Ignorance isn't bliss...

Have you ever heard the saying “Ignorance is bliss”?

There’s an old Calvin & Hobbes segment written in 1992 in which Calvin is having another Philosophical conversation with his best friend, Hobbes, the stuffed Tiger.

“It’s true, Hobbes, ignorance is bliss.” And he goes on to explain the rationale behind his statement. “Once you know things, you start seeing problems everywhere.”

“And once you see problems, you feel like you ought to fix them…and fixing problems always seems to require personal change…and change requires doing things that aren’t fun.”

“I say ‘fooey’ to that!”

“But if you’re willfully stupid, you don’t know any better, so you can keep doing whatever you like.”

“The secret to happiness is short-term, stupid self-interest!”

As they’re careening down the hill, Hobbes shouts, “We’re heading for that cliff!”

Calvin, believing that ignorance is bliss, throws his hands over his eyes and screams, “I don’t want to know about it!”

They crash land. Hobbes remarks, “I’m not sure I can stand so much bliss.” To which Calvin responds, “Careful, we don’t want to learn anything from this.”

Ignoring problems doesn’t make them go away. It doesn’t make them any less real.

Today, I’m starting a new series and it’s one we do every year. The content changes, but it’s a series about our identity. A few years ago we talked through 5 commitments. Last year we shared five values of The Bridge. This year, we’re talking about declarations. Whether The Bridge is your church family or not, these 5 declarations are crucial to every follower of Jesus.

These declarations will define & shape who we are as a faith community as well as who you are as a follower of Jesus.

Today I’m going to present the first key declaration:

Our hearts will break for the things that break God’s heart.

Nothing changes until the heart changes!

Let’s repeat that together a couple of times.

Let’s repeat that together a couple of times.

In , Nehemiah was given information concerning the condition of Jersualem, his home. That’s where his roots were. And this news broke his heart.

Nehemiah 1:1–4 ESV

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, 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. 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.” 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.

The Jews who have returned to their Capitol city after years of exile were now struggling to survive. In particular, they are without walls or gates to defend their city, their livelihoods, their homes and their families.

Nehemiah hears this news and is devastated. This tells us a bit about his character. He was a thoughtful man and a man of compassion.

He didn’t look at Jerusalem’s plight and think, “Well, they’re getting what they deserve. Thank God it’s not me.” He didn’t think, “Well, I’m thousands of miles away and I’m a servant to the Persian King who captured all of us, there’s nothing I can do.”

When he became aware of the brokenness, he himself was broken! His heart was broken for things that were breaking God’s heart.

immorality

complacency

disobedience

distrust

faithlessness

oppression

injustice

internal conflicts

poverty

All of it was breaking his heart!

What is it that breaks your heart? What are you sick & tired of?

Nehemiah 1:6–7 ESV

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. We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses.

What about our culture breaks your heart?

inequality?

injustice?

oppression?

apathy?

indifference?

What about our community breaks your heart?

addictions?

homelessness?

unemployment?

family issues?

domestic violence?

lostness?

What about your life breaks your heart?

mediocrity?

laziness?

depression?

anxiety?

purposelessness?

discouragement?

negative attitude?

critical spirit?

God is looking for people who are sick & tired of the brokenness around them AND who are willing to do something about it.

Our hearts will break for the things that break God’s heart.

We will care about the things God cares about.

We will put up with each other’s personalities for the sake of our community!

So Nehemiah is broken-hearted over the situation in Jerusalem and he’s in a challenging situation. This same King who he works for and presumably has a good relationship with, was previously advised to shut down the work in Jerusalem. The thought process was that if the Jews rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem and refortified the city they would become ungovernable. So the King issued a royal decree to halt the work.

Nehemiah knew that in order for any positive change to take place, the King would have to reverse his royal decree! This is a really big deal!

Have you ever tried to get a friend to change their mind on an issue?

Have your children ever tried to get you to change your mind on an issue? Usually, the more times my kids ask me for something, the more adamant I am to stick to my guns!

Nehemiah was facing the challenge of convincing the most powerful man in the civilized world to reverse a royal decree!

Just because you can’t see the solution to the problem, doesn’t mean God doesn’t have one!

Like Calvin, some of us intentionally ignore the problems and try to shove them out of our minds, because we don’t want to face the reality that we just might be the solution!

So what does Nehemiah do?

Nehemiah 1:4–6 ESV

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. 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, 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.

Are you getting the picture yet?

Things were broken. And Nehemiah knew this. He was concerned about it.

The challenge seemed impossible.

Nehemiah turns to the “Great and Awesome God.”

Our God is awesome.

Our God is awesome.

Our God is awesome!

Our God is awesome!

OUr God is awesome!

When you see that homeless person and you don’t think there’s a thing in the world you can do about it…start whispering...

our God is awesome...

When that bill comes in the mail and you have to decide whether to pay it or to eat just start singing…just start praying...

When that bill comes in the mail and you have to decide whether to pay it or to eat just start singing…just start praying...

When someone you love keeps on choosing that evil substance that never satisfies, you just sing it out…you just pray to the great and awesome God!!!!

When the situation seems impossible, improbable, or impractical remember this: our God is more than capable!

When the situation seems impossible, improbable, or impractical just remember this: Our God is able!

So Nehemiah was faced with the challenge of trying to convince this King to reverse a royal decree. And he was a slave! A slave of good reputation and respected by the King, yet he was still a slave.

When the situation seems impossible, improbable, or impractical just remember this: Our God is able!

We can allow ourselves to feel the pain and the weight of the brokenness around us because we have access to the power of transformation within us.

So feel the pain.

So the task before us, is the same task Nehemiah had. To find his place in rebuilding the walls of brokenness around him.

Find your place in rebuilding the walls of brokenness around you.

This can seem overwhelming. I mean it doesn’t take much for us to recognize how broken things are and when we look at it, it can be daunting and honestly, it’s why some of us just don’t. It’s easier that way. But ignorance isn’t bliss. Somebody’s still suffering. Somebody’s still heading for the cliff.

Ignorance isn’t bliss…it’s callous.

made hard; hardened

insensitive; indifferent; unsypmathetic

Brokenness shouldn’t cause us to sit back idly and be overwhelmed…

If there was nothing wrong in the world, there wouldn’t be anything for us to do. But there’s a whole lot wrong in the world, so God is calling us to do something.

So what do we do? Where do we start? Start where Nehemiah started.

Nehemiah 1:4 ESV

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.

ILLUSTRATION: Elisha spends over $500 on itunes 2 weeks before CHristmas!

Be bothered by the brokenness.

Be bothered by the brokenness.

Oh he was bothered.

Weeping & Nashing of teeth! lol

Spend some days in fasting & prayer.

Elisha had plenty of time to mourn.

Recognize that we’ve been part of the problem.

Recognize that we’ve been part of the problem.

I kept encouraging him to talk to God about how he was feeling.

Recognize that we’ve been part of the problem.

Recognize that we’ve been part of the problem.

Elisha began to to take ownership of the problem...

He stopped making excuses. “You didn’t have a passcode...” “I didn’t think i was spending that much money.” “I didn’t think you’d miss it...”

He said, “Dad, I was greedy.” “I wasn’t happy with what I had.” “I was mad that you wouldn’t buy me stuff everytime i asked so i did it myself.”

Beg God for a breakthrough.

Elisha finally came to me and said, “Dad, i truly am sorry. What I did was wrong, selfish and it could have really affected my whole family.”

Elisha was broken about something he had caused. But brokenness has many forms. It’s in us. It’s all around us. But the brokenness we see is an opportunity for us to change.

Elisha finally came to me and said, “Dad, i truly am sorry. What I did was wrong, selfish and it could have really affected my whole family.”

Elisha was broken about something he had caused. But brokenness has many forms. It’s in us. It’s all around us. But the brokenness we see is an opportunity for us to change.

May Nehemiah’s prayer be our prayer:

Nehemiah 1:11 CSB

Please, Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to that of your servants who delight to revere your name. Give your servant success today, and grant him compassion in the presence of this man. At the time, I was the king’s cupbearer.

Take this 28 day prayer & fasting guide and begin to seek to find your place in rebuilding the brokenness around you.

This morning we have another opportunity to gather at The Lord’s Table and remember Jesus’ sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins and not just for ours but the sins of the whole world.

It was Christ’s broken heart for a broken world that led him to the cross and it was his obedience to His father’s will that kept him there and it was the power of the HOly Spirit that lifted Jesus from the grave!

It’s the same power that will lift the brokenness in our world from the grave as we trust & obey.