At Just the Right Time

Watch or Listen Here: Audio/Video

        The question of God’s timing has always been an issue. Theologians, philosophers, and people of everyday pursuits have questioned events in their own lives. We all feel the burden of “why me; why us; why now; or why not.” Our lives are surrounded by wonders and doubts of every kind, mostly because we cannot humanly grasp the sovereignty, the timing and will of, God. Yet, here we are, living in a moment of God’s perfect timing. We are here, thinking of Him, sharing His love and celebrating the birth of His Son.

        I challenge you to think about God’s will and His perfect timing in your life. It’s not that everything that happens will be good or desired, but nothing that happens escapes God’s notice, or God’s understanding, or falls too far from God’s ability to reconcile: our life circumstance cannot escape God, our feelings and thoughts do not escape God; our doubts and our fears do not escape God; and neither do our failures and our sins. Only we seem to be surprised or caught off guard by any of these things.

        That’s why I am so confident of the purposefulness of the Christmas story. That’s why I believe that this baby was born from God, embodied the fullness of God, and was sent from heaven when he was; to just the right parents, in the right country, in the right era. The Apostle Paul wrote of it this way to the people in the Mediteranean town of Ephesus:

Ephesians 1:
⁴ Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. ⁵ God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. ⁶ So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. ⁷ He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. ⁸ He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

        Why would the God of the universe, the Creator of all that is, was or ever will be, be willing to see you and me without fault? Why would this same God, who was and is offended by our very nature of sin, adopt us into His family? It’s an amazing thing. Yet we read here in the book to the Ephesians that this is what he WANTED to do and it gave God “great pleasure.” As we look back through history we see this fact – Jesus’ earthly family was full of sinners with faults. Moving forward in time to church history  we see a bunch of sinners with lots of faults. We look at this church, this group of people on their faith journeys, and we see it is full of sinners with many, many faults; but not to God. He has chosen you, he has chosen me, to be here on this day to be holy and without fault. This gave God such great pleasure that he paid for our freedom with the death and resurrection of Jesus, and forgave our sins. What an amazing thing. What an incredible plan.  But what does that have to do with celebrating Christmas?

⁹ God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. ¹⁰ And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. 

        This is so reminiscent of the words of the letter to the Galatians chapter 4 – 4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5 God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.

        During this season of Advent and Christmas we celebrate the “right time,” when God sent Jesus to be born in such an unusual circumstance, surrounded by controversy and danger, simply for the pleasure of bringing us back to a complete relationship with Himself – making us His children once again.

¹¹ Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.

        But, let me ask you this, do you think Joseph thought the time was right? Think about Mary, young and innocent, engaged to Joseph. Do you think SHE thought it was the right time? Yet it was. It was God’s plan. As Jesus was suffering persecution for his audacious claim to be God’s Son, the Messiah sent for the world, did his disciples think it was the right time? They weren’t in on the great announcement by the angel choir that sang, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, good will to all people.” Oh, they were with Jesus as an adult. They watched him heal, and cast out demons, and even raise the dead. But did they think his death was at the “right time?” Did they believe everything would work out according to God’s plan? No! They went back to fishing, tax collecting, working. They didn’t have Christmas to celebrate – yet! But they had this Truth embedded in them -

¹² God’s purpose was that the (we) Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. ¹³ And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. ¹⁴ The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

        God’s good pleasure…God’s plan…God’s good pleasure comes down to this – to share the Good News of God’s love – from the prophets of old foretelling the miraculous birth of the Messiah, to the young virgin who gave birth during a time of extreme hardship and persecution; from the Son that was born and who lived in stark contrast to the religion and “religiosity” of his day; to his death at the hands of the leading religious leaders followed by an historical an unprecedented resurrection – THIS was God’s plan: hope, forgiveness, salvation, & the Holy Spirit of promise. This plan, this purpose, this good pleasure of God is Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior of the world. And we celebrate his birth at Christmas because it was the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s good pleasure, plan and purpose for you and for me. Hope has come – the light of the world has arrived – and we bask in his glory as it shines to every tongue, tribe and nation.

        These candles are the anticipation of his coming. And this last one is the announcement of his arrival. They are symbols that remind us to believe in Him, to accept His forgiveness and salvation, and to shine the light of His love throughout the coming year. As our friends come to light this last candle, consider these things today.

Consumption

Listen or Watch the Whole Message Here:

Back in the old days, yes before I was born, there was a health condition referred to as “consumption.” I’ll admit I had to look up the actual definition. Today we call it tuberculosis. This disease is an infection in the lungs. A lung infection makes it hard to breathe, sometimes leading to suffocation and death. Literally a person’s lungs are consumed by a foreign substance that squeezes out the vital breath of life. It’s not the way I want to go, but many of us suffer from it.

No, it’s not that we have a lung infection that squeezes the life out of us. We have an infection of consumption based on our desire and quest for stuff. There are whole television shows about it. It’s the core of a capitalistic. If we don’t consume stuff, then stuff doesn’t sell and the economy deteriorates. But, if we consume too much stuff, we are quickly overwhelmed with accumulation of said stuff and the monetary debt that comes from our consumption. We are practically suffocating ourselves and our families with consumption.

For followers of Jesus Christ consumption has another negative impact. It suffocates our faith. Jesus very clearly taught that our lives do not consist of the accumulation of stuff. He also made it clear that our faith is based on and grows in the assurance that God will supply all of our needs when we prioritize His will and goals in our lives. When we try to accumulate material things on our own terms we diminish the faith God is trying to grow in us. Thereby we can die of consumption both physically AND spiritually. Read Matthew 6:19-34 this week and reflect on this question: Am I living by consumption or by faith? The choice is up to you. 

The Trust App

Listen or Watch Here:

            Here we go – part five in our series, “Life Apps,” the series that is teaching us that application of God’s Truth is everything. We’ve looked at the application of forgiveness, the importance of confession to God, and last week we explored the application of rest: 8 hours of consecutive relaxation in a row, 8 hours with a minimal intrusion of technology, 8 good hours of sleep a night without checking email, texts or Facebook before or after sleeping.

            So how did you do this week? How many of you would say that you tried the no technology before bed thing? How many of you tried to get at least 8 hours of relaxation and rest this week when you weren’t sleeping? Alright. Well, if you haven’t started at all or you think you started weak, buck up! It’s a journey – not the end. Celebrate the wins of trying little steps and accomplishing little things, even if it’s simply that you convinced yourself of the wisdom of some steps in these areas. God is not interested in shaming us or driving us into depression over our inability to meet these expectations. God’s purpose for you is “becoming.” So cut yourself a little slack and hold on for this next ride.

            Have you ever bought a piece of exercise equipment? Or have you ever joined a gym, bought running shoes or ordered a Fitness DVD? Do you remember how you felt? Great, right? You maybe even felt healthier just having begun the process of getting that equipment ordered. Let me ask you this, “WERE you actually healthier at that moment in time?” No, you weren’t – application is everything. The same goes for buying home improvement stuff at the store. It’s fun to plan and to buy all that tile or flooring, those tools or plants, but until you do something with them you’ve just made a purchase. There’s a spiritual equivalent, too. We talked about this four weeks ago. We go to church, listen to a message, feel convicted or inspired, and somehow we think we’ve made progress. But we haven’t, because we have not acted on the things we learned. Application is everything.

            Now some of today’s lesson may sound familiar. Part of these principles came from our “Staying in Love” series. You may want to refer back to that if you are in a love relationship. But today’s lesson isn’t reserved for romantic or marital relationships. Today’s life app is important for every single area of life. It’s the application of trust. Applying this principle will determine what relationships you have, how those relationships progress and IF you find fulfillment in life. The issue of trust is a key component in every aspect of your life whether you know it or not. Trust impacts us, those around us, our physical, mental and emotional health, and our spiritual development. This is truly an important principle to get a hold of and live by.

            Trust is easier for some people than for others. But two things make a difference whether trust is hard…or….easy: what you see and who you are. What you see has to do with your experience, what you have seen and observed in your lifetime. Who you are has to do with your life experience in relationships, not just as an outward observer, but as a participant interpersonally with others: who your parents were; were they trustworthy or incompetent or abusive? Did you learn to trust people or to distrust them based on your relationships? Did you have a boss or co-workers that kept their word and did what they said they would do? Or did you have to guard against the liars and cheaters in your company or industry? Who we are forms us and, more often than not, teaches us NOT to trust. What you’ve seen and who you are becomes the core of your trust quotient so to speak.

            Let’s begin today with a familiar passage. If you’ve ever been to a church wedding you have probably heard these verses read. They are from 1 Corinthians 13, which is also sometimes called the “what” chapter? Love chapter, yes, that’s it. Now most of these verses make sense and we, intellectually at least, want to accept them. But one verse sticks out like a sore thumb. It doesn’t seem to make sense. It seems wrong or naive’. Let’s start in verse 4:

1 Corinthians 13:4.

“Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast. It is not proud. It does not dishonor others. It is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs.”

   Let’s stop right there for a moment and talk about that one. Anyone in the room have a file drawer? How far back does it go? Yes, I mean a mental file drawer that has kept track of everything your friends, spouse or children have ever done wrong to you. Well the Apostle Paul says right here that authentic love doesn’t keep a file drawer. Real love doesn’t even have a 3×5 card. Moving on…that was free….

“Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth.”

            Then Paul makes four statements in a row, using a key little Greek word, to emphasize the importance of these four things.

Verse 7

“It always protects, it always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

The New American Standard says it this way, “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
Here is what I believe these phrases are trying to teach us:

1. Love always gives the other person the benefit of the doubt.

2. Love looks for the most generous explanation for the other person’s behavior and believe it.

3. Love chooses trust over suspicion.

4. Love keeps on keeping on until proven wrong, then it keeps on loving anyway.

            Now THAT’s something, isn’t it? You might say, “This doesn’t sound like what happens at my house! That doesn’t happen on the floor of the congress! Man, I don’t know anyone or any place that demonstrates those four things consistently. “

Yep. You probably don’t. But these four phrases apply to every relationship you and I as Christ followers have. In fact, these are the very attitudes and actions that prove we love God, because Jesus said that his true disciples would love one another as he loved them – unconditionally. That doesn’t mean that love is a push over. It doesn’t mean that love let’s itself be lied to, abused or walked on, either. Love will acknowledge reality while letting trust rule the day. Let me show you what I mean.

In every relationship, there’s a gap. It doesn’t matter if we talk about a work partnership, a love relationship or teamwork on a community board or something. There is a gap we all observe that falls between what we expect and what people do. It happens at home, at work, with friend and even nationwide. For example:

At home: He’s late again, blew the budget again. She didn’t call so I had to pick up kids. What’s this bill? She said her room was clean!

At work: Said he wouldn’t be late. I think that was actually my idea. That’s not what I asked for.

With friends: Wonder why she’s talking to my best friend? Gossip.

Nationally: That’s government! Those politicians! What do you expect from a Democrat/Republican!

         In every relationship there are going to be gaps. What you choose to put in that gap makes all the difference in the world. It can mean the collapse of or the growth of your deepest relationship. What is it that we call put in the gap between what we expect and how other people act? Here are the two most common ones: in all of these cases, we either choose to believe the best OR we assume the worst. Believing the best gives another person the benefit of the doubt. Believing the best says, “I’m sure there’s a good explanation.” Assuming the worse says, “He’s so irresponsible. She did it on purpose. That’s just stupid.” For the control freaks in the room, though I’m sure there aren’t any in this fine group of citizens, we may assume the worse and then blame the person for MAKING us assume the worst. “Well if he hadn’t, if she didn’t, then I would believe the best.” That kind of thinking is not only immature it’s also prideful. There are NO perfect people in the world. And you and I for sure ARE a part of that group. Besides, no one can control your reaction other than you. In every situation YOU choose to believe the best or assume the worst.  We all put something in that gap.

         When we go negative in a situation, it more often than not says more about us than it does the offending party. There’s a character issue in us that can’t seem to trust people, cut people some slack or berates others to make ourselves seems better. Assuming the worst does serious damage to every relationship in your life. There is no winning and nothing good comes from being negative. Things don’t get better when you let someone rudely know that you don’t trust them. Besides, refusing to trust people often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, because suspicion is a form of rejection. People will often become what you project on them – like the schoolyard bully that shapes the future of those weaker than themselves. You just take it to an adult level – crushing even the smallest “win” that one might be able to celebrate. But hey, you were right, so that’s just the way it is! That kind of attitude will not lead people to grow in their relationship to God, to you, to others or to the world around them. That kind of attitude breeds anger, resentment, rejection and hopelessness. But when we choose to trust, to walk the long, hard road with people, we make room for people to act trustworthy. You will never know who you can’t trust until you trust them. Believe the best…or assume the worst – that is what we fill in the gap of unmet expectations with.

         “But Tim, let me get up there and tell my sad story. You won’t believe what’s been done to me, how I’ve been treated and taken advantage of.” First of all, you might be surprised at how unsurprised I would be at your sad story. After 27 years as a pastor I’ve heard some of the most horrendous stories you could imagine. And I’ve seen the most hurt, rejected people spring to life by learning to trust again. And second, our sad story is still no excuse for filling in the gap of unmet expectation with doubt, vitriol, gossip or angry speech. There is a way to work through these things with a Christ-like attitude. Even Jesus didn’t just let people get away with things. He ran into gaps all the time, especially with the “religious” leaders of his day. There is a time when you just can’t choose to trust. And when you can’t choose to trust, you must choose to confront.

         Now if you are one of the 5-6% of people who loves confrontation, you know the kind – like my friend Coach Ripp – love that tunnel of chaos as we call it in leadership circles, then you’ll love this part. “Let’s get to it. Let’s get down and dirty and knock this issue in the head!” There is a tempering factor that confrontational people must take into consideration – loving reconciliation is the goal, confrontation and emotional discharge is NOT. I appreciate people that like to get to it. I don’t like confrontation because I don’t like to be wrong. I also want people to “like” me, and not just on Facebook. BUT I can appreciate getting the issues out into the open so at least it can be discussed.

         Most people prefer avoidance. We don’t want the hassle, the turmoil, the emotional spewing that often comes with confronting an issue head on. So what do most of us do? We gossip. We talk about it to OTHER people instead of the one with whom we should discuss it. Or we simply stew. We mull it over in our brain and let it develop a life and sometimes a personality of its own. The longer you keep you suspicions or concerns concealed, the bigger and uglier they grow. You know when this is happening because the conversations between the two parties sounds like this, “What’s wrong?”   “Nothing.”

“Nothing?”    “Yeah, just having a bad day.”

“Really? Nothing I did or need to do?    “Nope.”

Pause – “You’re the most insensitive, idiot in the world. Why don’t you pay attention? How can you be so stupid! You ALWAYS do ‘that’!”

         Why are you all laughing? Don’t tell me you’ve been there, done that before. It’s uncomfortable. Worse yet, have you ever been in a room when that was going on between other people? Or maybe in public when the whole thing erupted? Awkward! Doesn’t it make sense that loving confrontation has far few negative consequences than concealment, denial and stewing over that gap?

         What’s more interesting is that most of us have experience the whole things where you confront someone with this egregious issue, they explain it to you and you have to say, “Oh. I didn’t know that.” How terrible is that? I hate that part. And unfortunately we quickly turn to expecting the worst rather than believing the best, to our own mental, emotional, physical and spiritual detriment. We are killing ourselves by choosing NOT to trust others or not LOVINGLY confronting others.

         Do you really want your life and relationships to flourish instead of dying? Are you really interested in a fulfilled, purposeful life that reflects God’s love to those around you? Do you really want to change the world – at your home, in your neighborhood and across cultural and social lines? Then choose to fill the gap of unmet expectation with believing the best. Or, when that doesn’t seem possible or wise, at least lovingly confront others by asking for an explanation with the assumption that there’s a good one. Let me talk about this one personally. You know the saying that optimists see a glass half-full and pessimists see the glass half empty? I’ve always considered myself a cynical optimist – you know – a realist. The glass is half full but I’m not confident the person who made it did an adequate job, and only time will tell if the construction was correct or not. Being a realist, in my bent way of seeing things, means I’m not very good at assuming there is a good explanation for why something is not the way I think it should be. Why is she late? Why didn’t he do what he said he would do? But I HAVE worked on this the last five years or so. And I think I’ve gotten a lot better. My family might not think so, but really I am trying and here’s the how of it. And it came down to trust – of people and God.

         I finally came to the conclusion that God really was in control of everything AND that I could TRUST God with everything, every person and every situation in life. When I see the gap, between my expectations of a person or company and the actions being taken by said person or company, my first reaction is to trust that God is in control and knows what’s going on even if I don’t. And, when I look at life and people that way, it’s amazing how freeing and fulfilling it feels. What’s more, God has never let me down when I’ve trusted that He was in control. And since God is in control, I don’t have to get bent out of shape or worry or try to force everything into my perspective. Now I’m still working on this – ever day – because life is a journey not a destination. And I haven’t arrived and neither have you. So why NOT trust God and fill in those relational gaps with believing the best? Why not?

         Jesus was very good at confronting those who were trying to get away with things, making excuses or putting off their responsibility. But he also trusted that God the Father was in control, so much so that, in the Garden of Gethsemane when the soldiers came to arrest him and Peter pulled out a sword and cut off a soldiers ear, he healed his enemy and told his friends to put away their swords. God was in control. Jesus demonstrated his trust in God by submitting to the plan, a plan that ended in his death but also in his resurrection to pay for our sin.

         Here’s something that I know, if you have a hard time trusting people, you probably have trouble trusting God as well. The untrustworthy adults in your life may have set you up to never trust again. Your spouse, your co-workers, your kids may have driven you to a point where trusting them, much less trusting a God you cannot see, is next to impossible. But writing off God really makes life difficult, relationships tenuous and salvation, confession & forgiveness, next to impossible. But God is reliable, no matter what your earthly examples have been. God is trustworthy, even when no one else is. And God is love personified – that’s why Jesus came to save us, he trusted and he loved, just as 1 Corinthians 13:7 says,

 “(Love) It always protects, it always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

            Do you want others to trust you? Then trust others. Do you want others to be trustworthy? Then YOU be trustworthy first. Do you want others to confront you kindly and gently or with malice and anger? Then you confront others with love and kindness, believing FIRST that there might be a good explanation for the gap. People know if you trust them. People will know if you truly care about them. We telegraph those things loud and clear by our attitudes, actions, reactions, expressions and words. Come on, admit it, it’s not doing you or anyone else any good NOT to trust them. I challenge all of us to be cautiously optimistic especially in the close relationships at home, at work and with our friends.

So here is our reflection and application for this week:

1. Ask yourself, “Where do I naturally go when there is a gap of unmet expectation?” Do I assume the worst, get angry and throw trust out the window?

2. Think about what it would be like to give another person the benefit of the doubt, and act on that.

3. Consider what it would feel like to look for the most generous explanation in the gap of unmet expectation, and try it this week.

            I am so convinced that this will completely change your world for the better that I will commit to walk through this with you for one week. By that I mean if you are having trouble thinking of the most generous explanation or giving another person the benefit of the doubt, I will be your sounding board this week. You can call me, text me, email me and I will intentionally get back with you as humanly possible as I can. Now I can’t do that forever, but I can do that for a week. And after a little practice, the Holy Spirit will take over your mind, your emotions and your decision making, and you won’t need to run somewhere for advice every time. Anyway, that’s my commitment to you if you will just try these things this week. Give “trust” of God and of those closest to you a chance.

Let’s pray:

Dear God,

Thank you for being in control of all things, even those things and people that seem to be uncontrollable. Fill us up with the power of your Holy Spirit and teach us to think like Jesus, to offer the benefit of the doubt like Jesus, to look for the most generous explanation like Jesus. And, when we need to confront something that doesn’t look right, help us to do it to others as we would want them to do it to us. Fill us with your love, your grace and your mercy, and grant us the peace that comes with being Christ followers. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen and amen.

 

Characters pt. 1 – Nehemiah the Builder

(This is the first manuscript in the summer sermon series 2010 entitled CHARACTERS: how God uses broken people. Written and delivered by Tim Douglas, Lead Pastor of Creekside Community Church, Katy, Texas.)

Today we begin our summer series – Characters. This title seemed apropos since so many of us here ARE characters, so we should be able to identify with others who are characters, too! No, really, we thought it would be fun to examine and learn from ordinary people of the Bible. Because often times people think the Bible is full of myth and legend that has no relevance to us today. But through this series we hope that you will begin to understand that God uses ordinary people, even broken people, to do extraordinary things. We will learn that God has a sense of humor, that God always has a purpose, and that God can use anyone to accomplish anything if they are willing to embrace His direction and movement. We will learn from a builder, a warrior, a tribal leader, a prostitute, and young widow with too much makeup and some others you might identify with. I’ll let you pick which. Our goal is simple – to let these stories of God’s interaction with people convince us that He does indeed have a purpose for our lives. That’s it. How God uses broken people.

Now before you get all indignant on me and say, “I’m not broken. My life is perfectly fine. Frankly I need you to teach this to my spouse, children, boss or neighbor, but not to me.” We are not here to pinpoint problems in your life, judge you and your issues or grind you down into some sort of self-deprecating pseudo-religious submission to God. All we will be doing this summer is reading story after story of how people grew in their relationship to God. And maybe, just maybe, we can take something home each week that will make our relationship to God stronger.

Let me add this, however… if you find something intriguing, something interesting, something to identify with in any of these stories…try to open your heart and mind to the possibility that God is speaking to you. When we are open to the move of God, our dashed dreams can be mended, broken relationships healed, personality issues rerouted and destructive behavior minimized. More importantly, though, we can catch a glimpse of a future that can be ours if we choose to follow God’s path more often; and I can tell you from the few instances where I have followed God through the unknown – it is an awesome, though sometimes scary, ride. The God of the universe wants to know you in a personal, intimate way, that will bring you peace and fulfillment you could never imagine.

“Well, that’s a tall order, preacher. I hope you can deliver!”

I’m just here to read and learn along with you. So let’s jump in with our first character of the Bible. His name is Nehemiah. Nehemiah was a young, Israelite, born in Babylon because his parents were exiled there as slaves when King Nebuchadnezzar creamed Jerusalem about 600 BC. The Jewish people had been in the Promised Land, you know after the whole Egypt and Pharaoh stuff we will study next week, for a while. But they still had this bad habit of back talking to the God who delivered them from slavery in Egypt. Seems this God wanted to be the exclusive Deity, but the people of the land whom the Israelites married had other ideas. And instead of standing up for this God, who had proved His power over and over again miraculously, they gave in to the people of the land, intermarried with them and accepted their gods, too. Oh they didn’t abandon their God, they just added on some others for good measure. Sound familiar?

It may just be me, but this doesn’t sound like a good idea. I mean, there’s the whole 10 commandments thing, plus the books of Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, all of which seem to indicate that the God who parted the Sea of Reeds and defeated all their enemies pretty much wanted their time and attention not devoted to anyone else. There was the snake thing in the wilderness, 23,000 died, and the whole earth opening and swallowing up the crowd once. I’ll admit that I am a bit stubborn, a bit dense and fairly blonde, but come on. Maybe it’s just that hindsight is 20/20 and we can read about it and say, “Watch out for the…oh no!!”

So the children of Israel and most of the adults, worshipped other gods. And the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc. had warned them if they did this another country would haul them away until they learned their lesson. This happened many times, and this was one of those time. So Nehemiah was one of the children born to the people that just wouldn’t listen to God. While they were all in exile King Nebuchadnezzar, of Daniel and the Lions Den and the Shadrach, Messhach and Abednego debacle, was overthrown by Darius, the King of Persia. Darius was succeeded by several relatives including King Artaxerxes, who was in power at the time Nehemiah was a young man. Nehemiah actually worked for the king as the cupbearer. His job was to taste any drink or food brought to the king so that, in case it was poisoned by an enemy, he would die and the king would know not to eat it. Tough gig. The positive side was that Nehemiah was treated well, lived well and got to be very well acquainted with the king. He only had to do his job and look happy in order to keep the king happy and thus stay alive. The cupbearers became well thought of by their kings, if they lived very long, because they risked their lives every day for the king. With that in mind let’s read the first part of our story.

Bad News From Home

Nehemiah 1

1 These are the memoirs of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah.   In late autumn, in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was at the fortress of Susa. 2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came to visit me with some other men who had just arrived from Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had returned there from captivity and about how things were going in Jerusalem.

3 They said to me, “Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”

4 When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven. 5 Then I said,

“O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands, 6 listen to my prayer! Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel. I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned! 7 We have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, decrees, and regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses.

8 “Please remember what you told your servant Moses: ‘If you are unfaithful to me, I will scatter you among the nations. 9 But if you return to me and obey my commands and live by them, then even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth, I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored.’

10 “The people you rescued by your great power and strong hand are your servants. 11 O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me.”

In those days I was the king’s cup-bearer.

I am convinced that Nehemiah did his job well. I’m sure he was, in general, a fairly happy guy. But like all of us, he was just an ordinary person with real emotions and concerns. Unfortunately for him, he was not allowed to express any emotion by happiness in the presence of the king on fear of death. Also unfortunately for him, his brother, who had a pass back and forth to Israel/Judah, probably as a liaison or businessman for the king, brought back sad news regarding their hometown.

Now Nehemiah never lived in this hometown. He was not born there. But the stories told among the other slaves and the older people somehow touched his heart and made him long for a land he never knew personally. With this bad news from his brother, his heart was broken. I’m sure he tried to hold it in. After all, he had a good life. What matter was it of his if the old hometown was a wreck? But he cared. So he did what his mother and father must have taught him to do, turn to the God of deliverance and power, the One God so many of their ancestors had put aside and ticked off thus resulting in this exile thing. He prayed, fasted and mourned before God. He prayed prayers of repentance and contrition. That’s a good idea. He let God know that he and all the people knew the laws of Moses, had violated those laws and deserved all they were getting as slaves. Then he pulls out the ace of prayer topics – God’s honor and promises.

We talked all about God’s promises last month. You know, that faith is the CONFIDENCE that God is who God says he is and will do EVERYTHING he has PROMISED to do. This is not a modern, made-up definition. It existed all the way back in the 500′s BC, and even before. He reminded God not only that they had sinned and deserved punishment, but that God had also promised to deliver them again if they turned back to God and honored God. “So, God. Would you please hear my prayer and the prayers of those who delight in honoring you?” He called God on God’s promise. So you know something awesome is about to happen. Maybe not too soon, but it WILL happen.

Nehemiah continued praying and fasting and praying and fasting. For many months he did this before God because his soul was distressed for Jerusalem and her people; and after awhile his distress began to show at work.

An Unintentional Death Wish

Nehemiah 2

1 Early the following spring, in the month of Nisan, during the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was serving the king his wine. I had never before appeared sad in his presence. 2 So the king asked me, “Why are you looking so sad? You don’t look sick to me. You must be deeply troubled.”

Then I was terrified, 3 but I replied, “Long live the king! How can I not be sad? For the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”

4 The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?”

With a prayer to the God of heaven, 5 I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.”

6 The king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked, “How long will you be gone? When will you return?” After I told him how long I would be gone, the king agreed to my request.

The king noticed. And as I said, this could have been a death sentence for Nehemiah. But it wasn’t. In fact, it was one of those divine appointments – a moment in time, preordained by God, for us to meet someone or encounter a circumstance that would take our life, faith and God’s plan to a whole new level. And Nehemiah did what every one of us has done in an uncomfortable situation – he got scared. It’s not a sin to be afraid. It’s normal. It’s an emotion that sometimes protects us from terrible situations or people. God put it in us for a reason. But he mustered the courage to speak a little and told the King his issue.

Much to everyone’s surprise, there were others in the room as there always were, Nehemiah was not only still alive, but the king was engaging him in a conversation and asking how he could help – a SLAVE! That’s not only cool – it is absolutely, positively miraculous. But it doesn’t stop there. Then Nehemiah did the second thing most people, even atheists, do when we face a terrifying situation – he prayed, and quickly. It was one of those fleeting “Oh God, if there is a God, a little help?!?” Then he bravely proceeded to layout what he wanted. The King and Queen listened and asked a few more questions. Again, the other people in the room must have been dying to know this guys secret. By all rights he should have been dead several times by now. But he wasn’t.

And then, to everybody’s surprise the King agrees to everything Nehemiah asks for. He only asks that Nehemiah come back on occasion and check in with him. In the following verses Nehemiah becomes brazenly bold, like one can only do when convinced that God is on their side and they are on God’s path. He asks for transport, lumber, guards, and everything else needed to rebuild Jerusalem. AND the King grants him everything – another miracle, simply because Nehemiah believed the promises of God. Wow. There is a lot there. We could stop there, but I want you to briefly hear the rest of the story. You should take the time this summer to read the whole story of Nehemiah. Fascinating and inspiring.

Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem’s Wall

So, Nehemiah gathers all the stuff and people and goes to Jerusalem. It’s a long way from Susa (Iran) to Jerusalem. I’m sure there were points when they all said, “Are we there yet?” But they do eventually arrive. Soon thereafter, Nehemiah does what every good leader, CEO, president, etc. does, he personally inspects the job at hand. He does this at night, with only a donkey to navigate the ruins of this once great city wall. The wall is in rubble. The buildings are mostly rubble. The Temple is a wreck. Most of the people have moved out to the countryside in order to raise crops and animals for food. There’s just no good reason to be in Jerusalem. Even the priests have abandoned the city and Temple to scrape by as farmers. This trip breaks Nehemiah’s heart but puts a vision of what could be in him as well. He sees the potential. He starts planning and dreaming. It will be hard, but it can be done! Maybe.

As with all great visions, dreams and projects, there were naysayers. You see a new power structure had evolved in Jerusalem during all those years. With the Priestly, Temple centered rules gone, the political leaders from all the different non-Jewish groups of the region began to take over. No one wanted Jerusalem – it was a slum – but no one wanted anyone else to have it either. Anytime a person or people’s power is threatened we get real tense and disagreeable. Right? None of you know what I mean, but you know what I’m saying. So some of these people of power from the region, got word of Nehemiah’s arrival and plan to rebuild Jerusalem. And they were not happy. They made trouble for Nehemiah and the workers. They threaten to tell the king that the plan is to secede from Persian rule and even conquer Artexerxes. But Nehemiah trusted the promise of God and kept right on going. When they harassed him on the work site he only had this reply, “I am too busy doing something too important to come down and argue with you.”

2:19 But when Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab heard of our plan, they scoffed contemptuously. “What are you doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” they asked.

20 I replied, “The God of heaven will help us succeed. We, his servants, will start rebuilding this wall.”

Sometimes our hopes and dreams are broken by our own doing. Sometimes others interfere and cause the vision to collapse. If we really believe that what we are doing is of God, though, we should hold on with all our efforts. And, when it seems like we can’t hold on anymore, we need to remember that it is God’s plan and vision, and it is God’s power that will bring it all into fruition – if we will cooperate and surrender to Him. This could be a business plan or an organization plan. But it could also be our dream for our family, our future, our hopes and dreams. It could be the restoration of a relationship or the strength to make it through a difficult situation or decision. If we are relying on the mercy and grace of God, if we are total dependent on God’s will and committed to his promises, it will come to pass. Nehemiah knew that. And we can count on it, too.

So Nehemiah gathered workers from the fields, he called those faithful to God into Jerusalem’s broken walls to help rebuild the dream, to fulfill the promise of God. And many came. And they worked hard. The people were committed and “had a mind to work” Nehemiah says at one point. Sure he was a good leader and pushed the vision, the dream. But he had good people who were committed as well. He would never be able to rebuild a wall, much less a society and a system of worship on his own. Only through the joint efforts of committed people would his dream, God’s plan, be realized.

There is very little of great worth that can be accomplished in life alone. There is power and momentum in a joint effort and commitment. That’s what makes families work. That’s what makes business work. That’s what makes a community work. And that’s what makes the Body of Christ, the church, successful. Commitment to work for the plan and the glory of God. There’s a saying that one person can go fast for a time, but a team of people can go much farther much longer. To quote a familiar saying, “no man is an island.” Whether we acknowledge it or not, we need other people to make our life complete. We see this even in the relationship of God – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit – who said things like, “Let US make humanity in OUR own image.” Jesus said, “I and the Father are One,” and “I will send my Spirit on all flesh to testify of me.” God has designed us to work together to accomplish different things. And when it is God’s purpose, especially, we WILL succeed.

The Builders Complete the Wall

6:15 So on October 2 the wall was finished—just fifty-two days after we had begun. 16 When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. They realized this work had been done with the help of our God.

Wow. The work was done in only 52 days. The whole wall? Finished and complete? Yes, the whole wall around that original part of Jerusalem had been completely tied back together and gated for safety. Many scholars believe that the wall was finished to about half its height, but the point was it was impregnable to enemies all the same. When people find themselves working cooperatively on things that are of common interest, success is within reach. Nehemiah did a great job leading by example and leading a large group. But the people chose to come along and make it happen together.

If you read the whole story you will find this was not all perfect the whole time. There were some disputes that had to be settled. There were issues to be worked out. But Nehemiah used wisdom and justice to make sure everyone who contributed to the work was taken care of. And again, he led by example in work ethic, wise decision making and sharing of his own wealth and food. Successful people will always lead by example. Successful people are willing to take risks into the unknown to achieve the unreachable. Successful people build their businesses, their families, their relationships and their lives around principles of fairness, graciousness and hard work. These truths are not a fairytale. They are lived out over and over again in the lives of those who are willing to lead by example and follow God’s plan for every area of their life.

What Can You Learn?

How about you, today? What is it that you can learn from Nehemiah? Do you need to start with a vision for your future that contemplates not only what you want, but what God wants? Can you let go of the control of your life so that God can inspire you to something truly fulfilling, truly complete and eternally significant? God wants to give each of you that kind of life today.

Maybe your takeaway today is that your faith in God feels shallow and incomplete, your prayers seem to go nowhere if you pray them at all. Perhaps the issue has to do with selfishness or self-pity. You may be going through a hard time, but you want everyone to know it, too. And if they don’t, you just want to whine and complain about how hard your life is. Your selfishness or stubbornness won’t allow you to ask God for direction or for help. God is always willing to hear the prayers of people who trust in Him. God is always ready to bring mercy and grace, healing and forgiveness, fulfillment and true life success if only we call out to Him in prayer.

Perhaps your dreams have been suppressed, laughed at, belittled or demeaned at some point in life and you’ve never gotten over it. You can’t trust God because you can’t trust people. You can’t trust people because you can’t trust God. You’re stuck in a vicious cycle of distrust that just won’t let your dreams live! But God wants your dreams to live. God wants to revive anything in your life that will make you truly happy and that fulfills His purpose for you, too. Can you give Him that chance today? Can you put your confidence, your faith, in His promises to never leave you or forsake you – to give you the desires of your heart – to supply all your needs according to His power and riches?

Finally, you may be a leader. And you may have grabbed onto some of the principles of Nehemiah’s life that you need to grab onto. No leader is perfect. We all need help. We all need to grow and grow up in our leadership skills. All of us in leadership need lessons in humility, patience and affirmation of others. Leaders are hard driving, highly expectant, and sometimes aloof. But that’s not what Nehemiah did. That’s certainly not what Jesus did. What part of the story today will you take home and work on today? God wants you to be the best leader you can be: of your company, of your family, of you staff and employees, and of your community. Are you willing to humbly ask God for His power and wisdom to do it? My prayer today…is that we will all give God permission to change us for the better today. My challenge to you and to myself is to let God work on us this week, and to see what a change it WILL make. Amen

Father, God, we all have areas of weakness and darkness. None of us has arrived on the mountaintop of perfection, or even come close. God we all need to be more humble in our estimations, more passionate in our surrender to you and more willing to let you change us for the better. So today, we ask you, to do these things in us. This week…we give you permission to change us for the better, to direct us in your will and to empower us to serve everyone around us.

In Jesus name, Amen.

Next week, Pastor Ken Harmon, our friend from the Disciples of God Ministries in Cypress, will be teaching us about Moses and how God used that very mixed-up guy to do miraculous things. You won’t want to miss it. Invite your friends and neighbors for this great day together.

Y2KX

One thing the New Year seems to bring out in most people is the sense of beginning again. And that is a wonderful thing. It doesn’t matter what happened yesterday or in the rest of 2009. It’s over. Put a fork in it, it’s done! What really matters is what each of us will do with the 365 days ahead of us in 2010. What do you look forward to in 2010? I, for one, look forward to hope. I look forward to possibility. I’m looking for a banner year of God doing super cool things and the privilege of watching and helping.

The New Year is much like a Christmas present. We can see it coming, but we don’t know exactly what it holds. We feel the positive tension and yearning for the unknown. We want to unwrap it quickly, and yet we don’t, knowing that once the event occurs the adrenaline dissipates far too fast. So, instead of ripping open the year and “getting on with it,” why not live each day in new anticipation? Why not look for and live in the hope of what God will do rather than trying to figure it all out at the beginning. The Bible says that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things we can’t see.” (Hebrews 11:1) Faith is living in anticipation without fear. Faith is knowing that God is in control and living each day with this in mind. Faith is being clearly convinced that the best is yet to come whether we can see it or not.
Finally, the Bible also says that “faith without works is useless.” (James 2:18-26) We show our faith in God and God’s plan by taking actions. We cannot love people without action. We cannot help people without action. We will not accomplish anything of substance without action. That means that 2010 must be a year of faith AND actions. The Kingdom of God is built on these two things. So, here is the challenge to us all -  a challenge of faith and action for 2010:

Where there is sadness, offer joy.
Where despair, offer hope.
Where there is hurt, offer comfort.
And where there is searching offer God!

What actions of faith do you plan on accomplishing this year? Are you brave enough to share them with others?

May your faith and actions grow exponentially for God, others and the world around you in 2010.

Pastor Tim