It’s time for a RiverLifeLife tradition--our annual New Year sermon! We all make resolutions. We all break resolutions. But if we're really honest, there is something in each of our lives—a habit, a relationship, a debt—that deserves our attention this year.

Intro

The new year can typically mark a moment when it feels like you can do something important. For some of us, it’s a resolution. We want to change an on-going issue. For others, it might be crossing off something on our bucket list before the year ends. In 2025, there are a lot of things you could do. And there are a lot of things you will do. But there’s one thing that you need to do.

Now, that one thing is different for each of us. But there is one thing—based on what’s going on in your life, your relationships, your marriage, your money. There is one thing you need to do this year. And if you could figure out this one thing, it would leave you in a much better place a year from now.

What’s your one thing?

So, what is your one thing? Here are a few ideas.

• It could be a HABIT you need to break. You tell yourself or others that it’s not a problem. But you know, deep in your heart, that it is.

• Or maybe it’s a RELATIONSHIP you need to restore. You’ve had a falling out with someone, and now your heart filled with resentment and pride.

• Or it could be a DEBT you need to pay off. You know you should, but it’s scary because it means change. And that’s difficult.

Your thing may or may not be on this list. But there is one thing for you. Wouldn’t it be great if, by the end of the year, you had done it? Imagine how much better your life would be.

Me

I first heard this sermon from Pastor Greg a few years ago and he heard it about a decade ago from Andy Stanley. It’s made an impression on me. At the end of 2021, I was diagnosed with diabetes and high blood pressure and this sermon helped me lose 60 pounds. Unfortunately, I’ve gained some of it back, but it’s been so impactful that I’ll often come back to it to remind me what I need to do. I know it’s been meaningful to others too, so we’ve made it our New Year’s tradition.

Nehemiah

Today, I want to teach you about the Old Testament prophet Nehemiah. Nehemiah was a Jew born into exile so he had never been to his homeland of Jerusalem. About 100 years prior, the Babylonians conquered Israel. They destroyed the temple, the city, the walls—everything. Nehemiah heard how bad things were for the people who were still in Jerusalem, and he felt a burden for his homeland. So, he prayed a big prayer and asked the king for time off to travel to Jerusalem and help his people.

Artaxerxes said yes. “I’ll give you the time off. And I’ll make you the governor of the region. And I’ll give you whatever you need to rebuild.

Visiting Jerusalem

So, Nehemiah went to Jerusalem, and he found a city in ruins. Notably, the city walls had been broken for so long that no one remembered what it was like to have gates and walls. Walls held a literal and symbolic meaning of protection, security, and pride. Because Jerusalem’s walls were destroyed, there was no safety or no security for anyone. Worse yet, there was no sense that God was with them.

All this just broke Nehemiah’s heart. He spent an entire day and night walking the city, meeting people, talking with them, and he came to this conclusion: If I don’t get anything else done, I’ve got to rebuild the wall around the city.

Sure, there were other things like fixing the economy, leadership, and infrastructure, but the one thing Nehemiah had to do was rebuild the wall. So, they began building, and they were making progress. That’s when the problems began.

Sanballat

The leaders of the surrounding cities got concerned.

• We won’t be able to steal from them whenever we want. AND

• If they repair their city, they might raise up an army against us.

So, an opposition started to form. And the leader of the opposition was a governor by the name of Sanballat. He was determined to stop the rebuild

• First, he tried discouraging them, but it didn’t work.

• Next, he sent an army to attack the workers. Nehemiah and the others fought them off.

They kept building the wall higher and higher until it was almost done. Sanballat’s plan wasn’t working, so he tried a different strategy. He was going to distract Nehemiah from the work and set up a meeting. We all know the best way to kill any productivity is with a meeting. That’s where we pick up the story in Nehemiah chapter 6.

“Now when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it…

Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of Ono.” But they intended to do me harm.”

Nehemiah is up on his wall working away, and Sanballat’s messenger comes with an invitation. Let’s get together, let’s have lunch. Have your people call my people. But Nehemiah wasn’t haven’t any of that. Listen to Nehemiah’s response.

“And I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and cannot come down.”

You go tell Sanballat that I’m doing a great work right here and I cannot come down. Say it out loud with me, “I am doing a great work and cannot come down.” Sanballat attempts to get Nehemiah not once, not twice, not three times, not four times, but five times. After the fifth time, Nehemiah prays asking for God to strengthen his hands to continue the good work he was doing.”

Application

Figuratively, you have your own wall that you need to climb up on and say “I am doing a great work and cannot come down”. You need to stay on that wall and make sure you complete whatever the task is, whatever God has given you, whatever you just know in your heart that you need to do. You need to stand on that wall and refuse to leave until it’s done.

So, for the next few minutes, I want to poke and prod you a bit. I love you, but I want to get you a little uncomfortable. Because I don’t want you, when I preach this again a year from now, to be dealing with the same thing. Okay?

1) For some of you, it’s your HEALTH.

• You’ve ignored the signs for too long.

• You don’t want to go to the doctor.

• You say you’ll start tomorrow, next week, or when life calms down.

I know all that because I was that. I still am that.

Some of you need to get some help—from a doctor, nutritionist, trainer, therapist. You can’t do this on your own. If you could, you would have done it by now. You need to take steps to get some help. You need to spend some time and money to see a specialist.

For me, I’ve been slacking on exercising, checking my blood sugar and blood pressure levels, taking my meds, and eating a healthy diet. So, this past Wednesday I decided that was going to change.

• I’ve started to check my blood sugar levels before meals.

• I check my blood pressure at lunch.

• I’m watching my carb and sugar intake.

• And hopped on the elliptical every day.

If I was able to lose 60 pounds doing it once, I can do it again. It’s not going to be fun or delicious. Somedays it’ll feel difficult, but I didn’t think I could preach this message with any integrity if I didn’t also take a step forward.

Your health, the body God gave you, is your great work.

Say it with me at home: I am doing a great work and cannot come down.

2) For others, your wall is a HABIT you need to break. I bet you’ve started or restarted some bad habit over the last two years to cope with the pandemic.

• Some of you drink too much.

• Maybe it’s a coping mechanism like smoking, drugs or porn.

• Maybe you’re addicted to social media, and you need to unplug.

• Maybe you shop for things you don’t need, but it just feels good to have stuff.

If you have a habit that you need to break, here’s your first step: tell someone. Take what’s in the shadows and bring it into the light. Living free in Christ and breaking that destructive habit is your great work.

Everyone, say it with me: I am doing a great work and cannot come down.

3) Still others, your wall is about RELATIONSHIPS

• Married couples, some of you need to nurture your relationship and live out those vows you recited. Put away things that distract you like your phone, your hobbies, your career and focus on your spouse.

• Dating Couples, are you honoring each other? You can’t be spending the night, taking vacations together, living with each other, and sleeping together. That’s sin. You need to have boundaries and you need to honor each other’s boundaries.

• Dads, you might need start developing a stronger bond with your daughters.

• Moms, do the same with your sons. Play with them, read to them. Be affectionate with them.

Building happier, healthier relationships is your great work!

Everyone, say it with me: I am doing a great work and cannot come down.

4) For others, your wall is about your FAITH.

You call yourself a Christian, but you’re doing little to develop a personal, growing relationship with God. You’ve stopped growing. You’re just going through the motions.

• Maybe church isn’t a priority for you. You skip service way more than you attend.

• Maybe you’re not spending any personal time with God. You’re living entirely off other people’s spirituality.

• Or maybe you’re living hypocritically. Privately your life is filled with sin, but publicly you put on a good Christian face.

Living a faith that pleases God and inspires others… That is your great work.

Everyone, say it with me: I am doing a great work and cannot come down.

What is your one thing? What is the one thing you have to do this year?

Climb up on that wall, and do not get down. No matter what comes your way, stay up there, as if your very life depends on it. Everyone, say it with me one more time: I am doing a great work and cannot come down.

Now, to close, I want to tell you rest of Nehemiah’s story. His enemies kept trying to stop him. They sent more messengers. They spread rumors about him. They tried to get King Artaxerxes to recall him. They even tried to get one of his own people to turn against him. Every time, Nehemiah stood his ground. He did not divert from his one thing.

You too will face obstacles, even enemies. There will be people who try to sabotage you. You will try to sabotage yourself. It’ll cost you something—time, money, energy, comfort, pride. But you must stand your ground and not lose focus on your one thing.

Nehemiah and his team rebuilt the wall in 52 days compared to the 4 years that it took to initially build the walls. And that one accomplishment began a chain reaction of events, that resulted in great revival and restoration among God’s people. All because Nehemiah completed his one thing. Now, unfortunately, God’s people fell back into their wicked ways and this reminds all of us that without Jesus, no real change could happen.

In the end, Nehemiah stayed true to his goal, and even though people went back to dishonoring God, Nehemiah’s final prayer was for God to remember him.

With Jesus, we know he brings revival and restoration into your life, your heart, your family, your faith. So much hangs in the balance of your decision to stay on that wall, to not take your eyes off your one thing. But it isn’t easy.

Statistics show that 20% of Americans will quit their New Year’s resolution by the end of the first week. At the end of the month, 40% will give up on their goals. And by the end of the year, 92% of Americans will have given up leaving only a mere 8% to achieve their one thing, so what can you do?

I encourage you to come up with a plan and a strategy. Nehemiah started laying one brick at a time and over 52 days he completed the wall. Nehemiah’s desire led him to act so he could achieve his one thing. You need to act on your one thing. What is the one action you need to do to get to your one thing?

Writing down goals and telling others are a good first step, but if there is no action, you simply have a good intention. Strategize what you are going to do daily to get you to the one thing that you need to do this year.

Nehemiah had a plan. Nehemiah prayed day and night for an opportunity to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. When the opportunity came, he proposed a plan to strategy to someone who could help make his plans happen. Upon returning to Jerusalem, he spent three nights examining the broken walls of Jerusalem. In the process of building the walls, Nehemiah faced Sanballat’s opposition, but he responded to the threats by placing people on guard. Half of his workers would build while the others worked security. Nehemiah’s focus led him to complete a wall in 52 days and it all began with a commitment to lay one brick at a time.

Whatever your one thing is, find a strategy to help you stick it through. Find a daily goal that will help you get the weekly goal that will push you to achieve the monthly goal which will help you succeed in your quarterly goal that feeds into your 6-month goal and compounded over months and months culminates into the yearly goal you so desire that will help you build a habit of doing the one thing that you desire this year. 2025 is going to end in about 358 days. Where do you want to be when it does? Let’s pray.