IT WAS A CUSHY JOB. AND HE KNEW IT. IT WAS PROBABLY THE BEST JOB IN THE KINGDOM AND HE WAS WELL AWARE OF HOW LUCKY HE WAS TO HAVE IT. WORK WASN'T ALWAYS EASY TO FIND ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU WERE A FOREIGNER. MOST OF HIS FRIENDS WORKED AS LABOURERS, AND IN UNSKILLED POSITIONS. EVEN THOSE WHO HAD FOLLOWED A PROFESSIONAL PATHWAY FOUND A LOT OF DOORS CLOSED BECAUSE OF THEIR RACE OR RELIGION.
THERE HAD ALWAYS BEEN THOSE BARRIERS, AND STUMBLING BLOCKS BUT HE HAD RISEN ABOVE THEN. PULLED HIMSELF BY HIS OWN BOOT STRAPS SO TO SPEAK AND MADE GOOD. A REAL RAGS TO RICHES STORY. AND HE NEVER LET A DAY GO BY WITHOUT THANKING GOD FOR BEING WHERE HE WAS.
IT WAS A CUSHY JOB. AND HE KNEW IT. IT MEANT THAT HE DIDN'T HAVE TO WORK IN THE HOT SUN, THAT HE NEVER HAD TO WORRY ABOUT GOING HUNGRY OR HAVING NO PLACE TO SLEEP AT NIGHT. IT MEANT SECURITY FOR HIS FAMILY, IT MEANT HAVING A COMFORTABLE PLACE TO LIVE, AND PLENTY TO EAT. AND HE REALLY DIDN'T RELISH THE THOUGHTS OF DISRUPTING HIS LIFE AT ALL. IT WAS A CUSHY JOB. AND HE KNEW IT AND HE WASN'T GOING TO LET ANYTHING RUIN THE GOOD THING HE HAD GOING.
HIS NAME WAS NEHEMIAH, AND THE BIBLE TELLS US IN NEHEMIAH 1:11 THAT HE WAS CUPBEARER TO THE KING. AND WELL THAT MIGHT NOT MEAN MUCH TO US, IT MEANT A LOT TO NEHEMIAH. YOU SEE IT REALLY WAS A CUSHY JOB, HE DID EXACTLY WHAT HIS TITLE IMPLIED HE DID, HE CARRIED THE KINGS CUP. IN A TIME WHEN KINGS WERE DEPOSED IN A MUCH MORE PERMANENT WAY, THEN WHAT OUR PRESENT PRIME MINISTER DID TO OUR FORMER PRIME MINISTER THERE WAS ALWAYS A FEAR THAT ONE MIGHT FIND ONESELF DRINKING STRYCHNINE WINE. THUS YOU HAD A CUPBEARER WHOSE JOB IT WAS TO ENSURE THAT YOUR CUP WAS NOT HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH. HE CARRIED THAT CUP WITH HIM EVERY WHERE HE WENT, IT NEVER LEFT HIS SIGHT. AND HE COULD ALWAYS REASSURE THE KING THAT WHEN HIS DRINKS WERE POURED THAT THERE WOULD BE NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CUP.
NOW THE ONLY DRAWBACK WITH THE JOB WAS THAT NEHEMIAH ALWAYS GOT TO HAVE THE FIRST DRINK OUT OF THE CUP, JUST IN CASE. BUT BEING AN OPTIMIST NEHEMIAH'S OUTLOOK WAS "SO FAR, SO GOOD." NEHEMIAH HAD IT MADE, AND HE KNEW IT.
IT'S VERY EASY TO GET COMFORTABLE IN THIS LIFE, AND VERY EASY TO GET COMFORTABLE AS A CHURCH. YOU'VE SEEN THOSE CHURCHES THAT GET SETTLED INTO THEIR LITTLE NICHE, THE OFFERINGS ARE HOLDING STEADY, THE PREACHERS DOING ALRIGHT, THE BUILDING IS ALMOST PAID OFF, WHY ROCK THE BOAT. THEY'VE GOTTEN INTO A RUT, AND YOU KNOW AS WELL AS I DO WHAT A RUT IS, IT'S JUST A GRAVE WITH BOTH ENDS KICKED OUT. THEY ARE COMFORTABLE BUT THEY REALLY AREN'T DOING ANYTHING FOR THE KINGDOM, ALL THEY ARE DOING IS PUTTING IN TIME.
WHEN APPLE COMPUTER'S CO-FOUNDER STEVE JOBS APPROACHED JOHN SCULLEY VICE PRESIDENT OF PEPSI ABOUT COMING ON BOARD WITH APPLE AS CHAIRMAN OF THE COMPANY HE ASKED HIM THE QUESTION "ARE YOU CONTENT TO SPEND YOUR LIFE SELLING FIZZY WATER OR DO YOU WANT TO CHANGE THE WORLD?"
AND SO WE HAVE TO ASK OURSELVES DO WE WANT TO SPEND OUR LIFE PLAYING CHURCH OR DO WE WANT TO CHANGE THE WORLD. DO WE WANT TO STAY COMFORTABLE. RIGHT NOW WE ARE IN THE COMFORT ZONE. WE HAVE A DECENT BUILDING THAT IS AIR CONDITIONED AND ONLY COST 35 BUCKS A WEEK, WE HAVE A DECENT PASTORAL STAFF, OUR MUSIC IS GETTING REALLY GOOD, WE HAVE ONE OF THE TOP YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULT GROUPS AROUND WE HAVE ENTERED THE COMFORT ZONE.
WE ARE AVERAGING OVER A HUNDRED NOW THAT MEANS THAT WE ARE ONE OF THE TOP FIVE WESLEYAN CHURCHES IN THE COUNTRY, BOY THAT'S SCARY. WE CAN SETTLE BACK NOW AND HAVE IT MADE. IT WAS A CUSHY CHURCH AND THEY KNEW IT. IT'S EASY TO GET COMFORTABLE, IN MY LAST CHURCH WE HAD A MAN WHO WAS A VERY GODLY MAN, AND YET WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT BUILDING HE WAS OPPOSED BECAUSE WE HAD ENOUGH ROOM IN THE CHURCH FOR EVERYONE WHO CAME. AND HE COULDN'T UNDERSTAND WHY PARKING NEEDED TO BE EXPANDED, AFTER ALL HE HAD A PARKING SPOT. HE DIDN'T REALIZE THAT YOU WOULD NEVER NEED THE SPACE YOU DIDN'T HAVE.
AND THEN ONE DAY, INTO NEHEMIAH'S COMFORTABLE LITTLE LIFE CAME AN INTERRUPTION. HIS BROTHER HAD JUST COME BACK FROM JERUSALEM AND IN PASSING TIME NEHEMIAH ASKED IN Nehemiah 1:2 (NIV) about the Jewish remnant that survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem. HE WAS JUST PASSING TIME, YOU KNOW YOU RUN INTO SOMEBODY FROM THE OLD HOME TOWN AND YOU SAY "HOW'S EVERYBODY DOING?" YOU DON'T REALLY CARE BUT IT IS THE PROPER THING TO DO. HI HOW ARE YOU, OH REALLY AND EVERYBODY IN THE OLD NEIGHBOURHOOD, GOOD, GOOD." YOU KNOW HOW IT'S DONE BUT THIS TIME INSTEAD OF HEARING THAT EVERYTHING WAS GOING JUST FINE HE WAS IN FOR A SHOCK BECAUSE WHAT HIS BROTHER TOLD HIM WAS Nehemiah 1:3 (NIV) Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire."
NOW TO BE FRANK THAT WASN'T WHAT OUR HERO WANTED TO HEAR, HE WANTED TO HEAR THAT EVERYTHING WAS GOING ALRIGHT. BUT THAT WASN'T THE STORY. IN FACT THE STORY WAS JUST THE OPPOSITE, THINGS WERE GOING ROTTEN. AND THAT GOT TO NEHEMIAH, HE MAY WELL HAVE BEEN LIVING IN EXILE, AND LIVING THE LIFE OF RILEY SO TO SPEAK, BUT HE WAS STILL A JEW AT HEART AND JERUSALEM WAS STILL HIS SPIRITUAL HOME, AND TO HEAR ABOUT THE TRAGEDY SURROUNDING THOSE WHO HAD CHOSEN TO RETURN TO JERUSALEM BROKE HIS HEART. HIS REACTION IS RECORDED IN Nehemiah 1:4 (NIV) When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.
NEHEMIAH WAS UPSET, THE NEWS SHOOK HIM, PROBABLY IF HE HAD OF STOPPED TO THINK ABOUT IT BEFORE HE WOULD HAVE REALIZED THAT WAS WHAT WAS HAPPENING BUT HE HAD NEVER STEPPED OUT OF HIS COMFORT ZONE BEFORE LONG ENOUGH TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR HIS OWN WELFARE.
AND THEN GOD INTRUDES INTO OUR COMFORT ZONE TO REMIND US THAT THERE ARE MEN AND WOMEN, BOYS AND GIRLS OUT THERE WHO DON'T KNOW JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND SAVIOUR AND THAT THEY ARE GOING TO DIE AND GO TO HELL, AND THEN HE HAS THE NERVE TO REMIND US OF Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV) Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
AND SO WE DISCOVER THAT WE AREN'T ALONE IN OUR CUSHY LITTLE CHURCH, PLAYING RELIGION AND HAVING A GOOD TIME, BUT THAT WE HAVE A PURPOSE FOR BEING HERE. YOU SEE THE VERY THINGS THAT MAKE OUR CHURCH COMFORTABLE MAKE OUR CHURCH GROW. WE'RE NOT HERE SIMPLY AS A COMFORT CLUB FOR THE SAINTS WE ARE HERE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. THE GREATEST DEFINITION I'VE EVER SEEN OF CHRISTIAN WAS GIVEN BY THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS IN THESSALONICA WHO DRAGGED THE CHRISTIANS TO THE CITY RULERS AND IN Acts 17:6 WE READ THE CHARGES "These who have turned the world upside down have come here too. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME OUR CHURCH WAS REFERRED TO AS "THOSE WHO HAVE TURNED THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN." AND WHEN WE GRASP THE REALITY OF HELL, AND THE REALITY OF ETERNAL DAMNATION AND THAT THERE ARE MEN AND WOMEN, FRIENDS AND RELATIVES, SPOUSES AND CHILDREN WHO ARE DESTINED FOR A CHRISTLESS ETERNITY. AND WHEN THAT HAPPENS THEN LIKE NEHEMIAH WE WILL SIT DOWN AND WEEP, WE WILL FAST AND MOURN.
AND SO IN HIS CONCERN NEHEMIAH BEGAN TO PRAY AND BEGAN TO ASK GOD, "WHY DON'T YOU DO SOMETHING." BUT THE PROBLEM DIDN'T GO AWAY, AND IT WEIGHED DOWN NEHEMIAH'S SPIRIT, AND THIS NORMAL HAPPY GO LUCKY GUY BEGAN TO LOOK DOWN AND ACT DOWN, UNTIL EVEN HIS BOSS NOTICED THAT THIS WASN'T THE SAME OLD NEHEMIAH. IN Nehemiah 2:2 (NIV) 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." HEY NEHEMIAH WHAT'S WRONG? HOW COME YOU LOOK LIKE YOUR PUPPY DIED. AND NEHEMIAH EXPLAINED THE ENTIRE THING TO THE KING, BECAUSE WHEN YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT SOMETHING YOU LIKE TO SPREAD THE CONCERN AROUND. MAYBE YOU THINK THAT THE LOAD WILL LIGHTEN IF YOU MAKE SOMEOTHER PEOPLE FEEL GUILTY AS WELL. AND SO NEHEMIAH POURED OUT HIS HEART TO THE KING. AND THE KING DID SOMETHING TOTALLY UNSPIRITUAL, INSTEAD OF ASKING "WHAT IS GOD GOING TO DO ABOUT THIS" HE ASKED WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO ABOUT THIS.
AND SO NEHEMIAH GAVE A TYPICAL CHRISTIAN RESPONSE AND SAID "LET ME PRAY ABOUT IT." AS IF HE HADN'T ALREADY BEEN PRAYING ABOUT IT FOR FIVE MONTHS. AND SO WELL THE SCRIPTURES DON'T GIVE US A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THE CONVERSATION THAT NEHEMIAH HAD WITH GOD WE CAN ONLY PRESUME THAT IT WENT SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINES OF "GOD, IT'S ME NEHEMIAH, AH LOOK THE KING WANTS TO KNOW WHAT HE SHOULD DO ABOUT JERUSALEM. IT'S LIKE A REAL ANSWER TO PRAYER, YOU KNOW WHEN I PRAYED THAT YOU WOULD CALL UP SOMEBODY TO FIX THE WALLS AROUND JERUSALEM. I;M REALLY GLAD THAT YOU ANSWERED THE PRAYER, SO LIKE WHAT DO YOU WANT THE KING TO DO? YOU WANT HIM TO GIVE ME SOME TIME OFF? SURE LIKE I COULD ALWAYS USE A VACATION BUT WHAT DO YOU WANT THE KING TO DO CONCERNING THE WALLS OF JERUSALEM. YOU WANT HIM TO GIVE ME SOME TIME OFF SO I CAN GO AND FIX THE WALLS SURROUNDING JERUSALEM. GOD THAT ISN'T WHAT I HAD IN MIND WHEN I PRAYED THAT YOU WOULD CALL SOMEBODY TO FIX THE WALLS. I MEAN LIKE WHAT'S WRONG WITH MY BROTHER HANANI? LIKE HERE AM I, SEND HANANI. OH, YOU WANT ME HUH?"
YOU EVER HAVE DISCUSSIONS LIKE THAT WITH GOD, "HEY GOD WHY DON'T YOU CALL SOMEBODY TO DO THIS?" AND THE NEXT THING YOU KNOW HE'S SAYING "HEY NO PROBLEM, GO FOR IT." HEY GOD THE CHURCH NEEDS X AMOUNT OF MONEY TO RELOCATE, OR FOR A NEW COPIER OR WHATEVER, COULD YOU PLEASE PROVIDE IT." AND HE SAYS "I HAVE PROVIDED IT, NOW YOU JUST HAVE TO GIVE IT." "NO GOD, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND, I WANTED SOMEBODY ELSE TO GIVE IT, AND SOMEBODY ELSE TO DO IT."
BUT NEHEMIAH BIT THE BULLET AND WENT BACK TO THE KING AND TOLD HIM Neh 2:5 "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."
I LIKE NEHEMIAH'S VISION AT THIS POINT, NOTICE HE DIDN'T SAY HE WANTED TO GO LOOK AT THE WALL, OR HE WASN'T GOING TO PRAY OVER THE WALL, HE WASN'T EVEN GOING TO LOOK TO SEE IF IT COULD BE DONE. HE SAID THAT HE WAS GOING TO JERUSALEM TO REBUILD THE WALL, PLAIN AND SIMPLE.
"HEY NEHEMIAH, YOU EVER CONSIDER THAT THE JOB MIGHT BE TOO BIG FOR YOU" "MAYBE BUT IT'S NOT TOO BIG FOR ME AND GOD." WE NEED TO REALIZE THAT AS CHRISTIANS WE DON'T FUNCTION ALONE, REMEMBER Philippians 4:13 (NKJV) I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. DOESN'T SAY "I CAN DO ALL THINGS BY MYSELF" NOPE, DOESN'T SAY "I CAN DO ALL THINGS BY MYSELF" NOPE, IT SAYS Philippians 4:13 (NKJV) I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
AND WE HAVE TO REALIZE THAT IN THIS LIFE GOD DOESN'T EXPECT US TO OPERATE AS THE LONE RANGER.
