Where Do We Begin?
Listen to the words written in the Life Application Bible that introduce the Old Testament book of Nehemiah. “What this church needs is… ! I can’t believe our government officials. If I were there I would…! “Our schools are in bad shape. Someone needs to do something!. Gripers, complainers, self-proclaimed prophets, and “arm chair quarterbacks” abound. It is easy to analyze, scrutinize, and talk about all the problems in the world. But what we really need are people who will not just discuss a situation but will do something about it. Nehemiah saw a problem and was distressed. Instead of complaining or wallowing in self-pity and grief, he took action. Nehemiah knew that God wanted him to motivate the Jews to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls, so he took action.” In Nehemiah 1:3 we read the report given to Nehemiah about the situation in Jerusalem. “Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. ‘they are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.” A monumental task that could not be accomplished by even an army of men, but only with the help of Almighty God. So where did Nehemiah begin – he began with a prayer. We read the words of that prayer in Nehemiah 1: 5-11.
I used the words from and about the Old Testament prophet Nehemiah to introduce my thoughts on Pastor Bruce’s message from April 3rd – that message “Reclaiming America for Christ”. In that message Pastor Bruce read from a portion of scripture from Luke 23 – the story of the two criminals that were crucified with Jesus, along with two readings from Franklin Graham. I will be focusing my thoughts for this edition of “Thoughts from the Kitchen Table” on the first reading shared by Franklin Graham.
Pastor Bruce began his message by reminding us of the “sad state of affairs” currently within this nation. He used words, lawlessness, evil, sin, debauchery, moral anarchy, – a nation totally turned against the things of God. It is with those words and thoughts in mind that Pastor Bruce introduced the reading by Franklin Graham and also told us about Mr. Graham’s current nationwide undertaking. A nationwide evangelistic campaign where Mr. Graham will visit every state in the union.
Mr. Graham, in his own words, describes his Decision America Tour – “Because of the spiritual climate of our country, I am going to all 50 states to challenge Christians across our land to boldly live out their faith and to pray fervently and faithfully for our nations. At each stop, I will also proclaim the Gospel, which has the power to transform lives. As the body of Christ we have the opportunity to stand together in our allegiance, not to a political party but to Almighty God”.
Please note that Mr. Graham is going to all 50 states to “challenge” Christians across our land to boldly live out their faith and to pray fervently and faithfully for our nation. Pastor Bruce also quoted Mr. Graham as stating “far too long the churches in this country have sat on the sidelines while this nation has slipped into moral darkness”. “We need leaders today the likes of the Old Testament prophet Nehemiah who will not wallow in self-pity, who will not be overwhelmed into inaction and apathy.
Franklin Graham is indeed a “Nehemiah” of our day – in taking on this challenge, in spite of overwhelming odds. He clearly understands the challenge, yet he moves forward.
But… Franklin Graham cannot do this alone. He has challenged every Christian in this nation to join him by living out their faith and by praying fervently and faithfully for our nation. Mr. Graham has issued the challenge to each of us –so where do I begin?
Where do I stand? Am I one of the people that see the enormity of the task and am frozen in inaction, and even apathy. Even Franklin Graham himself, has made the statement that “America will not come back. So why bother, what can I do? Again Nehemiah was one person, Franklin Graham is one person, neither expected to do this on there own. For anyone, to begin, they must first be one with God. Read again the words of the prayer of Nehemiah in the book of Nehemiah 1:5-11. Remember the words of the apostle Paul in Ephesians 3:20, “ Now all glory to God, who is able, through His might power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more that we might ask or think.” We begin by understanding that with God nothing is impossible.
So where do I begin?
Mr. Graham asks us first to begin with prayer. He asks us to pray:
1. To recognize and ask repentance for our own sins, our own short comings.
2. For revival in our own hearts, for revival in our communities, and in our churches.
3. For our nation and it’s leaders.
And then? He asks us to read and sign a pledge for and to ourselves and a pledge of support for the effort being put forth in the Decision America Tour.
That pledge contains the following:
My pledge to God
1. I pledge to honor God at home – by living biblical principles, striving for purity in or out of marriage, and pursuing godliness in all my relationships.
2. I pledge to honor God in public – by standing for biblical principles and serving those in need.
3. I pledge to honor God with my vote – supporting where possible, candidates who will uphold biblical principles, including the sanctity of life and the sacredness of marriage.
My Pledge to My Country
1. I pledge to pray fervently and faithfully for America.
2. I pledge to be registered and to vote in every election – local, state, and federal – supporting, where possible, candidates who uphold biblical principles.
3. I pledge to engage in my community with God’s truth and prayerfully consider running for office.
(This one I have added)
My Pledge to my church and my Spiritual Leaders
1. I pledge to pray fervently for our spiritual leaders and their families
2. I pledge to pray fervently for spiritual guidance for those spiritual leaders.
I close now with a special prayer and thank you to Pastor Bruce for his dedication to God’s Word and to our church here at Emmaus. It was interesting that during the message Pastor Bruce mentioned that some within the congregation might not wish to continue hearing his warnings. These warnings are passed through him from God, as our Pastoral leader, they are also passed on to us as a friend who cares about us. Please note in the very first verse of Nehemiah, one of Nehemiah’s brothers in Christ along with others came to Nehemiah to tell him about the situation in Jerusalem. It was God who sent those men to Nehemiah. Today, it is men like Franklin Graham, it is men like Pastor Bruce who God has appointed to warn us of all the things we face. We must individually and as a church decide what we will do with the information.
Thanks Pastor Bruce!