More than twenty-five years ago, Kathy and I moved from our home in Houston, Texas to Richmond, Virginia. We did not just wake up one morning and decide to move. In fact, for a number of years I knew that I had a call to the gospel ministry, but I didn’t have the courage to leave the practice of law, our home, Kathy’s family, our friends, and our church. Kathy felt the same way. Then, in the late 1980s, through a series of circumstances, I felt called, really compelled, to go to seminary. Even then, it was unbelievably hard and scary.

In the months, and even years, before we left Houston, we prayed about this a lot. We didn’t always pray together. In fact, we rarely prayed together, but each of us, in his or her own way, prayed about our future. In the meantime, we thought about the future. How would we afford it? How long would it take? Could Kathy work with four small children?  Where would we live? There were a lot of questions to be answered. In the end, however, the hardest thing was to trust God and have the courage to step out in faith. There is an old Chinese proverb that the longest journey begins with a single step. [1] It is true. The hardest thing for us to do is to take the first step.

Do any of you suffer from procrastination? It’s been my experience that every tough decision in life is hard to make, and scary at the moment you make it. This is where faith comes in. Hebrews tells us that faith is “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1).

Today, we’re going to talk about faith and the importance of faith as we seek to rebuild our culture.

The Courage to Act.

Last week, we began our study of Nehemiah. We learned that Nehemiah was a Jewish official in the court of the king of Persia around the year 450 B.C. Because of the visit of a relative, he became aware that the walls and the gates of Jerusalem had been destroyed. As a result, his people were suffering. He mourned and prayed for many days. He prayed a beautiful prayer that we studied last week, and that we hope all our members will pray as a prayer for our country. This morning, we pick up at the beginning of chapter 2:

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, 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, but I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” The king said to me, “What is it you want?” (Nehemiah 2:1-4).

Prayer: Eternal God, God of History, please come into our hearts this morning so that the story of Nehemiah can become our story and so that we can become little Nehemiah’s to a culture. In the name of the Prince of Peace we pray, Amen

From Mourning To Action.

Last week, we began our look at the life of Nehemiah by studying the prayerful way in which he began his attempt to rebuild the walls and gates of Jerusalem. When Nehemiah learned that his people were in desperate need, he did not get angry. He mourned. We too need to mourn for our country. As Nehemiah mourned, he fasted and prayed. We also need to fast and pray for our country. Nehemiah confessed his own sins as well as the sins of his people. We also need to confess our sins and the sins of our nation. Finally, Nehemiah asked for God to help. We also need to pray for God to help us.

Nehemiah was in a unique position. He was the Cupbearer to King Artaxerxes of Persia. I want to stop here and allow us to reflect on that fact for just a few seconds. All over America, including in Memphis, there are Christians. We all have a unique position. We all have spiritual gifts, relationships, talents, and abilities. Most of us do not have a position as important as Nehemiah’s. However, we do have some position. What God required of Nehemiah is not what God requires of us. Nevertheless, God asks that we have the same kind of faith that Nehemiah possessed, and step out and serve our nation as Nehemiah did.

King Artaxerxes was king of Persia from about 458 BC until about 425 B.C. Certain facts about his reign are important to understanding our story. Artaxerxes came to power under tragic circumstances. His father was King Xerxes. King Xerxes was murdered in around 465 B.C., by one of his advisers. The advisor, in order to gain power, blamed Artaxerxes. A power struggle ensued until finally Artaxerxes won.

This particular power struggle is important because in the early years of his reign, Artaxerxes had to consolidate his power. It was during this period of time that Ezra returned to Judah and was restoring Israel. Jealous advisors came to the King and asked that the building of Jerusalem be stopped. Artaxerxes, insecure in his power, granted their request (Ezra 4:23). This is probably why the walls of the city were in such disrepair and the gates fallen. [2]

By the time of Nehemiah, these events were twenty years in the past. Artaxerxes was no longer insecure. Instead, he had built a reputation as a very fine king! History records that he was a wise king who generally refrained from violence when possible. He seems he seems to have been kindly. In today’s text, we find Artaxerxes concerned about his servant Nehemiah. Nehemiah had never been sad before when entering to serve the king, but on this occasion his sorrow was evident. The king, concerned about Nehemiah, asked what was wrong.

A Reasonable Discussion.

As we try to renew our nation, it’s useful to think about the relationship between Nehemiah and Artaxerxes. Nehemiah was the cupbearer to the king. Every day, the king’s life was in Nehemiah’s hands. Artaxerxes trusted Nehemiah. Over the years, they had come to respect each other. When we set out to renew our nation, relationships and trust are important.

We live in a culture in which politics is often seen as a kind of war. In particular, politicians have learned that it is a lot easier to convince the voters to hate someone else than to like you. Instead of political decisions being built upon trust, mutual respect, and fair dealing, our political decisions are often made on the basis of a kind of “winner take all” negative politics. The result is, we make bad decisions. Nehemiah acted the way he did because he saw himself as a servant of the king. As we try to renew our culture, we Christians need to begin by understanding that we are servants of our culture and our fellow citizens. We need to serve them in love, as much as possible respecting even those with whom we violently disagree.

Once Artaxerxes asked Nehemiah to explain what was wrong, the door was open for Nehemiah to say what was on his mind. He explained to the king that he was a Jew and that his home city, Jerusalem, was in ruins (Nehemiah 2:5). It had been many years since Artaxerxes had stopped the building of the walls of Jerusalem, and it appears he was immediately somewhat favorable to the idea. Instead of saying, “Why would you do a thing like that?” he asked, “How long will it take? (v. 6). In response Nehemiah gave him a time. You see, the king respected Nehemiah, needed his advice and counsel, relied upon him for his very life, and did want him to be gone too long. On the other hand, Artaxerxes wanted to help a trusted friend and advisor.

Nehemiah then asked the king for a few favors. The journey from Persia to Jerusalem was long and in some ways dangerous. He needed letters of safe conduct (v. 7). Nehemiah also needed a letter that would allow him to get from the king’s forest the timber he would need in rebuilding the walls and gate (v. 8). The king graciously agreed to everything Nehemiah asked.

There is a lot to learn in these verses. Here are a few things to think about:

• First of all, not all improvements are possible at any given point in time. If Nehemiah had come to the King eighteen years earlier, the answer might have been, “No.” It so happens that Nehemiah was the right person at the right place at the right time. We need to know that rebuilding our culture requires timing and wisdom. There may be improvements we want to make today; however, it made God’s will that they be made over a long period of time.
• Second, it’s important that we think through not just the improvement we want to make but the best way to approach our leadership and the best plan to present. Often, on the right and left of our society, people make unrealistic proposals to solve problems. We Americans are addicted to big, complicated, and hopefully quick solutions to problems. Most big problems can’t be solved that way. They must be solved over time.
• Finally, our plan needs to take account of dangers, difficulties, and opposition along the way.

Expect Problems and Have Courage.

Do you remember that Nehemiah asked for letters of safe conduct? Letters of Safe Conduct were important. The journey to Jerusalem would often go through dangerous territories.  The other nations living near Jerusalem would not want the walls rebuilt. They wanted Israel to be weak and defenseless. At the end of our text today we learn that the officials in Transjordan, were in fact opposed to the rebuilding the walls. Nehemiah anticipated their opposition.  He thought about what to do and planned ahead.

It would be nice if everyone would agree with our solutions to the political and cultural problems of our nation. They will not. Therefore, we need to expect opposition. We need to anticipate what objections will be made and try to answer reasonable questions. In addition, more than anything else, we will need courage. When I was in seminary, I wrote an article for a Presbyterian magazine concerning a particular social issue. I received a lot of hate mail. One letter, was actually threatening! I went to see a professor, who I knew had also written on the same subject. She took a look at me and said, “Chris I have a file draw of threatening letters.” Just do what you think is right. Unfortunately, doing the right thing almost always results in opposition. Courage is grace in the face of that opposition. [3]

Conclusion.

This week in our church, we recognized our “Salt and Light” graduates. [4] Salt and light is a twenty-four week program that trains people how to share their faith in a non-offensive way. When we discuss why it is more Christians don’t share their faith, the first answer is almost always the same: “Fear.” The second most common reason is: “I don’t know what to say.” The first and foremost thing Christians do to renew our culture is to proclaim our faith and bring others into God’s community of truth, beauty, justice, and love. It takes prayer, planning, preparation and courage.

Nehemiah overcame his fears during his four months of fasting and prayer. By the time he approached King Artaxerxes, he was filled with the Holy Spirit. In addition, his months of fasting and praying gave him plenty of time to think about what  he wanted to say and do. He had time to think about his plans and the king’s possible reaction to his plans. He had time to adjust his plans to reality. For example, early on he probably realized that the king would not want him to be gone for too long. Therefore, he carefully estimated how long it would take. When the king answered the expected question, he had an answer. Nehemiah also had time to think about what he would need in order to be successful. Rebuilding the walls of the city takes a lot of time, energy, money, and materials. When the time came, Nehemiah was ready.

Going back to the beginning of our lesson today, faith is the assurance that God will bless our undertaking and the courage to trust God and get started. It’s true, the longest journey begins with a single step. Often, that first step is the most important step of all. This past week our Organizational Task force had a meeting. That task force is almost finished with its work. There only remains one question to be answered. However, it’s the hardest question of all! During part of the discussion someone said, “There are some decisions that once you have made them you have already decided whether you will succeed or fail.” As we step out in faith to renew our culture, we need to take time, a long time, to fast and pray—then we need to step out in faith.

Amen

Copyright 2016, G. Christopher Scruggs, All Rights Reserved

[1] Tao Te Ching, Chapter 64, See, G. Christopher Scruggs, Centered Living/Centered Leading: The Way of Light and Love The Tao Te Ching Adapted for Christ-Followers Rev. Ed. (Booksurge Publishing, 2011, 2014), 128.

[2] There are multiple sources for the historical portion of this sermon. See, See, Mark A. Throntvelt, “Ezra-Nehemiah” in Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1992). James Hamilton, Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Ezra & Nehemiah (Nashville, TN: Holman, 2014), and Mervin Breneman, “Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esher” in The New American Commentary Series (Broadman & Holman Printers, 1993). It is important to note that, while Artaxerxes was a good king and not violent by the standards of his own day, he was bloodthirsty by our standards today.

[3] This is a reference to Earnest Hemmingway’s famous definition of courage as “grace under pressure.”

[4] Salt & Light is a twenty-four week evangelism and discipleship program written by Chris and Kathy Scruggs. We hope that it will be publically available to churches by the fall of 2016.