Nehemiah: A diary of disaster

 

                Imagine that you were given the task of writing a report for God’s Old Testament people as we have encountered them up to this point.  How would they do?

                What mark would you give them for effort?  Every now and then they have declared their intention to do their best, but those intentions have never lasted that long!  They would get a very low mark for effort.

                What mark would you give them for behaviour?  Here are some words used to describe them—arrogant, stiff-necked, refused to listen, rebellious, disobedient and stubborn (see Nehemiah 9).  Imagine a child you know having all those things on their report!  They would get a very low mark for behaviour.

                What mark would you give them for learning?  They failed to remember, time and time they made the same mistakes, and they do not pay attention (again see Nehemiah 9).  It seems that they have learnt nothing over the long years of their history.  They would get a very low mark for learning.

                What a great disappointment they have been, how they have failed!

                They were repeatedly warned, and eventually they were suspended (sent into exile), but God did not give up on them—in his great mercy he did not put an end to them or abandon them, for the LORD is gracious and merciful (9:31).

Background

                In the last chapter we saw that the people of Judah were sent in to exile in Babylon.  What happened then?

                Well, the exile lasted around fifty years.  Then when Cyrus II conquered the Babylonians he issued edicts saying that the Jewish exiles could return and rebuild their temple.  Not all took advantage of this—although they had been forcefully taken into exile they had been well treated by the Babylonians.

                The first and main group of exiles to return left a year or so after Cyrus’ edict.  They were led by Zerubabbel, grandson of King Jehoiachin (see 2 Kings 24-25).  They set about restoring the temple.

                Seventy-five years later Ezra, a priest and a scribe, who has been described by many scholars as a kind of “secretary of state for Jewish affairs” in Babylon, was sent by the then Persian king ‘to enquire about Judah and Jerusalem with regards to the Law of your God’ (Ezra 7:14).

                Then 13 years later (445 BC) comes Nehemiah.[3] 

 

God the builder (chapters 1-6)

                Presumably Nehemiah had grown up as part of the exile community in Babylon.  When we meet him in chapter 1 he is a high ranking official in the court of the Persian King.  The book that bears his name contains his memoir—it reads like a diary.

                As we read through these chapters we can see that Nehemiah is a man of prayer, he is a great leader, and he certainly has the gift of administration.  He is also a man with a burden.  I mean this in the positive sense—where you may share God’s concern for a particular issue, for example you may have a burden for the youth of your town, for new residents in our land, or for global missions—God has put something of his concern for these things on your heart.

                Nehemiah’s concern was to do with Jerusalem—a city that he may not yet have visited.  Jerusalem was so much a part of God’s Old Testament plans and purposes.  When he heard of the state of that city (1:3) he was distraught.  For some days he mourned, fasted and prayed.

                We can see the content of his prayer in verses 5-11.  Like all Bible prayers it begins by telling God about God, it is only when focus on God is that we see our problems in their correct perspective.  ‘Only when we remind ourselves about him can we pray with due reverence, proper seriousness, correct self-awareness and knowledgeable faith.’[4]

                ‘O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commands’—all through the Old Testament we have seen God’s faithfulness to his promises, but the people haven’t kept their side of the bargain.

                For Nehemiah the walls of Jerusalem (which are central to this book) are a reminder of God’s covenant with Abraham—the promise that the land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem will be the impregnable home of God’s faithful people.[5] 

                Nehemiah reminds God of his instructions given through Moses, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my name’ (1:8-9 see Duet. 30:4-10).  Nehemiah takes God’s word seriously and sets about trying to bring the people back to God.

At the end of chapter 1 we read that Nehemiah is cup bearer to the king, he tasted the kings wine before the king drank it encase it was poisoned.  It is the sort of job that you can’t look depressed on—if you do the king might think that there is something in the drink for him!  However, Nehemiah’s concern for Jerusalem was making him feel sad and it showed.  The king asked, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill?  This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”(2:2)[6]

                ‘I was very much afraid, but said to the king, “May the king live for ever!  Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?’ (2:2-3).

                The king then asked Nehemiah what it was that he wanted.  Nehemiah basically wanted everything that was needed to rebuild the walls.

                Nehemiah then went off to Jerusalem with all of the resources that God had given him through the king.  He is seen to be a great organiser—the unity and effectiveness with which the people work is impressive.  This is truly a group effort—involving rulers and priests, sons and daughters, perfumers and goldsmiths.  God’s people co-operating to fulfil a greater goal—if only this had been the story in the rest of the Old Testament!

                Not that the whole venture was plain sailing.  There was opposition and there were the attacks of their enemies.  Nevertheless the walls were completed in fifty-two days.  This was astounding and people took note: ‘When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realised that this work had been done with the help of our God’ (6:16).  God had done this—God the builder!

All looks well (chapters 7-12)

At the end of chapter 7 the people are secure in the promised land.  God has restored his people.  The question that remains however is ‘will the newly settled people be faithful to God as he has been faithful to them?’

In chapter 8 Ezra the priest reads and explains the Law of Moses to the assembled community.  As the stand and listen they hear of how God made a covenant with them, how he had rescued them from slavery in Egypt, and had given them rules to live by that they might please him and prosper.  They were stunned by what they heard—it seems that many of them had not heard the word of the LORD for a long time, possibly never.  The solemn assembly turned into a demonstration of humility, joy and tears.  They then celebrate the feast of Tabernacles.  In their turning back to God there is a sense of elation as they remember the abundance and goodness that is found in him.  

In chapter 9 the Levites lead the people in an act of public confession.  This chapter reads like an Old Testament overview.  They are told of God being the creator of the heavens and the earth, choosing Abram and promising him descendants and the promised land, giving the Law at Sinai, and proving for them (Genesis and Exodus in nine verses!!).

How had their forefathers responded to God’s actions?  They became arrogant and stiff-necked, and did not obey your commands.  They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you preformed among them.  They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery (16-17).  Remember the low marks we gave them for behaviour and learning at the start of the chapter.  In the face of their unfaithfulness God remained faithful: But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.  Therefore you did not desert them . . . (17).

The Levites continued.  God had led them and fed them in the wilderness and given them the promised land.  How had they responded?  They . . . were disobedient and rebellious . . . (26).

Then we read of the cycle that was so evident in the book of Judges:  God hands them over to their enemies who oppress them, they cry out, in his compassion God sends them a deliverer, however as soon as they are at rest they again do what was evil in God’s sight (27-28). 

Despite many warnings they continued in their ways and so they were sent into exile (29-30).  However, because of his great mercy God had not put an end to them or abandoned them, for you are a gracious and merciful God (30).

The people were cut to the heart when they heard of the sins of their forefathers.  They call out to God to save them once more (remember they are still under foreign control) and they make a binging contract promising to keep the Law of Moses.  In chapter 11 Jerusalem is resettled.  In chapter 12 the walls are dedicated amid much rejoicing, the ‘sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away’ (43).

All looks well!  If the book of Nehemiah were to end at this point we might call it ‘the diary of delight’.  And if we were to write another report for them we could say ‘their behaviour and effort is greatly improved.’

Diary of Disaster (chapter 13)

                By the beginning of chapter 13 things may look well, but in this, the last chapter things turn horribly wrong.  It is now twelve years that Nehemiah has been in Jerusalem.  True to his word he goes back to King Artaxerxes who had given him leave in the first place. 

What happens when Nehemiah is away?  The people systematically go back on each of the promises that they had signed as a binding agreement.  Nehemiah records their sins with distressing detail.  You can almost hear the frustration and disappointment.  The diary of delight has turned into a diary of disaster!

                Israel’s history ends on a dismal note!  Go back to our report and we see that they still get low marks for effort, behaviour, and learning.  Indeed they have failed terribly.  The walls may have been rebuilt, but the people haven’t.

Conclusion

                We’ve reached the end of our Old Testament overview.  It ends in tragedy.  We have seen again and again how God has been faithful—he has added promise upon promise, he has persisted with his people, he has shown himself to be full of grace and compassion.  But his people have repeatedly rebelled against him.

                 The Bible would have the feel of an unfinished work if it ended here.  We still have not found the one who will crush the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15), the king from the tribe of Judah who will have the obedience of the nations (Genesis 49:10),[7] the Son of David whose throne will be established forever (2 Samuel 7:13).[8]  We still are left waiting for the new covenant that will change the hearts of God’s people and the new nation that will be a blessing to all peoples.

                As for those promises to Abraham!  If God is going to reverse the effects of the Fall and keep his promises he is going to have to deal with the problem of sin once and for all.  And so the scene is set for Jesus to step into history.  The story will continue . . .!!! 

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[1] Title taken from Full of Promise.

[2] The Samaritans on being refused the opportunity to collaborate, began to oppose the reconstruction.  As a result the work ceased for about fifteen years.  That it restarted again was largely due to the ministry of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah (see Haggai 2:3-4 and Zechariah 4:9). 

[3] There is some debate concerning the dating of Ezra and Nehemiah—which came first.  I have given the traditional view.  For a justification of the traditional view see Motyer, Understanding the Old Testament, p.178.

[4] Motyer, The story of the Old Testament, p.175.

[5] Full of Promise, p. 69.

[6] David Jackman points out that the kings logic goes like this: ‘You are my cup-bearer, you are privileged, for I am the greatest king ever—so why are you not full of joy?’

[7] This prophesy was in part fulfilled by King David, but pointed beyond him to Jesus, who fulfils it fully.

[8] This prophesy was in part fulfilled by Solomon, but points beyond him to Jesus, who fulfils it fully.

The Exile: ‘Light at the end of the tunnel’

 

The Bible would be a very depressing book if it ended with 1 and 2 Kings.  In Kings we saw the kingdom divided.  Two hundred years later the ten tribes of the northern kingdom are conquered by the Assyrians[2].  Then at the end of 2 Kings we have what is known as the exile—Judah, the southern kingdom was conquered by the Babylonian empire, Jerusalem is destroyed, the temple is levelled, and thousands of prisoners were taken back to Babylon as exiles.  How did these exiles feel about this?  You can read Lamentations and see!  Psalm 137 capturers their feelings, ‘By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion[3]—as Boney M[4] reminds us!  

It is like the Fall has happened all over again—God’s special people have rebelled against God’s rule and been thrown out of their special place—in this case the Promised Land. 

So what now?  Is there any light at the end of the tunnel?  Has God given up on his people?  And what about those promises to Abraham?  We find the answers to these questions in the message of the prophets.  This morning we shall look at the message of three of them.

 

Isaiah[5]—preparation:

Let’s step back in time—to the southern kingdom, at least a hundred years before the exile.  A prophet named Isaiah is given a vision concerning Judah and its capital Jerusalem (Is. 1:1).

The message of Isaiah could be called ‘a tale of two cities’—faithless Jerusalem (i.e. the sinful city of Jerusalem, the people of Judah) (1:21) and faithful Jerusalem (1:26).  The question that runs all the way through the book is ‘how is the faithless city to become the faithful city?’[6]  The answer is through exile, through restoration beyond exile, and with (to quote a favourite phrase of Isaiah) ‘a new thing’ that God will do.

This new thing that God is going to do is that he is going to extend his salvation to the ends of the earth—remember that he had promised Abraham that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through his seed (Gen. 12:3), and God will bring about a new community—a new Israel, a new people of God.  God will do this new thing through the ministry of ‘my servant’.  Those passages that speak of this servant point ahead to Jesus,[7] reminding us that all of God’s promises come to fruition and fulfilment in his Son (2 Cor. 1:20).

Isaiah not only prophesied that the exile would happen, but that Cyrus would be the Persian leader who would bring God’s people back to their land (Is. 44:28-45:13).  So when the people are taken into exile, and they are told that the gods of Babylon had won the day and that the LORD is dead, those who had listened to God’s Word would know that that’s not true.  They knew that this was going to happen and that God would bring them through.  Isaiah’s is a ministry of preparation.

They were only a tiny remnant who believed that Word, but there was always a faithful remnant even in Babylon.

 

Jeremiah—expectation:

Jeremiah also prophesied before the exile—his ministry brings us right up to the fall of Jerusalem.  In Jeremiah 7, we have what is called the ‘temple sermon’—here Jeremiah is standing at the gate of the temple preaching to those who are going in and out. Read: 7:3-11.

The people had reasoned that because God had promised David that his dynasty would never end (2 Sam. 7) Jerusalem, David’s capital, could never be conquered.  They believed that because the temple was in Jerusalem the city would never be destroyed.  They thought that they were safe to do as they pleased.  However, Jeremiah warns them that there is a consequence to their actions.  As we remembered last week, in Deuteronomy (see Duet. 28:15-68) God had warned his people that if they deserted him he would drive them out of the Promised Land.

Jeremiah’s message is also a message of hope.  He points them beyond the exile, and encourages them to see the God is going to do something new: Read 31:31-33.

 

Ezekiel—restoration:

One of the confusing things about the fall of the southern kingdom, Judah is that it happens in two stages.  Firstly, in 597 BC when the Babylonians defeat Judah and take some of its inhabitants into exile, then in 586 BC, when the Babylonians destroy Jerusalem and the temple and take thousands of more away.

Ezekiel was among the first group to be taken to Babylon.  From 593 BC, when he is thirty, he begins prophesying to the exiled community—telling them of the events in Jerusalem and preparing to minister to the bigger number of exiles that will come to Babylon when Jerusalem falls. 

Ezekiel contains a tremendous message of encouragement about what lies beyond the exile.[8] 

God will give his people a new heart:  Read Ezekiel 36:24-26.

This will produce a new unity.  Ezekiel 37:17, “Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand.” There is going to be a new Israel that is united in a way that the old Israel wasn’t.[9]  Verse 24, “My servant David—this isn’t King David, he’s been dead a long time by this stage, this is the promised king in the line of David, will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd.”

Then in chapters 40-48 there is talk of a new city and a new temple.  In chapter 47 we read of a river—it’s the river of life, flowing out from this new temple—from the place where God’s presence is manifested, it flows out into the entire city.  The river rises becoming deep enough to swim in.   ‘It is picture, a visionary picture, of the overwhelming blessing of God flowing out from his presence—so deep, so rich, so full that you do can’s do anything but swim in it.  And that is Ezekiel’s vision for the future of God’s city and God’s temple.’[10]

 

Conclusion: We began our sermon wondering if there was any light at the end of the tunnel.  Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel say there is!  The promises of God to Abraham and David are now focused on the post-exile community.  We are going to sum-up by seeing how they point to a new exodus, a new covenant, and a new nation.

 

1. A New Exodus:  In Exodus we saw the captives set free.  They are liberated from Egypt and become a unified distinct nation—the people of God.[11]  Similarly a great theme in Isaiah is that the captives are going to be set free—a new Exodus!

Read Isaiah 40:3.  A highway is being constructed!  The valleys are filled in, the mountains are knocked out of the way, so that there can be a straight road on level ground.  For the LORD is coming back from Babylon with his people, bringing them home to Jerusalem.

When did this happen?  Well in 538 BC Cyrus said ‘you can go back to Jerusalem’.  But these words go beyond that, in John’s Gospel they are used of the ministry of John the Baptist (John 1:23). 

When does the exile end? 538 BC, yes!  When does the Exile really end?  When Jesus comes!  ‘He is the one who ends the Exile!  He is brings the new Jerusalem, the new Israel, the new community into existence.  He is the one who produces the new Exodus . . . the New Testament says “it is happening, God is bringing his people, his new people into existence”, this is the new Exodus.’[12] 

 

2.  A New Covenant:  We mentioned the new covenant when we looked at Jeremiah.  It is worth remembering that while this new covenant is greater than the old it works on exactly the same principles—God in his grace rescues people, draws them to himself, makes promises to them, and says ‘if you want to enjoy those promises live if faith and obedience.’

This new Covenant, as we saw in Ezekiel, involves the Spirit within us.  This is why the new Covenant law is not written on tablets of stone—outside of us, but is written deep within our hearts.  It enables us to want to be like Jesus, to want to be his people, to governed by his commandments, and obedient to his will.

In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit only lived within certain individuals, such as kings (1 Sam. 10:6; 16:3) and prophets (Ezekiel 2:2)[13] to equip them for particular tasks, but now in the new Covenant he lives within all of God’s people.  In the Old Testament we have noted the continued failure of God’s people, but now in the new Covenant that failure has been remedied as God actually entering into the personality of his people to transform us. 

This is the blessing of the new Covenant, God changes us from within.  It doesn’t happen to perfection in this life, but it starts—and it can grow, more and more and more.  We will never be sinless in this life, but we can sin less.  We can grow in grace. We can know the power of the Holy Spirit enabling us to live holy lives.

 

3.  A New Nation:  In Isaiah and Ezekiel we can see that God is going to form a new faithful people.  There will be a new Zion, a new city of God, a new community into which all the nations of the world will come and find God’s blessing.  If you are born-again you are one of God’s new covenant people, we are the new Israel (Galatians 6:16).   

With this in mind what does it matter whether we are British or Irish or Portuguese or Romanian?  It won’t win us any favours with God nor will it exclude us from the offer to become one of his people.  For God is forming an altogether different kind of nation, a new Israel, made up of people from every country.  And one day this multiethnic, multiracial people will gather around his throne praising God for his salvation (Rev. 7:9).  

All this things are fulfilled through the Lord Jesus, and by his Spirit within the lives of those who trust him and obey.

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[1] This sermon is composed largely of material adapted from David Jackman’s Bible Overview Lectures (with a little help from Full of Promise).

[2] They were never to have a separate existence again

[3] Zion is another name for Jerusalem.

[4] Boney M was a pop group from the 70’s and 80’s—if you are too young to remember!

[5] Isaiah is one of the great books of the Old Testament.  It has been called the Romans of the Old Testament.  It explores such themes as the Sovereignty of God, sin, judgement, salvation and the new creation.  With the possible exception of the Psalms, Isaiah is quoted or alluded to in the New Testament more than other Old Testament book. 

[6]When you get to the end of Isaiah you find that the faithful city is now a place to which all the nations are been gathered to by God (see Is. 66:10-12, 20). ‘. . . in the Bible you should always read the beginning of every book and the end of every book with special attention because it will tell you the themes of the book’ Jackman.

[7] Supreme among them is Isaiah 53—a great passage about the cross.   For Jesus as the servant of the Lord see Acts 8:26-40 and Philippians 2:5-11.

[8] We can divide Ezekiel into three sections.  Firstly, a chapter 1-24, are before the fall of Jerusalem—in these Ezekiel prophesies, to those already in exile, the fall of the city and as things unfold he interprets why these events are happening.  Then in chapters 25-32 we have oracles to the foreign nations.  Finally, after Jerusalem has fallen, and from this point Ezekiel’s ministry is one of tremendous encouragement about what lies beyond the exile—it is a ministry of restoration.

[9] In verse 23 we have the words, ‘they will be my people, and I will be their God.’  This is the great promise of the covenant that we see again and again in the Old Testament.  We see the ultimate fulfilment of this promise in heaven (Revelation 21:3).

[10] Jackman.

[11] In line with the people part of the promise!

[12] Jackman.

[13] In Exodus 31 the Spirit fills the craftsman Bezalel and the other craftsmen to enable them to construct the tabernacle, but he didn’t remain permanently within them.  

Looking forward to the weight of glory (2 Corinthians 5:1-10)

We have a great tent.  I call her the ‘Blue Lady’.  She is technically a nine-person tent, but realistically she takes six comfortably.  We don’t go camping as much as we should, but I love waking up on a sunny morning in the tent with all the bright light and sunshine.  That being said, the last time we had the ‘Blue Lady’ out it rained pretty much all of the holiday.  That was less fun!

 The writer, Paul Tripp, is not a big fan of camping.  He says that the whole purpose of being in a tent is to make you long for home.  Yes, everything is okay at the beginning.  But then the tent starts to get smelly.  After a few nights sleeping without a mattress and cooking on a portable stove you start dreaming of your bed and a properly functioning kitchen.  He doesn’t want to be a tent-dweller.

 In these verses the apostle Paul talks about tent-dwelling, and he says that he is longing to be at home.  His tent is this aging and decaying earthly body.  We won’t truly be home until Jesus returns and we have an impartial glorious body.  We know that if the tent that is our earthly body is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens (1).

 In the previous verses Paul has been telling us not to lose heart.  Following Jesus is not meant to be easy.  Indeed, when people reject us or oppose us for our faith it can feel like dying.  But we each have been given a wonderful ministry.  We get to model and speak about the mercy of God demonstrated in the cross of Christ.  We also don’t lose heart because though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that for outweighs them all (4:16-17).

Paul knows what it is like to be in prison, shipwrecked, alone, robbed, sleepless, cold, beaten and stoned, and let down and deserted.  Yet these afflictions are light and momentary compared to the weight of glory that awaits him.  This heavy weight of glory is the prize that awaits at the end of time.  It is to this weight of glory that we turn our attention to now.

The weight of glory gives us hope (1-8)

 When Jesus returns every follower of Christ will receive a resurrection body.  Our current body is like a tent—it is fragile and temporary.  Our resurrection body is an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.  It will be glorious and permanent.

Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed we will not be found naked.  For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life (2-4).

Those are complicated verses.  Paul seems to be referring to what some call ‘the intermediate state.’  You see, when Christians die they go to be with Jesus is heaven, but even in heaven His people are looking forward to His return for it is not until He returns that we receive our resurrection bodies. 

But how do we know that we really will receive a resurrection body?  How do we know that we really are Christians?  How do we know that the day of Jesus’ return is going to be a good day for us?  We know we belong to Jesus because God has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come (5). 

Jesus said that becoming one of His followers is so radical that it is being ‘born again’.  He also called it being ‘born of the Spirit.’  As a person becomes a Christian they receive the person of the Holy Spirit.  We know that the Holy Spirit dwells within us as we experience new beliefs, affections, desires and a changing way of life.

We used to be blind to the truth but now we see that the cross of Jesus is the best news in the world.  We used to claim, ‘I am a good person’, but now we see that we more wicked than we imagined and more loved than we dreamed.  We used to think that being right with God was about things we did for Him, but now we see it is all about Jesus taking our guilt on the cross and being treated as if we lived His perfect life.   Now we want to see the face of Jesus and become like Him.  Now the Holy Spirit will not let us be happy to nurse a grudge, pollute our minds with filth or allow our tongues speak without restraint.  ‘But I don’t love Jesus the way I want to!’  Don’t you realise that the very desire to love Jesus is a work of the Holy Spirit? 

Therefore, we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.  We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.  Paul’s first preference is for Jesus to return so that He can receive His resurrection body.  His second preference is to depart and be with Jesus.  Yet as he lies, he will live for Christ.

I was taken aback the first time a Christian who was in hospital told me that they were hoping to die.  I shouldn’t have been.  Here was a Christian man who was looking forward to being with his Lord.  That friend, John Watt, had a confident and reasonable preference for something that was far better than anything we have in this life. 

The weight of glory gives us motivation (5:9-10)

We are to live not by sight, but by faith.  What we can’t see is more significant than what we can.  So, we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it (9).  It comes so naturally to seek our own pleasure, but simply seeking our own pleasures leaves us empty and isolated.  God wants us to experience the desires our hearts as we delight ourselves in Him.

For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due to him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad (10).  This does not mean that a genuine Christian can be condemned on the last day, for there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).  Neither does it imply that good works get us to heaven, for it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast (Eph. 2:8-9). 

It does imply that the change that the Holy Spirit has brought to our lives is evidence that we really do belong to Him.  One commentator writes that Paul ‘did not imagine that God would, on the last day, have to ask men and women whether they were believers; that would be transparently obvious when the books were opened and their lives were revealed.’

This verse also teaches that God will graciously reward us for the acts of service, love and righteousness we have done for him.  There will be reward, and the possibility of loss of reward.

The fact that some will have a greater reward than others does not mean that there will be envy or boasting in heaven, for we will no longer be capable of such selfish reasoning.  We will delight in all that God graciously gives to us and be genuinely glad for what others received.  The call to seek heavenly reward is not a call to selfishness for this reward comes through pleasing Christ.  Heavenly reward seems to involve enjoying more of Jesus and reflecting more of his beauty.  It is a reward that glorifies God.

Conclusion:

Remember what we said last week about switching the price tags.  We need to value things in light of eternity.  Your grades, your possession and people’s approval won’t go with you beyond the grave.  But God will see that everything you do to please Him now will have a value that far outweighs and small suffering we endure for Him in this life.  The way towards true joy know is not to live for ourselves but to allow delightfully live with gratitude for all that He has done for us.  The way towards true joy know is to look at the beauty of Jesus and allow His Spirit transform us.  The way to true joy now is not to grab things for ourselves but to store up treasures in heaven knowing that how we serve Him now will impact how we enjoy Him forever.   

May the glorious hope be our hope!  May we trust in the mercy of God who is willing to forgive all our sins and rebellion because of Christ’s work on the cross!  May we live for him with the strength he gives the indwelling of the Holy Spirit!  May the confidence that we have—confidence based on his goodness and grace—change the way we live in the world!  May we be so heavenly-minded that we are of most earthly good!  It was said of the great Scottish puritan, Samuel Rutherford, that he had his feet of the ground, his hand on the plough and his heart in heaven—may that be so for us too!  May we live in light of the eternal weight of glory!

Your best days as a Christian should always be before you (2 Cor. 4:13-18)

 

Your best days as a Christian should always be before you (2 Cor. 4:13-18)

Imagine the deacons come and suggest that we turn the spare land at the side of this building into a graveyard, what would you think?  What if Sam located a building in Castletroy for Crossway, and requested some land for burial plots next to it? 

Not many of us want the church to have responsibility for looking after a cemetery, but the tradition of graveyards next to church buildings does have some positives.

To start with it gives people a sense of perspective.  Imagine you are walking into this building every Sunday morning and passing the piece of ground in which you will soon be buried.  It would be a reminder that you are only in this life for a short time and that you are here for a purpose!

Or what about the fact that as we gather for worship we would see reminders of those who have worshipped with us in the past.  There is gravestone of Hazel Oakley, if she were still alive she would be with us this morning!  People have traditionally talked about the church triumphant and the church militant.  The church triumphant are those who have finished the battle and have been called home.  The church militant are those people who are still alive and still in the battle.  A graveyard is a reminder of those who went before us in the battle.  Are you still battling in the power of the Spirit or have you laid down your arms in defeat?

We are studying 2 Corinthians 4.  The chapter began with a call not to lose heart.  We are not to lose heart because in God’s mercy he has called us to be ministers.  We have a great purpose in life.  Now he tells us again not to lose heart because ‘though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day’ (16).

We speak because we are grateful (12-14)

For many of us the thing we find hardest to do as a Christian is to open our mouth and speak about Jesus.  Keep praying that God gives you opportunities to tell people what God has done for you.  Paul quotes Psalm 116, where David declared, ‘I believed so I spoke.’  David had been delivered from danger and knows he has something to talk about.  Read this book and you will see that we were all blind, hard-hearted and perishing.  Yet the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of the darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God in the face of Christ (6).

Not only has Jesus rescued us from the hell our rebellious hearts deserve, we now live as beloved children of our heavenly Father and we have a wonderful future to look forward to.   When Christ returns He will raise our dead bodies and we will be perfect in His presence for ever and ever (14). 

Gratitude speaks.  I don’t need much encouragement to talk about the Munster rugby team.  But what have they really done for me?  I am sure that there have been times where they have said, ‘let’s do this one for our supporters’.  But they don’t know me!  Indeed, when I said ‘hello’ to one of the team he blanked me.  Yet the Son of God loves me and gave Himself for me (Galatians 2:20).  Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down His life for His friends (John 15:13).  God demonstrated His love for us in this: while we were still sinners Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). 

I remember watching a friend trying to hold back tears as he read the following paragraph for Scottish Theologian, Sinclair Ferguson:

'When we think of Christ dying on the cross we are shown the lengths to which God’s love goes in order to win us back to Himself.  We should almost think that God loved us more than He loves His son.  We cannot measure His love by any other standard. He is saying to us, “I love you this much.”  The cross is the heart of the gospel; it makes the gospel good news. Christ died for us; He has stood in our place before God’s judgement seat; He has borne our sins. God has done something on the cross which we could never do for ourselves.  But God does something to us as well as for us through the cross.  He persuades us that He loves us.'

When you struggle to speak about Jesus start by reminding yourself of His infinite love poured out for us at the crucifixion.  Then pray for opportunities.  Then explain to people that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

We speak to see God glorified (15)

We speak because we are grateful and we speak because we want the world to see how great God is.  ‘All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God’ (15).  We want to see other people overflowing with gratitude to God.  We want other people to see and reflect the beauty that we have experienced in Christ.  It should break our hearts that so many people treat Jesus as if He is irrelevant. 

Notice that Paul shares the gospel with them ‘for your benefit.’  We share the good news for the benefit of other people.  It is the most precious gift that we can offer anyone.  Have we really loved our family, friends and neighbors if we have not warned them about the hell our rebellious hearts deserve and the heaven that is given to all who turn to Jesus?  ‘Lord, give us courage, clarity and tact?’  Remember that we don’t shove this message down people’s throats but we seek to be always prepared, to give an answer to everyone who asks us to give the reason for the hope that we have, and to do this with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15).

We speak knowing that we are being renewed and we will be rewarded (16-17)   

Many years ago, I wrote a letter to a friend of mine who I felt was stuck.  This friend would go on about the glory days when he was involved in outreach and his faith was alive.  But he seemed defeated now.  I told him that his best days as a Christian could be ahead of him.  We do not lose heart because though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day (17).  We should always be growing as a Christian!  We should constantly be looking at the face of Jesus and becoming more like Him.  Our healthiest day in this life as a follower of Christ life should be the last day we are consciously alive.

Look at Paul’s sense of perspective.  He had spent years suffering for his faith.  He had endured prison, shipwreck, being alone, being robbed, being sleepless, being cold, being beaten and stoned, and being let down and deserted.  Yet he talks about these afflictions as light and momentary.  In comparison with the eternity that we will spend with Jesus, any trouble we endure for our faith is small and they are achieving for us an eternal glory that will far outweigh them all (17). 

I sent a text to my friend Peter in Australia.  He is a lecturer in a theological college.  I asked him about these verses and if it would be fair to say that we do not lose heart when we face opposition for the name of Jesus because we know that God sees and in his amazing grace will give an eternal reward that far outweighs any pain we have experienced, and that these rewards   somehow related to how we will reflect him and enjoy him in eternity.  Peter replied, ‘Yes.  That would be right.’

We speak about Jesus knowing that as we speak God is at work within us transforming us and that he will not let even the most feeble effort to honor him go unrewarded.

What if we were to see the real value of things?  What if we did build a graveyard, and every day you walked past that little plot of ground where you will soon be buried, how would that change your sense of perspective?  So, we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (18).

Conclusion—switch the price tags

So, I finish with a challenge: try to switch the price tags!

When I was in school as a boarder, in second year, we were allowed go to Crazy Prices in Dundrum on a Saturday.  What the guys used to do was switch the price tags on items.  They would take a more expensive item and put the price tag for a cheaper item on it.  It was the days before barcodes, so you could get away with the sort of thing.  I can’t confirm or deny if I ever did it!  I really don’t remember, but I know something of the wickedness of my heart.

Our world will tell you that what people think of you really matters and what God thinks of you of you isn’t that important.  But what is seen is temporary and what is unseen is eternal.  Switch the price tags.  You will not spend all of eternity boasting about how popular you were but you will forever enjoy the applause of Christ.

In Hebrews 11 we read of a man called Moses, who grew up in the Pharaoh of Egypt’s household, yet, ‘when he grew up, refused to be known as son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin because he regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt because he looked forward to his reward’ (25-26).

Your parents might have pushed you hard to get qualifications and prizes, and certainly Christians do want to make a positive contribution to society, but no one is going to ask about your grades in heaven.  It might feel like death to stop striving to succeed, but Christ might have a different view of what success looks like.  Even those who are not Christians know that no one on their deathbed wishes they had spent more time in the office.

So, stir up gratitude in your heart so that you want to speak about Jesus, speak about Jesus hoping that others will see how great he is, and remember that speaking about him changes you and will result in eternal reward.