1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,600 If you're joining us for the first time, we just started our 2 00:00:02,600 --> 00:00:07,240 Bible study series in this brand new book, and it is a wonderful 3 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:11,040 sequel to the book of Ezra. And many of us have already seen 4 00:00:11,040 --> 00:00:14,520 that in the first few verses of this new book. 5 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:16,440 But we have not completed chapter 1 yet. 6 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:18,000 And that's what we will seek to do tonight. 7 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:20,120 So plant your finger there at verse 4. 8 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:24,400 We will read in a moment here. But I would love for us to pray 9 00:00:24,400 --> 00:00:31,280 once again, Heavenly Father, thank you. 10 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:38,760 Thank you for loving us. Thank you for showing your love 11 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:41,840 in so many ways. Thank you that according to the 12 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:47,160 words of the Lord Jesus Christ in John 17, you love us as you 13 00:00:47,160 --> 00:00:51,320 love your Son. It's so hard for us to grasp 14 00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:56,080 that you love us as you love your Son Jesus Christ. 15 00:00:57,320 --> 00:00:59,640 And we know that this is difficult to fathom. 16 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:02,400 That's why Paul in Ephesians 3. Pray that we would know the 17 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:05,160 height and the depth and the breadth of your love for us. 18 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:08,680 So, Lord, use the means of this Bible study to help us 19 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:15,680 comprehend just how strong your love is and help us in response 20 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:18,120 to the revelation of your love. Love you with a greater 21 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:22,560 intensity and devotion, Lord. Some of us may be weary in the 22 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:24,240 flesh, and that can be a distraction. 23 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:26,840 Some of us may be distracted in our minds, though our bodies are 24 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:29,560 fine. Whatever may be an obstacle to 25 00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:33,480 this Bible study, remove it and your power. 26 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:35,960 Remove it so that we can receive all that you have to say. 27 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:40,600 In Nehemiah chapter one, in Jesus name we pray, Amen. 28 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:46,720 I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but you can know a lot 29 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:48,840 about a person based on what makes them happy. 30 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:56,720 The objects that stir their passions, the things that make 31 00:01:56,720 --> 00:02:01,280 them gleeful, even the things that make them laugh are 32 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:06,480 indicators to what they possess in terms of priorities, 33 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:11,440 convictions, and desires. Yet interestingly, Scripture 34 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:15,400 also teaches us that you can know a lot about a person based 35 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:20,240 on what makes them sorrowful, the burdens that they carry in 36 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:24,480 their hearts revealed just as clearly the priorities and 37 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:27,080 perspectives and passions of a person. 38 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:31,960 And today, you and I, by the grace of God, are going to know 39 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:37,480 more about this man, Nehemiah, because he is going to show us 40 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:40,880 how he responded to the tragic news of the condition of the 41 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:43,680 people of God in the city of Jerusalem. 42 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:49,880 Perhaps you've already read this chapter before, and so you're 43 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:51,600 already familiar with its content. 44 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:56,480 But in case you're not, the rest of this chapter is dedicated to 45 00:02:56,560 --> 00:03:01,440 Nehemiah's heartfelt prayer in response to the news of the 46 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:06,320 devastation that the Jewish people were enduring after 47 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:09,840 returning from exile. But this is not the only time 48 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:13,560 Nehemiah prays. Depending on how you group his 49 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:18,080 prayers, it's safe to say that there are around 12 recorded 50 00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:22,360 pleas that Nehemiah makes towards the Lord, and most of 51 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:24,440 them are shorter than what we have here. 52 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:28,880 And beyond this confirming that Nehemiah was a praying man and 53 00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:34,640 that God uses praying men, there are wonderful and insightful 54 00:03:34,640 --> 00:03:37,960 details waiting for us to uncover in the verses that we 55 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:41,280 will examine together. And so let's begin by reading it 56 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:44,800 all in one shot, without interruption, without 57 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:46,400 commentary. Let's just begin here in 58 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:49,760 Nehemiah chapter one, verse 4. Remember, we looked at the first 59 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:53,080 3 verses. And Nehemiah, while being in the 60 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:57,360 palace in Susa, was visited by his brother and friends, who 61 00:03:57,360 --> 00:04:00,800 told them of the shame and trouble that the Jewish people 62 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:03,880 were experiencing because of the walls that were broken down. 63 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:07,200 And here is what he does in response to it. 64 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:11,840 As soon as I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned 65 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:15,280 for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the 66 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:18,640 God of heaven. And I said, O Lord God of 67 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:21,800 heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and 68 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:24,000 steadfast love with those who love Him and keep His 69 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:26,560 commandments. Let your ear be attentive and 70 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:29,240 your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant, that I 71 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:32,640 now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel, 72 00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:35,760 Your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, 73 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:37,320 which we have sinned against You. 74 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:40,400 Even I in my Father's house have sinned. 75 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:43,840 We've acted very corruptly against you and have not kept 76 00:04:43,840 --> 00:04:46,560 the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded 77 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:49,840 your servant Moses. Remember the word that you 78 00:04:49,840 --> 00:04:52,440 commanded your servant Moses, saying, If you are unfaithful, I 79 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:54,520 will scatter you among the peoples. 80 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:57,120 But if you return to Me and keep my commandments and do them, 81 00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:00,680 though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from 82 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:02,920 there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I 83 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:04,480 have chosen to make my name dwell. 84 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:07,200 There. They are Your servants and Your 85 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:09,480 people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power and by Your 86 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:13,320 strong hand. O Lord, lay your ear. 87 00:05:13,320 --> 00:05:15,720 Be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and to the prayer 88 00:05:15,720 --> 00:05:17,720 of Your servants, who delight to fear Your name. 89 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:23,240 And give success to Your servant today, and grant him mercy in 90 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:27,840 the sight of this man. Now I was a cup bearer to the 91 00:05:27,840 --> 00:05:31,800 king. What Nehemiah is demonstrating 92 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:36,960 here is the tenderness and compassion that should be alive 93 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:43,640 in those who belong to the Lord. Remember, he is reacting to the 94 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:47,200 news of the trouble that God's people are facing. 95 00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:53,480 And what Nehemiah felt about the dishonor that they were trying 96 00:05:53,480 --> 00:05:58,760 to manage is something that God expects of all of His people. 97 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:03,840 I'm not necessarily speaking about the need to weep. 98 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:10,160 Some have a stronger tendency to be tearful about certain things. 99 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:14,600 Nor am I even speaking about the need for extensive fasting, 100 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:16,720 though there is an appropriate time and place for fasting. 101 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:22,160 What I am primarily referring to is a sense of disturbance and 102 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:28,040 brokenness and burden when something is brought to our 103 00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:31,880 attention relating to the humiliation, disgrace, and the 104 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:35,880 need of the Church. And the reason why I can say 105 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:40,360 that Nehemiah's attitude here applies to Christians is because 106 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:46,160 the Lord rebukes Israel for having the totally opposite 107 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:50,640 attitude that we find here when learning about the impending 108 00:06:50,640 --> 00:06:55,080 Assyrian invasion. This is worth turning to in our 109 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:57,840 Bibles, the book of Amos chapter 6. 110 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:02,480 God through His prophet, presents a few woes to the 111 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:06,000 generation of those who lived in the northern tribes of Israel 112 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:08,320 before they were removed from the land. 113 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:11,600 Remember, before the Babylonian exiled, there was an Assyrian 1 114 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:17,800 And I want you to see how he responds to the indifference of 115 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:21,480 some of the Israelites, even though they knew of the warning 116 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:24,040 of judgment to come. Amos 6. 117 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:26,400 I hope you're there. Look with me here at verse 4. 118 00:07:31,820 --> 00:07:37,920 Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory, and stretch themselves 119 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:43,160 out on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock and calves 120 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:47,200 from the midst of the stall. Who sing idle songs to the sound 121 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:50,080 of the harp, and, like David, invent for themselves 122 00:07:50,080 --> 00:07:54,520 instruments of music. Who drink wine and bowls, and 123 00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:59,240 anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved 124 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:04,120 over the ruin of Joseph. You see that highlight the last 125 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:06,520 part. Listen, God is not against nice 126 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:10,720 furniture. He's not opposed to good food. 127 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:16,560 He doesn't reject wine, oil, or music. 128 00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:22,760 But He is deeply opposed to the indulgence of these things while 129 00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:26,240 having total indifference toward the state and the future of the 130 00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:29,880 church. Notice how this crowd was 131 00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:32,480 preoccupied with new forms of entertainment. 132 00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:34,960 That's what it means here when it says that they are inventing 133 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:39,120 for themselves instruments of music, not to glorify God like 134 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:45,440 David, but to find new new shows, new forms of talent, new 135 00:08:45,920 --> 00:08:53,080 inventions to stroke one's ego. And yet at the same time there 136 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:57,080 is not the slightest concern for the moral collapse and the 137 00:08:57,320 --> 00:08:59,400 social decay of the spiritual community. 138 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:05,440 Notice also here that he does not say at the end, but are not 139 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:10,200 grieved over the ruin of Israel. Did you notice that the prophets 140 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:13,760 do not waste any words? God is speaking through them. 141 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:18,120 He says so clearly the ruin of Joseph. 142 00:09:21,280 --> 00:09:23,960 Why? Because he wants to convey the 143 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:25,680 following message. In the same way. 144 00:09:25,680 --> 00:09:30,160 Joseph's brothers were heartless towards him while he was in 145 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:33,400 anguish, while he was in that pit, while I was crying out for 146 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:37,320 mercy. These elite Israelites were 147 00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:44,080 showing no sympathy, no thought for their fellow brothers in 148 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:49,920 time of need. How does this all relate to us? 149 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:54,440 Well, it would be unrealistic to say that we all have to feel a 150 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:57,520 sense of personal responsibility for the Universal Church, or 151 00:09:57,520 --> 00:09:59,040 else we would constantly be burdened. 152 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:09,600 However, this is a call to reflect if there is any evidence 153 00:10:09,600 --> 00:10:13,320 of concern in our hearts when something is made known to us, 154 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:18,800 especially that which is in our reach, in our community, in our 155 00:10:18,800 --> 00:10:25,520 local church, in our nation. And one of the ways that we can 156 00:10:25,560 --> 00:10:29,360 begin, or at least one of the signs that there is a softness 157 00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:35,400 in our souls for the sanctification and the safety of 158 00:10:35,400 --> 00:10:39,120 the church, of our fellow brothers and sisters, is that we 159 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:43,000 pray about it. We bring it before God. 160 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:46,120 We come to the prayer meeting and we say, Lord, pour out your 161 00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:49,120 spirit. Your church is in trouble. 162 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:53,160 Churches are in trouble. This institution needs you. 163 00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:58,240 Their walls are down. There's no discernment. 164 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:04,360 There are no Watchmen. Can you find that in you? 165 00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:07,840 Or do you relate more to Amos chapter 6, where you're 166 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:15,600 constantly consumed with leisure and comfort and one form or 167 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:20,880 pursuit of personal fleshly happiness? 168 00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:28,720 May God help us. Nehemiah shows us one way that 169 00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:30,920 we actually care and reflect God's heart. 170 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:34,160 We pray. We pray about it. 171 00:11:35,120 --> 00:11:37,400 Now that may seem like an obvious response, but I had a 172 00:11:37,400 --> 00:11:39,440 question. Why was this Nehemiah's 173 00:11:39,440 --> 00:11:41,560 immediate response to fast and pray? 174 00:11:41,680 --> 00:11:42,960 And I think there are two reasons. 175 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:46,800 The first one is that Nehemiah had insight. 176 00:11:46,840 --> 00:11:52,400 He was discerning and he understood the real cause for 177 00:11:52,400 --> 00:11:59,320 the ruin of Jerusalem. Sin, Sin. 178 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:01,680 That's what he plainly states here in verse seven. 179 00:12:01,680 --> 00:12:05,040 Look at it again. We have acted very corruptly 180 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:07,280 against you and have not kept the commandments. 181 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:09,200 It wasn't because they didn't have resources. 182 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:11,000 It wasn't because they didn't have the favor of the 183 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:13,680 government. It wasn't because they were lazy 184 00:12:13,680 --> 00:12:15,960 necessarily. It was because they sinned. 185 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:21,040 He understood their present condition is caused by their 186 00:12:21,040 --> 00:12:26,880 past rebellion and because of this, he responds in a spiritual 187 00:12:26,880 --> 00:12:30,080 manner. He goes to God and he repents on 188 00:12:30,080 --> 00:12:34,160 behalf of the people. Now here's why this is crucial 189 00:12:34,640 --> 00:12:37,120 to understand. Unfortunately, what you have, 190 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:42,200 some people do not pray because they fail to recognize the 191 00:12:42,200 --> 00:12:44,640 spiritual realities behind their circumstances. 192 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:49,320 I am fully aware that there are some people who over 193 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:54,240 spiritualize nearly everything, but there are also those who 194 00:12:54,240 --> 00:12:58,880 don't have any hint of the spiritual influence at all. 195 00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:07,760 Both extremes are dangerous, and that's why so many never arrive 196 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:14,640 at real, lasting solutions in their ministries, in their 197 00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:19,600 marriages, and many other of their miseries, because they 198 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:24,800 have never factored in the spiritual elements behind this 199 00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:28,840 predicament or this ongoing struggle, and so they never 200 00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:31,520 applied the spiritual remedies to address them. 201 00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:37,080 There are people like that. They never think maybe, maybe 202 00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:40,720 the reason why there's chaos, the reason why there's conflict, 203 00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:43,960 the reason why there's frustration is because of a 204 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:51,280 spiritual thing like sin or disobedience or spiritual 205 00:13:51,280 --> 00:13:53,080 warfare. And so they don't pray. 206 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:55,680 Nehemiah was not like that. He was a very balanced man. 207 00:13:56,800 --> 00:13:59,200 He prays in this chapter, in the next chapter, he's going to get 208 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:01,960 to work and he's going to ask and he's going to do very 209 00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:06,960 practical things. But here we see that he is doing 210 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:08,440 the right thing at the right time. 211 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:12,440 He understands the root cause of the problem, and so he addresses 212 00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:14,720 it at the root. He prays. 213 00:14:15,560 --> 00:14:19,040 The second reason why Nehemiah prays immediately in response to 214 00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:21,720 this news is because he also understands the magnitude of the 215 00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:26,360 work and the miraculous power that would be required in order 216 00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:30,160 to resolve it. Now we have the habit of reading 217 00:14:30,160 --> 00:14:32,720 so fast through some of these accounts that we never pause to 218 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:36,680 meditate on the real life implications of some of these 219 00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:39,480 challenges to some of these ambitions and achievements. 220 00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:43,920 Nehemiah understood that there are going to be some hurdles 221 00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:46,080 here. Where do I even begin? 222 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:50,880 And I have a hunch here that Nehemiah has one thing in mind 223 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:55,840 in terms of a challenge, and that is how the king is going to 224 00:14:55,840 --> 00:15:03,120 let him go. A king who prior to this was 225 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:05,760 already convinced that rebuilding the walls in 226 00:15:05,760 --> 00:15:08,920 Jerusalem would not be for his interests. 227 00:15:11,200 --> 00:15:14,200 Do you remember in our study of Ezra that there was one section 228 00:15:14,680 --> 00:15:18,080 where he abandons the chronology of the events that he is 229 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:21,920 recording and piles together different examples of the 230 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:25,760 opposition's that the Exiles faced upon their return? 231 00:15:25,760 --> 00:15:30,480 Do you remember that study? Well in one of the examples he 232 00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:35,600 goes to the future and he mentions what King Artaxerxes 233 00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:39,400 asked of the Exiles because of the adversaries of the Exiles 234 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:43,880 and what they told him. Let's see it again because it 235 00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:45,880 plays into what we find here in Nehemiah 1. 236 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:50,240 Go to Ezra chapter 4. The art Exerxes here in Ezra 237 00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:53,120 chapter 4 is the same art Exerxes that Nehemiah is 238 00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:58,000 serving. And notice what Ezra says in his 239 00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:02,680 account of the persecution that the Exiles faced throughout 240 00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:05,520 their time in Jerusalem. Ezra 4. 241 00:16:05,520 --> 00:16:08,960 Look at verse 11. He writes this is a copy of the 242 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:12,160 letter that they sent. That is the adversaries of the 243 00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:16,120 people of Judah, Tardig, Xerxes, the king, your servants, the men 244 00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:18,240 of the province beyond the river, send greeting. 245 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:21,560 And now be it known to the king that the Jews who came up from 246 00:16:21,560 --> 00:16:23,520 you to us have gone to Jerusalem. 247 00:16:23,720 --> 00:16:27,120 They are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. 248 00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:31,160 They are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations. 249 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:33,880 Now be it known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and the 250 00:16:33,880 --> 00:16:37,440 walls finish, they will pay no tribute, customer toll and the 251 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:43,080 royal revenue will be impaired. This letter that Ezra is making 252 00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:46,320 known to the reader seems to indicate that there was before 253 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:50,320 Nehemiah, after Ezra, somewhere between that, though they are 254 00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:53,160 contemporaries, they're going to work together. 255 00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:57,320 Not explicitly clear, but somewhere before Nehemiah makes 256 00:16:57,320 --> 00:16:58,960 this request to go back to Jerusalem. 257 00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:01,200 There were earlier attempts to rebuild the walls. 258 00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:06,200 And the enemies of the people of Judah saw saw this. 259 00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:07,800 They didn't like it. And so they sent a letter to our 260 00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:09,400 exertions and say, put a stop to this. 261 00:17:09,839 --> 00:17:11,000 You're going to harm your Kingdom. 262 00:17:12,560 --> 00:17:14,000 This is going to cause a rebellion. 263 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:18,000 And when you read later on in Ezra 4, he actually listens. 264 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:22,079 Now, there are others who do not consider to be this, to be proof 265 00:17:22,079 --> 00:17:26,119 of previous attempts to rebuild the wall, but claim that these 266 00:17:26,119 --> 00:17:27,560 adversaries are coming up with this. 267 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:30,800 They're exaggerating the efforts of the people of Judah, and they 268 00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:34,320 are slandering them, and they are lying to the king. 269 00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:38,080 But whichever view you hold, one thing is absolutely clear. 270 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:42,840 The last time Arctic Xerxes received any hint or news of the 271 00:17:42,840 --> 00:17:45,760 people rebuilding the wall, he opposed it. 272 00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:51,040 He was not in favor of it. So you can imagine how daunting 273 00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:53,120 this would be for Nehemiah, who understood this. 274 00:17:53,840 --> 00:17:55,800 How am I going to convince the king? 275 00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:03,360 His last recorded declaration and statement was No way is 276 00:18:03,360 --> 00:18:05,000 Jerusalem ever going to have walls. 277 00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:09,520 This historical detail is not often taken into consideration 278 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:13,560 when considering Nehemiah's prayer life, at least in the 279 00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:17,320 season of his prayer life. And so it makes sense. 280 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:19,360 Then look at Nehemiah one verse 11. 281 00:18:19,360 --> 00:18:23,480 What was his final request? Oh Lord, let your ear be 282 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:25,800 attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of 283 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:27,520 Your servants, who delight to fear a name. 284 00:18:27,520 --> 00:18:31,120 And give success to Your servant today, and grant him mercy in 285 00:18:31,120 --> 00:18:33,480 the sight of this man. Who is this man? 286 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:39,840 The king? I need mercy, fresh mercy, and I 287 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:46,120 love that he prays this. His prayer for mercy is more 288 00:18:46,120 --> 00:18:48,240 powerful when you connected with Ezra 4. 289 00:18:49,800 --> 00:18:51,600 Why? Because Nehemiah understood that 290 00:18:51,600 --> 00:18:56,280 there is a persuasive force with prayer not just toward those who 291 00:18:56,280 --> 00:18:59,000 are neutral towards the things of God, right? 292 00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:02,520 Sometimes in our human thinking, we evaluate where a person 293 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:05,480 stands with spiritual things or the gospel or the Bible or 294 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:08,400 Christianity, and we think that person has a better chance of 295 00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:10,240 coming to Christ. I'm going to spend more energy 296 00:19:10,240 --> 00:19:11,960 on them in my prayers, my evangelism. 297 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:13,840 And sometimes there's wisdom in that, right? 298 00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:15,400 We don't cast our pearls before swine. 299 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:19,560 However, Nehemiah shows us that prayer even works for those who 300 00:19:19,560 --> 00:19:25,920 are expressly opposed, like Artaxerxes was toward the 301 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:28,960 rebuilding of the wall. He still believed. 302 00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:32,640 If I pray and if I seek and if I wait on God, he can change 303 00:19:32,680 --> 00:19:36,280 anything and anyone, including the hearts of kings and rulers 304 00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:39,440 and magistrates. Don't give up praying for your 305 00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:42,800 loved ones. Not just those who seem to not 306 00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:45,240 care, just do whatever you want, but those who attack you for 307 00:19:45,240 --> 00:19:48,000 your faith, those who told you why do you come to this place on 308 00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:52,280 Friday nights, hang out with us, you'd lose your mind or 309 00:19:52,280 --> 00:19:58,400 something. Prayer is just as effective for 310 00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:00,920 them. Nehemiah is going to show us 311 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:05,120 that in the very next chapter. Now I'm aware that we have many 312 00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:07,120 other verses to look at, but there's one more thing that I 313 00:20:07,120 --> 00:20:10,160 want us to look at here before we go on. 314 00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:14,000 Notice how in verse 4, Nehemiah says that he sat down and wept 315 00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:19,600 and mourned for days and I continued fasting and praying. 316 00:20:20,880 --> 00:20:23,080 Does anybody have an idea how Nehemiah how long Nehemiah 317 00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:26,520 prayed for? If you have an idea, you can 318 00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:28,480 answer. Any clue? 319 00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:35,960 Four days, 10 days, two weeks. This is where time stamps in 320 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:39,280 narratives and in different parts of the Bible should never 321 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:42,720 be ignored. Look back at verse 1 of this 322 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:45,800 book. The words of Nehemiah the son of 323 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:50,160 Hakalaya now happened in the month of Kislev in the 20th 324 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:54,720 year, as I was in Susa, the Citadel, the month of Kislev in 325 00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:59,360 the 20th year, OK, this corresponds to November, 326 00:20:59,360 --> 00:21:02,440 December. Go to Nehemiah chapter 2, verse 327 00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:06,280 one, in the month of Nissan in the 20th year of King 328 00:21:06,280 --> 00:21:08,000 Artaxerxes, when wine was before him. 329 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:09,880 I took up the wine and gave it to the king. 330 00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:12,000 Now I had not been sad in his presence. 331 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:15,080 This is when Nehemiah is going to receive permission to go to 332 00:21:15,080 --> 00:21:18,560 Jerusalem. Now the month of Nissan falls 333 00:21:19,360 --> 00:21:23,920 approximately between the months of March and April. 334 00:21:24,800 --> 00:21:29,760 So we can say based on this that Nehemiah was in this contrition, 335 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:34,480 the state of prayer, seeking God, raising up his voice to the 336 00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:42,400 heavens for a solid four months. I'm not sure about you, but that 337 00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:45,120 changes the way I understand this man's desperation. 338 00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:49,400 And when we come to Nehemiah chapter 2, we will spend more 339 00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:54,200 time looking at the whys and the hows of this duration of prayer. 340 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:59,560 But I want to just make note of one thing, and it's how this 341 00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:03,440 reveals something about one way we can know that God may be 342 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:05,240 directing us toward a certain work. 343 00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:12,160 One way you and I could discern a ministry, a service, a mission 344 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:17,360 that God is leading us to is by the persistent, steady burden. 345 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:24,640 We feel for it. Nehemiah's reaction to this news 346 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:29,480 was not short lived, was it? The timeline confirms that he 347 00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:32,440 was not just emotional for a couple of days and then it all 348 00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:36,000 fizzled out. He couldn't shake it off. 349 00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:45,960 And sometimes an ongoing yearning to see a need met, to 350 00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:49,800 see a work done in God's Kingdom, is a signal of a path 351 00:22:49,800 --> 00:22:56,080 that we may need to pursue. Be cautious now, because 352 00:22:56,120 --> 00:22:59,400 righteous desires, no matter how intense they are, are not always 353 00:22:59,680 --> 00:23:02,680 signs that God is leading us somewhere. 354 00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:06,920 As important as those feelings may be in those convictions 355 00:23:07,480 --> 00:23:11,880 growing are, they need to be accompanied by wise counsel. 356 00:23:12,360 --> 00:23:16,720 They need to be treated with persistent, serious prayer, And 357 00:23:16,720 --> 00:23:22,040 they need to always, always, always be waited on, patiently 358 00:23:22,040 --> 00:23:26,360 waiting on the Lord to confirm. What Nehemiah models for us, 359 00:23:26,360 --> 00:23:31,560 though, is that when a burden is birthed, don't ignore it. 360 00:23:32,560 --> 00:23:40,080 Tap into it, explore it. And with that, his testimony 361 00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:44,000 shows that if it's from God, he will confirm it. 362 00:23:44,760 --> 00:23:47,400 And the way it's confirmed for him is that the door will swing 363 00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:51,040 open and what he felt and what he was wrestling with and what 364 00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:54,640 he brought before God ended up being authorized by God because 365 00:23:54,640 --> 00:24:04,810 Providence approved it. If you and I want to see genuine 366 00:24:04,810 --> 00:24:09,490 fruit and longevity in ministry, it has to be birth and passion. 367 00:24:11,330 --> 00:24:14,930 I'm not saying you have to feel giddy and excited for whatever 368 00:24:14,930 --> 00:24:19,890 ministry you are connected to on an ongoing, unbroken basis. 369 00:24:20,450 --> 00:24:24,640 However, if there is no passion, if there is no drive, if you 370 00:24:24,640 --> 00:24:28,320 don't dream about it to some extent, if you don't talk to God 371 00:24:28,320 --> 00:24:31,080 regularly about it, what are you doing? 372 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:34,880 And if you're just going through the motions, guess what the 373 00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:39,960 fruit of it is going to show? But Nehemiah here is showing us 374 00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:42,800 a very important sequence. There's something birthed in his 375 00:24:42,800 --> 00:24:46,520 heart, something that will later be birthed in prayer, and it's 376 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:50,800 going to manifest in the remainder of this book in terms 377 00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:54,800 of fruit and effectiveness. Let's actually get to the 378 00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:59,720 content of the prayer, shall we? We're not going to look at all 379 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:01,600 the insights, but let's look at some. 380 00:25:01,760 --> 00:25:04,440 You know, as I read this over and over again, something stood 381 00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:08,840 out to me. Something began to glisten, and 382 00:25:08,840 --> 00:25:13,000 it was how Nehemiah referred to himself and the other parties 383 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:17,080 involved who belong to the Lord and serve the Lord. 384 00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:19,200 Let me show you what I mean. Look at verse 6. 385 00:25:20,120 --> 00:25:23,680 He says, Let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to 386 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:29,120 hear the prayer of your servant. Underline that you're saying 387 00:25:29,120 --> 00:25:31,040 why? We'll keep reading that. 388 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:34,840 I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel, 389 00:25:34,840 --> 00:25:38,480 Your servants. OK, look at verse 8. 390 00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:42,440 Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses. 391 00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:44,000 Out of all the things that you could have said about Moses, 392 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:45,680 what did you choose to say? Your servant? 393 00:25:45,840 --> 00:25:48,760 And he does it twice. Look at verse 11. 394 00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:50,120 We already saw, but let's revisit it. 395 00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:52,920 Oh Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your 396 00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:56,840 servant and to the prayer of Your servants who delight to 397 00:25:56,840 --> 00:25:59,320 fear Your name. So throughout, throughout this 398 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:01,920 prayer, Nehemiah identifies himself. 399 00:26:02,080 --> 00:26:04,600 He identifies those who are the people of Israel. 400 00:26:04,880 --> 00:26:06,320 He identifies those who are praying with him. 401 00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:09,440 He even identifies Moses as what God's servants. 402 00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:15,200 And this is a humble reminder that no matter the nature of our 403 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:19,880 ministry, whether we are leading people like Moses or we are 404 00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:23,320 behind the scenes and helping a guy like Nehemiah build some 405 00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:26,520 walls, all of us are no greater than this. 406 00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:30,920 We are simply servants. Whatever your gift looks like, 407 00:26:33,520 --> 00:26:36,480 whoever knows your name or doesn't know your name in the 408 00:26:36,480 --> 00:26:39,040 sight of God, we are all merely servants. 409 00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:44,320 You know, this attitude that Nehemiah displays here reminds 410 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:48,040 me of what Christ didn't suggest but commanded. 411 00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:54,160 Actually, when I was thinking about it today, I thought in 412 00:26:54,160 --> 00:26:58,360 teachings about serving the Lord, sacrificing for the Lord, 413 00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:01,360 pursuing some kind of ministry for the Lord. 414 00:27:01,600 --> 00:27:04,320 This verse that I'm about to tell you to turn to is rarely 415 00:27:04,320 --> 00:27:08,480 brought up, rarely brought up, Luke 17, verse 10. 416 00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:13,800 And I wonder if you've ever heard this being used to exhort 417 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:18,600 us to properly view ourselves and ministry for Jesus Christ. 418 00:27:18,600 --> 00:27:23,280 This is Jesus Christ telling His own and us how we should view 419 00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:25,080 ourselves in light of serving him. 420 00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:31,800 Luke 17 verse 10. I will wait for you because I 421 00:27:31,800 --> 00:27:32,960 want you to see with your own eyes. 422 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:43,680 So you also, when you have done all that you recommended, say we 423 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:47,720 are unworthy servants. We have only done what was our 424 00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:54,280 duty, and that's something. Did Jesus recommend this? 425 00:27:54,280 --> 00:27:57,280 And he says, when you've done your ministry, say this. 426 00:27:57,280 --> 00:28:00,720 Now, why would Jesus say this? I'll tell you why, because there 427 00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:02,520 are many Christians who are tempted to think that we're 428 00:28:02,520 --> 00:28:04,000 doing God a favor by serving him. 429 00:28:04,800 --> 00:28:10,360 That's why. Or that or something special for 430 00:28:10,360 --> 00:28:13,920 serving him. Look at me, what I do. 431 00:28:14,360 --> 00:28:19,320 I serve God not just on Sundays, Fridays, and Wednesdays. 432 00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:23,680 Who cares? Look what I do. 433 00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:26,720 This church wouldn't survive without me. 434 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:29,840 Oh, they might be able to go on, but it'll be a struggle. 435 00:28:29,840 --> 00:28:34,280 I think you know what Jesus says to you and I. 436 00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:41,280 You're a servant and you're doing your duty. 437 00:28:43,560 --> 00:28:47,120 God is not in our debt when we serve Him. 438 00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:51,040 That is the least that you and I can do after what He has done 439 00:28:51,040 --> 00:28:53,600 for us. It's the least that we can do if 440 00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:58,040 we actually understand how our Christ served us. 441 00:28:59,880 --> 00:29:03,440 If I have 10,000 lives to live, I'll give you all of them to 442 00:29:03,440 --> 00:29:07,920 your service. So the Lord is really bringing 443 00:29:07,920 --> 00:29:12,240 us back down to reality here because we have a tendency of 444 00:29:12,240 --> 00:29:21,880 having this sense of superiority, maybe self worth, 445 00:29:22,360 --> 00:29:26,360 self praise, and Nehemiah's prayer reminds us of a new 446 00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:32,400 covenant attitude. As we continue here, I want us 447 00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:36,840 to consider something else. We see again here in verse 8 and 448 00:29:36,840 --> 00:29:41,200 verse 9 that one of the greatest recorded prayers in the Bible is 449 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:44,280 biblically informed. Look at verse 8:00 and 9:00 for 450 00:29:44,280 --> 00:29:47,040 a second. Here he says, Remember the word 451 00:29:47,040 --> 00:29:49,720 that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, If you are 452 00:29:49,720 --> 00:29:52,640 unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples. 453 00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:55,560 But if you return to me, keep my commandments and do them though 454 00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:57,800 your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from 455 00:29:57,800 --> 00:30:00,080 there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I 456 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:02,080 have chosen to make my name dwell there. 457 00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:04,280 So what's what's Nehemiah doing here? 458 00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:08,080 Showing us the importance of being saturated with the Bible 459 00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:10,880 in order to be effective in our prayers and intercessions. 460 00:30:10,880 --> 00:30:11,960 Right. This is something that we've 461 00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:13,560 seen over and over and over again. 462 00:30:13,600 --> 00:30:16,800 But there is an added layer of inspiration here with Nehemiah. 463 00:30:18,280 --> 00:30:21,400 Was he born in Jerusalem? No, he's born in exile. 464 00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:27,040 Was there a temple in Babylonia to draw inspiration from? 465 00:30:27,120 --> 00:30:28,680 No. Yeah. 466 00:30:28,680 --> 00:30:31,360 There was a community of Jews there, even God fearing Jews, 467 00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:34,280 but just imagine the atmosphere, imagine the temptations. 468 00:30:34,280 --> 00:30:37,560 And yet what I see in Nehemiah is what we saw in Ezra, that he 469 00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:40,760 was committed to knowing God's word, to loving God through the 470 00:30:40,760 --> 00:30:43,720 Word. And it shows up in his prayer 471 00:30:43,720 --> 00:30:47,440 language. And not only does he say 472 00:30:47,440 --> 00:30:52,840 something about Nehemiah's absolute commitment to the 473 00:30:52,840 --> 00:30:59,600 truth, it shows him and it shows us the the secret to fuel in our 474 00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:05,600 prayer lives rehearsing God's character, his abilities, his 475 00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:07,320 works, his ways, and his faithfulness. 476 00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:10,800 In fact, that's exactly what he brings up here in verse 10. 477 00:31:10,800 --> 00:31:13,560 Look at it with me. He says they are your servants 478 00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:16,000 and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and 479 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:18,400 by your strong hand. Notice this. 480 00:31:19,360 --> 00:31:22,080 They are your servants and your people whom you have redeemed by 481 00:31:22,080 --> 00:31:23,760 your great power and by your strong hand. 482 00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:28,600 There's something happening more than just Nehemiah reminding 483 00:31:28,600 --> 00:31:32,800 himself that the people of Israel are in covenant with God, 484 00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:35,000 therefore God will be faithful to his covenant people. 485 00:31:35,960 --> 00:31:39,760 This is Nehemiah also reflecting on what God has done with this 486 00:31:39,760 --> 00:31:44,000 people, giving him the hope that he can do it again with this 487 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:46,840 people. You have redeemed this people 488 00:31:47,080 --> 00:31:52,000 from Egypt with all the impossible challenges, with a 489 00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:54,680 tyrant like Pharaoh, with with, with a Red Sea. 490 00:31:54,680 --> 00:31:57,040 You brought them out. Surely, Lord, you can bring them 491 00:31:57,040 --> 00:32:02,720 out of this ruin. So you see already that Nehemiah 492 00:32:02,720 --> 00:32:07,360 is energized and he has an anchor in this place of praying 493 00:32:07,360 --> 00:32:11,240 for weeks and months because he knows God has done it before, 494 00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:15,080 God can do it again. And the only way that you can 495 00:32:15,080 --> 00:32:19,360 even have a a chance of tasting that kind of faith is if you 496 00:32:19,360 --> 00:32:23,760 know what God has done. Can I ask you something? 497 00:32:23,760 --> 00:32:28,040 What stories in the Scriptures do you visit in order to 498 00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:30,960 strengthen your faith? Are you familiar enough with 499 00:32:30,960 --> 00:32:33,920 them to apply them to virtually any situation that comes to you? 500 00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:39,240 We should be able to get there and as primary and foundation as 501 00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:43,320 that is, we should also be aware of what God has done in history, 502 00:32:44,320 --> 00:32:47,560 what God has done in people's lives around us, what God has 503 00:32:47,560 --> 00:32:50,000 done in our parents lives if they've served the Lord, our 504 00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:52,480 pastors lives. Fellow brothers and sisters, we 505 00:32:52,480 --> 00:32:57,320 should accumulate testimonies in order to know how to pray like 506 00:32:57,320 --> 00:33:03,440 Nehemiah prays. You know, in the years that 507 00:33:03,440 --> 00:33:05,960 we've been praying for a building, I found myself doing 508 00:33:05,960 --> 00:33:10,680 something repeatedly. And my wife can testify to this 509 00:33:10,680 --> 00:33:13,800 too, whenever she was in the car with me, that if I wasn't too 510 00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:17,360 distracted thinking while driving safely, not too 511 00:33:17,360 --> 00:33:21,200 distracted with my mind here, sometimes I would drive by 512 00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:23,480 different buildings, especially buildings, church buildings with 513 00:33:23,480 --> 00:33:29,840 nice parking lots. And I would say out loud, God, 514 00:33:29,840 --> 00:33:31,560 if you did it for them, you can do it for us. 515 00:33:32,640 --> 00:33:38,120 Just just simple, just simple words to the Lord and just 516 00:33:38,120 --> 00:33:42,600 tangible observations that God, if you did it for that ministry, 517 00:33:42,840 --> 00:33:45,800 do you love us any less? Surely not. 518 00:33:45,800 --> 00:33:50,520 And he doesn't love us anymore. He's done it before. 519 00:33:52,520 --> 00:33:54,840 He's helped different ministries, I'm sure, overcome 520 00:33:54,840 --> 00:34:00,560 obstacles and and permits and persecution and neighbors that 521 00:34:00,560 --> 00:34:03,880 might cause even more headache. All these things. 522 00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:07,040 And the MI shows us that we need to know that if we're going to 523 00:34:07,040 --> 00:34:09,159 be able to stay in the place of prayer long enough to see 524 00:34:09,159 --> 00:34:13,360 answers. And we've seen answers, haven't 525 00:34:13,360 --> 00:34:17,719 we? Now, as we continue, I want I 526 00:34:17,719 --> 00:34:19,239 want us to just look at the final verse here. 527 00:34:19,239 --> 00:34:22,159 And I can tell you this with a great confidence that we can, we 528 00:34:22,159 --> 00:34:25,560 can spend an entire separate session on this one verse alone. 529 00:34:25,600 --> 00:34:30,440 It is packed, packed, packed with incredible observations. 530 00:34:30,639 --> 00:34:34,199 And I just want us to consider a couple of them here before we 531 00:34:34,199 --> 00:34:36,679 close. We learn here that Nehemiah's 532 00:34:36,679 --> 00:34:44,239 final words are mentioning not just his commitment to pray and 533 00:34:44,239 --> 00:34:46,960 his desperate need for God to answer his prayers, but that 534 00:34:46,960 --> 00:34:48,920 there are other people who are praying with him. 535 00:34:49,239 --> 00:34:51,880 Did you pick up on that? Look at it again. 536 00:34:51,880 --> 00:34:54,520 Oh Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your 537 00:34:54,520 --> 00:34:57,240 servant. That's Nehemiah, and to the 538 00:34:57,240 --> 00:35:01,800 prayer of your servants. Who else is praying with him? 539 00:35:03,800 --> 00:35:05,640 Evidently he made this need known to them. 540 00:35:05,640 --> 00:35:08,360 He got a prayer group to join him, to partner with him. 541 00:35:10,440 --> 00:35:12,280 And the only thing that we know about them is what? 542 00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:15,040 That they delight to fear God's name. 543 00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:20,800 What a fascinating phrase. Delight to fear God's name? 544 00:35:20,800 --> 00:35:23,320 That seems kind of absurd on the surface. 545 00:35:24,160 --> 00:35:27,840 If there's any delight in relation to fear is to have less 546 00:35:27,840 --> 00:35:33,480 of it, not more of it. Unless, of course, these 547 00:35:33,480 --> 00:35:37,120 servants with Nehemiah comprehended the treasures that 548 00:35:37,120 --> 00:35:42,280 come with fear in God, that made them fear God and want to grow 549 00:35:42,280 --> 00:35:47,200 in reverence, in awe of him the way he deserves delighting to. 550 00:35:47,320 --> 00:35:50,560 It's a delight for me to stand in awe of God. 551 00:35:50,880 --> 00:35:52,800 I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. 552 00:35:54,320 --> 00:35:57,880 What a thing to be said of anybody who delight, one 553 00:35:57,880 --> 00:36:01,080 translation says, who desire to fear your name. 554 00:36:04,080 --> 00:36:07,280 If your heart fears God tonight, rejoice in that. 555 00:36:09,440 --> 00:36:16,440 If it doesn't, if you can be honest with yourself and say, I 556 00:36:16,440 --> 00:36:18,880 know preachers talk about the majesty of God and the awe of 557 00:36:18,880 --> 00:36:23,240 God, but I believe in a theory, but I don't feel it in my soul. 558 00:36:23,240 --> 00:36:26,000 Ask God for it. He can do something in you. 559 00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:32,480 I'm sure He can open your eyes, certainly, and you don't need to 560 00:36:32,480 --> 00:36:37,160 be a preacher to have it. These are unnamed fellows. 561 00:36:38,080 --> 00:36:39,400 Which brings me to my next point. 562 00:36:39,400 --> 00:36:42,520 There's something to learn here about leaders and non leaders. 563 00:36:43,760 --> 00:36:46,720 So allow me to speak about this for a moment. 564 00:36:47,360 --> 00:36:51,480 For those who are leaders now or aspiring leaders, I want you to 565 00:36:51,480 --> 00:36:55,560 notice that Nehemiah acknowledged these servants in 566 00:36:55,560 --> 00:36:57,200 prayer. Even though he would be 567 00:36:57,200 --> 00:37:00,360 platformed by name, even though he would be the face of this 568 00:37:00,920 --> 00:37:04,760 massive revival and a movement of great restoration of historic 569 00:37:04,760 --> 00:37:07,520 proportions, he would be the main guy. 570 00:37:08,520 --> 00:37:11,280 And yet I see something noble about Nehemiah. 571 00:37:11,280 --> 00:37:15,600 He understood the value of those who serve alongside him in the 572 00:37:15,600 --> 00:37:19,400 background. This is a hint that he 573 00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:22,280 understood that he would not be able to do this on his own. 574 00:37:22,280 --> 00:37:27,520 He's he's actually even relying on his prayer partners and he 575 00:37:27,520 --> 00:37:30,040 mentions them in his prayer before God. 576 00:37:30,960 --> 00:37:33,600 And we should go beyond that and even express our appreciation 577 00:37:33,600 --> 00:37:36,880 from time to time to those who are serving behind the scenes. 578 00:37:39,320 --> 00:37:43,120 So leaders, take note of this. Even though God has called you 579 00:37:43,120 --> 00:37:47,520 to perhaps guide and and possess vision, understand that you were 580 00:37:47,520 --> 00:37:49,560 never called to do it alone. You can't do it alone. 581 00:37:49,800 --> 00:37:54,520 Neither can I. But secondly, we learned that 582 00:37:54,520 --> 00:37:57,240 it's possible to effectively contribute to the cause of 583 00:37:57,240 --> 00:38:00,840 Christ and not be a leader and not even be known. 584 00:38:02,560 --> 00:38:04,160 Do you believe that the Holy Spirit could have mentioned 585 00:38:04,160 --> 00:38:05,920 these servants who prayed with Nehemiah by name? 586 00:38:06,240 --> 00:38:08,960 He could have. If you doubt that, we've studied 587 00:38:08,960 --> 00:38:13,200 a lot of names, haven't we? God is not shy of including 588 00:38:13,200 --> 00:38:14,880 names if He wants to include names. 589 00:38:16,400 --> 00:38:19,000 But when He doesn't mention a name, sometimes there's insight 590 00:38:19,000 --> 00:38:21,320 even in that. And what I find here is that 591 00:38:22,280 --> 00:38:27,200 these individuals who served God and served Nehemiah were not 592 00:38:27,200 --> 00:38:31,440 known, but they played a major part in what we're going to see 593 00:38:31,440 --> 00:38:33,560 in the following chapters because they prayed. 594 00:38:36,600 --> 00:38:39,560 Here's what that means. Unfortunately for some, 595 00:38:40,080 --> 00:38:43,800 fortunately, I don't enjoy saying this, but for some, their 596 00:38:43,800 --> 00:38:48,200 incentive to serve the Lord Jesus Christ in the context of 597 00:38:48,200 --> 00:38:51,720 the local church or any kind of ministry is to have a sense of 598 00:38:51,720 --> 00:38:54,600 recognition. It's to be respected. 599 00:38:56,200 --> 00:39:00,280 Oh, and if they can get a title, like all I need is a title, if I 600 00:39:00,280 --> 00:39:04,160 can have a title along those other guys who have titles, Oh 601 00:39:04,160 --> 00:39:06,080 yeah, that's what I'm looking for. 602 00:39:07,120 --> 00:39:12,400 Please listen, don't enter ministry if you are very aware 603 00:39:12,400 --> 00:39:16,000 of your low self esteem. I'm not saying you can't be 604 00:39:16,000 --> 00:39:17,480 tempted with self esteem. I can't. 605 00:39:17,720 --> 00:39:19,880 I'm not sure you're saying that you can't be discouraged. 606 00:39:20,120 --> 00:39:26,400 But if you are pursuing service to the Lord because you need 607 00:39:26,400 --> 00:39:29,680 identity in that service, danger for you and danger for the 608 00:39:29,680 --> 00:39:33,160 church that you're serving. I know it sounds innocent. 609 00:39:33,320 --> 00:39:35,720 I know it's almost like it's kind of harmless. 610 00:39:36,160 --> 00:39:39,240 Actually it's not. It can cause a lot of problems. 611 00:39:40,920 --> 00:39:43,120 Instead, you and I have to come to a place and ask this 612 00:39:43,120 --> 00:39:44,760 question. Am I willing to sacrifice my 613 00:39:44,760 --> 00:39:46,840 time? Am I willing to serve and give 614 00:39:46,840 --> 00:39:50,760 my energy towards whatever God asked me to if I never received 615 00:39:50,760 --> 00:39:56,560 praise for it? If you and I fear His name like 616 00:39:56,560 --> 00:40:03,120 these servants did, we will. We will, because when you stand 617 00:40:03,240 --> 00:40:07,720 in awe of God, the appreciation of man has little value. 618 00:40:10,200 --> 00:40:13,960 That's the problem. We get this thing all mixed up 619 00:40:13,960 --> 00:40:19,240 and we, we, we crave the pat on the back and we crave the 620 00:40:19,240 --> 00:40:22,920 accolades and we crave the attention and we crave people 621 00:40:22,920 --> 00:40:26,480 say, oh, he's doing something effective, he's doing something 622 00:40:26,760 --> 00:40:29,320 great. He's doing something popular. 623 00:40:34,560 --> 00:40:37,680 As much as Nehemiah is so inspirational, I find equal 624 00:40:37,680 --> 00:40:42,240 inspiration from these servants that we'll only know in heaven. 625 00:40:44,760 --> 00:40:50,160 They feared God, they loved God. Think about it, the reason why 626 00:40:50,160 --> 00:40:52,040 they were willing to pray with Nehemiah is because they 627 00:40:52,280 --> 00:40:59,000 delighted to fear the Lord. No other ambition, no other 628 00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:03,720 agenda. And I'm sure they celebrated the 629 00:41:03,720 --> 00:41:07,440 fact that Nehemiah would be the leader of this whole movement. 630 00:41:11,960 --> 00:41:17,480 Final thought for us tonight. What came to mind here and 631 00:41:17,480 --> 00:41:22,080 meditating on these verses that prayer unlocks more rewards than 632 00:41:22,080 --> 00:41:25,480 we often remember. The ultimate prize of what 633 00:41:25,480 --> 00:41:28,640 Nehemiah does here in chapter 1 is that the king will indeed 634 00:41:28,640 --> 00:41:32,680 give him the mercy that he asked God for and that he will have 635 00:41:32,680 --> 00:41:35,520 the favor and more than just a favor to go because you have to 636 00:41:35,520 --> 00:41:36,520 understand how difficult this is. 637 00:41:36,520 --> 00:41:39,040 This is not just a normal job where you put in your two weeks 638 00:41:39,040 --> 00:41:40,720 notice thinking I have another thing. 639 00:41:41,160 --> 00:41:43,840 Thank you for all the benefits and the opportunities. 640 00:41:43,840 --> 00:41:46,720 No, he was one of the most trusted individuals in the 641 00:41:46,720 --> 00:41:51,000 Kingdom. It would not be so easy for him 642 00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:55,040 to leave his post. So yes, we're anticipating that 643 00:41:55,040 --> 00:41:58,040 God is going to answer this prayer, but I want you to see 644 00:41:58,480 --> 00:42:00,280 that God gives him much more than that. 645 00:42:01,160 --> 00:42:05,160 And one of those examples is how Nehemiah speaks about the king 646 00:42:05,160 --> 00:42:08,320 in this verse. Look again at verse 11. 647 00:42:08,760 --> 00:42:10,640 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your 648 00:42:10,640 --> 00:42:12,520 servant and to the prayer of Your servants, who delight to 649 00:42:12,520 --> 00:42:15,440 fear Your name and give success to Your servant today. 650 00:42:15,440 --> 00:42:18,840 I mean, he mentioned servant 3 times in this one verse, and 651 00:42:18,840 --> 00:42:22,360 grant him mercy in the sight of this man. 652 00:42:25,280 --> 00:42:30,000 Now don't make the mistake of taking Nehemiah's reference to 653 00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:32,640 the king as this man as an expression of disrespect or 654 00:42:32,640 --> 00:42:34,200 disdain. That's not what's happening here 655 00:42:35,440 --> 00:42:38,560 because the very first recorded words of Nehemiah in chapter 2, 656 00:42:38,720 --> 00:42:42,200 when the king calls upon him, is May the king live forever. 657 00:42:43,040 --> 00:42:47,960 That is respect. He didn't look down upon his 658 00:42:47,960 --> 00:42:50,080 employer. He didn't look down upon this 659 00:42:50,080 --> 00:42:54,200 king. Instead, lean into this. 660 00:42:54,800 --> 00:42:59,680 As Nehemiah continued to spend time in God's presence, as he 661 00:42:59,680 --> 00:43:02,280 continued to deal with the truths that he's studying in 662 00:43:02,280 --> 00:43:05,640 God's Word and put them into practice in terms of praying 663 00:43:05,640 --> 00:43:12,400 about it and allowing his heart to believe it, his perspective 664 00:43:12,400 --> 00:43:17,800 began to change. Especially when you compare what 665 00:43:17,800 --> 00:43:20,200 he says here in the last verse of his prayer with the first 666 00:43:20,200 --> 00:43:22,920 words of his prayer. Look back at verse 5, Nehemiah 667 00:43:22,920 --> 00:43:28,640 1/5 And I said, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome 668 00:43:28,640 --> 00:43:31,520 God, what a way to address the Lord. 669 00:43:32,040 --> 00:43:38,600 He begins by exalting His absolute sovereignty, His glory, 670 00:43:39,080 --> 00:43:45,520 His infinite beauty and power. And then as He comes here to the 671 00:43:45,520 --> 00:43:49,440 end of his prayer and refers to the most feared and powerful man 672 00:43:49,440 --> 00:43:52,600 in the Persian Empire, when compared to the truth of who God 673 00:43:52,600 --> 00:43:56,400 is, He is just a man. Do you see this? 674 00:43:56,840 --> 00:44:01,560 He's just a man. As he glued his eyes, and more 675 00:44:01,560 --> 00:44:04,280 importantly, the eyes of his heart, and as he exercised the 676 00:44:04,280 --> 00:44:07,520 words of faith, and as he meditated on who he was speaking 677 00:44:07,520 --> 00:44:13,000 to, whatever pomp, whatever pride, whatever power art exerts 678 00:44:13,000 --> 00:44:14,920 he's possessed, it began to fade. 679 00:44:18,640 --> 00:44:20,080 So here's what you and I have to understand. 680 00:44:20,080 --> 00:44:23,360 Nehemiah was praying for the Lord to do a work in the city of 681 00:44:23,360 --> 00:44:26,080 Jerusalem, and all the while the Lord was doing a work in 682 00:44:26,080 --> 00:44:34,240 Nehemiah. Can God change the problem that 683 00:44:34,240 --> 00:44:35,560 you're praying about? Absolutely. 684 00:44:35,560 --> 00:44:38,000 Believe it with all your heart, but also believe this. 685 00:44:38,760 --> 00:44:40,320 He's going to change you in the process. 686 00:44:43,080 --> 00:44:46,440 And in this case, what you have here is Nehemiah's understanding 687 00:44:46,440 --> 00:44:49,040 of who God is. And even the greatest obstacle 688 00:44:49,040 --> 00:44:55,080 that he had was not so much of an obstacle in light of who God 689 00:44:55,360 --> 00:44:57,920 showed himself to be to this man. 690 00:44:59,640 --> 00:45:04,440 So Nehemiah received an added reward, and that was a 691 00:45:04,440 --> 00:45:07,960 revelation of the majesty and might of his God. 692 00:45:11,960 --> 00:45:16,840 Prayer carries power not just for predicaments, but for our 693 00:45:16,840 --> 00:45:20,600 own personalities and our own perspectives. 694 00:45:22,440 --> 00:45:26,360 You will never lose if you pray. You will lose a lot more than 695 00:45:26,360 --> 00:45:30,720 you think if you don't. Do you believe that there is 696 00:45:30,720 --> 00:45:32,600 much more that we can get from these verses? 697 00:45:33,360 --> 00:45:36,000 I think so. For for the sake of our time 698 00:45:36,000 --> 00:46:01,280 tonight, let's pause and pray. Lord, we delight to fear your 699 00:46:01,280 --> 00:46:04,720 name. You're worthy to be feared. 700 00:46:09,520 --> 00:46:17,920 And if any of our hearts have lost that sense of awe, use the 701 00:46:17,920 --> 00:46:21,920 truths, Lord, from these verses that have been pressed against 702 00:46:21,920 --> 00:46:31,240 our hearts to mold us and to sharpen our understanding of who 703 00:46:31,240 --> 00:46:33,800 You are, who we are studying about, who we are speaking to 704 00:46:33,840 --> 00:46:40,000 even now. Lord, much has been said and 705 00:46:40,000 --> 00:46:43,800 there was more that could be said, but we say thank You for 706 00:46:43,800 --> 00:46:46,000 the portion that has been presented to us this evening. 707 00:46:49,480 --> 00:46:55,240 And we pray that when we learn something of You and what You 708 00:46:55,240 --> 00:46:59,120 ask of us, that it would move us genuinely, that it would do more 709 00:46:59,120 --> 00:47:05,720 than just tickle our brains, but that it would stir our hearts. 710 00:47:12,500 --> 00:47:16,540 Lord, thank You that You do not change. 711 00:47:18,900 --> 00:47:25,460 And what You long for and expect and desire out of many men and 712 00:47:25,460 --> 00:47:28,020 women that we find in the Scriptures is no different for 713 00:47:28,020 --> 00:47:33,640 us. So, Lord, if you're looking for 714 00:47:33,640 --> 00:47:37,560 people who have concern for your church in a very real and 715 00:47:37,560 --> 00:47:40,760 personal way. If we don't have that, birth it 716 00:47:40,760 --> 00:47:49,000 in US. Lord, if if we are overcome by 717 00:47:49,000 --> 00:47:53,000 the size of our obstacles, help us understand that you've given 718 00:47:53,000 --> 00:47:57,320 us this weapon, this grace, this gift called prayer that can do 719 00:47:57,320 --> 00:48:04,000 so much more than we think. But we, we bless your name, we 720 00:48:04,000 --> 00:48:07,400 honor your name. We Revere you, Lord, and we 721 00:48:07,400 --> 00:48:09,760 believe that you've brought us to the book of Nehemiah for such 722 00:48:09,760 --> 00:48:13,480 a time as this. You will equip us efficiently 723 00:48:13,480 --> 00:48:16,360 for this next season as a church, and we will glean from 724 00:48:16,360 --> 00:48:18,440 it. And Lord, by your help, we will 725 00:48:18,440 --> 00:48:22,520 apply all that we hear that we may see the fruit of it in our 726 00:48:22,520 --> 00:48:25,640 days. We honor you now in song. 727 00:48:25,640 --> 00:48:27,960 In Jesus name we pray. Amen. 728 00:48:28,560 --> 00:48:33,800 Amen. Well, I think the precinct will 729 00:48:33,800 --> 00:48:36,000 come now and tell us what song we will sing together. 730 00:48:38,120 --> 00:48:41,040 If you feel like you need to stay seated and just continue to 731 00:48:41,040 --> 00:48:43,480 pray and talk to the Lord before you make your way out of here, 732 00:48:43,480 --> 00:48:45,920 you can do that. But if you feel like you need to 733 00:48:45,920 --> 00:48:48,600 stand and glorify God and sing it, you can do that as well. 734 00:48:48,600 --> 00:48:52,080 So whatever you are inclined to do, as long as you are focused 735 00:48:52,080 --> 00:48:54,680 on the Lord, let's take these next few moments and worship 736 00:48:54,680 --> 00:48:54,880 Him.