The Crutch

I overheard a comment this morning that took me back to my teenage years. I spent 6 months in a cast back in 1977. I walked on crutches the whole time. I had to learn how to walk up and down stairs with crutches. I had to learn how to carry my books at school while using crutches. I had to discover a unique way of carrying my lunch tray while using crutches. Although I could hardly wait for the day I could put them down, the doctor explained why I needed to use them. Many tendons, nerves, veins, and arteries had been cut in the accident, and I ran the risk of tearing things apart if I did not depend on these crutches.

I was reminded of this period in my life because I overheard someone claim that Jesus is a crutch. This whole idea of Jesus being a crutch can be heard in a statement once made by Jesse Ventura. “Organized religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people who need strength in numbers.” Many people view religion as something for the weak minded.  The intelligent and wise among us see the faithful as simple-minded fools. "There is no polite way to suggest to someone that they have devoted their life to a folly" (Daniel Dennet). I could go on. The world seems filled with people who view Christians as weak-minded fools; individuals who have been duped into believing a myth. We need God because we are too weak to face life on our own. We need Jesus because we don't have the guts to take responsibility for our actions. Jesus is a crutch.

These people remind me of the woman at the well. We meet her in John 4. At one point in the conversation, Jesus says to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life” (John 4:12-14).  In other words, Jesus offers to help a person whose life is a wreck.  No matter what they do, they remain "thirsty".  He offers to become a "crutch" - to support those who cannot deal with their burden on their own.  In sarcasm, she replies, "Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw” (John 4:15). Jesus seemed like a crutch. She didn't need Him to fix her. She didn't need His help to live a healthy life. Jesus seemed like a fool until He pointed out just how "sick" she truly was.  Reminding her of her many broken relationships, Jesus says that if she was so good at living on her own, then why did her relationships fail so often (John 4:16).

Like this woman, many today defiantly reject Jesus or God. They drag themselves emotionally and spiritually through life, damaging their heart and soul. Rather than admit their weakness, they stand on wobbly legs, broken and bleeding, crying out "There's nothing wrong with me. I don't need a crutch". And they call me the weak one. They call me simple-minded. They call me the fool.

Maybe they are right. Maybe I am the fool. Maybe I am weak. Maybe I should admit this with no shame.

To deny that Jesus is supporting me and strengthening me is to claim that I can do all these things on my own. If I need no crutch, then I confess there is no wound. To need no crutch is to admit I need no help. But that would be a lie.

I am, like many of you, a person who suffers from a debilitating wound. I am a man filled with sin. And no amount of effort on my own will remove that sin from my life. I might try to be good - to walk on my own - but because of the wound of sin, I WILL fall again. I WILL stumble. I would be a fool to deny my weakness. I would be a fool to ignore the wound of sin that has debilitated my heart. I would be a fool to ignore the many times in my life when sin causes me to fall.  

I am weak.  I am a weary soul who is burdened by sin.  I need help.  If that makes me a simple-minded fool, then so be it.  I admit that I need a crutch.

On the other hand, if you don't need one, if you don't need any help and are doing just fine on your own, Hallelujah!  Good for you!  But please don't judge me for being a broken and busted soul who can carry his burden no further.  I am a weary soul who is heaven laden with sin.  Maybe you are not, but I am, and I need help.  I need a crutch.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

Come and See - January 17, 2016 sermon

By Pastor Greg

A small town prosecuting attorney called his first witness to the stand in a trial -- a retired elementary schoolteacher.  He approached her and asked, "Mrs. Jones, do you know me?"  She responded, "Why, yes, I do know you, Mr. Williams.  I've known you since you were a young boy.  And frankly, you've been a big disappointment to me.  You lie, you cheat on your wife, you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs.  You think you're a big shot. Yes, I know you."  The lawyer was stunned.  Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, "Mrs. Williams, do you know the defense attorney?"  She again replied, "Why, yes I do.  I've known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too.  And he has been a real disappointment to me as well.  He's lazy, bigoted, he has a drinking problem.  The man can't build a healthy relationship with anyone and his law practice is one of the shoddiest in the entire state.  Yes, I know him."  At this point, the judge called both counselors to the bench.  In a very quiet voice, he said with menace, "If either of you asks her if she knows me, you'll be in jail for contempt within 5 minutes!"

Yeah, judge, I know what you mean.  When I was in the fourth grade, my Grandmother Burkholder pulled me aside and spoke to me about my bad grades.  I was petrified.  How did she know?  Turns out, she knew my fourth-grade teacher.  Yikes!  It’s a little bit scary when someone knows your dirty little secrets.  Has something like this ever happened to you?

Well, then imagine how it must feel to stand before the Lord?  How scary would it be knowing that He knows all about you, and knowing He knows you know?  As Jesus stood among the disciples of John what did it feel like to have the only begotten of God look you in the eye?  How would you respond if the almighty pulled you aside and said, “I know you”?  John the Apostle tells us how a few individuals reacted when they met the Lord (read John 1:35-49).

The first two people to follow Jesus were Andrew and John (who would later become an Apostle and who is the author of this book).  During the time they spent with Jesus, they were convinced He was the Messiah.  Now mind you, Jesus did not perform any miracles.  This was before He fed the 5,000, walked on water, or even turned the water into wine.  So there was something about Jesus’ character or His behavior that convinced these two that this Man from Nazareth was the Promised One as mentioned by the prophets.

Look what happens when people meet Jesus.  Andrew, the first evangelist, runs and tells his brother.  When Jesus meets Simon, Jesus looks at Him and seems to know all about Him.  He knows his name.  He knows his dad.  He even changes Simon’s name to Cephas (Aramaic) or Peter (Greek).  As this group is traveling back to the area around the Sea of Galilee, Jesus calls Philip and, oddly, Philip seems to respond immediately.  Something about Jesus caused Philip to believe that He was the Messiah. 

There was something about the character of Jesus that opened the eyes of these men.  Maybe it was His wisdom.  Maybe His knowledge.  What was it about Jesus that caused these men to believe?  I think it was the Lord’s ability to know each individual intimately and personally and the way the Lord treated these men even though He knew them fully and completely.  Look at what He says to Nathanael.  “I saw you”, or perhaps even “I know you.”  When Jesus says this to skeptical Nathanael, he believes that this Man from Nazareth is the Son of God.

These words are amazing once you realize who Jesus is.  John told us that in the Man Jesus dwells the Father, and in the Father’s bosom dwells the only begotten Son (John 1:14) – the only Man who is the exact representation of God (Colossians 2:9).  As Christ stood on the earth, God was present among His creation (John 1:10).  God became flesh and dwelt among us.  He stands close to us.  We can touch God and He can touch us.  And as the only begotten of God, the only Person who is both fully human and fully God, as God stands before us, He says, “I know you.”

The reason I point this out to you is because I want to ask you a crucial question.  What do you think the Lord would say to you if He were to show up at your front door one day?  Jesus knocks on the door, and when you open it, there stands the only begotten Son of God – the Messiah Himself.  Realizing that the Lord already knows you and knows all about you, what do you imagine he would say?  Your answer will reveal what you believe about God.

I think most of us imagine an encounter with God to be a very scary ordeal.  We picture God scolding us for everything we’ve done wrong.  We expect punishment and wrath.  We imagine a time where we are shamed for our words, our deeds, and our actions.  But there is something about the chain of events that John mentions which indicate an encounter with the Lord was nothing like you or I imagine.  Look at how Andrew responds to his encounter with the Lord.  Philip does the same thing.  They ENCOURAGE others to “come and see”.  They’re all like “Brother, you’ve got to meet this Man”.  And if their encounter with the Lord was something painful and embarrassing, you can hardly imagine them enthusiastically inviting someone else to come and see.

God came and dwelt among us.  He came to give us life and light.  And as He walked among us, He demonstrated just what sort of God He is.  Our God is not some distant creator who set things in motion and then sat back to see what might happen (this idea is called Deism).  He is not a cold and indifferent God who lacks compassion for the people He created.  He loves us.  He cares for us.  He provides for us.  He knows us.  Through the actions and words of Jesus, we realize that God knows our name.  He indeed sees us and cares for us.

Later on in His ministry, Jesus will teach that God’s love for us can be seen in the way He cares for the birds of the air or the lilies of the field (Matthew 6:26-30).  If His eye is on the sparrow, you can be sure that God is watching you.  Since this is true, then what does this teach us about God?  Knowing this, what can we expect when we draw near to the Lord?

For some reason, many people are afraid to draw near to the Lord.  I guess they are expecting scolding and punishment for who they are and what they have done.  But from what I read in the Word and what I have personally experienced, meeting the Lord is nothing like that.  People like Andrew and Philip; many people throughout the years have been inviting others to come and see.  I continue to do the same.  If you have never met the Lord, trust me, there is nothing to fear.  Yes, He knows you already, but by his sacrificial death on the cross, He has demonstrated the depth of His love for you.  Don’t be afraid.  Come and meet the Lord for yourself.  In Him you will find grace, mercy, and love.

Behold, the Lamb - January 10, 2016 sermon

By Pastor Greg

A man was playing Trivial Pursuit one night.  It was his turn.  He rolled the dice and landed on Science & Nature.  His question was, "If you are in a vacuum and someone calls your name, can you hear it?"  He thought for a time and then asked, "Is the vacuum on or off?"

I’ll give you a moment to figure out what makes that joke so funny.  The answer is there but it might not be quite so obvious.

The same thing happened to a group of people who went down to the river one day.  They had heard about a man named John who was baptizing people in the Jordan River.  Apparently everyone else knew why John’s ministry was so appealing.  These men did not.  They didn’t get it.  That’s why they started asking John so many questions.

¹⁹ This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”  ²⁰ And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”  ²¹ They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?”  And he said, “I am not.”  “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”  ²² Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us?  What do you say about yourself?”  ²³ He said, “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

²⁴ Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.  ²⁵ They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”  ²⁶ John answered them saying, “I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know.  ²⁷ “It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”  ²⁸ These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

²⁹ The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!  ³⁰ “This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’  ³¹ “I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.”  ³² John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him.  ³³ “I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’  ³⁴ “I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”^[1] (John 1:19-34).

A delegation was sent to investigate John the Baptist.  He was the son of a Jewish Priest and a relative of Jesus.  He may have been 30 or 31 years old, and at that age, being a Levite, should have been serving in the Temple.  However, John is at the Jordan River near a little town called Bethany, baptizing people; baptizing JEWISH people, not Gentile converts to the Jewish faith.  This is important because a baptism signifies a breaking away from one thing and instead embracing another.  This is why the delegation sent by the Pharisees wanted to know why John was telling them to separate themselves and what he was telling them to separate from.

The answer seems obvious to me, but this delegation didn’t get it.  The regular Jewish person was hungry for something other than prescribed ritualistic custom.  I mean, think about this: isn’t it a bit odd that a great crowd of Jews would come to John the Baptist, of all people, and confess their sins.  It’s odd because there was already a procedure in place to have their sins forgiven.  That is what the sacrificial system was supposed to accomplish.  When someone sinned or became ceremonially unclean, they would follow a prescribed procedure to have the sin forgiven or to restore their holiness.  Why then would many of these people come to John, confess their sin, and then separate themselves from this God-ordained system?

I think it’s because people are people, no matter what period in history they might live.  People want to be held.  People want to be loved.  People want the warmth of friendship.  People want someone, not rituals and religion.  They want someone to look them in the eye and say, “I love you.”  Listen to these words.  “Among you stands One whom you do not know” (John 1:26b).  John says that in His love and mercy, God became one of us so that instead of witnessing a pillar of fire or a great cloud of smoke, the people could draw near.  They could touch God and God could touch them.  God did not come offering another set of rules to follow.  He came as a Man offering Himself, so that instead of religiously following rituals and customs, humanity might instead build a relationship with God through the Son, Christ Jesus.

Some people longed to touch God.  They reached for Jesus.  They held out their babies to Jesus.  They brought the sick and the lame to Jesus.  He touched them and made them whole.  God stood among them and they believed.  Others, however, would not believe.  Even when John pointed to Jesus and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”^[2] (John 1:29), some refused to recognize God in the flesh.  They would not separate themselves from their religion.  They would not enter into a relationship with Jesus.  They would not be touched by Jesus.

Like today, the people of John’s time desired a relationship with God.  They were not finding what their heart desired in some regimented, ritualistic, religious rite.  Like you and me, they sensed a distancing from God and could not find closeness through religious practices.  They, like you and me, desired a relationship, which is exactly what God gave them.

But some people still didn’t get it.  Some people were still looking for closeness and oneness and love by following a list; by being religious.

People still don’t get it.  They still don’t understand what being a Christian is about.  It’s about God drawing near to those of us who are sick and filled with sin.  It’s about Jesus reaching out to hold us when we are covered in shame.  It’s about Jesus gazing into our eyes and saying, “I love you” while hanging on the cross.  It’s about forgiving us even though we’ve denied Him over and over again.

You know the kind of emptiness I’m talking about.  It’s there when you feel like no one understands you.  It’s there when you feel alone in a crowded room.  It’s the ache in your heart that desires to be loved for who you are.  The answer to this emptiness may not be quite so obvious.  He is standing there among you.  Behold, the Lamb.  His name is Jesus.  The emptiness you feel will not be filled by attending church, by doing religious things, or by hanging around with religious people.  The emptiness will only be filled through a relationship with Jesus.

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^[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Jn 1:19–34). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

^[2] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Jn 1:29). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

Not a Religion - January 3, 2016 sermon

By Pastor Greg

A large company, feeling it was time for a shakeup, hired a new CEO.  The new boss was determined to rid the company of all slackers.  On a tour of the facilities, the CEO noticed a guy leaning on a wall.  The room was full of workers and he wanted to let them know that he meant business.  He walked up to the guy and asked, "How much money do you make a week?"  A little surprised, the young man replied, "I make $400 a week, why?”  The new CEO then handed the guy $1,600 in cash and screamed, "Here's four weeks’ pay, now GET OUT and don't come back!”  Feeling pretty good about himself, the CEO looked around the room and asked, "Does anyone want to tell me what that goof-ball did here?"  From across the room came a voice, "Pizza delivery guy”.

Yeah, I know people like that.  They act as if they know it all, but in reality seem like fools.  I’ve also met a couple religious people like this.  They want me to believe some bizarre things about Jesus.  Claiming enlightened knowledge, they teach that Jesus was merely a good prophet or a godly man, and He taught us how to find our way to God.  Some religious groups say that any individual who seriously believes they are a Christian and who follows the teachings of Jesus as they interpret them, is a Child of God.[1]  Yes, you heard me right.  There are those who will tell you that you are a Christian as long as you “believe” you are.  You control your destiny.  You decide if you are saved or not.  The power to have eternal life is found within ourselves.  Do they really know how foolish they sound?

John the Apostle had to deal with this.  As the last living Apostle who actually walked with Jesus, John had to listen to a whole lot of crazy ideas about Jesus and eternal life.  This is why he took the time near the end of his life to set things straight.  (Read John 1:1-18)

The only begotten God.  This is how John described Jesus: the only One who is the same kind as God.  To know Jesus is to know God.  According to John, it was no mere man who walked this earth 2,000 years ago.  The earth felt the footsteps of its creator, and it trembled beneath His feet.  “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”^[2] (Mark 4:41).  He may have been similar to us physically, but His mind and His soul were nothing like ours.  When He spoke, the people were amazed (Matthew 7:28) – showing the mind of God.  When He healed, the people exclaimed, “We’ve never seen anything like this before!” (Mark 2:12) – showing the Spirit’s power.  John insists that Jesus is literally God (verse 18).  When Jesus walked the earth, He was present in the Father’s bosom and on earth at the same time.  What John wrote about is something known as the Trinity; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit.

          I know the idea of the Trinity can be quite confusing, but think of it this way: God the Father demonstrates personality, wisdom and knowledge, the Spirit displays power and ability, and the Son displays the physical attributes of Love, Mercy, and Sacrifice.  The Three are One, it’s just that they function in different ways.  And don’t forget that you and I are a trinity as well.  We have Body, Mind, and Soul.  The Greg you see is only part of who I am as an individual.  You see the physical (body), you experience the personality (mind), and you sense the spiritual (soul).  These three are all who I am as an individual.  The difference between God and me is that I am not powerful enough to reveal them to the world individually.  So the idea of God being a Trinity is not as far-fetched as we might believe.  We have been made in His image and in His likeness (Genesis 1:26).

The question is, why did John insist we know this?  Why is it important we understand the Trinity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit?  Why do you and I need to believe that Jesus was with God even before the beginning?  Does it really matter if we believe Jesus and the Father are One?  Isn’t God simply looking for people who love Him, love others, and follow the teachings of Jesus?  According to John, becoming a Child of God hinges on our acceptance of Jesus as God.

John says that in THIS Jesus a person will find light and life (verse 4).  If a person wants to move out of the darkness and find eternal life, then they must accept the help of THIS Jesus, not some watered down spiritual man who taught us how to find God.  John puts Jesus back where He belongs – as the only way to the Father.  Of course, that’s not a popular thought.  It isn’t now and it wasn’t back then.  Even then, “The world did not recognize Him, and even His own people rejected Him” (verses 10-11).  Because of this, they did not become Children of God.  In other words, those who saw Jesus as simply a religious man or a wonderful prophet did not inherit eternal life.  Those who denied that Jesus is fully God (did not recognize Him) were still living in darkness.

This false teaching about Jesus was just beginning to take root during John’s lifetime. People who did not recognize Jesus as God started teaching all sorts of crazy ideas.  They claimed there were actually two gods, one evil that created all physical things, and one good who created all spiritual things.  In this universe, there was a battle between the physical and the spiritual, between good and evil; a battle between light and dark.  The dark side lured people to give in to physical passions and pleasure while the light side would help a person become “one” with the “good god”.  Is any of this starting to sound familiar?  In New Testament times, this was known as Gnosticism.  Today it is known as Secular Humanism – where we determine our own destiny.  We’ve been fed a lie that says we possess the ability to overcome evil.  This false teaching is the topic of many books and movies.  There is always a dark villain, a force of evil, and the hero always looks deep within themselves to be an opposite force of good.  Society says they would not be much of a hero if God had to fight this battle for them.  But John says we cannot move from darkness to light through our own effort and desire; only through God (verse 13).

Today, people teach that as long as we love God and follow His commands, it doesn’t matter how we live or what sin we commit.  Jesus was simply a messenger of peace and love.[3]  We love Him and He loves us, and we try our best to follow the teachings of Jesus, and that’s good enough.  Sadly, it’s not enough.  A person cannot be reborn by creating their own ideas and following their own wisdom.  A person cannot become a Child of God by following his or her own religion.  By doing this, they indicate that they don’t need Jesus to overcome evil, they don’t need Jesus in order to become a Child of God, and they don’t need Jesus to have a relationship with God.  However, John insists that in order for humanity to find a relationship with God, they must recognize Jesus.  They must accept Him as God in the flesh (see verse 13).  God the Father sent God the Son so that all who believe might become Children of God.

Do you want to know why it’s dangerous to not recognize Jesus as God?  Its dangerous because if Jesus is not God, just a good man, then a person’s only hope is in their religion.  They must look within themselves to find the power to overcome the darkness and strive to earn eternal life.  However, we will not move from darkness into light on our own.  We will not become a Child of God through personal effort nor by following religious practices and beliefs.  The only way you and I might be saved is by establishing a relationship with God the Father through God the Son.  There is no other way.

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[1] Read some of the wild essays at http://www.religioustolerance.org/vis_essay.htm

^[2] Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed.) (Mk 4:41). Carol Stream, IL.

[3] http://progressivechristianity.org/the-8-points/

Prepared for God’s Call - November 1, 2015 sermon

By Pastor Greg

          Centuries ago, the King of Bavaria grew weary of court life.  He had grown so tired of all the politics and lies and bureaucracy that he was willing to even join a monastery, no matter how strict or demanding it might be.  So he approached the Prior at the local monastery and said "I'm tired of being a king. I want to become a Monk".  The head Monk gave the king all the strict rules he would have to follow in order to join the order, yet the king still agreed.  But before the king was allowed to join, the Prior insisted that the king agree to be obedient, not just to the rules of the monastery but to any command or directive the Prior may give.  Still the King agreed.  He would follow whatever the Prior might command.  What’s interesting is that history books record that Prior Richard told King Henry to "go back to your throne and do your duty in the station God has assigned you".  And King Henry II did just that.  But this time, out of obedience to God, he ruled as one of Europe's most godly kings; becoming a Saint in the Catholic Church in 1146 BC.

          Apparently King Henry had no idea that it just might be God’s will for him to stay a king, especially during such troubling times.  And yet by being a king submitted to God, Henry was able to impact countless lives in the name of God.

          Discerning God's will for our lives can be a tricky thing.  Just like King Henry, God might want us to stay right where we are and allow the Father to work through us in that place.  Other times we might be facing a difficult situation or perhaps feel stuck in a job that doesn't seem to make sense.  We feel trapped; outside of God’s will.  But for those who are willing to be obedient to God, that situation we are dealing with, or the place we feel stuck might be God's way of preparing us for the day He does call.  I know this seems a bit far-fetched, but it is the truth.  What we are dealing with today could be God’s way of preparing us for something tomorrow. This is exactly what happened to a man named Nehemiah.

          Nehemiah lived around 444 BC.  He was a Jew living in Persia (Modern - day southern Iran).  He ended up in Persia because of the Babylonian captivity of 597 BC.  And although the Jews were freed when the Persian Empire defeated Babylon, not all Jews traveled back to Jerusalem.  Some stayed behind for various reasons that we will never know.  Like Esther and Mordeci, Nehemiah's family chose to stay in Persia.  But even though Nehemiah would have been born a Jew living in Persia, he still called Jerusalem home.  Oh, he had a job and a place to live in Persia.  He was wealthy and had servants.  He had a life.  But it's apparent from his reaction to some devastating news that in his heart he was still a Jew (read Nehemiah 1:1-11).

          The problem facing the Jews back in Jerusalem was that Gentiles and Samaritans living near the city were making things difficult.  They discouraged the Jewish people.  They turned the Persian Kings against the Jews. “Then the local residents tried to discourage and frighten the people of Judah to keep them from their work. They bribed agents to work against them and to frustrate their plans. This went on during the entire reign of King Cyrus of Persia and lasted until King Darius of Persia took the throne.  Years later when Xerxes began his reign, the enemies of Judah wrote a letter of accusation against the people of Judah and Jerusalem. Even later, during the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, the enemies of Judah, led by Bishlam, Mithredath, and Tabeel, sent a letter to Artaxerxes in the Aramaic language, and it was translated for the king”. ^[1] (Ezra 4:4-7). What Judah needed was someone who could speak to the king and tell him the truth.  They needed an inside man; someone the king trusted and respected.  And that man was Nehemiah.

          As Cupbearer to the king, Nehemiah would have been someone trustworthy; someone educated and with a good reputation.  As Cupbearer he would have been responsible for tasting the wine before serving it to the king to be sure it was not poisoned.  So Nehemiah had frequent access to the king.  Perhaps he was even aware of the letters written by the enemies of Judah (Ezra 4:7).

          What stands out in all of this is that Nehemiah didn’t simply shrug off the news he received about Jerusalem.  He didn’t simply pray that God would step in and help in some way.  In Nehemiah’s prayer I hear a man who began to realize that God had been preparing him all along for this special task.  Nehemiah was in the palace, close to the king, was able to watch and learn for one specific reason; God was preparing him to be the one who would step in and intercede for the people.  And Nehemiah knew that God was calling him to a whole different type of service.  He knew this because his heart began to break.  It wasn’t that someone should do something.  It was that Nehemiah needed to do something.  And he spent four months making prayerful preparations.        

          I suspect some of you wonder about your own life.  Why has God asked you to endure something?  Perhaps you feel lost or trapped in a meaningless situation or a pointless job.  Perhaps you feel that what is happening in your life right now is completely outside of God’s will.  And yet I wonder if what you might be facing today is God’s way of preparing you for His calling tomorrow.  I’m not sure, but it’s possible Nehemiah felt this way.  In the grand scheme of heaven, what difference was he making by testing the wine for the King of Persia?  And yet God had placed him there for one specific reason; that he may gain the kings trust and the kings blessing to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. 

          I suspect there are some of you who, like Nehemiah, are struggling with getting involved.  He is breaking your heart.  He has shown you something that needs to be done.  He has called you to service, only, something is holding you back.  Nehemiah heard the news, and his heart began to break.  He had to do something.  He had to get involved.  But still he spent four months praying before he approached the king.  Nehemiah knew that to move forward with this, he had to take a risk and make a change in his life in order to be obedient to God’s calling.  So let me encourage you that timing is just as important as calling.  Just make sure that when God says “Go” you are ready to be obedient.

          Like Nehemiah we all live in unique situations that at times seem far removed from God’s will.  What we do or what we are experiencing seems insignificant in the Kingdom of God.  But it has been my observation that often what we experience today is preparation for God’s call tomorrow.  And it is the obedient disciple who is ready to use that experience for the glory of God.  Will you will be obedient to His calling when it comes? 

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^[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed.) (Ezr 4:4–7). Carol Stream, IL