This One Thing
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. In this message, Pastor Greg draws out a lesson that can be the key to finally accomplishing the one thing we each need to put our minds to this year.
SERMON INTRO
This year… 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 finances—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.
This one thing is probably something you’ve thought about. This one thing is something someone has said to you. This one thing is something maybe you’ve even tried before.
YOU
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.
It could be an APPOINTMENT you need to make. You’ve been neglecting something for too long, and you know you just have to pick up your phone and make the call.
It could be a GOAL you need to accomplish. You keep putting it off. But you know this one thing would change the quality of your life.
Or maybe it’s a RELATIONSHIP you need to focus on. Your husband, wife, kids. Maybe you need to develop some deeper friendships or reconcile a broken one.
Whatever it is, you have one thing. Wouldn’t it be great if, at the end of the year, you had done it? Imagine how much better your life might be.
ME
I first heard a version of this sermon 13 years ago from Andy Stanley, and it had a real impact on me. It was around that time I was diagnosed with diabetes, and this idea helped me lose my first 20 pounds. And I’ve gone back to this idea often as I’ve worked to improve my health, faith, and relationships.
In fact, it was so meaningful to me that I even made a little LEGO set to remind me of it. This may not make any sense to you now, but it will in a few minutes.
This message has become a bit of a tradition here. Back in 2020, I decided that I wanted to preach it every New Year. And I’ve loved hearing from some of you how focusing on your one thing left you in a better place in December than in January.
My hope is that this message will be as helpful and life-changing for you as it was for me and others.
GOD
Today, I want to teach you about an Old Testament story that will help you focus on your one thing. It’s from the book of the prophet Nehemiah.
Let me introduce you to the first two characters in this story: Nehemiah and Artaxerxes
Nehemiah was an Israelite slave living in exile in Persia, modern-day Iran.
Artaxerxes was the King of Persia around 450 BC. Persia was the dominant world force at the time.
Nehemiah was working for Artaxerxes as his cupbearer. Now, I know that sounds like a fancy waiter, but it was really much more than that. He was actually a high-ranking government official with a personal relationship with the king.
What’s interesting about Nehemiah is that he was Jewish, but he had never been to Jerusalem. Ya see, about 100 years prior, the Babylonians conquered Israel. They destroyed the temple, the city, the walls—all in ruins.
Well, Nehemiah heard how bad things were for the remnant who were still in Jerusalem, and he felt a burden for his homeland. So, he prayed a big prayer and asked king Artaxerxes for some time off to travel to Jerusalem and help his people.
Artaxerxes said, “I’ll give you the time off. Not only that, but I’ll make you the governor of the region, Judea, and I’ll give you whatever you need to rebuild—money, lumber, livestock, anything…it’s yours.”
VISITING JERUSALEM
So, Nehemiah went to Jerusalem and found a city in ruins. But here’s what’s most interesting. The city walls had been broken down for so long that no one living there had ever lived in a city with the protection of walls and gates. The ruined city was all they had ever known.
It reminds me of the Hmong who were born in the refugee camps. Maybe some of your parents, aunts, or uncles. They never knew life in the villages; they only knew the camp. So, that shaped their Hmong identity.
That’s what it was like for these Israelites—their lives, their identity had been shaped by a city without walls. That meant that any local warlord could just come and pillage whatever they wanted. There was no safety, no security. Worse yet, there was no sense that God was with them. They had forgotten their history as God’s chosen people.
All this just broke Nehemiah’s heart. He spent an entire day and night walking the city, meeting the 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.”
“I mean, there’s a lot that needs to get done—the economy, leadership, infrastructure. There are a lot of problems here, but the one thing I have to do is 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.
The leader of the opposition was a governor by the name of Sanballat. He was determined to stop their rebuilding efforts.
First, he sent spies to infiltrate the people and discourage them. Didn’t work.
Next, he sent his 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 productivity is with a meeting. That’s where we pick up the story in 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’s 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.
He knew right away. Because that town, Hakkephirium, is in the plain of Ono. As in…
Come down from the wall? Oh no!
Have lunch with you? Oh no!
Trust you? Oh no!
And 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. Let’s say that together, “I am doing a great work and cannot come down.”
Now, you can understand my little Lego set. That’s Nehemiah on the top of the wall with the wrench. (I couldn’t find a hammer.) That’s Sanballat on the bottom with the axe. And there’s the verse: I am doing a great work and cannot come down.
This phrase has been incredibly encouraging me me. Like I said, I’ve used it to help me with some areas of my life. And over the last few years, as pastoring has gotten really hard, enough to bring me to tears, Pang Foua will hug me and say, “You’re doing a great work…” And I immediately know the rest – “I cannot come down.”
You
Right now, there is something in your life, there is a wall in your world 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 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 old junk. Okay?
1) For some of you, it’s your PHYSICAL HEALTH.
You’ve ignored the signs for too long.
You’ve ignored doctor’s appointments.
You say you’ll start tomorrow, next week, after the big deadline.
I know all that because I was that. Sometimes, 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 pony up some money—cancel Netflix, Spotify, cook your own meals—and spend money to get some help.
This was my one thing last year. I joined Weight Watchers, and I joined a gym (and went). I wasn’t perfect. I did great for half the year and less great for the other half. But I’m happy to say that I’m 10 pounds lighter than I was when I preached this last year. I needed help with my health.
May you need help with your health too.
Your health, the body God gave you, is your great work in 2025.
Everyone, say it with me: I am doing a great work and cannot come down.
2) For others, your wall is a HABIT you need to break.
Some of you DRINK too much. Wanna know how you can tell if you drink too much? Someone has told you that you drink too much.
Maybe it’s PORN. You know it’s wrong, hurtful, even unfaithful, but you keep going back to it.
Maybe it’s SPENDING. Or ANGER. Or GOSSIP. Or PEOPLE-PLEASING.
There are all kinds of addictive habits you could have: smoking, gaming, shopping, social media, gambling, eating. If this is you, here is the first step you take. 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 put your phone down when your spouse is talking to you. Start nurturing that relationship and living out those vows you recited.
Singles, maybe you’re discontent with being alone, and you desperately want someone in your life. You need some help learning Paul’s secret to being content in all circumstances.
Dating Couples, you need to stop sleeping together. That’s sin, ya’ll. Yes, it means you can’t spend the night or take vacations together. You might even need to move out until you get married.
Dads, you might need to start nurturing a stronger bond with your daughters. Moms, do the same with your sons. Play with them, read to them. Help them with their homework.
Or maybe it’s your pride, your hypocrisy, your anxiety. All of those things are hurting your relationships, and it’s time to deal with it.
Building happier, healthier relationships is your great work!
Everyone, say it with me: I am doing a great work and cannot come down.
For others, your wall is about your FAITH.
You call yourself a Christian, but have you given your life to Jesus? Or you’re just going through the motions.
Church isn’t a priority for you. You make it here when you can, but you’re more than willing to skip.
You’re not spending any personal time with God. You’re living off second-hand faith and other people’s spirituality.
You’re living hypocritically. You act one way during the week, but on Sunday you put on a good Christian face.
Living a faith that follows God and looks like Jesus… 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?
Let me share with you what mine is this year. It’s a little different, but this is what God had put on my heart. I need to make 6 appointments. These represent 6 areas of my life I’ve been neglecting. They are:
Doctor
Dentist
Orthopedic
Car mechanic
Dermatologist
Optometrist (I did this one this week)
I believe that if I make these six appointments, they will cascade into other good choices, choices my future self will thank me for. If nothing else, through these six appointments, I will give care to six things that I’ve been neglecting.
What about you? What’s your one thing?
Now, climb up on that wall, and do not get down. No matter what comes your way. Do the hard work of staying 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.
CONCLUSION OF THE STORY
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 lies. They tried to get King Artaxerxes to pull him out. 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. People may criticize you, spread lies about you. It’ll always cost you something—time, money, energy, comfort, ego. Maybe it’ll require really hard work. But you must stand your ground and not lose focus on your one thing.
Nehemiah and his team rebuilt the wall in 52 days, less than two months. And that one accomplishment began a chain reaction of events that resulted in great revival and restoration among Israel. All because Nehemiah completed his one thing.
And the same thing will happen to you. What is the one thing in your life that will catalyze a chain reaction where God can bring 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.
2025 is going to end in 360 days. Where do you want to be when it does?
