Spiritual Fitness Check Up Text: Nehemiah 1:1-11 Series: Nehemiah, [#1] Pastor Lyle L. Wahl June 1, 2014 Theme: Spiritual fitness is important for serving God. Introduction This morning we launch a new series on the book of Nehemiah. This book gives us some history, but it is by no means not just history. For example, the book shows and teaches us about leadership, about moving into leadership, facing tough situations and people, planning, organization, management, and much more. Whatever your role and situation, there are many vital truths and practical applications, such as: Balancing faith in God and personal responsibility. The importance of faith and faithfulness. The indispensable role of prayer. How to deal with promotion and success, as well as hostility and opposition. How to deal with discouragement and anger. How to motivate others. Let s begin by getting acquainted with a bit of history. Israel divided into two kingdoms after King Solomon. The northern kingdom, called Israel, fell to Assyria in 722 B.C. as a result of their turning away from God. They were scattered. They never returned as a group. The southern kingdom, called Judah, fell to the Babylonians in 586 B.C. for their turning away from God. As God had told them, they were in exile for 70 years. People returned to Judah in three movements. Starting in 538 some came to rebuild the temple and settle under the leadership of Zerubbabel. The temple was completed in 516, marking the end of the 70 years of exile. In 458 a scribe or religious official named Ezra led people back. He taught the law, and they saw spiritual revival. In 455 Nehemiah appears on the scene. He came to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem so the city and people would be safe, secure, and could prosper.
What do we know about Nehemiah? The short answer is that we don t know much about his background. He was not a prophet, preacher, priest, nor a scribe. While we don t know his background, but God blessed him. He rose to a prominent position in the court of the Persian King Artaxerxes I who ruled over much of the world at that time including Israel. He was prepared, willing and in a position where he could be instrumental in God s work. We will see that unfold in the our time in this book which he wrote. Nehemiah was faithful to God. He was spiritually fit and as a result served God effectively. Physical fitness has become a high priority and booming business. Unfortunately, the results for adults in Canada are not that encouraging. A Statistics Canada study reports that just 15% of adults are meeting the physical activity recommendations. (And, of course, that 15% includes all of us here!). And to make it more difficult to understand the situation, Canadians are less active than they tell researchers. 1 In other words, we re not being all that truthful. A recent report card on the physical fitness of Canada s children and youth also is far from encouraging. Our highest mark is a B+ in availability of things such as parks, pools, arenas, leagues and bike lanes. But we received a D for overall physical activity and a F in sedentary activities, activities which require very little movement, such as time camped in front of a TV or computer, or playing video games. 2 Our spiritual fitness is even more important than our physical fitness. The two go together at times. if you want to serve on Asa s mission team, you have to pass a physical fitness test. We learn from Nehemiah that spiritual fitness is important for serving God. This morning we can set a baseline of our spiritual fitness as we walk through a spiritual fitness checkup in chapter 1. Fitness: a genuine concern for God s work. The first test of our spiritual check up is having a genuine concern for God s work. Nehemiah shows us this genuine concern in two ways. First is being aware of the times. In verse 1 he tells us. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, 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 (1-2, ESV). Nehemiah wondered about, was concerned for his people who were back in the land, and especially Jerusalem. There was no Jerusalem Daily Times on the news stands of Susa where he lived and served King Artaxerxes. Yet Nehemiah was aware of his people s situation, and wanted to know exactly how they were doing. 2
How aware are we of the situation of God s people and work beyond ourselves and our families? Yes, the world is huge, there is so much happening. But our concern starts right here in our community. Then there are many resources today that can help us go beyond that: our church missions team, missions and parachurch agencies and, yes, the internet. We can be and should be aware of the times in which we live. A second aspect of genuine concern Nehemiah demonstrated was taking the initiative to keep up to date. Nehemiah did not wait for word to filter to him, he sought it. He sought out people and asked questions. When his brother and others came back, he didn t waste time to get information. He took the initiative to keep up to date. Why? Because he had a genuine concern for God s work. Do we think about, raise questions, seek information about God s work here and in other places? Doing God s work today is not limited to preaching, teaching and witnessing any more than it was in Nehemiah s day. Some of you have been doing that. We ve heard about some of it in the reports today. Recently I received an email from our District men s representative about his efforts to help put work teams together under Samaritan s Purse to help in flood restoration work still needed in Calgary and High River. He is keeping aware, and also stepping out to help meet needs. Some of you may want to be involved in that. A genuine concern for God s work is evidenced by taking the initiative to keep up to date. It is part of spiritual fitness. Fitness: a clear vision of the needs. The second part of our spiritual fitness check up is vision. This last week I had my eyes checked. Fortunately they told me eyes are just as good (or bad) as they were a few years ago. My vision has not deteriorated. What about our spiritual vision, our vision of the needs. This starts with a clear view of the facts. Nehemiah was told in verse 3, 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 (NIV). The report was given, and Nehemiah understood it clearly. We have some background in Ezra chapter 4. Work had begun on securing Jerusalem just over a dozen years earlier. Protests from the non-jewish people in the region led the government to stop the work. Those people hired others to lobby and oppose the rebuilding of the temple and walls. They charged that if the Jews were allowed to rebuild, they would revolt once it was done. Nehemiah knew the history and he made sure he got the facts of the current situation, and saw them clearly. The first step to a clear vision of the needs is to have a clear view of the facts. How clearly do we see the needs of Christians, and of all people around us? Sometimes our preconceived ideas get in the way of seeing the facts clearly, whether it be the poor and homeless or the very wealthy. Then too it is easy to accept and pass on information without 3
really thinking about it, checking it out. It takes time and effort to make sure we have a clear view of the facts. Building on a clear view of the facts is a clear interpretation of them. Verse 4. When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. It is not always easy to accurately interpret the facts we see. There is an old story of a pastor who walked through a park on the way to his office each day. He noticed an older man, just sitting on a bench, day after day. He felt sorry for him. One morning he handed the man an envelope with $20 inside and a simple note, Never despair. The next day the man approached the pastor and handed him $60. What s that for? the pastor asked. The man replied, Never Despair finished in the money in the 2 nd race. 3 He saw what was going on, but his interpretation wasn t that clear or accurate. Nehemiah s actions demonstrate he had a clear interpretation of the facts. He was not prejudiced by his own background, views or the influential court position he held. He didn t get angry and ask, Whose fault is it? Who blew it? Who is responsible for this mess? Nor did he shrug his shoulders and say, That s too bad, but they knew the risks. There s nothing I can do. What he did was weep, mourn, pray and fast for the disappointed, hurting, vulnerable people, for the work of God that was not progressing and, as we will see, for what he could do. Nehemiah s spiritual fitness is seen in his clear vision of the needs and his genuine concern for God s work. Fitness: a high priority on prayer. A third part of this spiritual fitness check up is prayer. Spiritually fit people like Nehemiah place a high priority on prayer. We see that first in prayer of worship and praise. Although the situation was serious and urgent, Nehemiah did not burst into God s presence and immediately present a great grocery list of requests. He begins his prayer in verse 5, Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments (NIV). His worship and praise reflect an accurate view of God: God is the Creator and Sustainer of all that is; God is the loving Promise-Keeper to those who love Him and keep His commandments. This is a good place to begin in prayer: worship and praise. Then there is prayer of confession. Continuing at verse 6, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father s family, have committed against you. We have acted very 4
wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses (6-7, NIV). He confessed his own and his people s sins. He did not try to evade any of his own sin by confessing only the rebellious sin of the present and former generations, sins which they all knew too well. Next there is prayer based on God s promises. All of our prayer must be aligned with God s truth and will to be both meaningful and effective. One important part of that is God s promises to us. Notice two promises from God s Word in this prayer. God s promise related to their obedience in verse 8. Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples (ESV). And also God s promise related to their confession of sin and His forgiveness, verse 9. God had said but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there. (ESV). Our prayer life should be guided and sustained by the promises of God in his word. If you struggle with being forgiven by God, you can pray 1 John 1:9, If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleans us from all unrighteousness. If you wonder why you should continue to pray for those you care about who do not know Christ, and who don t respond to God s word which you share with them, you can pray grounded in the promise of Isaiah 55:11, where God tell us, So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. If you don t think you can endure persistent, dominating temptation and sin, personalize and pray the truth, the promise of 1 Corinthians 10:13, No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man, and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but will with the temptation provide the way of escape also so that you will be able to endure it. One more part of our prayer here, prayer expressing genuine desires to God. In verse 11 he prays, Lord, listen carefully to the prayer of your servant and the prayers of your servants who love to honor you. Give me, your servant, success today; allow this king to show kindness to me (NCV). Nehemiah s prayer has included worship and praise, confession, grounding himself in God s promises, and now also, bringing the true, deep desires of his heart to God. We have no way 5
of knowing how God s Spirit guided the interaction in his prayer, but we know the first three aspects of his prayer enabled him to be receptive to God s leading as he now boldly presented his desires to God. How is your spiritual fitness check up going in terms of concern for God s work, vision of the needs and prayer? Fitness: a ready availability for God s work. There is one more part of this spiritual fitness check up our availability for God s work. How available are we for the work God wants to do? Nehemiah demonstrated a ready availability. We see that in him being ready to serve where he was. Nehemiah was in the winter capital city of Susa, more specifically he tells us I was cupbearer to the king (11 b). Palace intrigue and assassination flowed freely in that place. A Greek physician at the royal court close to that time wrote that up to 15,000 men dined three times daily at the king s palace and, of course, at his expense. 4 Nehemiah was not just a server. The king usually ate alone. This was quieter, removed from the throngs, but also safer! Nehemiah tasted or tested the wine and food the king ate for poison, not so much for quality. The cupbearer had to be a person who was totally trustworthy because the king s life did depend on him. The position extended more broadly: to guard, limit access to the king even princes had to submit to his screening. As well, they were confidants, advisors to the king. Cupbearers were key, influential and powerful people. It was a great job as long as you kept the king alive and happy. It was a position that gave Nehemiah great privileges and great opportunities. But to come before the king and ask him to rescind the order to stop building the walls of Jerusalem also posed a great personal risk. We will see more on this in chapter 2. He took the risk to serve God where he was. Make me successful, he prayed, here, today. He could have thought, I m only a servant of the king. Or, I can t risk speaking out on this, after all the king ordered the work to be stopped. I can best serve God and my people quietly, staying here. Or, Maybe when I ve been here longer, learned even more about the court politics and the king, maybe then I could risk to do some bold things, but not now. No. He was ready to serve where he was. Are you ready to serve where you are right now where you are? Closely related to this is being ready to be part of the solution. He knew the situation required God s direct intervention, and that would be through people, including himself. It s been said, you ve heard it many times, You are either part of the problem or part of the solution. Nehemiah was ready to be part of the solution. Spiritual fitness includes a genuine concern for God s work, a clear vision of the needs, and a high priority on prayer. But, it is not complete unless we are ready to serve where we 6
are, to be part of the solution. It is not complete unless there is a ready availability for God s work in, for example, reaching people for Christ, meeting people s physical, social, emotional needs, developing ministries, building and restoring relationships. Spiritual fitness is important for serving God. Conclusion Question: How spiritually fit are you? Spiritual fitness does not require that you have been a Christian for 5 or 10 years or more, or have read through the Bible cover to cover at least 10 times. We are not spiritually fit just because we have been a Christian for a long time, have read, studied the Bible in depth. There are other indicators of spiritual fitness listed in the Bible, but the four we have seen this morning are a good place to start evaluating and working out. God wants you to be close to Him, to be growing in becoming more like Jesus, to be spiritually fit to be used in His service. Think again about physical fitness for a moment. Why are the clubs, centers, gyms popular? Why do they show more results than, as one writer put it, the graveyards of equipment in so many people s homes? 5 Motivation and discipline are part of the reason. As well, there is accountability to others, and your goals. You don t have to look for a place to become spiritually fit. You already are part of a spiritual fitness center the church. God designed individuals and the church so that we need and benefit from each other. God brings His people together so that as He works in and through us together, we build up the body of Christ, the church, individually and as a group. As with physical fitness, spiritual fitness is a life-long process. The spiritual fitness program includes the elements we have seen in Nehemiah, but not just on our own, but together in one to one relationships, small groups, larger groups, in fellowship, prayer, Bible study, worship, service. In the next moments that you spend alone with God, reflecting on His truth for you, thank Him for all His grace to you. Thank Him for being patient, continuing to work in you so that you grow, become more spiritually fit. Review your current state of spiritual fitness. Ask God to help you see it clearly, to be able to step forward boldly to continue to grow, so that you live and serve to His glory. 1 Rachel C. Colley, Didier Garriguet, Ian Janssen, Cora L. Craig, Janine Clarke and Mark S. Tremblay. Physical activity of Canadian adults: Accelerometer results from the 2007 to 2009 Canadian Health Measures Survey. Statistics Canada. <http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/ 82-003-x/2011001/article/11396-eng.htm>. 18 February 2014. Accessed 26 May 2014. 2 Mark Tremblay. Is Canada in the Running? Active Healthy Kids Canada. <http://www.activehealthykids.ca/reportcard/2014reportcard.aspx>. 20 May 2014. Accessed 26 May 2014. 7
3 Original source not known. 4 K.E. Eduljee. Archaemenian Persian King s Table. Zoroastrian Heritage. <http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.ca/2011/07/achaemenian-persian-kings-table.html>. 22 July 2011. Accessed 27 May 2014. Rüdiger Schmitt. Ctesias. Encyclopædia Iranica. <http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ ctesias->. 15 December 1993, updated 2 November 2011. Accessed 27 May 2014. 5 Mark Broderick. How to Cheat in Aerobics. <http://www.teamfiat.co/in/hangout/367-humor-haha-ha-21.html>. n.d. Accessed 26 May 2014. 2014 Lyle L. Wahl Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (NCV) taken from the New Century Version. Copyright 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (HCSB) taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved. 8