Bible Text: Nehemiah 1:4-11 | Pastor: Eric Danielson | Series: Restoration – Nehemiah | Do you ever feel like you’re stuck in a rut in living the Christian life? When no matter what you do or how hard you try it just seems like you can’t move forward? If you keep facing the same struggles with sin and complacency and you’re tired of the disappointment, brokenness and pain, the first chapter of Nehemiah may help.

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A Decisive Shift
Nehemiah 1:4-11

Last week we started digging into the idea of restoration in the Christian life and we were reminded from the book of Nehemiah that we are still in need of restoration – even after we become a Christian and get on the right track. Restoration isn’t complete when you’re better off than you used to be, it’s complete when you become what you were meant to be. That’s what God is after and for us that means becoming like Jesus in every way – inside and out.

I tried to give a vision of what that would be like at the end of my last sermon, because it’s not just about doing things the right way like Christians oftentimes think. It’s about an incredible experience of life that’s truly life with Jesus. It’s about fulfillment and joy in him and in becoming who you were meant to be. So we all have a ways to go in that and this morning I want to look at a critical shift that needs to happen in this process or you’re not going to get very far.

Some of the common things in need of restoration are the roadways we drive on. With all the brutal conditions they encounter it doesn’t take long before they wear out and need to be restored. I don’t know how often you have to drive on Keller Ave through downtown Amery, but I do quite a bit and there were a few times this winter when I wondered if I’d make it through without popping a tire or sustaining significant damage to my suspension or wheel alignment. (Picture)

According to what I read in the newspaper, it’s the County’s responsibility to maintain that road, and you may have noticed at times that attempts were made. There were several times when the potholes were filled with some kind of aggregate, and because the road was so bad it almost looked like you were driving on gravel rather than pavement.

I saw them working one of those times and they were using a patching method known as Spray Injection (Picture) in which you blow water and debris out of the pothole, spray a tack coat of binder on the sides and bottom, blow asphalt and aggregate into it, then cover the patched area with more aggregate. It’s supposed to be one of the best ways to patch potholes on a paved roadway. But even at that, it doesn’t seem to be working well at all in downtown Amery. The patch material gets broken up, potholes keep forming, and the road condition is terrible. The restoration process keeps hitting a brick wall and can’t get past it and it’s slowly getting worse than before.

The problem is they’re putting a band aid on a gaping wound. The problems with that roadway aren’t just on the surface – they’re underneath, and until the underlying problem is dealt with, the process of restoration will keep hitting a dead end.

Some of us keep hitting a dead end in the process of restoration in our lives. We want to find true joy and fulfillment in life and become what we were meant to be, but we keep getting hung up. There are times when it seems like we’re making progress, but then we get stuck or even go backwards. We try various quick fixes, thinking that going to church more will help, or listening to more sermons and Christian music. We try reading the books that people recommend and doing the devotionals and prayers that are supposed to help. And even though we might get spiritually pumped up for a little while it doesn’t last and we go back to the same struggles. We spin our wheels and get stuck in a rut, we fall back to the same old habits, unable to overcome certain temptations and sins, unable to sustain a passion for God, and try as we might, we can’t keep moving forward. Instead we experience disappointment, discouragement, brokenness or pain.

Our problem is the same as Keller Ave. – we’re trying to move forward by patching things up on the surface when the real problem lies underneath. And until we deal with that problem we’re never going to move forward in the process of restoration.

So what is the underlying issue? This is where I think the first chapter of Nehemiah will help. The people of Israel were facing the same problem. They were back in Jerusalem after many years of exile and restoration had begun for them, but they were stuck in a rut. After 90 years of being back in their homeland they were still living in brokenness and shame and unable to move forward. When Nehemiah heard the report about their condition, he was deeply troubled. He saw what the underlying problem was and because of the pain he experienced, he responded. And the way that he responded is the way that we too need to respond if we’re stuck in a rut.

So in the passage we’re going to look at today, we’re going to see the underlying problem and the way Nehemiah responded. And my hope is that if you are where Nehemiah was, and you’re sick of the way things are going in your life, that you too, by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, will be able to see the underlying issue and respond like he did. I had a Nehemiah experience in my own life that set me free to move forward in the process of restoration and I’ll share about that at the end.

Read Nehemiah 1:1-11.

The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.
Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, 2 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. 3 And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.”
4 As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 5 And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father’s house have sinned. 7 We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses. 8 Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, 9 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.’ 10 They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. 11 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”
Now I was cupbearer to the king.

The problem that Nehemiah saw with the people of Israel was not on the surface. It was not that they were lacking materials to rebuild the walls, or the leadership or skilled labor. It was not that they needed more money or a better plan. And it was not because the the threat of their enemies was too great. Those were all surface issues that he doesn’t say anything about.

Instead, he looks underneath the surface and identifies the root of the problem that was taking place in the hearts of the people – including himself. We see it in verse 7: “We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses.” The reason they weren’t moving forward in restoration and were experiencing trouble and shame and kept running into a dead end, was because they were still holding on to parts of their former way of life. They weren’t surrendering themselves to God and trusting him to take over and lead the way. They were still following their own way and it wasn’t working.

As you read through the books of Ezra and Nehemiah and the prophetic books of Haggai and Zechariah you see that the Jewish people that returned from exile in Babylon did not give themselves over fully to the Lord. They worshipped him at the Temple and followed some of the rules on the outside, but they were still holding on to sinful practices. In Nehemiah you find out that there was injustice and mistreatment of the poor. In Ezra you read that there was intermarriage with foreigners that would lead to idolatry. In Haggai and Zechariah they’re confronted with their selfishness and greed as they looked upon their own needs and desires while neglecting the glory of God and the needs of others.

Their ongoing sin pointed to an underlying problem – they hadn’t fully surrendered themselves to the Lord. If they were going to move forward in the process of restoration and get beyond the rut they kept getting stuck in, a major change was going to have to take place at the heart level. They were going to have to turn from their own way of trying to live their lives, surrender to God, and let him lead the way instead.

Nehemiah knew it and that’s why he responded like he did. You can see in verse 4 that his weeping and mourning led to fasting and praying. He completely humbled himself before the Lord in submission and surrender. He didn’t blame God for letting bad things happen or not fixing their problems, he bowed to him in humility and brokenness. There was nothing else he could do. He had reached the end of his rope and it was either surrender to God in faith or reject him in rebellion. Nehemiah chose the way of surrender.

He then turned to confession. You read his confession in verses 5-7. He confesses the sins of Israel, and the sins of himself and his family. He didn’t try to cast the blame on God or other people. He didn’t respond with judgment or criticism of others. He took ownership of his sin and confessed it to God. He admitted his wrong and the wrongs of his people. Their sin was the underlying problem and until that was dealt with, they would never be able to move forward.

The last part of Nehemiah’s response was repentance. In verse 9 it says, “but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them…” then they would see restoration. Nehemiah is revealing his intent to make a massive shift in his life and to lead his people to do the same. Repentance is when you say, “enough is enough. I can’t live this way anymore. I’ve tried to do things my way and it doesn’t work.” You give yourself over to God and let him take control. You resolve to trust him with your life and follow whatever he tells you to do.

The only way we can finally get out of the rut we find ourselves in and move forward in the process of restoration is if in the midst of the disappointment, pain, and brokenness – whatever that looks like for you – we humble ourselves before the Lord, confess our sin of trying to make life happen the way we want it to, and throw in the towel in repentance to follow God’s way instead. A decisive shift has to take place deep in our heart and will. Paul described the shift that happened to him in Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” And having made that shift, he called others to do the same. In 2 Cor. 5:15 he writes: “And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”

By the end of the book of Nehemiah the people made that shift and it paved the way for the process of restoration to continue. The walls around Jerusalem that would have sat in ruins for who knows how long got rebuilt. The process of restoration moved forward and the glory of God and the joy of the people returned. Things were once again as they were meant to be.

The only way Keller Ave. is going to be fully restored is if the old materials are removed and a new roadway is put in place. (Picture) Patching the surface isn’t going to have a lasting effect. The underlying issue has to be dealt with. And the same thing has to happen in each of our lives if we’re ever going to move forward in restoration. More church and prayer and Bible study and books aren’t going to cut it. There has to be a major shift in direction deep inside our being. Some of you have already experienced that shift and have seen the other side. Some of you haven’t. The question is, are you ready to go that direction? What’s it going to take?

I wasn’t ready to go that direction until I was 22 years old. I became a Christian at age 14, but for the next 8 years I continued to live according to my terms without even knowing it. I tried cleaning things up on the surface, but the underlying problem was still there. I was still operating like I did in my former way of life where I was in control. And with me in control, I was primarily motivated by one thing – obtaining the praise and admiration of the people around me by doing whatever I could – being funny and charming, lifting weights and being in sports, singing in traveling singing groups, being in positions of leadership where I would have the limelight, I tried to gain attention in pretty much everything I did. I had a relationship with God, but it wasn’t very personal, it wasn’t very deep. I struggled to have a passion for him or spend time with him on a consistent basis. But generally things were going fine in my life and I didn’t have any major problems.

Then in May of 1999 something happened. I just came off of a 4 month singing tour during which I got a lot of praise and attention, and I was home for summer break. When I got home I sunk into a place of depression that I had never known before. I felt disoriented and empty, like I had no purpose in life. The limelight was off me and I was just working and living at home. I had no idea why I felt that way and hoped things would change when I went back to college in the fall, but it didn’t. For the first time ever I wasn’t in any sports or leadership positions. I had a break from being in singing groups. I wasn’t doing anything that would bring me attention. I felt empty and the depression continued. I started feeling desperate so I considered joining football or getting a job. I joined a new traveling music group, hoping that would help, but that wasn’t doing it anymore. The attention I got wasn’t working to make the emptiness and depression go away. I stayed that way all semester. I was stuck in a rut and I had no idea why and I couldn’t get out. I tried all the surface things and quick fixes I could think of, but none of them worked.

By Christmas break I had reached the end of my rope. I didn’t know what to do. I was back home for the break and I remember one morning in particular I was broken and just crying out to God for answers when my mom asked me how I was doing. I told her about my struggles and she showed a prayer to me that she had been praying since May when my struggles began. It was a prayer that God would do whatever it took to break me of my self-dependence and learn to trust in him. I didn’t think it was a coincidence. In that moment God revealed to me my deeply rooted sin of pride and self-exaltation that I had never seen before. He showed me that I had been living my life for the praise of man and that he had allowed me to suffer through all those months of depression to get to the place where I was ready to see it and have a major change of direction. Before that time I was not ready, but on that morning I was.

I remember bowing before God in fear and humility, realizing the way I had been feeling had come from him and if he wanted me to feel that way the next day or the rest of my life it was totally up to him. I was at his mercy. I was humbled by the sovereignty of God in my life, that he was in control, even when I thought I was. I remember seeing the depth of my pride for the first time and confessing it to him. I had nothing else to do but take ownership of it – it was my sin that had led to the rut I was in. I was living the way I wanted to live and it had cost me. But that way of living was coming to an end. I was ready to throw in the towel and say, “It’s not about me anymore, but only you. I’m not going to seek my own glory anymore, but only yours.” I renounced my way of living and surrendered myself completely to him, not knowing where it would lead but knowing if I was going to go forward it was my only option.

And from that day forward I never felt that depression again. He lifted it in an instant. A decisive shift had taken place and I haven’t been the same since. That’s not to say I have it all figured out or that I don’t struggle in that area of sin, or others. I still have plenty of struggles. But because I gave up on my own way of living and surrendered to God’s control in my life, I was able to move forward. I was able to experience a closeness with him and a passion for him that I had never experienced before. I didn’t need the praise and admiration of the people around me anymore to have meaning. I was grounded in him. And though there have been plenty of ups and downs since then, I’ve been able to keep growing in the process of restoration. And the farther he’s taken me in the process the more rewarding it has been.

So that’s how it happened in my life and many of you already have your own story to tell. But some of you are at that critical place of decision. You’re aware of the rut you’re in and you feel the brokenness, disappointment and pain and you’re ready for things to change. 2 Corinthians 7:10 says: “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret.” God in his great wisdom and mercy allows us to go our way for a time, knowing it will eventually bring us to the end of our rope. Because it’s at that point that we’re willing to say, “I don’t know what’s going on, I don’t know what’s happening to me, I don’t know why it’s happening, it doesn’t make any sense, but I know I can’t keep going in this direction. Something has to change. I’m ready to give up on my attempts at finding life and yield myself fully to the Lord no matter what. I’m willing to trust him because there’s no other way forward. I’ve exhausted the possibilities I’ve come up with and have nothing left. I’m empty, I’m miserable, I’m frustrated, I’m hurt, I’m ready to give up. It’s time for a new leader and it’s going to be Jesus, because whatever I’m doing just isn’t going to work.”

Jesus offers you a way forward this morning as we’ve seen in the book of Nehemiah. It’s going to cost you and it isn’t an easy decision to make. Letting go of the reigns and handing them over to Jesus is a huge shift to make, but I promise you it will be worth it and you can trust him.