A Christmas Reflection - The Relevance of Nehemiah

 

A Christmas Reflection I pray that you will have a very blessed Christmas.  As I have indicated in other recent mailings, this year Christmas is very different as every available minute needs to be spent in preparing for my move to a new home.  Since I also work from home, the office will move with me, and this doubles the task.  So getting and sending cards and presents has had to be set aside. At our recent staff prayer retreat, Bruce Johnson, our team chaplain, led the devotions on the story of Nehemiah.  I have preached and written about Nehemiah many times, but it was good to be reminded and reflect.  But my move has brought many aspects of the story into sharp focus. Assessing what needs to be done and getting help On arrival at Jerusalem, Nehemiah took time to asses what was needed if the walls of Jerusalem were to be restored.  There was no way the task would be accomplished without the aid of many others.  As I have prepared to move I have had to de-clutter my home.  Why did I hang on to so much!  The office records for four Christian charities alone has filled many sacks of confidential waste.  Then there are many more sacks and boxes of recycling.  I would not and will not succeed without the help of others. Many village churches are no longer what they once were, just as the walls of Jerusalem were not what they once were. You will not be able to complete the task without others.  Can you encourage others in your church to share the vision for what it could be, and motivate them to share with you in the tsk? The importance of prayer Before Nehemiah set off for Jerusalem he spent around six months of prayer, and some times in fasting.  The rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, was about restoring the honour of God and of his people.  The problem is that when there is so much to be done, prayer can be set aside if we are not careful.  Nehemiah is a great example of the importance and place of prayer.  It would be easy for me to neglect prayer because of the size of the task I am undertaking, but to do so would be foolish.  How does prayer figure in your life and the life of your church? Stay focused One of the aspects people notice in reading the first eight chapters of Nehemiah is the opposition that sought to distract him from the task.  They used all kinds of means: threats, sarcasm, criticism, slander and enticement to compromise.  Nut Nehemiah refused to be distracted.  I am conscious that preparing to move requires my full attention.  There are many other important demands on my time, but the task will not be completed without focus.  How do you and your church set priorities each year?  Has it ever done so? Clearing the decks At one stage in Nehemiah's task, people tell him that the remains of the old wall are getting in the way.  Wow!  That certainly speaks into my life right now. Mountains of paperwork, old files, set of accounts, sermon and Bible study notes, and more, take up much space.  Before I can be ready to move and open the new office all this has to go.  Is there anything from the past cluttering up your life or the life of your church.  Annual 'spring clean' and clear out would have helped me.  In your church do the way things have always been done in the past prevent a refreshed vision for today and tomorrow?  Do the ashes from past revival fires stifle the air needed to get fresh revival fires burning? The need for social righteousness There is one slightly odd incident in the account of the building of the walls of Jerusalem.  Nehemiah hears of social injustice.  There are many struggling to survive and getting deeper into debt because of the selfishness of others.  Nehemiah stops the harmful practices of others, but he goes further.  He uses his own personal resources to meet the needs of the poor. I find myself wondering how many good Christian organisations struggle to survive because Christians are blinkered or simply ignoring requests for help.  Early in 2022, one church wrote saying they were reviewing their stewardship and wanted to help smaller mission organisations.  I could have cried with joy and relief.  Do you tithe?  Does your church tithe its income? Once my move has been completed and my financial circumstances have changed I will need to review how I use the resources that God gives. It is interesting that the account of Nehemiah and the book of Acts both record a moment when a review of stewardship of finances was needed.  Nothing we have is really our own; we are only holding it for God and for what he desires.  Now would be a good time to ensure that we are acting as God would want with the resources that God has given. Job Done! Nehemiah and his willing volunteers completed the task in a very short time because he went about it in the right way.  It's a lesson to us all. Barry Osborne - 18th December 2022

Is faithfulness enough?

I have far too often heard Christians say, “God does not ask us to be successful; he only asks us to be faithful”.  I must admit that I groan inwardly when I hear this, because it demonstrates a serious lack of understanding regarding our service for God.  However, the topic deserves more consideration.

It is probable that the passage of scripture from which the idea arises is 1 Corinthians 4:2.

“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” (NIVUK)

But the context for this verse is about the effectiveness of Paul’s, Peter’s, and Apollos’ ministries. To be ‘proved faithful’ is all about outcomes or results.  But almost always when I have heard this verse quoted, it has been as a comfort blanket or an excuse for failure.  If you employed a plumber to fix a leaking pipe in your house, and the only thing he did was look at it, rattle his tools, but leave you with a leaking pipe, would that be acceptable?  He could claim that he faithfully turned up, and that he carefully assessed what needed to be done, and the tools it would require.  But you had put your trust in him to fix the leak, and he had let you down.

It is precisely the same when it comes to the trust that God shows in us.  He entrusts to us the gospel message which is the power of God unto salvation to all who believe.  While we cannot be held responsible for how people might respond to that message, we are held accountable for sharing the message.  It is only as we share the message that we show ourselves to have been worthy of the trust God has placed in us.  The same principle is true for all aspects of ministry to which God has called us.

So, it could be true to say, “God has not called us to be fruitful; he has called us to be faithful”.  But even that requires more careful thought.  Certainly, there are instances within scripture where God requires a prophetic message to be declared, even though he knows they will not respond appropriately (See Jeremiah 7:27 and 1Corinthians 14: 21).  But we should never allow our expectations about how someone might respond to prevent us from doing what God has asked us to do or saying what he has asked us to say.  That would be unfaithfulness.  We would be like Jonah who fled to Tarshish rather than go to Nineveh, or Moses seeking to excuse himself from confronting Pharaoh or Ananias hesitant about going to the newly converted Saul.

To be faithful, then, requires whole-hearted obedience.  This is well illustrated in the Parable of the Minas which Jesus told (see Luke 19:11-27).  But we need to take this a little further.  If we whole-heartedly wish to obey, we would also want to do our very best to succeed. Before I began in Christian ministry I was a member of a school philosophical society in which I had to learn the skills required to debate effectively.  Then, as I trained for Christian ministry I studied homiletics (the science of which preaching is the art), so that my sermons were well constructed and clear.  In both situations I wanted to be as effective as possible, even though I recognised that eloquence was no guarantee of success. 

It is a few weeks since my last e-letter and blog.  During this time, I have been preoccupied with other responsibilities.  Throughout this time, what I have written above has been on my mind.  I wanted to make clear that being faithful requires diligence and should never be used as an excuse for ineffectiveness.  During this time, I spoke on Nehemiah chapter 1 at a village church in Northamptonshire.  We reflected on the fact that a man who apparently had no suitable qualifications, motivated others and together with them got the wall of Jerusalem rebuilt and the gates re-hung in just 52 days.  That was effective faithfulness!  As we related this account to the state of God’s kingdom in the rural areas, I asked four questions.

1.       Are we spiritually and emotionally moved as Nehemiah was?  It was not just the state of the walls of Jerusalem that moved Nehemiah, but the recognition that the cause of this was unfaithfulness.

2.      Do we have a vision of what could be?  Are we overwhelmed by what is, or inspired by what could be?

3.      Do we have a sensible plan to turn the vision into reality?  The work would not have been completed without resources and organisation.

4.      Does prayer permeate the process?  “It is not by might nor power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord” (Zechariah 4:6)

There were many dangers and difficulties throughout those 52 days.  Faithfulness – of which Nehemiah is a significant example - called for courage and stickability.

Barry - 20th February 2018

It takes More than Vision

When prayerfully pondering what I should speak about this coming Sunday at Melton Mowbray, I found my thought turning to the record of the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem under the leadership of Nehemiah.  This is a favourite part of scripture.  I have preached and taught from it often.  One thing that leaps out from reading the early chapters of this book, is that it is impossible to separate the personality of Nehemiah from what was achieved.  For that reason, it provides an excellent study for understanding the nature of good Christian leadership.

The story begins with Nehemiah receiving visiting relatives from whom he asks news about Jerusalem.  By now, Jerusalem had been conquered by the Babylonian some 140 years previously.  While Nehemiah was physically 750 miles (1200km) from what used to be the spiritual centre of his home country, it remained close to his heart. Nehemiah enquires about those that had survived the exile imposed by the Babylonians and were living back in Jerusalem.  He learns that things are in a bad way, the people are in great trouble and disgrace and the city walls are broken down and the gates burned (Nehemiah 1:3)

Nehemiah seems to be shocked by the news.  He sits down and weeps.  This is followed by a several days of mourning, fasting, praying and repenting. By the end of the first chapter, it seems that Nehemiah had a plan.  We might say that he had a vision for turning the situation around.  Within just a few months later, this seemingly unlikely person had turned the vision into reality, taking only 52 days to complete the work of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and setting up new gates.

When I started my ministry in rural mission, the concept of vision was given great weight. The words of Proverbs 29:18 were often quoted: “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (though the precise meaning of the Hebrew was not exactly how it was used).  But vision is vital in Christian ministry.  Nehemiah could imagine what the physical and psychological state of Jerusalem was, but his vision was for restoration.  For those of us who committed our lives to the task of rural evangelism in the 1960s, we found ourselves working with those who could genuinely remember better days, when churches were spiritually alive and conversions common.  But already, churches were being closed and sold as congregations shrank. That marked decline continued through the twentieth century at an alarming pace.

A vision of restoration has remained a motivating factor in my life and ministry.  From time to time I have seen the tide of decline pushed back, but there is much more yet to be done.  Almost all reading this will worship in churches that have seen better days.  Have you a vision for the rot to be stopped?  But the restoration at Jerusalem took more than vision.  For what was dreamed to become reality called for more, and I can list them using the preachers’ favoured letter “P”.

Penitence

In chapter one, as Nehemiah reflects on all that has led the people of God into such a sorry state he confesses the sin that was at the heart of it.  Even though Nehemiah was not alive during the apostacy and final overthrow of the nation, he identifies himself with that failure.  “I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you…..” (Neh 1:6).  For our vision to become a reality, perhaps we also need to repent of the failure that has led to our present condition.  Nehemiah wept.

Prayer

The journey not only starts in prayer, but as difficulties and opposition is confronted, prayer permeates the story.  The words of 2 Chronicles 7:14 come to mind. “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”.   Prayer is much more than uttering words; it is an exercise of heart that requires passion.  The local revival experiences in which I shared in Devon were born out of times of agonizing prayer by godly men and women, for God to do again, what had been experienced in the past.  Paul describes Epaphras as “Always wrestling in prayer” for his church (Colossians 4:12).  Do we pray?  Do we pray enough?  Do we pray earnestly?

Physical Commitment

Nehemiah did not pray and then sit back and expect God to drop the solution to the problem from heave.  No!  He petitioned the king to allow him to go and DO something about it.  Our churches have many people who would love it if God answered their prayers and longing and suddenly sent people into our churches in droves.  But it will not happen like that.  Probably, the walls would never have been built if Nehemiah had stayed in Susa in his cosy job.  In these days, I find myself moved by the Spirit to ask again, and again, “Jesus wants to know how you are getting on with the task he set you?” Is the parable of the feast relevant for you? See Luke 14: 16-24.  A feast has been prepared by God.  What have we been doing to fill the places?  Do we need some physical action?

Planning

The book of Nehemiah is full of excellent examples of the importance of planning and strategic action.  All too often I hear resistant Christians describing such things as “worldly” and inappropriate to the Christian context.  But God calls on us to understand the times in which we are living, to be wise in what we do and how we do it.  Instead of shutting ourselves in with our inherited way of being church and engaging in mission, we need creative thinking that will catch the imagination of the men, women and children of our age.  Look at the way we do things and see how anachronistic so much of it is.  Language, style and method are not prescribed in scripture.  Do you know where it says, “We must sit in rows on pews and listen to one-way ministry”?  God has put within us the ability to be creative, to experiment and change.  Let’s learn how to be relevant and effective with what God has entrusted to us to bring blessing to others.

Persistence

Nehemiah had to cope with opposition from the moment he returned to Judea.  That got steadily and increasingly intense.  In addition, there were issues of tiredness, fear, discouragement, and gross injustice to which he had to respond.  CT Studd, a great missionary and mission motivator from the past, used to speak about chocolate soldiers that melted at the first sight of difficulty.  My friends, God has not called us to an easy life. Throughout the centuries since God stepped into our world in the person of the Son, Christians have had to lay down their lives for the sake of the gospel.  Even today, in some parts of the world, the cost is great. For far too many in the UK, the cost of being a Christian is £5 per week in an offertory plate.  God is asking for more, and it will take grit if we are to see our nation re-evangelised.  In the news today, it was announced that Eliud Kipchoge has run a marathon in seconds over two hours.  That is fast; but it is more about endurance.  That is like running a four-minute mile, twenty-six times back to back!

Penitence, prayer, physical involvement, planning, and persistence!  It takes more than vision – but perhaps it has to start with one.  Robert Kennedy, indeed all three of the Kennedy brothers, paraphrased a line from George Bernard Shaw.  It goes something like…

“There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why?

I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?”

“Without a vision (and more)…….”

From the Diary

Sunday 7^th – Welby Lane Mission, Melton Mowbray, Leics.

Monday 8^th – Outreach Planning Meeting, Market Harborough

Tuesday 9^th – HMP Gartree (please pray for the Chaplaincy team)

Thursday 11^th – Prayer Walk in the village of Husbands Bosworth, Leics.

Monday 15^th – Rural Mission Solutions Trustees Meeting, London

Wednesday 17^th – Teaching on Salvation Army Safeguarding programme at Malvern

Saturday 20^th – Sharing leading a webinar full of ideas for mission activities through the summer months, ideal for rural and small churches.  Please bring blessing to your church and community by attending this seminar you can enjoy from your home.  All you need is an internet connection with sound enabled. Advance Reservation is essential.  To find out more and to book your place, click here and visit our website.

Thank you for your prayers and all the ways in which you share with us in the work to which God has called us.

Yours sincerely in Christ,

Barry

(6th May 2017)