Introduction:
A. The story is told of a college student who was in a philosophy class, where there was a class discussion about whether or not God exists.
1. The professor tried to prove his point that there is no God by using this logical progression:
a. He asked the class: “Has anyone in this class seen God?” Nobody answered.
b. Then he asked: “Has anyone in this class heard God speak to them?” Nobody answered.
c. He then asked: “Has anyone in this class ever touched God?” Again, nobody answered.
d. The professor then simply stated: “Then I conclude that there is no God.”
2. One student didn’t agree with his argument and conclusion, and asked for permission to speak.
3. The professor granted it, and the student stood up and asked the following questions of his classmates:
a. “Has anyone in this class seen our professor’s brain?” Nobody answered.
b. “Has anyone in this class heard our professor's brain?” Nobody answered.
c. Finally he asked: “Has anyone in this class touched our professor's brain?” There was absolute silence in the classroom.
d. The student concluded: “Then, according to our professor's logic, it must be true that our professor has no brain!”
4. The student actually received an “A” in the class.
B. I really admire that student’s courage and ability to speak up, when clearly someone needed to.
1. How many times in our lives does an opportunity arise where we need to speak up, but we don’t?
2. As we continue to examine the story of Nehemiah, we are going to see that Nehemiah was faced with an opportunity to speak up for God’s people.
3. How will Nehemiah fare when that opportunity presents itself? Will he speak, or will he remain silent? And what will be the outcome?
4. These are the questions that will be answered in our sermon today.
C. Let’s set the stage for today’s dramatic story in the continuing saga of God’s people who returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple, and the city walls, and the Jewish faith community.
1. The Persian king named Cyrus allowed the Jews to return and rebuild in 538 B.C., just as God had promised.
2. God’s people under the leadership of Zerubbabel and the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah finished the temple in 515 B.C.
3. Ezra then led a second group who returned to Jerusalem in 458 B.C. and Ezra led them in some spiritual reforms.
4. Last week, we discovered that in 446 B.C., Nehemiah received word that the walls were still broken down and God’s people were in great trouble and disgrace (Neh. 1:3).
5. How did Nehemiah reacted to that report? He turned to fasting and praying for 4 months.
6. In the last sentence of Nehemiah chapter 1, Nehemiah says: “I was cup bearer to the king.”
I. The Story
A. Today’s story begins: 1 In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before; (Neh. 2:1)
1. The month of Nisan is roughly the equivalent of April, which is 4 months after the news had reached Nehemiah in chapter 1, verse 1.
2. On that specific day in the month of Nisan, Nehemiah took the wine and gave it to the king.
a. Nehemiah was the cupbearer and we need to understand the role of cupbearer.
b. The cupbearer was an officer of high rank in ancient oriental courts whose duty was to serve the wine at the king’s table.
c. Because of the constant fear of plots and intrigues, a person had to be regarded as completely trustworthy to hold the position of cupbearer.
d. The cupbearer had to guard against poison in the king’s cup, and he was sometimes required to swallow some of the wine before serving it.
e. The cupbearer’s confidential relationship with the king often endeared him to his sovereign and also gave him a position of great influence.
3. So Nehemiah had a very high position, and on that day when he brought the king his wine, he allowed his sadness to show on his face.
a. Keep in mind this isn’t the first day after Nehemiah heard the bad news, this is four months after hearing it.
b. Nehemiah had purposely hidden his sadness from the king, until the right moment, and that moment had arrived.
B. The story continues: 2 so the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.” I was very much afraid, (Neh. 2:2)
1. The king knew Nehemiah very well and Nehemiah had never been sad in his presence before.
2. So with concern, the king questioned Nehemiah about this sadness he detected.
3. The Bible says that Nehemiah was very much afraid. Why was Nehemiah afraid?
4. Nehemiah may have been afraid for three good reasons:
a. First, his sadness was a breach of etiquette – A servant’s private feelings were best kept to himself. The servant was expected to do his job without concern for himself.
b. Second, Nehemiah may have been afraid because he knew his request might not be well received by the King.
1. His request would be one which would be asking the king to reverse his policy.
2. In Ezra 4, we had learned that the king had ordered the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem to stop because he feared a potential future rebellion.
3. Granted, the king had left a loophole, “Now issue an order to these men to stop work, so that this city will not be rebuilt until I so order” (Ezra 4:21).
4. His decision could be rescinded, but most officials don’t like to reverse their orders.
c. Third, Nehemiah may have been afraid because he knew that anyone who made the king upset or unhappy, may lose his life. Kings were unpredictable and sometimes had a short fuse.
C. So Nehemiah was afraid, yet a great opportunity to speak to the king about a subject that was of great significance to him was before him.
1. Nehemiah stood at the crossroads of time…before him was an open door…before him was a golden opportunity.
2. The future of Jerusalem and Israel was on the line.
3. Nehemiah had been put in an important position, and he had prayed for an opportunity to speak to the king, and he had deliberately allowed his sadness to be apparent to the king.
D. The story continues: 3 but I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”
1. Nehemiah began with a diplomatic word of praise and blessing for the king, probably a customary, yet respectful way of addressing the king… “long live the king!”
2. Then he answered the king’s question with a very personal statement.
3. Nehemiah had the God-given wisdom to know to present the matter first as news of a personal blow, rather than as a political issue.
4. He could have said, “Why shouldn’t I be sad when Jerusalem is still in ruins” or “Why shouldn’t I be sad, because you ordered the work on Jerusalem to stop.”
5. But notice how he didn’t mention Jerusalem by name, but personalized it, saying “the city where my fathers are buried…”
E. The story continues: 4 The king said to me, “What is it you want?” Then I prayed to the God of heaven,
1. Having gained a positive response from the king, it says that Nehemiah prayed to God.
2. He didn’t fall on his knees, rather he just paused and offered a flash prayer to God in his thoughts.
3. He may have thought, “Okay God, here we go…please bless the request I am about to make.”
F. The story continues: 5 and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it.” 6 Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?” It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time. 7 I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? 8 And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests.
1. The mention of the queen sitting with the king may indicate it was a private occasion, and may also suggest that the king’s decision owed something to her influence.
2. The whole interview gives the impression that it was Nehemiah’s personal qualities and relationship that won him the right to speak and that gained his request, overriding all the political and logistical obstacles.
3. Did you notice the boldness of Nehemiah’s requests?
a. Nehemiah asked for permission to send someone to address the problem, rather he asked for permission for himself to go, which included a release from his important duties.
b. If that wasn’t enough, he also asked for letters to insure safety, cooperation, and supplies.
4. But what was the decisive factor that insured Nehemiah’s success? It was the gracious hand of God that was upon him, just like in Ezra’s case!
II. The Application
A. You know, Nehemiah’s situation reminds me of a similar situation in the life of a woman named Esther – we investigated her story last summer.
1. Esther’s story came about 30 years earlier than Nehemiah’s.
2. King Xerxes, who was the king before Artaxerxes, needed a new queen so he held a beauty pageant.
3. You will recall that Esther, the young, beautiful, obscure Jewish captive won the contest and became the queen (although the king had no idea she was Jewish).
4. Not long after that, an evil man named Haman plotted to have all the Jews exterminated on a single day.
5. Esther’s uncle sent word to her to approach the king and save her people saying, “And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this.”
6. And so, just like Nehemiah, Esther had been brought to an important position that would give her an opportunity to speak, but would she speak up?
7. Thankfully, Esther applied great faith and courage, and when the opportunity came she spoke up and saved her people.
B. And when we look in the New Testament, we see great people of God who when given opportunity spoke about their faith in God.
1. Jesus, himself, is a perfect example of someone who spoke when given the opportunity.
2. Every question brought to Jesus was an opportunity, and every situation Jesus found himself in was an opportunity.
3. Jesus took advantage of every opportunity and spoke up about the truth.
C. The apostle Paul is another great example of someone who spoke up when given the opportunity!
1. When Paul was on trial before Felix in Acts 24, he took advantage of the opportunity to talk to him about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment.
2. And when Paul was on trial before Agrippa in Acts 26, he took advantage of the opportunity and preached to Agrippa about salvation.
a. Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?”
b. Paul said, in so many words, “Short time or long – who cares, I want all who I come in contact with to become Christians.” Isn’t that powerful?! Shouldn’t that be our attitude?
3. In our Scripture reading today, we noticed that Paul wrote to the Colossians encouraging them to “be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity” (Col. 4:5).
D. The apostle Paul certainly practiced what he preached, but how about us?
1. When God gives us opportunities, do we speak?
2. When God gives us opportunities to share our faith, do we?
3. It has been estimated that 95% of all Christians have never led anyone to Christ!
a. That sounds like too high a percentage, but what percentage should be acceptable?
b. None of us should be satisfied until we have led someone to Christ.
c. And then once we have helped someone become a Christian, shouldn’t we keep trying to lead additional people to Christ? Should we ever stop?
4. Dr. Kermit Long said, “With all our education, our fine church buildings, our image of the church, we are doing less to win people to Christ than our unschooled forefathers did. We’re no longer fishers of men, but keepers of the aquarium, and we spend most of our time swiping fish from each other’s fish bowl.”
E. I don’t say any of this to be negative, or to make any of us to feel bad.
1. But if the great commission of seeking and saving the lost is what should be our primary purpose as Christians and as a church, and if we are not doing it as consistently as we should, then we need to do an honest assessment of ourselves and make a renewed commitment to living in obedience to God.
2. You might be thinking, “But David, I just don’t have any opportunities to share my faith.”
3. But I’m afraid that the truth of the matter likely is that you and I are not noticing our opportunities or we are ignoring them.
4. I like the story of the life insurance company in New York City that invited all of its agents throughout the country to a conference in the home office.
a. During the conference, one of the agents from out West insured the barber, the elevator man, and a waiter in the restaurant in the home office building.
b. All of them had been employed for years in the home office building of this insurance company, but no one had thought to try to sell policies to people they passed by and did business with every day.
5. Another old story is about the two shoe salesmen that were sent to a remote part of Africa to sell shoes.
a. One salesman called the home office and said, “I’m coming home, because nobody here wears shoes.”
b. The other salesman called the home office and said, “Send as many shoes as you can, everybody here needs shoes.”
c. The opportunity was exactly the same, but one salesman recognized it as an opportunity, and the other only saw it as an obstacle.
F. There are opportunities all around us, but we must have our eyes open to them, and we have to have the right mindset.
1. All of us have family members, immediate and distant, who are not Christians.
2. All of us have friends who are not Christians, some of them are our closest friends.
3. All of us have co-workers and neighbors who are not Christians.
4. All of us pass by people every day who are not Christians.
5. So none of us can say that we have no opportunities.
G. But will we speak when the opportunity comes? Nehemiah was ready to speak because of three things that characterized him.
1. First, Nehemiah was a person with a burden.
a. Nehemiah was burdened by the plight of his people. He was so burdened that it caused him to fast and pray and to look for a way to do something about it.
b. Until we become a people burdened for lost souls, we are not going to be ready to speak when the opportunity arises.
c. Did you know that over 5,000 people die every hour and many of them are not ready to meet their maker.
d. Are we convinced that the lost are really lost? Are we convinced that the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23) and that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Rom. 3:23)?
e. Are we also convinced that the lost can be saved by becoming a follower of Jesus, by taking up their cross daily, losing their life in order to save it? (Lk. 9:23-24)
f. We need to have a burden for lost souls.
2. Second, Nehemiah was a person of prayer.
a. Prayer is an important part of sharing our faith – prayer is important before, during and after we speak.
3. Third, Nehemiah was a person of courage.
a. It took courage for Nehemiah to speak before the king and to make the requests he did.
b. It is going to take courage for us to speak with others about our faith and about our concern for their souls.
c. It takes courage to face possible ridicule, rejection, or anger.
d. How do we gain courage? The closer we are to Jesus and the more we know Him, the more courage we will have – like Peter and John who displayed a lot of courage in Acts 4:13 and their opponents took note that they had been with Jesus.
Conclusion:
A. Let me end with a story told of a young man who wished to marry the farmer's beautiful daughter. 1. He went to the farmer to ask his permission.
2. The farmer looked him over and responded, “Young man, go stand out in the pasture and I'm going to release three bulls, one at a time. If you can catch the tail of any one of the three bulls, you can marry my daughter.”
3. The young man stood in the pasture awaiting the first bull. The barn door opened and out ran the biggest, meanest-looking bull he had ever seen. He decided that one of the next bulls had to be a better choice than this one, so he ran over to the side and let the bull pass through the pasture out the back gate.
4. The barn door opened again. Out came another bull - It stood - pawing the ground, grunting, slinging slobber - as it eyed him. Whatever the next bull was like, it had to be a better choice than this one. He ran to the fence and let the bull pass through the pasture, out the back gate.
5. The door opened a third time and a smile came across his face. This was the weakest, scrawniest little bull he had ever seen. This one was his bull. As the bull came running by, he positioned himself just right and jumped at just the exact moment. He grabbed for the tail... but the bull had no tail to grab!
B. Life is full of opportunities. Some will be easy to take advantage of, and some will be difficult.
1. But once we let them pass (often in hopes of something better), those opportunities may never again be available.
2. Like Nehemiah, when we have opportunity to speak, we had better take advantage of it and speak up.
c. “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity” – it might be the only opportunity you will get.
C. This moment is an opportunity:
1. For a person to become a Christian…
2. For a Christian to repent or receive the help they need…
Resources:
Ezra-Nehemiah, by Mark Throntveit, Interpretation Commentary Series, 1992
Ezra & Nehemiah, by Derek Kidner, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, 1979
Ezra, Nehemiah, & Esther, by J. Vernon McGee
