Sermon Brief
Date Written: January 5, 2013
Date Preached: January 6, 2013
Where Preached: OPBC (AM)
Sermon Details:
Series Title: Building with God
Sermon Title: Know Your Situation
Sermon Text: Nehemiah 1:1-4 [ESV]
Introduction:
Have you ever had a project SO large that you did not know how to approach it? Have you ever had a problem so big that you did not know how you were going to get thru it?
Many of us know what that feels like… but there is a saying that helps me to keep things in a bit of a perspective when it comes to large issues and difficulties! It is the question, ‘How do you eat an elephant?’ and the answer is… SAY IT WITH ME! “ONE BITE AT A TIME!”
People as a church there is a definite ELEPHANT in the room everytime we come together as a body of believers. Every Sunday morning and Wed evening that elephant is here in this room! What is that elephant? It is all those empty seats around you! That is a HUGE elephant and it is an elephant we would RATHER not see anymore!
But how do we get rid of this elepahant in the room? We attack it… we subdue it… we EAT it! But it must be done as the old saying says, “One bite at a time”, so we are not overwhelmed!
But preacher we have tried ‘everything’ and we just can’t grow… I am ready to admit this is our lot and that we are meant to stay this small! This just cannot be done… it is a job we just cannot do!
I believe this is EXACTLY what Nehemiah felt here in chapter 1 of the book of Nehemiah! Today I want us to take a look at Nehemiah and how he led the nation of Israel and how he opened their eyes to the problem… to the ‘elephant’ in the room, but also how they could begin to ‘eat that elephant’ one bite at a time and move forward as a nation!
Today we are struggling in how many come into those doors out there, and I believe we think there is something we can do… or that there is something we are NOT doing to cause us to NOT grow, especially after 7 years after the storm!
Nehemiah had an overwhelming situation come up in his life and today we are going to look at a formula that we ALL can look to… to help us begin to overcome this seemingly overwhelming situation in our church’s life… the fact that we have lost so many members and cannot seem to grow!
Let’s look at the book of Nehemiah chapter 1 this morning… we will be looking at the entire chapter today! Turn with me in your Bibles OR you can read it on the screen… this morning I will be reading from the ESV…
1The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, 2that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. 3And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.”
1. Assessing the Situation – v.1-3
When we look at this situation that was happening we need to understand a little about the history of the situation before we can truly appreciate what was going on as Nehemiah begins to write about what was happening.
This was a time of great difficulty for the nation of Israel. It had been some 1,000 years after the time of Moses and it was still some 400 years before the birth of Jesus.
At this time the nation of Israel, which had split into 2 kingdoms after King Solomon… BOTH nations had been conquered and destroyed. First to go was the northern Jewish kingdom of Israel around 720BC and then the southern Jewish kingdom of Judah around 586BC. During the fall of the Southern kingdom, Jerusalem had been completely wiped out by the Babylonians and the once-glorious temple of Solomon was destroyed.
TO add insult to injury, the Babylonians then deported almost every Jew from the city and the region - and for about 70 years, Jerusalem was a virtual ghost town! It had the potential to end up like many ancient cities completely forgotten except to history.
The Jews who were deported reluctantly began to make homes and a life for themselves in Babylon. They settled down, and many still followed the God of their Fathers, but they did it from Babylon. Many came to the decision that they had no desire to return to the land God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
However, there were a few faithful Jews who were elevated to places of prominence within the government. We all know the story about Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego and how they became leaders in Babylon. We also have heard the story about Esther who was chosen to become the queen to a Persian king.
After about 70 years, Babylon was conquered by the Persian kingdom and those who had been deported from their homeland in Jerusalem were given the opportunity to go back…
It is believed that the original deportation numbered around 2-3 million Jews deported from the land by Babylon. However, when given the chance, only 50,000 Jews decided to return to the Promised Land.
That is only about 2% of the population that was deported, this happened during the book of Ezra. Here in the book of Nehemiah we pick up the story about 15 years after Ezra had led the first group back to the city…
So close to 100 years after the first Jewish captives were allowed to return to Jerusalem and some 150 years after Jerusalem was destroyed, Nehemiah seeks information on how things are going… He discovers that after this very LONG time, the walls of the city of Jerusalem were still in rubble.
Now when the first returnees came back they had attempted to rebuild the Temple and the walls but this had failed… we see the prophets Haggai and Zechariah preaching during this time…
In Ezra 4, we can see that about 75 years before they HAD made the attempt to rebuild the walls, but they had been stopped by their enemies. It was almost as if everyone who had returned had lost hope in restoring Jerusalem because no one thought these enemies could be overcome, so the walls lay in ruin and the people stayed in trouble.
This is where we pick up the story… this is the report Nehemiah receives from Jerusalem. This is the news that distressed Nehemiah so terribly… His homeland… the city of his fathers… still lay in ruins almost 150 years after it had been conquered. It was a personal disgrace as well as a national disgrace!
Nehemiah had more than likely never seen Jerusalem, but had heard the stories. He was probably born in captivity and had risen thru the ranks to become an important member of the King’s court… Nehemiah was the cup bearer for the King, ensuring the King’s safety from drinking anything poison or harmful.
But even though Nehemiah had a great job, and great benefits… and even though Nehemiah never had even seen Jerusalem… he was distraught at this depressing news. Jerusalem used to be the jewel of the known world and KINGS would come to pay homage to their king, but now it lay in ruins and its people were scattered!
When God laid this passage on my heart in late November I began to pray about this… the reason I prayed so long and hard about this is because of how close to home this comes to the story of Oak Park as a church.
Oak Park was at one time the jewel of the Westbank, and one of the fastest growing churches in our city and state. Its meteoric rise was phenomenal and people were being saved, and lives were being touched.
But when we look at our church now, we KNOW there are circumstances that have led us to this point, but our church today is a shell of what Oak Park was in the past…
That was the situation in Jerusalem… that was the situation that Nehemiah heard about, and was devastated over… the fact was that the once proud and prosperous city of Jerusalem lay in ruins and the people who had been able to return were terrified of those around them and would NOT rebuild the wall…
I believe our situation here at Oak Park is similar…This church was once a prosperous church, but it has fallen on hard times. The fact is that Oak Park is NOT the church it once was and there are many devastated because of that fact!
The situations are similar, but the main question is what can be done about such a devastating event? Where do you turn… to whom can you turn when things are this bad? Let’s look at v4-8 and we can see that Nehemiah knew just where to turn!
Nehemiah's Prayer
4As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 5And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 6let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father's house have sinned. 7We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses. 8 Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples,
2. Realizing the Why and what it Cost – v.5-8
When we read this passage we can see that Nehemiah made no bones about sharing WHY the nation was where it was… Nehemiah did NOT point the finger of blame at Babylon… He did NOT point the finger of blame at the Persian kings… He did not point the finger of blame at God… we find Nehemiah pointing the finger of blame at the very people of Israel themselves!
The very people who had been deported and taken into captivity…
The very people who had suffered the loss of their homes and lands…
Those people who had endured year after year of being ruled over and lorded over by a foreign king!
Nehemiah understood the cause of their suffering, it was their own rebellion against God! Nehemiah understood that the ‘cost’ for that rebellious heart as a nation was in them being taken captive and held against their will unable to return to their homeland.
These people had lost their kingdoms because of their sinful attitude and lack of obedience to God’s plan for them. With all this loss it seems as if Nehemiah would have struck out at God, but instead we find Nehemiah beginning to pray FOR all for repentance and that God would be gracious with them!
Just as Nehemiah was NOT part of those original people who were sent out of Jerusalem… I was not here when Oak Park was at its peak NOR was I here when it began to ‘bleed’ members due to the Oil business bust of the 1980s.
I did NOT come here until 2007, and I have sought God’s face on what can be done… what we NEED to do… what programs will work… what paths we need to take… to be the fellowship God wants us to become! I cannot GROW this church! God must be the one to grow this church! YOU cannot grow this church, but you and I must be willing instruments in God’s hands and HE will do the growing!
There are many in our church who can point back to the past and they want things to be like they were back then…unfortunately that time has passed and those days are gone! That doesn’t mean that we cannot grow again as a church.
After all, I will admit there is a part of me that would love to see over 600-700 people here on Sunday mornings and our Sunday evenings and Wed evenings be filled with families, children and young people… that would be great! But I believe that part of me is my flesh and it speaks and desires successes from a worldly perspective!
BUT, there is another part of me that sees things differently… it sees things as Nehemiah saw them… I see that we are a congregation and a body of believers who need to throw ourselves at the feet of our Savior and call out for His forgiveness and guidance so that we can become the fellowship he wants us to become.
I don’t want you to think that I think that all of you are dreadful sinners and that I am somehow above you and more spiritual… NOT AT ALL! When I say this fellowship, I INCLUDE myself! I need to fall at the feet of Jesus EVERYDAY! We ALL do! BUT I have the feeling there are those in our fellowship that think this is for others but not them… we ALL need the grace and mercy and forgiveness of God!
Now I don’t know why God would allow this church that averaged over 700 in SS and over 1000 in worship to dwindle away like it did. I don’t know if it was sin in the lives of the leadership or a cavalier attitude toward their walk in Christ… and to be honest with you it really does NOT matter to us today WHY the church has faded like it has…
The key point for us to know and understand is that for us to be used by God we must be in tune with Him and for us to be in tune with Him we cannot have anything between us and Him! We must fully surrender our hearts and lives to HIM and seek His forgiveness for where we have fallen short…
Nehemiah knew this… He cried out to God for forgiveness before He asked God for deliverance! He knew God could change things, but he also knew that He would NOT when sin was present in his life!
Are you ready to cry out to God for forgiveness today? Are you ready to surrender your heart and life to him fully today? I believe our church can make a distinct impact on this community, but not until we are in tune with God!
Nehemiah surveyed the situation and then he understood why it had happened and saw the cost of the people’s disobedience, but I want you to look at the final few verses of this chapter… these verses give us hope!
9but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’ 10They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. 11O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”
Now I was cupbearer to the king.
3. Understanding Where to Go for Help – v.9-11
In these final verses of chapter 1 we find Nehemiah expounding the eternal promise of God! God says, “If you will honor ME… I will honor you!” Basically Nehemiah is quoting God as saying, “If you will keep My commandments I will restore you to your land!”
Nehemiah cries out to God and asks for His mercy and v10 show Nehemiah covering all the bases… he “reminds” God that these outcasts… these refugees… these who have been conquered, shamed and kicked out of the land God had given them… THESE were still His people!
But in reality Nehemiah was NOT reminding God of this but I believe God was revealing to Nehemiah this basic truth… no matter how far down you fall… God will not abandon you!
I believe we must also see this truth as well… we must remember that because we are IN CHRIST we are a called out people… special people whom God can use for His kingdom and glory! I believe we lose sight of this so often as believers. We think we are in this by ourselves and that is what makes the mountain seem so impossible!
We look around us… we sit in an auditorium that seats almost 600 people, and we see 80-85 on a week to week basis! We see so many EMPTY seats that we begin to think that those seats will NEVER be filled!
But I am here to tell you God wants to fill every seat in this house… God wants to raise up this fellowship and take us to heights we cannot even imagine… He wants to do this because it will further His kingdom and it will glorify His name!
God has NOT abandoned his people… He did NOT abandon them in Nehemiah’s day and He has NOT abandoned US either!
Conclusion:
Now listen to me on this… If you gain ANYTHING from this message today, this is what God wants you to hear and understand!
We will always have problems around us… that is a given! We will also ALWAYS have sin to deal with in our lives as long as we are in this world! BUT the promise of God’s grace is EVER with us… He will NOT abandon us, no matter how far we fall! To experience His grace all we must do claim it!
You have heard how Nehemiah heard about the situation…
You have heard how Nehemiah prayed about the situation and…
And then You have heard how God revealed Himself in a great way to Nehemiah…and ultimately to all the people of Israel.
SO, Today I want us to look at what we have heard as a formula for our church…
We KNOW the situation,
NOW it is totally up to us to sincerely get serious about praying to God about how this situation can change! But we cannot pray for things to be the way they USED to be… but we MUST pray for God to move and that His will is going to be accomplished! I say that we should NOT pray for bodies in the seats, but that we MUST pray for souls to be won to the kingdom!
I believe as we enter a NEW year… this NEW year of 2013 God is calling us and challenging us to submit to Him… He has revealed our situation and He is waiting for us to surrender and submit! Are you ready today? I know I am…
I am ready for God to do a great work thru Oak Park… I am ready to see Oak Park touch this community with the love of Christ in a special way… I am ready to see people saved and baptized… are you?
I believe we should set goals as believers… Well I am setting a goal for our church this year! That goal is that we see 24 baptisms this year… that is only an avg of 2 baptisms per month! 24 baptisms… 24 souls giving their lives to God! Are you up for the challenge?
Nehemiah challenged the people of the city to rebuild the wall… a task they believed could NOT be done, but with God the wall was built! I am challenging our fellowship to a goal of 24 baptism in 2013… and I can bet that there are those in the pews this morning who say that cannot be done… we just can’t DO that… we don’t have the people…
Well if we rely on our own power… we will NEVER reach that goal! This is a God sized goal and we will only reach this Goal if God is there to help us! Are you ready to begin to REBUILD the fellowship here at Oak Park? Let’s do it like Nehemiah did it… let’s rebuild it WITH GOD…
Rebuilding it WITH God means that we are going to rebuild it in HIS way and in HIS timing… we must be patient, we must pray and we must surrender! Are you ready? I challenge you to get involved this year in a way you have NEVER been involved in the past… let’s let God MOVE in a mighty way in our lives and in the life of this church!
If you are here today and you do NOT know Christ as your Savior… I pray that the Holy Spirit is working on your heart at this very moment… and as Bro Ken comes to lead us in our hymn of invitation that you will surrender to God this morning… surrender to Him and give your heart and life to him!
Maybe you are here today and you ARE a believer… and you DO have a relationship with Jesus, but there is sin in your life and you need to surrender it to God… you need to submit to God authority in your life! I am going to ask you to step out and come in just a minute!
Maybe you are here today and God is leading you to start a ministry or join in with our fellowship… either way, when God calls us we cannot put that on the shelf, we must respond and I am asking you to respond to the calling of God in your life! Step out and come as Bro Ken comes to lead us!
When we start singing… I want you to step out… come down here and pray with me and you can leave today knowing God as your Father… and Jesus as Your Savior! As Bro Ken leads us, I ask you to step out and come!
