God and the Government

The deterioration of culture is first and foremost a spiritual issue. Dr. Tony Evans lays out a blueprint for turning cultural collapse into kingdom impact. Until the spiritual dynamics have been addressed, you cannot address properly the social or the economic or the political realms. This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. Trying to fix a broken world without addressing its spiritual foundation is like trying to build a house on shifting sand.

It's just not going to stand for long. Today, Dr. Evans takes us back to the book of Nehemiah to show how true restoration in our communities, our families, and even our nation begins with a return to God. Let's join him. He looked God at his word and found it not only good for his personal life, but his communal and public life as well. The first thing that Nehemiah came to grips with was a theological understanding of sociology. That the deterioration of culture is first and foremost a spiritual issue.

Until the spiritual dynamics have been addressed, you cannot address properly the spiritual foundation. Let's join him. Let's join him. Let's join him. Let's join him.

You cannot address properly the social or the economic or the political realms. Nehemiah, however, understood these principles and went to God about the degradation of the deterioration that was now occupying the community of Israel. The very first thing he did was pray. I beseech thee, may thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant and the prayer of thy servant, who delight to revere thy name. And make thy servant successful today. Grant him compassion before this man. Now I was a cupbearer to the king, and we define a cupbearer as one who was an administrative assistant to the king, tasted the king's food in case someone was trying to poison him, set up the king's appointments.

He was a main guy. And the king's court. He prays that God will forgive his sin, forgive the community's sin, and give him another opportunity to turn things around. His appeal is to the government because he says, give me compassion before this man, meaning the king.

He was willing to use his strategic role in prayer. He makes the request that he will hear from the king today. He says in chapter 1, verse 11. But according to chapter 2, verse 1, he doesn't hear or get an answer to prayer until the month of Nisen. That's four months later than the time he prayed.

Don't stop praying just because you don't see anything happening. Don't stop pursuing God in your life, your family, your career, or your community just because things are quiet in heaven. Four months later, Nehemiah, verse 1 says, He took wine and gave it to the king. Now, I had not been sad in his presence. But let me tell you why he had not been sad in his presence, because that was against the law. Your job, if you worked in the king's court, was to cheer him up. You were not allowed to bring a sad face to the king because he had all the burdens and he needed to be cheered up, and so the job here is to cheer him up.

So he says he'd not, never in all the years he's worked in the king's court. He worked there, been sad before the king until this time. It says, So the king said to me, verse 2, Why is your face sad, though you are not sick?

There is nothing but sadness of heart. Then I was very much afraid. Why was he afraid? Because the king could have killed him. He says, Then I said to the king, Let the king live forever. That's a good start.

The city hits a bullseye. Listen to this. Why should my face not be sad when the city, the place of my father's tombs, lies desolate and its gates have been consumed with fire? Then the king said to me, verse 4, What would you request? Now look at this. So I prayed to the God of heaven.

Now I like this for a couple of reasons. The time was arranged so perfectly that when he lets the king know what's on his heart, the king is open to the suggestion. God had so arranged the circumstances that it was right for the king. That's why you shouldn't quit even when it's taken God a long time to answer your prayer.

Because God is arranging things for just the right time. The thing is, his prayer. His prayer was, I pray to the God of heaven. Who did he pray to? The God of heaven.

Who is he talking to? The king of Persia. He's dealing with two kings at the same time. So what he's going to do is handle government with God.

He understands that there is no dichotomy. He understands that there is a king and there is the king. And he's not going to deal with a king without dealing with the king.

You know the reason why we want to quit and give up so much when our careers aren't going right and our marriages aren't going right? Because we're looking at a king, not the king. I don't care what you're facing on your job, in your home, if you will bring the king to bear on it, it doesn't matter how big a king is.

It does not matter how big your circumstances are. And this man is faced with rebuilding a whole community, a whole city. He's before an unjust empire that rules the whole world.

So what does he do? He said, I prayed before my God. The king said, what can I do for you?

He knew it was time to make his move. Nehemiah makes a request. And here's what he says, beginning in verse 5.

He says, if it pleased the king, and if your servant has found favor before you, if I've done a good job, send me to Judah, the city of my father's tomb, that I may rebuild it. He said to me, that is with the queen sitting beside him, how long will your journey be? How long will you be gone? And when will you return?

You're my main man. How long are you leaving me for? So it pleased the king to send me, and I gave him a definite time. Guess what the time was he gave him?

It's recorded in chapter 5, verse 14. It says he told him I'm going for 12 years. That's a pretty long leave of absence, wouldn't you say? To let his main man go for 12 years is because he sees an opportunity to do something for his own kingdom, and he evidently saw the opportunity because he appointed him governor of Jerusalem. See, with God, brothers and sisters, timing is everything. See, because what God's doing with you has got to work out with what he's doing with somebody else, with what he's doing with somebody else, and he's got to make all things work together for good.

He's got to arrange it, and that may mean that you have to wait for a year before he can give you what you're asking for a year earlier so it can fix up and hook up with something else that needs to happen on that date. That's how his sovereignty works. Now, Nehemiah makes some requests. He says in verse 7, letters for safe passage, because everybody wants to know where I'm going and who I am and who gives me authority. I need a letter. Secondly, give me a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the forest, which is by the temple, the walls of the city, and the house which I will go. You know what he's saying to the king? Give me letters and finance the rebuilding project. The man asks for a government grant. He says, I'm going back to do the king of heaven's business. He doesn't explain it that way to him, but that's the bottom line, and I need the raw materials to produce it. Will you give me a grant from your forest? Now, that explains the very fundamental principle, and that is the wealth of the wicked are stored up for use of the righteous.

That's our potential. The Bible does not declare that any government owns anything. The Bible says that the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and all they that dwell in it. Well, you say, how come I don't have any of it? Because God only dispenses it when it's going to accomplish his divine agenda, and since this agenda was the rebuilding of God's agenda in Jerusalem, he was now going to have access to government funding.

For kingdom activity. What am I saying? I am saying that God is not broke. I am saying that God has no lack of resources. It is only because we are not connecting those resources with his divine agenda that the sinners keep it and the Christians don't see it. See, that's the problem with a lot of these TV people who just accumulate funds and accumulate funds.

You don't see this stuff working out. For the kingdom purposes, they're only working out to benefit the personal pockets of the people who are getting it, and that's criminal. The whole purpose of this is that these resources that were out there were supposed to be used to promote an agenda to build up God's kingdom in history.

That's the key. And whenever you can tie in what you're doing with what God wants—in other words, what I'm saying for God always pays for his will. And what he does not write a check for, even if the government has the funding. When God gives the assignment, he also provides the resources. Dr. Evans will return in just a moment to show how Nehemiah's preparation met God's provision right on time. First though, I want to tell you about an empowering book from Tony that dives deeper into today's message on spiritual influence and cultural transformation. If you're concerned about the direction our country is headed, this book offers a clear, kingdom-focused strategy for making a difference—not politically, but spiritually—beginning with you. We'll send this book to you as our way of saying thanks when you make a contribution in support of this ministry. And right now, along with the book, we're packaging all 15 full-length messages in Tony's two-volume teaching series on the book of Nehemiah. This in-depth study explores how God uses spiritual influence to make a difference in the world.

We'll hear more from Dr. Evans right after this. If you're like most Christians, there are people in your life who know you, but may not know Jesus. You really want to do something about that, but don't feel equipped to share your faith effectively.

In other words, maybe if you knew more, you could do more. Well, that's where the Tony Evans Training Center comes in. It's an online Bible school with classes that'll take you deep into the most important core concepts of the faith.

You can start with our free introductory course on evangelism, then move on to subjects like spiritual warfare, marriage, and marriage. So, the government has got the money. In this case, it's the trees from the forest that are going to be used for the rebuilding program. So, not only didn't he know that he was going to have this conversation this day, this tells us a lot about Nehemiah. He had already planned for the conversation whenever it would occur. Sovereignty and planning go together. God's sovereignty means he decides what happens. Your planning means you're ready for whenever it happens. There are two extremes. One extreme is God's going to do it, I'm going to do nothing. When he wants it, it'll just happen. The other extreme is I don't need God, I'm going to do it all myself.

Both are wrong. This man was well planned, but he wasn't trusting his plan. He was trusting the Lord because the Lord had to make the plan go.

Look at the end of verse 8. And the king granted them to me. Why? Because the good hand of my God was on me.

Why did he grant it? Because you came up with a smart plan, no. Because you're a brilliant individual, no. Because you're a smooth politician, no.

Because you're a great businessman, no. The reason that this happened was God's hand was on them. So let me say this. It doesn't matter what you plan if God's hand's not in it. It's a flop before you ever plan it. On the other hand, if God's hand is in it, then you got a plan worth keeping. So why are so many people falling apart? Why are so many families falling apart?

I'll tell you why. Because they won't let their God's hand be in it. It's purely a human endeavor. It is God who must make the difference. We have something very interesting happen in verse 9. Then I came to the governors of the provinces beyond the river and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. He didn't ask for an army and horsemen. He asked for letters and wood. Now unto Him who can do exceedingly abundantly above all you can ask or think.

Be glory, honor, and dominion now and forevermore. You know God is in it when He does stuff you don't even ask for. Nehemiah knew it had to be God. It couldn't be luck because God was throwing in bonuses. That's how God is. And that's what that verse means. I want you to know that when you deal with God, He outdoes the request.

He outdoes the request when you do it His way and there is no question about it. Now, He comes to Jerusalem and He's there three days. He comes in quiet. He doesn't talk about His plan. He says, I rose in the night. I and a few men with me took a few entrusted people and I did not tell anyone what my God was putting into my mind to do for Jerusalem.

I couldn't talk about it because everybody wasn't ready for it yet. So while all of Jerusalem was sleeping, He was surveying. He's very focused. Very focused. He doesn't let anything distract him. He reminds me of the story of Hank Aaron and Yogi Berra. Hank Aaron was up to bat and I used to catch in baseball and one of the things you try to do to distract the batter is you mess with him. You just be playing with him.

Talking about him because you want him to be distracted. So Yogi Berra told Hank Aaron, he said, Hank, the words and the letters on the batter are in the wrong place. They're not facing you like they ought to and it's going to sting your hands if you meet with the ball. Trying to distract him to look at the bat rather than cuss it on the ball. But Hank Aaron didn't move. He just kept his eyes focused toward the pitcher. And Yogi Berra kept messing with him and telling him, but hey, look, the words are in the wrong place. You better fix that bat before the pitch comes. And then Hank Aaron kept ignoring him and then the pitch came down.

Bam! Hank Aaron hit it over the center field fence. Hank Aaron ran around the first base, second base, third base. Came on home and just before he walked to the dugout, he said, by the way, Yogi, I didn't come here to read.

I came here to hit on runs. In other words, you've got to be focused and concentrating on what you're about. And Nehemiah is focused and concentrating on what he's about because he's about God's agenda and he knows what he's been called to do. And so, after he makes this analysis, he now is ready to talk to the people. Verse 17, then I said to them, listen to this, you see the bad situation we are in?

That Jerusalem is desolate and its gates are burned by fire. Come. Let who? Let us. There's no one-man show here. There's got to be everybody, everyone putting in their little piece. Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem.

Why? So that we may no longer be a reproach. We are an embarrassment, he says.

He says we're embarrassment. We're supposed to be the people of God and we're worse off because all the other nations have their walls up. We're the people of God and we don't have our walls up. And that's the way it is in the church today. We have God, yet our families are a mess. We have God, yet our moral lives are a mess. We have God, yet our churches are a mess. We have God, and yet we're not making an impact on society. He says, come on, let's get rid of this reproach.

He says, don't we understand who we are? Let us arise and build. So they put their hand to the good work. How long the wall's been down? 150 years. 150 years these walls have been down. For 150 years, how long does it take them to build it up?

52 days. When you get right with God, it doesn't take long. When you get right with God, you save a lot of time. People are fooling around for 25 and 30 years and then they come up with this heavy line.

They say, well, I don't think God wants me to be miserable. You're absolutely right. But if you're going to fix it, it has to be fixed his way if you want to cut short the time.

52 days, they accomplished what they hadn't accomplished in 150 years. When I look at our communities, you know, we have a racial problem we haven't been able to solve yet. We've got the family problems we haven't been able to solve yet. All these problems going year after year after year after year after year.

And most of them could be solved in a very short period of time. But you know what people don't want? They don't want God's way to do it. They'd rather spend another 50 years talking about how bad the problem is. In fact, some people get paid to do that. Some people are professional problem keepers. Their job in life is to keep your problems going. See, that's how you know Christian counseling from non-Christian counseling. Non-Christian counseling is giving you an excuse to come back for the next five years.

Christian counseling gives you a biblical goal that's measurable to attain. There's an end in sight that you're going somewhere. There's a solution.

It's not just redress of the same old problem. Finally, verse 19 and 20 gives the final word. But when Sambalah the Hornet, Tobiah the Ammonite, official Gishon the Arab heard it, they mocked us, despised us, and said, What is this thing you are doing? You are rebelling against the king. Well, they weren't rebelling against the king. They had king's permission.

These guys are dealing with old news. So I answered them and said to them, I like this guy. I like Nehemiah. He says, The God of heaven will give us success. The God of heaven will give us success. Therefore, we, his servants, will arrive and build. Why are we going to build? Because we already know we're going to be successful.

We already know God has got this thing in place because it's based on his agenda, but you have no portion, right or memorial, in Jerusalem. Now, I like that closing statement. Either get on the wall or get out the building. These guys coming along, and a lot of you have people like that in your life. They call you up, Girl, I wouldn't live with that man no longer. No, no, no, no, no. You ought to do like me.

I got rid of mine years ago. You have people in your life who mock and despise and tell you why it can't work. Nehemiah stands up and says, No, no, no, no, no. We have decided to do this God's way, so our God is going to give us success, so we don't need to talk any longer. Some people you oughtn't talk to on the phone. Some people you oughtn't deal with because all they're doing is telling you how it can't work. If God has told you about something that ought to work, you assume it can work.

You get on the business of making it work with confidence in God, and don't fool with the folks who tell you it can't work. And Dr. Tony Evans will return with a brief thought to wrap up today's message in just a moment. First, though, a reminder to take advantage of that special offer I mentioned earlier, your own copy of the full-length versions of all 15 messages in Tony's current series on Nehemiah, along with One Nation Under God, his powerful book that takes a look at learning to care about what God cares about, especially in the areas of freedom, justice, economics, education, and politics.

These resources will help you identify specific strategies you can put to work to start a ripple effect of kingdom change. And they're yours with our thanks when you make a donation to the Alternative Broadcast Ministry. Just visit tonyevans.org for details or call us at 1-800-800-3222.

Again, that's 1-800-800-3222 or online at tonyevans.org. Following a plan can be the key to turning an impossible task into an undeniable success. Tomorrow, Dr. Evans will show how believers, empowered with a solid plan from God, can overcome life's toughest difficulties.

Right now, he's back with his final challenge to close today's message. What am I asking? I'm asking you today to become a congregation of people who believe the Word of God so much that you believe that walls that have been torn down can be rebuilt. You believe that your broken life can be rebuilt, your broken family can be rebuilt, your broken children can be rebuilt, that broken relationship can be rebuilt, you believe that that broken whatever it is, and that corporately, we believe that the church, our broken community, can be rebuilt if every one of us builds, if every one of us contributes to the process of rebuilding.