“The king said to me, ‘What is it you want?’ Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and said...” Nehemiah 2:4-5a.
This is not part of the original series, but it offers us an opportunity to apply what we have been studying.
Last week, we voted on the disbursement of gas lease income. The motion passed by two votes. Those of you who follow the church’s facebook page on the internet know that Thursday morning, I posted that there were two lessons we should learn from that vote. Just this morning, a very obvious third lesson occurred to me. Some lessons on prayer keys have been taken out of order, for various reasons. After lessons on sincerity and submission as prayer keys, two weeks ago we went back to praise as a prayer key. Last week we had our business meeting. Our next study will be on giving thanks.
Between studies of praise and thanksgiving as prayer keys, we voted on how to respond to God’s providence. The obvious lesson is that God’s timing is precise. Time and again over the past several months, our study on Wednesday nights and the sermon on Sunday morning have had parallels. We never consulted each other, we never said, “I’m going to use an illustration of Psalm 1 on Wednesday, would you like to preach on it next Sunday?” We never planned those things. God did. God’s timing is precise. Between studies of praise and thanksgiving as prayer keys, we voted on how to respond to God’s providence.
Thursday morning, after the vote last week, I posted on the church facebook page, “Two lessons from a divided vote.
“Lesson 1: God’s wisdom and providence are indescribably incredible. He is worthy of praise.
“Before last night’s business meeting, before First Baptist Church, Everman, was formed, from the foundations of the world, God knew he would have a people assembled here doing His business. He knew the opportunities for ministry we face and He knew the needs we would confront.
“Before last night’s business meeting, before First Baptist Church, Everman, was formed, from the foundations of the world, God planned the geology under these property lines to include natural gas.
“When His church here struggled in the past, the gas was there. God reserved it for such a time as this.
“God’s wisdom and providence are indescribably incredible. He is worthy of praise.
“Let’s praise him!”
I don’t know how many of the 70 members of the facebook group read that post. Only 2 commented and they both agreed. “God’s wisdom and providence are indescribably incredible. He is worthy of praise.”
Lesson 2 was posted Friday morning.
“Lesson 2: Church business is God’s business. We may be too casual with God’s business...
“I have been in business meetings for churches, associations, states, the convention, and various ministry organizations. It has been common, after a divided vote, for a pastor or organization president who favored the outcome to say that all should regard the majority vote as God’s will. I know there is no scripture supporting that in a day when churches vote to ordain unrepentant, practicing homosexuals as deacons. This vote would have been easier if it had been that obviously defined in scripture.
“Changing two votes at our last business meeting could have... reversed the vote. People I respect were on both sides of the vote. A few did not vote at all. Did God tell some to vote one way and some to vote another? I doubt it.
“Church business is God’s business. Every individual’s vote should be bathed in prayer. Every vote counts, whether it is in submission to God or not. We may be too casual with God’s business. Rather than ramble on here, I will mention in the next prayer meeting something we should learn from the prayer in Nehemiah 2:4...”
I don’t know how many of the 70 members of the facebook group read that post. No one commented. No one agreed. No one disagreed.
Leaving aside for a moment the question of whether God’s will can be determined by majority vote, can we agree that church business is God’s business? Can we agree that sometimes we can be too casual with God’s business?
Now let’s look at Nehemiah 2:4 and the beginning of v 5, “The king said to me, ‘What is it you want?’ Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and said...”
This is an easy verse to pass over, but it is filled with meaning. To understand, let’s go back to chapter 1.
In the month Kislev, Nehemiah gets bad news about the homeland. “They said to me, ‘Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.’ When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven,” Nehemiah 1:3-4.
“Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace.” The first exiles to return immediately began to rebuild the Temple. They became discouraged and gave up with only the foundation being rebuilt. God sent Haggai and Zechariah to confront the people’s neglect and to challenge them to finish what they started. The temple was completed 20 years after the return. Then they became discouraged again.
Over the years, more exiles returned, but the walls remained a pile of rubble. Decades later, God impressed on Nehemiah the shame and disgrace of the city. In those days, a city without walls was defenseless. God does not need walls to protect his people, but his people were discouraged and not relying on him.
Nehemiah began to pray.
Chapter 2 occurs four months later. Nehemiah is the king’s cupbearer. The king notices he is sad. It is illegal for foreign servants to be unhappy in the presence of the king. It is a crime punishable by death. Nehemiah is afraid. The king is sympathetic to Nehemiah’s sadness of heart and asks, “‘What is it you want?’ Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and said...”
Nehemiah did not stop and call all Israelites prayer. He did not excuse himself for a moment of prayer before returning to answer the king. He quickly said a silent prayer and answered the king. This last minute prayer was preceded by four months of intense prayer. This is not an isolated prayer.
Last week, most people who were voting were hearing the recommendation for the gas lease funds for the first time, then voting. We had a time for discussion and more time for last minute prayers than Nehemiah did. The question is, were we, like Nehemiah, consistently praying before the last minute?
Bob Mumford tells of a certain Italian harbor that can be reached only by sailing up a narrow channel between dangerous rocks and shoals. Over the years, many ships have wrecked, and navigation is hazardous. To guide the ships safely into port, three lights have been mounted in the harbor on three huge poles. When the three lights are perfectly lined up and seen as one, the ship can safely proceed up the narrow channel. If the pilot sees two or three lights, he knows he’s off course and in danger.
Mumford goes on to say that God has also provided three beacons to guide us. The same rules of navigation apply – the three lights must be lined up before it is safe for us to proceed. The three harbor lights of guidance are The Word of God (objective standard), The Holy Spirit (subjective witness), Circumstances (divine providence)
Together, notes Mumford, they assure us that the directions we’ve received are from God and will lead us safely along His way. [sermoncentral.com]
The gas lease money is the light of divine providence. Before last week’s business meeting, before First Baptist Church, Everman, was formed, from the foundations of the world, God planned the geology under these property lines to include natural gas. When His church here struggled in the past, the gas was there. God reserved it for such a time as this.
God’s wisdom and providence are indescribably incredible. He is worthy of praise.
What is the light of the Word?
Sometimes, the principles of scripture can point to more than one path.
Last week, some people wanted the gas lease money to go to pay off our debt. Scripture discourages debt, announcing that the borrower is enslaved to the lender in Proverbs 22:7.
Others wanted to put some money into an emergency fund. Proverbs 6 encourages us to be wise, noticing the ants gathering food during the harvest.
Two different approaches could be supported from scripture. Which did God want us to apply? We needed that third light, the witness of the Holy Spirit.
We have known for some time that our church faces financial challenges. We should be praying for God’s leadership to face those challenges. That is one of the things on my prayer list.
But I have been convicted of something since the vote last week. I do not always check my prayer list while praying. I pray for our staff every day, from our pastor to our intern. I do not always pray for our finances. When I haven’t checked my prayer list while praying, I have forgotten to pray for our finances more often than I remembered.
The divided vote last week tells me I am not alone. Nehemiah prayed intensely for four months. When we studied earnestness or fervency as a prayer key, we saw Samuel’s mother, Daniel, and the church in Acts as examples. Perhaps we should have looked at Nehemiah, too. He prayed fervently for four months. When the time came to act, he prayed again and acted. And God blessed.
When we studied persistence as a prayer key, we talked about praying until the answers come. That’s what Nehemiah did. If everyone had been doing that last week, even if we did not know the recommendation until the last minute, we would have been ready for a last minute prayer and a unanimous vote.
God wants to do amazing things in Everman. He wants to use us to do some of them. We may not feel ready for God to use us. But the next time we feel like God can’t or won’t use us, just remember that Abraham was too old, Joseph was abused, Moses had a stuttering problem, Gideon was afraid, Jeremiah and Timothy were too young, Naomi was a widow, Job was bankrupt, the Disciples fell asleep while praying, Martha worried about everything, Zaccheus was too small, Paul was in prison, and Lazarus was dead.
What’s our excuse?
God wants to do amazing things in Everman. He wants to use us to do some of them.
Many people think business meeting is boring, but church business is God’s business. We may be too casual about God’s business. We should pray about God’s business until we can see God’s Word, God’s Spirit, and God’s Providence lighting the way.
