Ezra 7; Nehemiah 1–2, 4, 6–8; Malachi 1–4:  Positive Steps in Negative Times  ebc 4 26 09

In the countryside near Leicester, England, there stands an ancient church whose walls are inscribed with an eloquent memorial. The inscription recalls the life of a man who made the laying of that church's enduring stones possible long ago, and it reads as follows:  * “In the year 1653, when all things sacred were throughout ye nation either demolished or profaned, Sir Robert Baronet, did found this church: Whose singular praise it is to have done the best of things in the worst of times, and hoped them in the most calamitous.”

I don't know about you, but it strikes me that we too are now living in calamitous times. Unless you've got a much wiser investment advisor than I have, you're seeing your assets demolished:  own down 1/3. You've watched too many of the business, political, and even religious institutions of our day profaned by greed and arrogance. You're aware that an increasing number of people are losing their jobs, their homes, even their hope. If it isn't the worst of times, it sometimes seems to be heading that way.

So, what does it look like to be a people who do the best of things in such a time as this?

We can learn from how the Israelites faced a calamitous time:  To get at an answer to that question, we go back to a time in history when another people group was facing difficult days. You may recall that when Cyrus the Great overthrew the Babylonian Empire in 539BC, he and subsequent kings of the new Medo-Persian dynasty released the Jewish people from their 50-year exile in Babylon. In a succession of waves, the Hebrews now return to Palestine, only to find their beloved country in ruins. The physical infrastructure walls/sts had crumbled. The economy is withered. The religious life is dead.

The first returnees, led by Zerubbabel, languish at first but finally jump-start a recovery by rebuilding the temple and the religious rhythms of the nation. The prophets Zechariah and Haggai help fuel a spiritual revival, and the temple is completed in 515. In 458BC, another group of Jews also return to Palestine under the leadership of the priest Ezra. By now, the Jews have intermarried with pagan peoples and lost their spiritual center again. Ezra leads another revival and gets the recovery back on track, but it soon stalls again.  Ezra read the Law to the people. Bible is a key to revival.

Finally, in 444, the Persian king's Jewish chief-of-staff, Nehemiah, becomes aware that his homeland is still in dire straits. Nehemiah leads a massive task force from the Persian capitol city, Susa, 900 miles back to Jerusalem. He finds the once-renowned capitol of David and Solomon looking like the Gaza Strip does today and under assault from a variety of marauding tribes and exploiting overlords. In the space of just under two months, however, Nehemiah manages to lead the people in the rebuilding of the walls and gates of Jerusalem to their former strength. In the process, he sets up an administrative structure among the people that will eventually lead to the restoration of the political and economic vitality of Israel. And, with Ezra's help, Nehemiah restarts the worship life of Israel.

If you've read the storyline, you know the prophet Malachi also helps to accent the spiritual values that must be at the heart of the nation. And for a season, Israel recovers some of its ancient luster again.

To put it another way:   “In the year 444BC, when all things sacred were throughout ye nation either demolished or profaned, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Malachi did re-found Jerusalem: Whose singular praise it is to have done the best of things in the worst of times, and hoped them in the most calamitous.”

Am I the only one who hopes that our government is familiar with this part of the Bible? That, however, is not where I started today, nor where I hope to finish. Governmental action is surely needed to address the issues of today, but so is a response at the grassroots level. So let me come back to that question I posed at the start: * What would it look like for Christians to do the best of things in the worst of times? You'll come up w ideas if you read our texts. Let me lift up just a few for our consideration.

* Ask each other serious questions and tell the truth.   
It is fascinating to me that the recovery of Israel begins with a conversation between a small group of people/ Lifegroup.
Nehemiah 1 opens up with an encounter between Nehemiah, his brother Hanani (Nehemiah's sibling or simply a Jewish kinsman?), and "some other men." What I want you to note is how the conversation goes. These men could have chewed the fat about the sports scores in Susa, but instead Nehemiah asks pointed questions. He says in effect: "How is it really going with the family? What's really going on in the world from which you've just come?" And these men open up and tell the truth. "It's going terribly," they say. "We're in great trouble. It's all falling apart for us." Nehemiah, the Bible says, "sat down and wept."  You see here is passion for his people and for God’s work in them.

One of the best things we can do for one another in the midst of these calamitous times is to ask each other serious questions: "How is it really going?" And if someone asks us such a thing, tell the truth:  One Sunday, a few years ago, I was going through a hard time.  I was struggling with many different issues related to our ministry and our capital plans.  When it came time to preach that Sunday, I was so troubled, I wasn’t sure if I could speak but I plowed through but at the end of the sermon, I felt God say, “Just tell him what’s on your heart.”  And I came down off the podium and shared.  My fear was that we would get so absorbed in capital issues that we’d let our ministry suffer, that we needed a spiritual revival to go side by side with our building plans.  When I was done, I knelt down to pray, not knowing what to expect.  Some of you may remember what happened:  the front was full with people, joining me in prayer, asking God to help us.  I was overwhelmed.  By your prayers you identified deeply with the inner conflict and weariness I was feeling. Key: I shared my heart, you responded with concern & grace.   The issue that bothered me then is still an issue today so we must continue to ask each other:  are we growing spiritually as individuals and as a church?  & how can we be good stewards of this facility …fixing what we can & making the changes needed to make this facility honoring to God.

* We have to be willing to get past the cliché, “How are you doing” and after the obligatory “Fine or Great” repeat the question again with a sincere, serious look, “No, really, how are you doing?”  Now I’m often a more private person and I don’t always like it when people press me for my real feelings… wife/ you can be pretty annoying if you always do this….  But I don’t think we move past the cliché enough:  For Emmanuel to grow we are going to have to make a point to move past the cliché to real concern:  LIFE vision: the F is fellowship groups. 

An elderly Floridian called 911 on her cell phone to report that her car had been broken into.   She was hysterical as she explained her situation to the dispatcher.  “They’ve stolen the stereo, the steering wheel, the brake pedal and even the accelerator!”  she cried.   The dispatcher said:  “Stay calm.  An officer is on the way.”  A few minutes later, the officer radios in.    “Disregard,”  he says.  “She got in the backseat by mistake.” Sometimes the key to clear thinking is simply to take a good look at where you are; need others to help us because often we have blind spots.  Like when you’ve been on the road traveling for hours and you stop at a Rest Stop.  They all have a large map on the wall, an arrow and the words, YOU ARE HERE.   That map and those words help the weary traveler to take stock of his situation and make plans for the rest of his trip.   We need others to ask us:  where are you right now?

How are you doing? Really?
What if the Christian community became the safest place on earth to tell the truth about how these calamitous times are affecting us all? What if the church became the greatest place in America to find people who will stand with us in the midst of the messiness, even if they can't clean it up for us? I think it might be one of the best of things to do.   At the beginning of Virginia’s funeral, I realized that there was no family to offer sympathy to… she was it and then it hit me:  we were Virginia’s family and that’s why she loved this church so much.  Imagine if we all thought of Emmanuel as family like Virginia did.

* Nehemiah prayed constantly and fasted to better know God’s will.
N prayed:  Knee- miah.  Two things mark N.’ prayer:  the character of God and confession of sin.  From N’s prayer we learn that God is awesome, loving, a God who keeps his promises.  N. confessed both his sin and the sins of his people- humility.  Prayed Scripture referring to God’s dealings with Moses.  He prayed constantly:  6-day and night.  Before he addressed King Artaxerxers, he prayed in 2:4.  Prayed specifically: grant me success in my request.  Acknowledges God’s answers 2:8:  “”Because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests.”  Swindoll:  “Prayer made N wait:  to stop, reflect and release it to God.  Prayer cleared N vision:  he began to see with God’s eyes.  Prayer quieted N’s heart:  transformed his worry into hope.  Prayer activated N.’s faith:  he was ready to move out.   Passionate people are people committed to prayer.  Prayer precedes passion for God. Jesus.

Here's another idea from the storyline. Time and again, the response of Nehemiah to the needs he becomes aware of is to pray, and sometimes even to fast, before God, beseeching the "great and awesome God … of love" to supply the needs of his servants. This pattern is all over the life and ministry of Ezra, too. I think it is fair to say that the Bible suggests the reason God moved so powerfully with grace during this season of Israel's life is because his people rediscovered the power of prayer. What if every time we heard another dire report in our country or of a distressing situation of someone in our church or community , our response was to send an arrow prayer to heaven: "Lord, help them.  Meet their needs.  Give them hope and wisdom and courage to seek You and do the right thing."  

What if everyone in this room and radio, committed to skipping one meal in May, to pray during the meal, and then give the money saved ($5-10?) to a charity or church that is making a difference in people's lives.  Or take that money you saved from the skipped meal and take a struggling neighbor or friend out to eat? 

Let God bring someone to mind during the skipped meal who needs a friend, then call them up?
“When I fast, the brief hunger pain, helps me to remember to pray and try to help those in need.”

Bev Walkup and Mary Ann Dutton are seeking to make pray more central to our church life.

* N. confessed his part in causing the problem.  
The truth is that part of the reason we are in this economic mess today is because a lot of us are not able to deny ourselves much of anything. It wasn't just those guys on Wall Street or in Washington or over there in Jerusalem that got America into trouble. We spent or took more than we needed. We let our greed and pride run away with us, and it is important that we confess that. Why is Nehemiah able to lead the recovery of his people? I think it is partly because he is realistic about the sin in himself that has contributed to the breakdown of his nation. If we in the Christian community could do that, if we could model that kind of realism and repentance, instead of blaming others (as is so common), we would be doing one of the best of things in the worst of times.  I see it in others because I see it in me…

I’m a news addict: I flip from CNN to Fox.  What do you hear: Both sides blaming the other. People are always blaming others for the problem instead of owning it and seeking to help make it better.

*  Nehemiah helped people find, develop and use their gifts to serve others.  LIFE:  The E stands for Everyone involved in ministry.
One of the other striking things that Nehemiah did in his nation's time of crisis was to call upon people to use their gifts in service to the recovery effort. In Nehemiah 2, we read how N asked King Artaxerxes to help him network with others who might be able to help. When he got to Jerusalem, Nehemiah pulled people together in groups, encouraging them to each use their gifts to support one another in the rebuilding effort. What if we did that? Some of us are like Artaxerxes or Asaph. We could perhaps help someone network to find a job, or even offer a job to a church member who needed it. We have the ability to give to the Benevolence Fund the church uses to help someone cover a crisis bill. Others of us don't have that particular capacity, but we have practical skills that could help someone fix something in their home, or make sense of their finances, or solve a legal matter, or even cover the kids for a few hours so a mom or a couple who doesn't have the money can get some precious time/ space together. One of the best things we might do in the days ahead is come up with a way that our church can connect our gifts with the needs all around us.

There's a story of a horse pulling contest that you often see at county fairs… The winning horse pulled 4500 lbs.  Second place: 4000 llbs.  Someone asked the question:  How much could they pull together?  The two horses yoked together pulled an additional 3500 lbs.  Power of teamwork, synergy and cooperation. 

LIFE: the E is Everyone involved in ministry.  Idea: there’s power when we pull together. Do what we can do.  God  doesn’t ask us to do the impossible.  He asks us to do what can.  Some of us struggle because we think we need to be really good at something to be used by God.  Remember the boy with the bag lunch who gave it to Jesus and Jesus took it and used to feed the 5000.  That’s it:  Anything we give to God no matter how small, God will take and multiple it’s impact beyond all we could ask or imagine.  Remember the widow who put some pennies while the rich put in bags of gold?  She gave more

My problem is delegation: I have 100s of ideas but they remain ideas unless we partner together.

Rich Warren Revivals are often birthed out of recessions, out of tough times. Three things go up in recessions: church attendance, bar attendance, and movie attendance. Why? They represent the three things people are looking for: meaning, connection, and relief or escape. Through worship/ SS classes & Lifegroups we can provide that meaning, connection, and relief as people are asking:  “How do I survive when everything is falling apart?”  "How should I be managing my money in these tough times?"

God can use anyone.  Even people who don’t look like they have talent can surprise us:  * Susan Boyle from England.

Banner:  let everything that has breath praise the Lord… we praise God best as we learn to serve others.

Notice N’s willingness to leave a comfortable job as the King’s Cupbearer to lead a high risk project in a worn torn country:  servant, willing to do whatever needs to be done.  N.  leaves the luxury of the King’s court for a dirty, dusty construction site bc of his passion of God.  Moved out of comfort zone

Notice N’s perseverance despite persecution:  N. stayed focused despite threats.  In 2:19f Sanballet, Tobiah, Geshem mocked,  ridiculed N and the people.  N and the people go forward.  Passionate people plow forward even when others attempt to cut them down as N responded, “The God of heaven will give us success.  We are his servants and we will rebuild the walls.” N. accomplished the entire re-building in 52 days: he led the people to build a wall 10 feet high and 10 feet wide and almost 2 miles long.   N6:16:  nations were afraid and everyone knew the work had been completed with the help of our God.

Conclusion:  These are just some of the spiritual stones God invites us to lay down and mortar with faith in the midst of these calamitous times.    May it be said that:   * In the year 2009, when all things sacred were throughout ye nation either demolished or profaned, the people of Emmanuel did the best of things in the worst of times, and hoped them in the most calamitous.