize extra effort. In verse 3, chapter 3, verse 4 and verse 21, there's one guy who gets mentioned twice. He gets mentioned twice in chapter 3. His name was Mirmoth. I don't know what that name means, but Mirmoth was his name. Mirmoth repaired, in verse 4, the section by the fish gate. By the way, that's where fishermen came in and sold their fish. It was a fish market there. It says, then in verse 21, he also repaired another section by the high priest's home. So he didn't just finish one section, he finished two. He's going the second mile. You know, Dan Cathy is a friend of mine. He's the CEO of Chick-fil-A, the company that his dad, Truett Cathy, started, founded.

I have known the Cathy family for about 30 years as good friends, and I've helped them, I've been in their home, and one of the Chick-fil-A's core values is called second mile service. And second mile service means you go beyond expectation, okay? You just don't cook the meal for people, you take it to them. you make sure they have extra cup to get their drink and on. You go the second mile. And I saw this visually expressed by the CEO when nobody else was watching. You know, when they opened the Chick-fil-A in Foothill Ranch, the night before any Chick-fil-A opens, they have a party and people actually come and spend the night and they set up tents and it's a big, big deal.

And so I went over the night before that Chick-fil-A opened at to the party to see Dan, my good friend. And so we're there and we shook hands with a lot of people and talked to a lot of people and then we were hungry, but Chick-fil-A was not open yet. It wasn't gonna open till the next morning. So you know what we did? We went next door to Taco Bell. And our hands were dirty from hugging and shaking hands with all kinds of people. So before we ate, we first went into the Taco Bell restroom to wash our hands. And then I watched this happen. When we were finished washing our hands, I watched Dan Cathy, the CEO of Chick-fil-A, take extra paper towels and clean the messy sink area and made it spotless.

And I'm watching, nobody else is seeing this. And he said, we teach our people to always leave every place a little bit better than you found it. That's called going the second mile. And I thought to myself, little does the Taco Bell staff know that right now in their bathroom, the CEO of their competitor is cleaning their restroom. That's second mile service. Okay. And you need to, when you see that, you reward it. You know, a few weeks ago, I found this card and I actually gave one of them to somebody in my small group, and it says this, some people just go the extra mile. And I open it up, it says, thank you for being one of them.

And I gave this to a guy in my small group because he is a second mile person. Now, here's your homework. I want you to write a note of appreciation every day this week using these four factors of appreciation, okay? Never stop saying thank you, okay? And then either recognize individuals by name, call them, write them, email them, text them, send them a card, recognize specific work that they've done, be specific, just don't say you're a good person. Tell them something that they did that was good. Recognize great attitude and recognize extra effort. I want you to work on that this week. You know what?

God will bless you for doing that. Now let me wrap this up. This chapter talks about three kinds of work. Three kinds of work are mentioned in Nehemiah 3. No work, some work, and enthusiastic work. No work, some work, and enthusiastic work. I want to ask you two questions. I want you to think about these. First, God notices all three kinds of work. No work, some work, enthusiastic. Here's, let me end with these two questions. Which phrase describes your involvement in God's work? Let's just get right down to it right now. Which describes, phrase describes your involvement in God's work? No work, some work, or enthusiastic work?

Let me ask you another one, another question. Which section of the wall are you building in your home church, in your family? Now, literally, God hasn't asked you to build a wall, but he does expect you to be involved in his work on earth. You know, a lot of the work that you and I do throughout our lives, really pretty pointless. A lot of work on earth is really useless in the long haul. A lot of work that people do is really worthless in light of eternity. But God's word promises this in 1 Corinthians 15:58. Brothers and sisters, always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord. Always give yourself fully.

That means zealously, enthusiastically, passionately. Give yourself completely to the work of the Lord because you know that your work for the Lord is never wasted. That makes working for God different than every other kind of work. It's never wasted. You say, well, nobody even sees what I'm doing. Doesn't matter. Others may not see what you're doing, but God does. I hope you'll take these six principles on how to get people to work together. What our world needs today is people who do the exact opposite of culture. Right now, people work against each other. Bridge builders, people who create harmony, people who teach others how to work together, they are rare.

And the Bible says that if you do that, it brings glory to God. What honors God the most is when we work together, standing shoulder to shoulder, and we get along. It's our greatest witness to the world. Let me lead you in prayer. Let's bow our heads. Father, we thank you that your word is practical, that even in a list of names of people who built the wall 3,000 years ago, we can learn principles of how to be better people, how to influence others, how to lead, how to reach goals and tasks by developing them into smaller goals and breaking them down into chunks. And I pray that we'll apply these principles in our homes, in our schools, in our work, in our lives, in our ministries, in our church family.

Help us to not think that we are invincible, that we can do everything by ourselves. Help us to realize that we need each other. And to practice these principles, building a team spirit and working together, knowing that what we do is never in vain. If you never opened your life to Christ, I always like to give you an opportunity to do that. You can say, Jesus Christ, I want to know you. I want to open my life up to you. Just say that. Jesus Christ, I want to know you. I want to open my life to you. And as much as I know how, I ask you to fill me with your love and your purpose. I want to learn to trust you and follow you the rest of my life.

In your name I pray. Amen. Hey, if you've just prayed along with Rick to accept Jesus in your life, Rick would love to hear from you.

Announcer: Just email Rick at PastorRick.com. We'll send you free tools to help start your relationship with Jesus. And now let's hear how lives are changing through Daily Hope. Here's Rick with a letter from one of our listeners.

Rick Warren: You know, I love hearing from people who are growing closer to God through our Daily Hope broadcasts and emails, and it really encourages me when I hear your story, so please send them to me. You know, here's one that I got recently from Suzanne that I think is going to encourage you too. Suzanne wrote, I've been listening to Daily Hope for over a year, and I get so much out of it. Sometimes it seems as though you're speaking directly to me. Well, I am, Suzanne. Somehow, she says, I started listening to your Daily Hope messages, and I feel that God made that happen because for the first time in my life, I'm understanding the teaching of Jesus, and I feel so alive.

My eyes are open, and I look forward to each day. I haven't had a boring life, but I was always missing something that I just never could find. Suzanne writes, you know, I was incarcerated as a teen, and I was married, and I had a baby at 18, and that marriage was terribly abusive. And even at the lowest points in my life, I somehow had an optimism that somehow it would get better. And I now know that God was with me, even though I didn't recognize it at the time. So thank you, Pastor Rick, for spreading the word of good hope. You know, Suzanne, I want to thank you so much for writing what you just wrote, and I'm so glad Daily Hope is helping you understand the Bible, and God is speaking to you through his word.

My friends, this story is what Daily Hope exists for. It's why we exist. We want to share the hope of God's word with people just like Suzanne. So I want to say to all of you, thank you so much. Those of you who generously support Daily Hope so that people like Suzanne can discover God's goodness and God's grace and God's mercy. You know, if God is blessing you through Daily Hope, would you share your story with me? Write me, Rick at PastorRick.com.

Announcer: Be sure to join us next time as we look into God's word for our Daily Hope. This program is sponsored by Pastor Rick's Daily Hope and your generous financial support.