RUBBLE TROUBLE
Nehemiah 1:1-11
S: Courage
Th: Brave Hearts
Pr: WE MUST HAVE THE COURAGE TO RESPOND TO THE TRUTH.
?: How? How do we do this?
KW: Stages
TS: We will find in our study of Nehemiah 1:1-11, three stages that take place in responding courageously to the truth.
The _____ stage that takes place in responding courageously to the truth is the…
I. PASSION (4)
II. PRAYER (5-11)
III. PAUSE (11)
Version: ESV
RMBC 12 Jan 03 AM
INTRODUCTION:
Today we are beginning a series on the book of Nehemiah.
He is one of my favorite characters that we find in Scripture.
It is really a little known fact, but Nehemiah was not very tall.
In fact, his name comes from being “knee-high”: Ne-hi-miah.
He ranks right up (or should we say down) with Bildad…Bildad the Shuite (shoe-height).
When I made mention of this to someone, this person told me that there was someone even smaller in the Bible: “The man who slept on his watch.”
But I was unable to find him…
Okay…some of that was fiction!
ILL Notebook: Truth (mysterious pregnancy)
A woman takes her 16-year-old daughter to the doctor. The doctor says, "Okay, Mrs. Jones, what seems to be the problem?"
The mother says, "It’s my daughter, Debbie. She keeps getting these cravings, she’s putting on weight, and is sick most mornings."
The doctor gives Debbie a good examination, then turns to the mother and says, "Well, I don’t know how to tell you this, but your Debbie is pregnant - about 4 months, would be my guess."
The mother says, "Pregnant?! She can’t be, she has never ever been left alone with a man! Have you, Debbie?"
Debbie says, "No mother! I’ve never even kissed a man!"
The doctor walked over to the window and just stares out it. About five minutes pass and finally the mother says, "Is there something wrong out there doctor?"
The doctor replies, "No, not really, it’s just that the last time anything like this happened, a star appeared in the east and three wise men came over the hill and there’s no way I am going to miss it!"
Well, let me ask you this…
Do you have the courage to face the truth?
Sometimes, we don’t like what we hear or see.
We don’t want it to be true.
We may even try to ignore it, but it doesn’t make it go away.
This is something that happened to Nehemiah.
He had to face the truth and the question is, what was he going to do about it?
TRANSITION:
First, let’s get some…
1. Historical Background to the book of Nehemiah.
The setting of this story the year 445 BC.
Almost 300 years earlier in 722, Assyria conquered the Northern Kingdom and carried them into exile.
In 606, After Babylon has already conquered Assyria, they come to Judah (the Southern Kingdom) and carry off the first captives.
In 598, Daniel and his companions were taken to Babylon.
Then, finally, in 586, Jerusalem was leveled and destroyed.
Later, in 538, Persia conquered Babylon under Cyrus and allows Zerubbabel in the following year to return to Jerusalem and begin the rebuilding of the temple.
By 516, the temple is restored.
Sixty years later (458), Ezra the priest would also return to Jerusalem because deterioration had once again set in at the temple.
It was his also his determination to rebuild the walls to Jerusalem.
Now it was 13 years later (445), and our story begins.
What we have before us, basically, is Nehemiah’s journal.
He is a Jew, born in exile and had probably never been to Jerusalem.
And he is made aware of a…
2. PROBLEM: A city with no walls (1-3).
The 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 capital, [2] that 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. [3] And 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."
Nehemiah lived in Persia’s capital city, Susa, the most powerful place in the world at that time.
And through his brother, Hanani, he receives the bad news.
Once again, Jerusalem’s walls have been flattened and the gates have been burned.
Morale is low, for the place of God, the temple in Jerusalem is unprotected and in danger.
Nehemiah sees the need, but how was he going to react?
He lives thousands of miles away.
And to do anything could be costly to him.
In the very least, it would upset his comfortable life.
But what he learns quickly is that…
3. WE MUST HAVE THE COURAGE TO RESPOND TO THE TRUTH.
We are going to examine the life of Nehemiah this morning to discover how he did this.
But first let me share with you why we need to study Nehemiah.
As Christians, I believe that we often do things in a worldly way.
We make our plans, celebrate our cleverness and then ask God to bless them.
The reality, though, is we are standing in the midst of crumbling walls.
Let me ask you…
Are you living in a place with no walls?
If you are living in a place with no walls, it means that everything is getting in and nothing is staying out.
Whether it is because we deliberately allow it in, or whether it finds its way in by other means, there is nothing slowing down the intrusions of the world.
So, is your temple, the place where God resides, protected?
It is time to face the truth about ourselves.
We may not be as different as we had hoped.
So, today…
4. We will find in our study of Nehemiah 1:1-11, three stages that take place in responding courageously to the truth.
I want you to know this morning that I believe with my whole heart, that God has placed you here for a purpose.
You have a God-given destiny to fulfill.
But are you going to fulfill it?
ILL Notebook: Purpose (car payments)
The Welsh poet, David Whyte wrote: “I don’t want to have written on my tombstone, when finally people struggle through the weeds, pull back the moss, and read the inscription there: ‘He made his car payments.’”
You were designed for more than that.
God has a purpose for your life.
Let’s see, now, how Nehemiah can help us with this…
OUR STUDY:
I. The first stage that takes place in responding courageously to the truth is the PASSION (4).
As 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.
As believers…
1. We are to feel the need.
This is what Nehemiah does.
The text tells us that he “sat down.”
It is the idea of being brought low.
That is, he allowed himself to emotionally become a part of what his people were going through.
He deliberately enters into the problem and is brokenhearted.
He has nothing to do with this “Don’t worry, be happy” mentality.
There is nothing superficial with his response.
He feels the pain.
And Nehemiah shows us that…
2. There is a danger to indifference.
If we want to see indifference and apathy in action, we do not need to look far.
ILL Notebook: Apathy (Barna)
Although nearly half the population says their faith was a critical resource in helping them respond to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a new Barna Research Group poll suggests that people’s religious beliefs and practices have not changed in the past year.
Barna reports, “For the most part, our response to the attacks has been to restore continuity and comfort as quickly as possible, without much energy devoted to moral, spiritual or emotional growth.”
During the last year, there has been no lasting change in people’s religious practices, according to the Barna study. Immediately after the attacks, church attendance rose for several weeks and then fell back to normal levels by November.
Barna continues, “I was among those who fully expected to see an intense spiritual reaction to the terrorist attacks,” Barna acknowledged. “The fact that we saw no lasting impact from the most significant act of war against our country on our own soil says something about the spiritual complacency of the American public.”
As Christians, I want to say that we are in grave danger.
We are becoming more and more comfortable.
And the more comfortable we become, the more we lose sight of our purpose and the need.
The drumbeat that is constantly heard over this past year is the loss incurred in our portfolios.
That should be the least of our worries.
For if 9/11 showed us anything, it is that there are a lot of lost people in this world that are spiritually blind.
Frankly…
3. We must be discontent with the status quo.
You see, when things are not right, it should break our heart.
And when it does break our heart, as it did for Nehemiah, it is good news.
Because the testimony of Scripture is that God welcomes a broken spirit and contrite heart.
Which leads us to…
II. The second stage that takes place in responding courageously to the truth is PRAYER (5-11).
[5] And 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, [6] let 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. [7] We 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, [9] but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your dispersed be under the farthest skies, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’ [10] They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. [11] O 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."
We must see the need.
We must feel the need.
Then…
1. We must share the need.
And there is only one place to go!
We go to God.
Now we know that prayer is important.
And I certainly hope that after our emphasis on prayer this past year, it is more important to you than it has ever been before.
As we consider this text, we know that Nehemiah did not just pray once, for he continued to fast and pray.
In fact, this prayer we have just read is actually a summary of his four-month long prayer.
He prayed a lot, over and over, time and time again.
He did so because the direction he should take was not obvious.
He knew the problem, but he did not know the solution.
So he prayed…
And he shows us that…
2. We keep God first.
This prayer shows us that God is sovereign and majestic.
God is holy and loving.
He is attentive and merciful.
He is awesome and faithful.
He is a great and awesome God that can do anything.
And he is the God who keeps his covenant of love and will do anything.
But before God acts, Nehemiah understands that…
3. We must recognize our vulnerability.
When we see God rightly, this high view of God gives perspective.
It gives us an accurate view of ourselves.
We are sinners, and we bear a corporate responsibility, as well as an individual one.
We are sinners individually.
And we belong to a group of sinners.
Nehemiah knows that his own heart has offended God.
He does not shy away from that.
And he knows that since he belongs to a larger group (Israel), he is guilty along with them.
As Nehemiah exposes his vulnerability, and his heart and his spirit is broken, he is moved in the right direction.
And he shows us that…
4. We are to rejoice in God’s promises.
Nehemiah knows that God had promised that if Israel rebelled and disobeyed God, they would be destroyed.
He would send them into captivity.
And Nehemiah knows that God had done what He said He would do.
Now, he calls on God to remember his promise—the restoration of His people to the land.
God was going to gather them back.
This is not a challenge to God.
This is not an insult to God.
It is a delight to God.
For it delights God when we take His promises seriously.
ILL Notebook: Promise (Swindoll)
I like the way Charles Swindoll puts it…
God does not lightly give out promises. He says, “I promise you that if you will give me your burden, I will bear it. If you will seek first my kingdom, I will add all these other things to you. If you will make your heart right before Me, I will lead you into a place of stability and prosperity.”
This is what prayer does.
It helps us to focus.
It gives us perspective.
It gets us going the right direction.
As we already sang this morning…
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace
We now come to…
III. The third stage that takes place in responding courageously to the truth is the PAUSE (11).
The end of our text says…
Now I was cupbearer to the king.
Nehemiah hasn’t told us much about himself.
Two facts basically…
He is the son of Hacaliah, and now that he was the cupbearer to the king.
And what this tells us is that, often…
1. We are in a position to meet the need.
Being the cupbearer in Persia was no small position.
It was a position of great responsibility, for not only was he the taster of the king’s food, he would be his trusted advisor as well.
He would have been cultured and knowledgeable.
He would have had to have a grasp of the palace intrigue (his life depended on it).
He would have been wealthy and comfortable.
But more important to us is that he had access.
It is interesting how Nehemiah clues us in to his position.
It is like, by the way, I was the Prime Minister…
But with this position came something else that we learn…
2. We must face the danger.
ILL Notebook: Dangerous (the last five)
A hospital posted a notice in the nurses’ cafeteria saying: "Remember, the first five minutes of a human being’s life are the most dangerous."
Underneath, a nurse had written: "The last five are pretty risky, too."
Nehemiah had been asking God to move the heart of Artaxerxes the king.
But for Nehemiah, approaching the king would be a dangerous venture, a life or death one.
You see, he would be asking the king to contradict his own royal edict.
It had been Artaxerxes that had stopped the previous work and undone the work of Ezra.
And Artaxerxes was not the easiest man to get along with, after all, he had killed his own brother to get the job of king.
So timing was everything…God’s timing…which means…
3. We must wait for the God-given opportunity.
As American Christians, we tend to do first, and pray later.
But it is here that Nehemiah helps us.
He shows us that prayer helps mature us.
It keeps us from moving too quickly.
It makes us wait and clears our vision.
It quiets our hearts and activates our faith.
When we finish our prayer, God has us where He wants us, more prone to trust Him than ever before.
For, it is prayer that sets our faith on fire and calls us to move forward.
APPLICATION:
So…
1. Are we standing in rubble?
You know, as Christians, whether we realize it or not, erosion is our constant battle.
We easily become complacent…mortar comes loose, one stone falls, and then another, and another, and another…
The Bible is full of stories of people that have not finished well.
Many fade at the end of the race.
And it is a lesson to us.
Because there are many Christians that start well, but they fade.
There are many churches that start well, grow, but very few stay well.
It happens because we take the success and results for granted and become arrogant.
We forget the process God used to move us forward.
We settle into a comfort zone, operate on survival tactics and avoid risk.
And, as a result, we are standing in rubble…
Let me say to you, I don’t want my life to end poorly (I have already seen too many of my colleagues end poorly).
And I don’t want the church God has given me to shepherd and lead to fade in the race either.
So let me ask another question…
2. Do we have the courage to build again?
As I mentioned earlier, God calls on us to live with purpose, not just live.
He calls on us to live courageously
ILL Notebook: Courage (Teddy Roosevelt)
You remember Todd Beamer, who died on 9/11…one of his favorite quotes came from Teddy Roosevelt:
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena... who strives valiantly... who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.
I believe that God is looking for people that are willing to live on the edge.
People who long to see God’s agenda fulfilled in this fallen world.
They long for it so much that they attempt what seems to be impossible, ridiculous, and “outside the box.”
They do it, not for themselves, but for God’s glory.
They are people with holy ambition.
So let me ask you…
3. Do we have holy ambition?
In II Chronicles 16:9 (NIV), it says…
For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.
Nehemiah was this kind of person.
He completely belonged to God.
And because he was, he had the courage to respond to the truth and fulfill God’s agenda for Him and the world.
You know, if you are a believer, you have been affected by someone who was completely His.
For you see, God builds the church on these kind of people.
They are people that know that they can’t change everything, but they can change something.
And according to God’s grace, they do.
They have the courage to face the truth, respond to it, and be fully committed to God’s agenda.
Does that describe you?
BENEDICTION: [Counselors are ]
Have courage…and respond to the truth with passion; identify with God’s agenda by letting His heart touch yours.
Have courage…and respond to the truth with prayer; go to God—recognize His loving sovereignty and His powerful promises.
Have courage…and respond to the truth with a holy ambition to fulfill His purpose for you and the church.
Now may the God of peace equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
