Title: Faith In Action
Text: Nehemiah 2:1-10
Nehemiah 2:1-10 Nehemiah 2:1 And it came about in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, that wine was before him, and I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. 2 So the king said to me, "Why is your face sad though you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of heart." Then I was very much afraid. 3 I said to the king, "Let the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies desolate and its gates have been consumed by fire?" 4 Then the king said to me, "What would you request?" So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 I said to the king, "If it please the king, and if your servant has found favor before you, send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it." 6 Then the king said to me, the queen sitting beside him, "How long will your journey be, and when will you return?" So it pleased the king to send me, and I gave him a definite time. 7 And I said to the king, "If it please the king, let letters be given me for the governors of the provinces beyond the River, that they may allow me to pass through until I come to Judah, 8 and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress which is by the temple, for the wall of the city and for the house to which I will go." And the king granted them to me because the good hand of my God was on me. 9 Then I came to the governors of the provinces beyond the River and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. 10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about it, it was very displeasing to them that someone had come to seek the welfare of the sons of Israel.
I. Faith in action means- taking a risk- 1-3
II. Faith in action means- staying connected- 4
III. Faith in action means- willingness to get to work- 5-6
IV. Faith in action means- wise planning- 7-9
V. Faith in action means- anticipating setbacks- 10
For the past few weeks the kids in Children’s Church have been learning lessons about different aspects of body life. Alan came in and taught about baptism and what that means. Henry came in one week and taught about communion and why we do that.
Not every child in Children’s Church is ready for baptism or even communion. Those are activities that we take part in once we have come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. However, there are some kids who have placed their faith in Jesus and are ready for baptism and communion.
It’s good for them to begin to learn more about these customs and practices that we do in church, and what they mean.
So today we are going to do communion earlier in the service so that those kids who have made a confession of faith in Jesus Christ and understand what communion is all about can participate before they go to Children’s Church.
For those of you who weren’t in CC last week, communion is this small meal that we all corporately partake in every month. It was established by Jesus himself during the last supper.
At that meal Jesus takes some bread and says, this is like my body, which is about to be broken for you. And then he takes a cup of wine and says, this cup is like my blood which is about to be poured out for you. He tells the disciples, whenever you eat or drink, remember the sacrifice that I made for you.
Jesus knew that we are forgetful people. So he took the most basic human function- eating and drinking- and used it as an object lesson for us. When we eat this little wafer and drink this little cup of juice, it is a reminder to us of the fact that w are reconciled back to God through the broken body and spilled blood of Jesus Christ.
As the deacons come forward and the elements are being passed out, take some time to reflect on all that Jesus has done for you.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said,
"This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me."
25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying,
"This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
A man was lost out in the desert and came upon this old abandoned way station with a water pump out front. Attached to the handle of the water pump was a note…
"This pump has been here for years and is in good working order. I put a new sucker washer into it and it ought to last for years. But the washer dries out and the pump has got to be primed. Under the white rock I buried a bottle of water, out of the sun and cork end up. There’s enough water in it to prime the pump, but not if you drink some first. Pour about one-fourth and let her soak to wet the leather. Then pour in the rest medium fast and pump like crazy. You’ll get water. The well has never run dry. Have faith. When you get watered up, fill the bottle and put it back like you found it for the next feller. (signed) Desert Pete. P.S. Don’t go drinking the water first. Prime the pump with it and you’ll get all you can hold."
How tempting would it be after baking in the desert to just take that bottle of water and guzzle it down? It would take a lot of faith in Desert Pete, to pour that water out with the hope that the pump would work.
But faith often requires us to do things that might seem a little crazy at the time. Real faith will requires us to take a step. Real faith involves action.
Faith is one of the most basic, simplest, fundamental aspects of our humanity, but at the same time, it is often the most misunderstood. Faith isn’t something that is just reserved for those who are Christians, or religious in some way. Every human on the face of the earth operates in the realm of faith.
We place our faith in the pharmacist when we take medication. We place our faith in the pilot when we get on a plane. We place our faith in the chair you are sitting in right now.
In a more philosophical sense, people either choose to place their faith in God or in a scientific theory that discounts the existence of God. Either way, there is a step of faith required, right?
Those of us who are believers have placed our faith in Jesus Christ. We are choosing to believe that the Bible is true and by faith we place our lives in God’s hands.
Yet, for many believers, faith is something that seems to end once we give our lives to God. Our faith in Him doesn’t grow, it stays small and idle and weak. I want us to have a faith in God that is growing bigger and bigger every day. Jesus said that if we have faith the size of a tiny mustard seed we could move mountains. I’m afraid many of us have faith that’s much smaller than a mustard seed.
Real faith isn’t just an intellectual agreement to a set of beliefs. It isn’t just a matter of passive agreement with something. True faith involves action.
Martin Luther said… “The true, living faith, which the Holy Spirit instills into the heart, simply cannot be idle.”
Nehemiah is an excellent example of true faith in action. Last week we look at chapter 1. There Nehemiah gets a report about the Jews who have returned to Jerusalem after years in exile. There are back in the land, but the city is in ruins, the walls are destroyed, and the people are in disgrace. The report breaks Nehemiah’s heart. So he prays about it, and then takes action. Please follow along as I read chapter 2:1-10
Nehemiah did not have an idle faith. He was very clearly a man of action. All of his accomplishments were built on that faith in action. His life is a great example to us of what faith in action looks like.
First of all, faith in action means being willing to take some risks. Living in the realm of faith is a scary thing. It isn’t something that comes easy to us. My guess is that most of us a pretty conservative people. Even if you tend to be spontaneous, you probably still stay within certain boundaries.
I know I tend to be very conservative and cautious. I don’t have to see the whole road ahead of me, but I really like to be able to see at least three or four steps before I put my foot out there. But there are times when I’ve had no choice but to take a total leap of faith without knowing where I would land. All I had was trust that God would be there to carry me.
There are times in all our lives when we have to do something that will be scary. Look at the first three verses with me again…
Now in that culture one of the things that you simply did not do was act sad in the presence of the king. People who surrounded the king would have always been happy and cheerful and smiley. So for Nehemiah to look depressed in the presence of the king was very noticeable, and very dangerous.
If the king would have been in a grumpy mood that day he could have had Nehemiah put to death, simply for looking depressed.
Nehemiah even says here, I was very much afraid. I was freaked out about what might happen.
Fortunately for him, the king was in a good mood that day and he recognizes that something is lying heavy on the heart of his cupbearer.
Now Nehemiah wasn’t about to just come right out and ask for a favor. That wasn’t how things were done. But he does say, “Long live the king!- in other words, it’s not you. I’m not unhappy with you. But I’m bummed out because the place where my ancestors rest is desolate and the gates have been destroyed.
Nehemiah knew that coming to the king like this was a huge risk. It could have been a fatal risk. He was very literally placing his life in God’s hands. Nehemiah knew that he could trust God with the outcome.
What risks have you taken for God lately? When was the last time you were scared? Are we unable or unwilling to make a move or take any action without knowing for sure what the outcome is going to be? Are we only willing to do things when we know we can’t fail?
George Muller said…
“Faith does not operate in the realm of the possible. There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible. Faith begins where man’s power ends.”
If we never take any risks for God we are never truly exercising our faith. Living faith will take a risk.
Faith in action is scary because it feels like we are swinging without a net. That’s why it is so vitally important that we stay connected to God every step of the way.
4 Then the king said to me, "What would you request?" So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 I said to the king,…
Remember last week I talked about being continually connected to God. Here is another example of how Nehemiah lived that way. Right in the middle of his conversation with the king, he prayed. It doesn’t say what he prayed, but probably something short and sweet- “Here we go, help me out here God”
Sometimes even when we take a step of faith we have a tendency to want to slide back into the driver seat and take control. We give God a piece, we exercise a little faith, but we are way too quick to snatch it back from Him.
It’s important that when we take that leap of faith we continue to hold fast to God. Stay connected. Keep your focus on Him.
You will draw incredible strength and confidence and bravery from maintaining this connection to God. Because you know you’re not alone. He is going before you, just like he did for Nehemiah.
Faith in action doesn’t end with that scary leap of faith. No, it also requires us to be willing to get to work. Let’s look at what Nehemiah does next…5-6
At this point Nehemiah could have asked to have someone appointed to rebuild the walls, or asked for permission for his brother to do the work. But Nehemiah says, send me; let me rebuild it.
God has a job for each and every one of us. We might not be building a wall, but you have been just as gifted, and your purpose is just as important.
If you are a husband or a father your job is to be the spiritual leader of your family. Are you leaving that responsibility up to your wife? Now that’s not to say that she won’t have a huge role in training up the kids, but are you passing your duties off onto her?
Bringing your family to church is a great start. Hopefully your wife doesn’t have to poke you with a stick to get you to come. But what else are you doing to lead your family? Are you putting in the work that God expects from you?
For you wives and mothers… are your doing the work that God has for you to do? Are you loving and supporting your husbands? Are you teaching and training up the kids. Do you leave that up to teachers or Children’s church?
When I was teaching at the Christian school one of my biggest frustrations was parents who sent their kids there and expected them learn morality and ethics. It just doesn’t work that way. Kids learn morality form their parents.
Faith in action is something that involves action. If you are not doing anything for God, then there’s a very good chance that your faith is idle and weak. Is it time for you to take a scary leap of faith and try something you’ve never tried before? Is it time to do something you’re not entirely sure you can do? Is it time to get to work doing something where you know you will have to rely on God’s grace to see you through it? Are you willing to get to work?
Part of the work that goes into having faith in action is wise planning. Even though taking a step of faith can be very scary, and even risky, it shouldn’t be foolish. It doesn’t mean that we aren’t allowed to have some sort of plan.
Nehemiah didn’t barge blindly into the kings chambers and demand to go rebuild the walls. That would have just gotten him killed. No Nehemiah spent some time praying, and planning.
In chapter 1 Nehemiah gets this bad report from his brother in the month of Kislev and in chapter 2 he approaches the king in the month of Nisan. Kislev was roughly our December, and Nisan is roughly our April. That means that 4 months had passed.
Part of having faith in action isn’t just knowing when to act, but when to wait. Nehemiah didn’t just sit on his ands during that time, he began planning. Look at 7-9…
Nehemiah was ready when the king said, “what do you need?”. He already had a plan. He even knew the name of the guy who was in charge of the forest where he would get the lumber for the gates.
Nehemiah did his homework so that when God opened the door, Nehemiah was ready and able to walk right through it.
The problem we often face is when our planes don’t include God. Nehemiah knew that the reason that the king granted his request was because the good hand of God was upon him. When we make plans outside of prayer, and council, and obedience we can’t expect God’s good hand to be on us can we?
How do you go about making plans? Do you fly by the seat of your pants? Do you just do what feels good at the time? Do you just do whatever the people on TV are doing? Are your plans wise, or usually foolish?
It’s not that we have to have all the answers or know all the details. Again, faith in action will involve some risk. But we need to have the wisdom to use the tools and resources at our disposal. First and foremost is prayer.
Finally, faith in action means anticipating setbacks. Look at verse 10…
Even though God’s hand was clearly on Nehemiah, there were still others in the world who hated the Jews and hated the fact that someone had come to help them. These guys mentioned here had a lot of power and authority. And over in the book of Ezra, they had succeeded in stopping the work of rebuilding the wall. Over the course of this book these guys cause all sorts of trouble for Nehemiah.
The reality that there are enemies to the people of God hasn’t changed a bit since Nehemiah’s time. There are people who simply hate Christianity. There are people who hate the idea of being accountable to someone else, especially God. There are those whose pride and greed and selfishness causes them to be violently angry with any ideology that suggests that they might not be the center of the universe.
Like we have already seen, taking a step of faith is a risky endeavor. There isn’t necessarily the guarantee of instant success, and there certainly isn’t any guarantee that we won’t face our fair share of trials.
Faith in action trusts God to work out the details. True faith won’t be shaken when we are faced with opposition. In fact opposition will only serve to deepen our reliance on God.
Over in the book of James we find this section of scripture that explores the relationship between faith and deeds, or actions. James says, “What good is it if you say you have faith, but have no actions to back it up?” Wishful thinking and hallow belief are not characteristics of true faith.
James says, “Faith, by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
Is your faith Idle? Is it weak? Is it maybe even dead? If so it’s time to get back to the basics. Get reconnected to God, pray for clear guidance, and then take that step of faith, whatever it might be for you.
Martin Luther rightly commented that…
“God our Father has made all things depend on faith so that whoever has faith will have everything, and whoever does not have faith will have nothing.”
