"When God Is In It"
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Handout
‘God sends’ does not imply a mission but a permission.
Augustine of Hippo
A fitting quote for today’s topic.
Intro: The title of this series is simply called “Rebuilding”
We are going to look at the book of Nehemiah as a road map on how to properly rebuild and restore.
As we study how the walls of the city of Jerusalem were rebuilt, we will see a road map on how to spiritually rebuild our lives.
How to rebuild our ministry, our church, our relationship with God
We will use this to develop skills on how to address things that get broken down in our lives.
Years of battling our adversary, each other, and even God himself, will wear down things in our lives.
We will look at how to follow God every step of the way!
And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.
Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid,
*open prayer*
The month of Nisan actually spans through parts of March-April.
That means this is 4 months after the events of chapter 1!
Imagine spending 4 months praying day and night over what to do about a problem in your life.
What is interesting is this did not directly effect Nehemiah's life except the fact he had a connection to the promises of God, and a connection to a land that he never been to.
It begs the question, how dedicated are we in our prayer life?
How about for things like walls in a city half a world away? Things that may seem insignificant at first sight.
Nehemiah spent 4 months praying and planning, just so when the time arose, he would be ready to take action.
Last week we got a little insight into the prayers of Nehemiah.
Day and night, he was talking to God.
Confessing sins, praying for guidance and opportunity.
Prayer, as we looked at last week, is a crucial first step that needs to take place before any action is taken.
That is a concept that I know I struggle a lot with. It is so easy to run off half cocked and try to do things on our own.
… it just never seems to work out like we wanted.
Lets talk about the name Nehemiah for a second.
Nehemiah means “Yahweh comforts”, or “comforts of Yahweh”
Yahweh as you may know is one of the Hebrew names for God. Today it is simply translated to “Lord”.
Nehemiah used the power of prayer to receive comfort from the Lord.
Map of the region.
We opened up with Nehemiah displaying great sadness before the King.
Lets talk about him for a minute.
There was three kings who took the throne with the name Artaxerxes. (There was a 4th for a short time, but he went by Darius)
Now there is a debate about which King dealt with Nehemiah. Some say it was the second one, others the third, some even say a combination of the two. So lets talk about both of them.
The 2nd one had a wife named “Vashti”. She was a wicked queen recorded in the book of Esther.
Jewish lore has much to say about this queen, but one thing I found most interesting was her death.
They say she was put to death on the Sabath because she was known to make the Jewish maidens disrobe and work in the nude on the Sabath.
This gives us an idea of the wickedness involved in the Persian empire.
The 3rd Artaxerxes had three brothers. After he killed Artabanus, he murdered his older brother Darius to take the throne.
Then he defeated his brother Hystaspes in battle.
Shortly before his death, he actually declared himself a god.
As you can see this family has a history of doing what they want. Clearly not as fans of God.
Can you see why Nehemiah would be concerned about asking to leave the palace to work on Jerusalem. How would you even begin to have that conversation.
Well,God is working things out in the background as we will soon see.
Later we will see the queen mentioned when this conversation does eventually take place.
Depending on which Artaxerxes this is, the queen could be Esther herself.
That would make the most sense as she would have a powerful influence on the king, and grant favor for Nehemiah’s mission.
But even if this is not the case, there were political reasons the king would want a guy like Nehemiah as governor of Jerusalem. Let me explain.
During this time period there were two major rebellions the king had to put down. The first was in Egypt in 460 BC.
The Athenians assisted the Egyptians to lead a revolt against the Persians.
This was a major issue, so the king ended up bribing the Spartans into attacking Athens. At the same time, he sent an army to fight the Egyptians. He successfully ended this uprising.
Ezra actually returned in the midst of this rebellion.
The 2nd was soon after.
A nobleman named Megabyzus, was put in charge of the army fighting the Egyptians.
He ended up giving the Egyptian General in charge his word that he would be released after the rebellion.
Megabyzus attempted to keep his word, but the kings mother insisted the Egyptian General be put to death.
She ended up getting her way, and Megabyzus rebelled against the king because of it.
Eventually Megabyzus gave in to the king, and he was soon pardoned, but Egypt remained in an unstable condition.
All this is important because later we will see the importance to the king in appointing someone like Nehemiah as governor to Jerusalem.
Studying the map here, you will note Jerusalem just happens to be directly in between Babylon and Egypt.
Wouldn’t it be nice if the Persian Army could have an friendly cities along the way to future battles in Egypt?
What army wants to fight there way to the battlefield?
Having a strong alley in the region could serve the kings interest well. However, all this is taking place in the background.
We can see how God is putting things in place to make Nehemiah mission a reality.
When God is in it, He will provide a way!
All this is happening in God’s timing.
The dates of this rebuilding will be a reference point for the coming of the future messiah.
Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
Even in troublous times....
Isn’t amazing to think that even in our darkest, hardest moments, God is there.
God is working...
He will work through us, with us, and even in spite of us, to do some amazing things!
Look at the the things that had to take place before Nehemiah could even begin his mission.
Lets dive back in to see how this conversation is going...
And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?
Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.
And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchres, that I may build it.
“For what dost thou make request?”
What is it that you want, Nehemiah?
Here it is… the moment we have been waiting for.
After 4 months of diligently praying, and planning...
Its probably a good idea to get one more prayer in, even if it is a quick, “little” one.
I can hear it now. “Lord, please don’t let me miss this up”.
Ever make a quick, little prayer? Like one before a supper important event?
These quick prayers are valid when backed up by sufficient prayers before hand.
Nehemiah had been praying hard for this very moment… for this very conversation.
But all this would be for nothing if God did not prepare the King’s heart for this exact moment.
The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: He turneth it whithersoever he will.
This may seem a little too ambitious for a cupbearer, in the services of the Persian empire.
A big task, with difficult goals...
I take that back, this is not just difficult, this seems impossible!
But when God is in it...
It is doubtful that when Nehemiah began praying about this that he thought he would be the one sent to do the work.
But as he prayed about it, God’s plan was revealed to him.
Even knowing all that, look at how diplomatic Nehemiah is when dealing with the king. He skillfully submits his request in a way that the king will be receptive of it.
“if it please the king”
Nehemiah, correctly, submits to the kings authority.
Let’s see how this plays out.
And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.
Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah;
And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.
We see the queen mentioned here. Queens were not known to be present at big social feasts, so this was likely a more private meeting. A prime time to speak with the king about such an important issue.
Whether this was queen Esther or not, she was a witness, and seemed to have influence or even approval of Nehemiah’s request.
We also note Nehemiah does not trap himself into a tight time frame. Likely he gave a shorter request, such as a year. But as he reported back to the king, his appointment as governor was renewed.
Later we will see Nehemiah was actually there for 12 years!
It is important to note Nehemiah did not halfheartedly hatch this plan. It was well thought it.
Proper letters and commissioning from the king was vital to his mission.
God’s work and our planning should not be contradictory.
God may have plans for you that you do not clearly see right now, but prayer is where proper planning starts.
Nehemiah prayed, planned, and acted in dependence of God and in submission to His guidance.
Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.
When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
We see the action and already there is opposition.
It is interesting studying the position Ezra put himself in, almost testing God to see if he will protect him.
He talked up God in such a way to the king that it would seem contradictory to ask for military protection.
Nehemiah may not have asked for a military escort, but he received one.
Nothing quite sends the message of “we have the kings support” like taking a small army with you!
God knew there were still many obstacles for Nehemiah to overcome, yet he was clearing the way!
Lets look at one them, a man named Tobiah.
The children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six hundred fifty and two.
Tobiah is a Jewish name, not Ammonite.
It is likely that this the same family referenced here. A family that was rejected from the Jewish community, and would have strong animosity towards the Hebrew people.
Already we see the opposition forming.
Next week we are going to look at how months of praying and planning pays off.
When God is in it, He will provide a way.
The same is true for us today. Is there a reason God brought you here today?
Was your presence in God’s house today the result of countless hours praying and planning?
Maybe not by you, but somebody has been praying for you.
Somebody was praying for this Church, this service, this moment.
Is there something in your life that needs rebuild… that needs restored?
Come give it to Jesus today.
Maybe your in here today because you don’t really know this Jesus we talk about.
Going through life, hoping to find a way of salvation.
Jesus is the ways
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Come let us show you how you can receive Jesus today.
*Close prayer*
How long did Nehemiah pray about this issue? 4 months, day and night
What was the king know to have a respect of God? No, he even declared himself a god.
Is God able to use wicked men to help fulfill your mission? Absolutely!
What is the first step in proper planning? Prayer!
