Good evening once more. Would you open with me your
Bible to the Old Testament book of Nehemiah in chapter 2?
This is our second message in the series.
We'll have two more and then we'll have a couple of weeks
break over the Christmas period. But tonight, as you turn into
Nehemiah chapter 2, the title of the message is Pray, Probe,
Persuade, leading God's rebuild. And many of you, I think, are in
a season right now where life demands A pivot.
If not, then there will come times where that is the case.
And so things perhaps in your life have changed.
A big decision maybe looms around the corner.
You're not sure exactly what to do.
Maybe it is that you're simply starting a family.
You're getting married, sending kids off to university, perhaps
next year or a new job is on the horizon.
We've just moved into the area where you're considering
contemplating a move elsewhere and decisions need to be made.
And you're wondering in that decision making process, what do
I do? How do I make this decision?
Lord, give me your help. And maybe if you're married, it
works a little something like this.
The two of you approach decision making differently.
One, maybe she prays, says I'm just going to take it to the
Lord and he'll take care of it. And the husband says, yeah,
he'll take care of it all right through me.
So I've got to make a plan. And she'd pray and trust and he
might plan and push. And he thinks that she's not
practical enough in that, and she thinks he's not spiritual
enough in that. Did you pray?
She might ask and he might respond, Well, I asked God to
bless my plan. So there, it's a simple little
thing. But you see, finding God's will,
finding what God's decision is in our making process, you know,
it actually requires both the blending of praying and
planning. It's been said that these are
like praying and planning the 2 feet that God gives us to walk
by faith with Him. It's an interesting way of
thinking about it. The whole book of Nehemiah is a
case study. In this Nehemiah we looked at
last week, he prays he's burdened with the state of
disrepair in Jerusalem as he's heard of of the Exiles returning
and it and it breaks his heart to the point that he effectively
spends some four months in heavy prayer unto the Lord about this.
What we'll see tonight out of chapter 2 is that during that
time of praying, he has also been planning so that when that
opportunity arises for God to use him as he's requested and
prayed, Lord God effectively use me, then he's ready to find
God's will and to walk in it with those plans in place.
So the whole book of Nehemiah is a case study in this.
We'll see that specifically tonight in our chapter of
Nehemiah. Additionally, what we'll see is
this is that if you're a visionary in any way, if you're
a leader in any capacity, then the art of doing that is the
ability to see what others cannot see, they do not see.
It's the difference between seeing what is and what could be
the potential that is the Lord at work in and through a
situation. So where one person perhaps sees
an acorn, the visionary sees the oak tree.
Where one person perhaps sees a stack of timber, the other sees
a home in completion. Where one sees a city in ruin,
as many are experiencing in the book of Nehemiah, the visionary
sees an opportunity for renewal, and that's Nehemiah.
Nehemiah again, as I say, picks up some four months after we
left off in Chapter 1 last week, the devastating news that's come
to him of Jerusalem's ruin. But God is opening a door now
for Nehemiah and it's a terrifying experience, something
that grips his heart with fear. You see, approaching the king
with sadness, even if it's evident on your face, as we'll
read could mean in fact, death for Nehemiah.
And then asking as we read what Nehemiah does, very presumptuous
asking what he does of the king. It's, it's almost the
impossible. And So what follows out of
chapter 2 is, is really a master class in turning that deep
burden within us into divine breakthrough.
So again, we're looking at 3 actions that define godly
leadership. Or if you're seeking God's
direction in your life of #1 praying #2 probing and looking
into the situation and seeing and sensing the reality reality
of that. And then thirdly, being able to
persuade and bring others along in the vision in, in that
purpose of obeying God's commands and direction for your
life. So let's read verses one through
to 10 and consider this first point for us.
Pray and seize the moment despite the fear, for that is
faith. I'm reading from the new King
James Version and it came to pass in the month of Nissan, in
the 20th year of King Artaxerxes when wine was before him, that I
took the wine and gave it to the king.
Remember, he was the cupbearer. The role of the cupbearer was to
taste the wine in case of poisoning, as was quite
customary in ancient times. To eradicate a leader that you
didn't like. But a cup bearer was more than
that. They're also a trusted advisor.
And it was something that Nehemiah had had earned
ultimately through years of just a qualification and
demonstration of his character and his attributes.
So he took the wine and gave it to the king.
Now the end of verse one. I'd never been sad in his
presence before. Therefore the king said to me,
why is your face sad since you are not sick?
And I wonder the time that Artaxerxy employed here.
We're not really given that in the language here.
The king then says this is nothing but sorrow of heart.
If you imagine a movie and and and the score to it, ominous
music is probably sitting underneath that statement from
the king now. And so it says, I became
dreadfully afraid and said to the king, verse 3, May the king
live forever. Why should my face not be sad,
when the city, the place of my father's tombs, lies waste, its
gates are burned with fire? And then the king said to me,
verse 4, What do you request? So I pray to the God of heaven,
it says. And I said to the king, verse 5,
If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favour in
your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my
father's tombs, that I may rebuild it.
And then the king said to me, queen also sitting beside him in
brackets, how long will your journey be, and when will you
return? So please the king, descend me,
and I set him a time. Furthermore, I said to the king,
If it pleases the king, let let us be given to me.
For the governors of the region beyond the river, it's the
Euphrates river that they must permit me to pass through till I
come to Judah. And a letter to Asaph, the
keeper of the King's forest, that he must give me timber to
make beams for the gates of the citadel which pertains to the
temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will
occupy. And the king granted them to me,
according to the good hand of my God upon me.
And then I went to the governors in the region beyond the river
and gave them the King's letters.
Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with
me, and when verse 10, San Bellot the Horonite and Tobiah
the Ammonite official heard of it.
We'll read a lot more about these individuals later.
They were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well
being of the children of Israel. It's Nissan, it says, and we
don't know what time of the year that is.
I'll tell you it's April. And since chapter 1, as I've
mentioned already, it's been some four months in passing of
time where again Nehemiah has been weeping, he's been fasting,
he's burdened with the news of what Jerusalem is.
And I cannot help but think that he's also been putting pen to
paper in formulating his thoughts and his prayers unto
the Lord and, and maybe journaling that process and, and
putting some plans together. And Nehemiah has all through
this no doubt been in misery, firstly, having been a slave in
Persia, again burdened this slave in Susa, far from
Jerusalem. He's he's never been there.
The king Artaxerxes, if you've read any history about him, was
an evil, wicked man, kind of demonic in many respects and
behaviour. And he rules with a fist of iron
over his people. And Nehemiah is heartbroken.
The nation of Israel is in decline, disrepute, a city
devastated, and temple, we might call it church, has been closed
for God's people to be able to gather and to worship God
Almighty. They can't worship him freely.
But here's a principle out of this God often uses ministry,
sorry misery to create ministry. Frustration and heartbreak can
heartbreak can often birth your calling by God that that God
burdens you with things that you identify and see because he's
wanting you to be the vessel, the instrument through which
he's able to effect change In that situation, you sense
something wrong. It turns to prayer.
Lord, how can I be a part of helping to make this right?
How can I be a part of being the solution, the help in this?
Nehemiah's done that, and now at the King's table, his face
betrays him. The king notices Nehemiah.
Why is your face sad? There's nothing but sadness of
heart. Verse 2.
And you can imagine the blood draining from Nehemiah, his face
going cold, white with fear. I was very much afraid.
It says in verse 2, literally fear sees him like a cramp.
Ever been frozen with fear? Your heart just beating within
you. It's almost like that the
cartoons where it just beats and and the noise there is echoing
and and you're hearing it and it's just filling you with this
apprehension as to what's going to take place again, why the
Persian Lord demanded joy in the King's presence.
How artificial and contrived is that?
You will always be happy in my presence.
You ought to be a burden lifter, not a burden bringer.
Nehemiah, I don't employ you to bring sadness into my presence.
I've got enough of that ruling the Kingdom.
You ought to come into my presence and lift my burdens and
bring happiness and joy to me. And now Nehemiah's quizzed on
why the change in the presence of the king.
But here's what Nehemiah recognises, and that is that
some things are worth living and dying for takes the risk here
and the reopening of temple of the Church of blessing God's
people of worshipping God, That's it.
That's that's the hill I'm willing to die on.
Nehemiah effectively States, and I don't know about you, but how
many of you have something so burdensome that it shows on your
face, it weighs on your soul and and you can't fake it anymore in
the presence of others. Many times in in Christianity,
we can put on a facade in the presence of other people when
they ask us, how are you doing? What's going on?
How's your day been? How's your week been?
And automatically we go into yeah, good.
How are you mode. And there are sometimes when we
respond in that fashion that our our face, our body language, our
features gives us away. There is something that is going
on. And the trouble is, just like
Nehemiah here again, many times we feel like that we're supposed
to be burden lifters for other people.
And so we don't want to overwhelm them with what's going
on in our lives and, and fill their sort of minds with burdens
that come from us too. And we're supposed to many times
feel like we're we're to solve problems, not to to bring them
in to others. And maybe that's your boss.
Maybe that's your family dynamic, maybe that's your
friend group. But certainly Artaxerxes here.
But Nehemiah, he can't help it. And the king bites.
What are you requesting, Nehemiah?
Verse 4. Before answering, we're giving
this little insight into Nehemiah's life.
Says that he prays. We're not told what the words
were. There's definitely no time for
kneeling. Can you imagine that?
The king asks, What's the matter with you, Nehemiah?
Just give me a moment, king. And he goes off in the corner,
hops down on his knees and prays a long prayer out.
No, this seems to indicate a silent kind of arrow like prayer
straight to the throne room of God.
God help. God help in his thoughts, in his
mind. It's interesting that the Bible
seems to indicate that Satan hears words, sees deeds, reads
body language, but not thoughts. And I think silent prayer is
often a private and powerful channel for us unto God.
But why? Maybe you're wondering, pray
after Nehemiah has just literally spent months praying
about this situation? Because here's the important
point that I want you to glean from this.
And it's something that I learn and reminded of again and again
in my life. And that is this.
You and I, we need to prepare not only the message, but we
need to prepare the messenger. No doubt he knows what to say.
He's formulated it in his mind over those four months in the
praying, in that waiting of that opportunity to come before the
king. But what he needs in this moment
is the right tone to communicate, that is the right
words to articulate. Sometimes you can rehearse
things in your head, but when that opportunity comes to
express it, your words come bumbling out as emotion takes
over you. And and you're praying and
wondering about the right timing of that.
When, when should I go and say or when should I go and seek in
this situation? And he's no doubt probably been
praying for the King to interpret rightly the request
that comes before him. Again, I've learnt this
principle sometimes painfully in my life, the need to prepare
both the message and the messenger.
I think very practically of, of times when I prepared the
message literally of what I'm doing right now in preaching
God's word. And for whatever reason, maybe
it's been a busy week or certainly back when I was
working 2 jobs and I, I skipped or I had limited time in prayer.
And there's times when I've delivered the message and I've,
I've gone home, I'm, I'm out of the pulpit and I can almost hear
God say you prepared the words, but not yourself.
You know, it takes hours for the sermon, but it needs to take
more for the preacher, for the person.
And if the messenger is ready, the Holy Spirit supplies and
takes over the message. My apologies to you if you've
seen me at any times. I'm prepared.
Pray for your pastors here in this this important role.
But Nehemiah here, he prays it's a quick prayer.
God no doubt help me is his prayer.
Now he answers the king. But before we consider this,
understand that Nehemiah here, his resources are in his
character and his relationships. You would think that he has
built favour before the king over the years that he served as
the cupbearer, wouldn't you? That this has been an an ongoing
journey in Nehemiah's life of having demonstrated
faithfulness. You know, where did where did
Nehemiah start, for example, in his career trajectory on the way
to being cupbearer of the king? What roles did he fill?
What little things was he faithful in in leading up to now
this trusted position of being the cupbearer?
You see, no newbies applied for the cupbearer position.
It's earned through character. And I think that we can demise
from this, that he's never asked anything of the king before
this. And it's a wonderful reminder
for you and I to not wear out your welcome with constant
requests. Do you know people like that?
Maybe you're a boss and you have people underneath you that work
alongside you and and you're arriving every day wondering
what's so and so going to request today for me to bend
over backwards and accommodate. In their life.
There's no indication that Nehemiah has been this kind of
an individual, but now he does he starts relationally let the
king live forever affirming his loyalty and that's personal.
He brings now the issue the matter the the city, the place
of my father's graves lies in ruins.
Verse 3 but then then he outlines the plan that God has
put on his heart. When the king asks, what is it
that you request in verse 4? And understand that this is very
audacious on behalf of Nehemiah here because he's in fact
seeking the reversal of the King's very own decision that he
decreed some 13 years earlier in the book of Ezra, chapter 4,
verse 21, where Artaxerxes had banned any rebuilding of
Jerusalem in particular. So this is a big deal that
Nehemiah is requesting of Artaxerxes the king.
You can understand the nervousness and the fear, the
trepidation taking over him. But yeah, in yours, in my life,
risky faith is willing to sacrifice well being and believe
in God can do anything. I think that probably Nehemiah
had memorised Proverbs 21 verse one.
The King's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord.
He turns it wherever he will. I bet each day he's like the
King's heart. It's like a stream of water, the
Lord the King's heart. What does it say again?
He poured over it waiting for that opportunity.
And so now that opportunity comes and look at the
preparedness on behalf of Nehemiah.
He's prayed, yes, but he's planned also.
You see, vision requires provision and here Nehemiah
displays belief in God and Nehemiah has been planning as a
consequence of that belief. The timeline as we read through
Nehemiah, you know what he's asking basically for leave from
his job from the king for is 12 years.
Imagine trying that with your employer tomorrow.
I'd like 12 years paid to go and take care of this.
Oh yeah. What else would you like for
safe passage in verse 7? So royal letters to be written
for those in the surrounding territories to understand that
he's on King's business and and for materials to be supplied and
also king. I'd like it to come from the
business account, if you please, for timber from the King's
Forest. Personal funding basically to
undo 141 years of foreign policy.
And he even this is how much research Nehemiah's put into it.
He names the foreman and in case king you've forgotten, it's Asaf
who's in control of the timber. He's done his homework as
Nehemiah. He's requested.
Look at how presumptuous it is on his behalf.
I'd like Tim, but not only to rebuild aspects of the wall and
and the worship for the temple, but for my own house.
I'm going to need to live somewhere, King.
I'm going to need to take care of business.
And if you could appoint me as the governor in the region, that
would make life a whole heap easier for me.
I'm paraphrasing all that's wrapped up in here.
And again, on top of that, thirteen years prior, the very
same king had denied any sense of what he's now requesting.
This is a crazy ask on behalf of Nehemiah.
Unless what? Unless God's hand is on it.
And that's what we read, for God's hand was upon me.
Verse 8. You know, anointing is
everything if God is in it and who can be against it?
And the Holy Spirit's presence in our lives provides what we
see in Nehemiah here, protection, direction, blessing.
You know what happens when the good hand of our God is upon us.
The enemy sees verse 10, we're introduced to Sam ballot the
horror night to bio the Ammonite.
And there's another fellow that we'll read of in a moment.
Opposition starts and it's a hint at conflict to come.
You know you, you know that you're flying over enemy
territory when you start becoming the target of fire,
when you start taking fire. This would be a very short book.
Nehemiah, if the burden came upon him in chapter 1, the
request given to the king in chapter 2.
And then chapter 3 was all about.
And so I went to Jerusalem and we rebuilt the wall.
And that would be it, the end. There's 13 chapters, and pretty
much from here in chapter 2 all the way through to the end is
Nehemiah dealing with opposition and conflict.
And you and I, we can be busy about God's work, but know that
there will be opposition that comes from the enemy as a
consequence of that. And so as we seek to apply this
and to think about what I started, maybe there is a, a
time of pivot in your life, a, a job change or a family shift or
some decision making that you're needing to do.
What must you do in that? Pray and plan, Pray and plan and
understand that the misery or the burden, maybe that you're
feeling, the frustration that you're going through.
Let it be a call to action or to ministry to service in your
life. But as you do that, prepare not
only the message, but prepare the messenger fast We saw last
week, Journal, pray, silent prayers, maybe before hard talks
or or business meetings or those moments where you know, OK, it's
time now we're on. God help me to have the right
words and the right way to say that.
Give me favour, Lord God, and you can build that favour
through faithfulness in little things, just as Nehemiah did,
because many times that opportunity only knocks once.
We need to be ready when God brings it across our path, and
so believe in Jesus and plan accordingly.
Vision very much needs practical provision and we see that
displayed in Nehemiah chapter 2, verses 1 to 10.
And as we pray, we move on into the second, we, we now see him
do something when he arrives in Jerusalem, probing and looking
and assessing the reality. And he does that in in secrecy,
wanting to get a very realistic understanding of just how heavy
the situation he's dealing with. Verse 11.
So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days.
This is about a three to four month kind of camelback journey
that he's taken here. It's not a hop in the aeroplane
and be there in the space of an hour.
And I was there three days. Then after those three days,
verse 12, I arose in the night, I and a few men with me.
I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do at
Jerusalem, nor was there any animal with me except the one on
which I rode. And I went out by night through
the valley gate to the serpent well and the refuse gate, and
viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down, and its
gates which were burned with fire.
Then verse 14, I went on to the fountain gate and to the King's
pool. There was no room for the animal
under me to pass. So this indicates how much the
debris and the rubble and the city was in disrepair.
And so I went up in the night by the valley, verse 15, and viewed
the wall. Then I turned back and entered
by the valley gate and so returned.
And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I had
done. I had not yet told the Jews, the
priests, the nobles, the officials or the others who did
the work. So again, Nehemiah arrives in
Jerusalem, we've just read, after a gruelling about 1500
kilometre journey, three, possibly four months depending
on events on the way, a trek through hostile territory.
He's physically spent, you could imagine, emotionally no doubt
drained from months of burden bearing, of organising people
that the travelling retinue with him and being spiritually
vigilant, praying no doubt all the way through the journey as
to what will happen when he gets there.
And then the text tells us verse 11, he rests for three days.
Interestingly, that Ezra did the same when he first arrived in
Jerusalem in chapter 8, verse 32.
But know that this is no mere nap on behalf of Nehemiah.
Now I just just need to go in the corner of the couch for a
little bit and just pop on the TV.
I'm cooked. It's not that for Nehemiah, it's
strategic replenishment. Because haven't you found that
fatigue in our lives clouds judgement, our ability to
discern, to ascertain things? And Elijah learnt this in his
life. Jesus himself would withdraw to
rest after intense ministry. And so in our lives, you know,
waiting time is not wasted time. And that could be you tonight
where you feel like you're in this period of you're on your
way to doing something, to being involved in something.
But now there's this, this rest moment where you're there, but
you're not there yet. And here, it's preparation in
Nehemiah's life. It's preparation in your life
for wise action. And Nehemiah, I think, uses
these three days to pray, to reflect, perhaps sketch, maybe
initial plans out, having now seen with his own eyes certain
things. And I think that he probably had
also memorised this proverb. Proverb 21, verse 5.
The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance.
Then under the cover of night, we read.
He acts with deliberate secrecy. It's like the Mission Impossible
theme music comes on. He's putting on his, you know,
all black gear and he's put the the black paint over his donkey
to keep it camouflaged so that nobody sees what's going on.
He tells no one what my God had put into my heart to do for
Jerusalem. Verse 12, he slips out a few
trusted men, only the one animal.
So there's there's no large entourage that's drawing
attention under the cover of night.
I want you to know this isn't paranoia on Nehemiah's part.
See it as prudence. So why you wonder if it's
prudent? Did he not tell anyone yet?
Would you think that when you first arrive, one of the first
questions is Nehemiah, what are you doing here?
Oh, well, I'm. I'm come here to fix what's
wrong here in Jerusalem. He hasn't done that.
So why had he not told anyone as yet?
You know, if you rally people without a plan, it can create
movement but not lasting change. And people can often gather
around hype and get whipped up into a frenzy.
And passion, yeah, we're going to do it.
Sounds good. But you know, passion is great,
but it needs to be pointed in the right direction and it needs
to have a plan that goes with it.
And additionally, you know, premature publicity could ignite
more opposition from the enemies in Sam Bell and Tobiah that have
been mentioned, or even discourage the already
demoralised locals who had grown complacent in the ruins.
He hasn't yet shared this God given plan building suspense
over what's Nehemiah doing here, but ensures that his vision
remains pure and not diluted by committee.
Oh, we should all get together and sort out what what the how
we can fix this Nehemiah. And so this solitary probe here
on Nehemiah's part it it steals his resolve all the more further
and equips him then to inspire others onto the task at hand and
the route that he takes. It's a very meticulous one.
It takes us counterclockwise If you were to have a look at a
map, the city of Jerusalem and each of these gates that are
mentioned understand them as effectively little
neighbourhoods in the city of Jerusalem.
So he's taking the time to get a feel and a sense for each
community and what the problems are and what the state of each
gate is. You see, gates were not only the
access and entrance points into the city, but they were the
places where decisions would be made, where people would gather
and congregate, where all sorts of important activity would take
place. And so this is very much an
important mission here that Nehemiah is about.
And imagine the sensory assault on him.
You know, the Judean knight biting through his cloak in the
coldness of it, the the crunch of charred stones under foot,
the stench of 141 year old ash and refuse mingling with the
damp earth of the valley. All of that filling his nostrils
and his senses. And, and the jackals may be
howling in the distance and the dangers and the shadows kind of
play a trick on, on your mind, you know, with that broken
skyline that's before him, where once these proud walls might
have stood. We need to see that it's used
three times in verse 13 and 15, that this is not a quick glance
of a expiration by Nehemiah. It's a thorough inspection
that's taking place. The Hebrew word implies careful
examination, measuring and evaluation.
I think he's got his tape measure out.
He's using all sorts of devices. If you're able to like today
and, and sort of seeing, well, that's down there and, and well,
this is that way. And and that's, that's in fact
usable. We can redeem that and we can
put that to good use and all of this happening.
It's very practical here. Yeah.
The there's the safety and stealth in in this sort of
darkness of an enemy ringed city in the absence of walls
symbolically maybe it mirrors the dark times in which they're
living under the cover of night here, but also here's here's
what I really want to sink into your hearts through this tonight
is that leaders anyone that's making a decision.
You often need to confront yourself with the brutal facts
and to do that alone with God first as many times you can ask
people, you know, how are things going?
And you know what, what are your thoughts on, on, you know, the
business and work or on this ministry?
And people say, Oh yeah, no, it's good.
Yeah, all's going well when meanwhile they're overwhelmed
and they're burdened and, and the true state of the situation
is something that they, they philtre out.
But Nehemiah here, he, he understands that bad info yields
bad decisions. So leaders can make bad
decisions with wrong information.
So he's not asking everybody upon arrival, how's it going in
Jerusalem? You know, he wants to ascertain
and find out himself. And, you know, I think of recent
examples in our Society of, of COVID-19 of many decisions that
were made and certain results of that.
And, and not all information was accurate, we could say politely.
And so Nehemiah here is reality. First, I want to, I want to
explore, want to see what's going on.
And then, and then we'll set about putting the plan in place.
And so in, in your life, in my life, you know, if there's a
burden, a weight that's heavy upon you, probe that, explore
that with God. Maybe it's a fractured marriage.
Maybe it's a wayward teen. Maybe it's a stalled ministry.
Have you taken time to ride the walls at night time to feel the
rubble, to maybe even see the potential where healing can come
through? To seek God's insight into what
the reality of the situation is? You know, and if you're in
leadership in any way or fashion, you need to always be
asking God's wisdom in how to handle and deal with what lies
ahead of you. And there were times in my
previous job that I held where I was in a leadership role over a
number of of, of people and many people were impacted by the, the
decisions that I would make as soon as I would exit my vehicle
and on my, my walk to my office space.
That whole journey was spent in prayer saying, God, whatever I'm
about to step into today, whatever rubble, whatever
problems, whatever situation, give me your wisdom to see it
with clarity so that I can make decisions that reflect you and,
and, and bring about restoration and healing in this and to work
through in, in the wisdom that you supply.
You know what God would do, he would deliver that.
So lastly, now we see that we persuade.
Sometimes we need to rally up the people, particularly in
light of opposition. And in verse 17 to 20, that's
what Nehemiah is tasked with. Then I said to them, verse 17,
You see the distress that we're in, how Jerusalem lies waste,
its gates are burned with fire. Come, let us build the wall of
Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.
And I told them of the hand of my God, which had been good upon
me, and also of the King's words that he had spoken to me.
And so they said, let us rise up and build.
And then they set their hands to this good work.
But when Sam Bell at the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite
official, and Geesham, now this third individual, the Arab heard
of it. Verse 19, they laughed at us,
despised us, and said, What is this thing that you are doing?
Will you rebel against the king? So I answered them and said to
them, verse 20, God of heaven himself will prosper us,
therefore we servants will arise and build.
But you have no heritage or riot or memorial in Jerusalem.
We'll stop there. Nehemiah has prayed, he's
probed, he's he's gone in the cover of darkness.
He's seen the worst with his own eyes.
And now the moment of truth, he must turn somehow a demoralised
people group that's living in Jerusalem, this shame covered
remnant into some united, fired up workforce.
Imagine being the coach of a football team and you inherit
these type of players. You'd be like, oh man, what a
task I've got before me. Verse 17, I think is one of the
greatest leadership sentences in the Bible.
You see the trouble we're in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins.
Its gates are burned with fire. Come, let us build the wall of
Jerusalem that we may no longer suffer derision.
So let's break it down. He identifies fully with the
people. You see the trouble you are in?
No. You see the trouble we are in?
Not. And here's what I might have
been tempted to say upon arrival.
You people have made a real mess of this city, haven't you?
There's none of that from Nehemiah.
There's also not. I've come here to fix the
problem. Everybody.
It's we 141 years of leaders had come and gone and the people had
had always felt used but never loved.
But Nehemiah comes in with a different approach.
He's he's standing in the rubble with them.
And there's a genuine care that comes through from Nehemiah's
words. And the people feel that just
from this one sentence in the language that he uses and notice
that he names the pain without sugar coating it.
He's not dishonest. He doesn't say, oh, it's not
that bad, everybody. God will beam down new walls for
us. You know, He forces them to look
at the disgrace in which they're living.
The gates, they're burnt. There's open shame upon us.
The nations around us are laughing.
Where is their God? They say, you know, and
sometimes we in the church, we need to stop pretending
everything's fine. And until we feel the weight of
the reproach, I don't think we'll pay the cost of the
rebuild many times. Notice, too, that he casts a
clear, compelling vision in this one sentence.
Come. It's an invitation, not a
coercion. I command you.
That's not there. No, it's come.
Come on. Let us, the shared ownership,
build. There's action here.
Here's what we're going to do. There's something concrete,
tangible that they can see and touch and be involved in of
Jerusalem. There's this identity that harks
back thousands of years to what Jerusalem stood for as a city on
a hill, as a beacon, as a light. And now there are there's this,
this formation to just be about, this destiny of restoration.
He didn't pull out his PowerPoint and run through the
47 slides of here's what we're going to do, everybody.
It's a single sentence, and God was in it.
This sentence, I think, was simple enough for even the
children to repeat it. What are we doing?
We're rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem.
Of Jerusalem, yes. That's what they knew.
And so He gave them a motive that was bigger than themselves,
that we may no longer suffer derision or be a reproach.
So this isn't just about nice real estate for them.
You know, let's fix up these walls and make the aesthetic of
the place a little bit nicer for us.
This is about the glory of God and the honour of His name
amongst the nations. And when the walls were down,
the nation of Israel was mocked. But when the walls went up, the
nations around would see that Israel's God was alive and well
and active and being worshipped and evident amongst his people.
But as I said, hostility. Opposition comes.
The moment any momentum ignites, opposition detonates.
Verses 19 and 20, Sam ballot. He's the governor of Samaria to
the north. Tobiah is in the east and
Geisham the Arab is in the South.
So there's this 3 front alliance that surrounds them.
Not a lot's changed in Israel today and they use the classic
attacks. Mockery.
What's this thing you're doing? Accusation.
Are you rebelling against the king?
Character assassination, treason charges will come up later on as
these false letters and documentation is sent off.
Intimidation, threats come through.
Nothing's changed today. And I think many of you have
experienced all three of these things when you've endeavoured
to live your life for God's purposes and God's ways.
And this is spiritual warfare dressed in political clothing
for them. Notice whenever God's people get
together to start rebuilding what glorifies God, that the
enemy notices. And when God acts, Satan reacts.
But Nehemiah's response is a model for any of us, basically
to translate his words in verse 20.
God's bigger than any of your negative narratives, you guys.
And we're too busy about the important business of what God
has called us to. And you've got no stake here.
You've got no right to offer. This is God's city.
This is God's people. This is God's work.
Notice that he, he doesn't debate them, he doesn't defend,
he doesn't dialogue with them. He draws a line and declares the
outcome and gets back to work. And we'll see this on through in
many respects. And I think many times in in
yours and my lives, if you feed trolls, they multiply.
But if you ignore them and build and be busy about that which God
has called you, the walls eventually speak for themselves.
So let's finish. I think in many of our lives,
God is rebuilding something right now.
Maybe your marriage, maybe aspects of your family life,
maybe certain ministry components, maybe it's in your
neighbourhood. But know this, that it won't
happen by accident. Pray like Nehemiah until heaven
moves earth. Probe like Nehemiah until you
felt the full weight of the rubble and seen the hidden
stones that maybe God can reuse and redeem and persuade.
Like Nehemiah. Stand in the gap, Cast God sized
vision. Ignore the mockers.
Hundreds of years later, after what we've been reading in
Nehemiah, Jesus will look over Jerusalem, and he'll not just
see a city rebuilt, but all creation renewed.
He had Kingdom vision, absolutely, But outcasts would
become siblings, brothers and sisters, Sinners needing grace.
Brokenness as redemption start and failure as future hope.
Weakness as vessels for power. And like Nehemiah, Jesus
recruited disciples. He called them into mission.
Yes, faced opposition. He was certainly crucified.
And on the cross, the world saw defeat, foolishness and shame.
You know, through faith in that we see the king climaxing his
mission, accomplishing victory through sacrifice.
So tonight, because of Jesus, look at your life through faith
feels like it's falling apart. God holds you.
If you're wandering alone, He shepherds you.
If you're struggling in weakness, He shows strength.
If you're losing everything, He gives what truly matters.
If your life seems in ruins, He rebuilds with grace.
Let's pray, Lord Holy Spirit, maybe you're, you're putting a a
finger on a ruined wall in our lives or situation that weighs
heavy upon us and we can hear you through this and what you've
been calling us to in our study of Nehemiah to rise and build.
We believe that God, you're the God who, just as we've read, can
turn a Pagan King's heart and you can give a cupbearer A
favour and timber, you can silence the enemies with one
sentence and you're the same God yesterday, today and forever.
And so, Lord, you see the trouble that I'm in that we're
in. Will you use our misery for
ministry? Will you help us to arise and
build and give us as as Co labourers of people who are
called to the Great Commission, courage to shut the mouth of
every sand ballot, every Tobiah, every geisha in the name of
Jesus? Who is the true and better
Nehemiah? Will you rebuild our lives for
your glory and purposes? We pray this in Jesus mighty
name. Amen.