The Waters Fine

First things First

Here is the History of Israel

· Adam and Eve

· Noah

· Babel

· Abraham – Issaac – Jacob – Joseph

· Egypt

· Moses

· Joshua

· Promised Land

· Judges

· Samuel

· Saul

· David

· Solomon

· Divided

o Jeroboam – 10 northern tribes

o Rehoboam – Judah and Benjamin

· Exiled – Babylon defeated them and took them

o Taken from their home land – The Promised Land

o Because of their sin

§ It was simple as this

§ If the nation obey His Commands – They would be blessed

§ If they did not obey His Commands – God would judge them

o The Exile – was God’s judgment on their sins

Enter – Zerubbabel – Ezra and Nehemiah

· Zerubbabel – led the People to Rebuildthe Temple

· Ezra – led the people to Rebuild their Spiritual Lives

· Nehemiah – led the people to Rebuild the Wall around Jerusalem

This is what we are going to study over the next several weeks.

How Nehemiah led the people to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

Nehemiah 1:1–4 (NLT)

1 These are the memoirs of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah. In late autumn, in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was at the fortress of Susa.

2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came to visit me with some other men who had just arrived from Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had returned there from captivity and about how things were going in Jerusalem.

3 They said to me, “Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”

· Trouble and disgrace

o For the wall to be still down after all these years was a disgrace to the People and to God!

o They were vulnerable to attach and capture

o The wall was a sign of strength

o Therefore, the people were perceived as weak

· Surrounding nations wanted the land and they had no way to protect themselves!

Pat Riley – a great basketball coach

· Coached 1210 games

· Won 5 championships with Lakers and the Heat

o What is a key to success?

§ The main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing!

· Put another way,

o Put first things first!

As we look at the Leader Nehemiah

· What is the main thing to him? What was the first thing he did?

4 When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven.

· The first thing Nehemiah did was pray.

o He did not seek the opinions of others

o He did not make an assessment of the damage

o He did not sit down to compare pros and cons

o He did not write out a step by step plan.

All these things are good

But they are not the main thing! They are not the first step to being a Good leader!

Prayer!

· Cyril J. Barber, “The self-sufficient do not pray; they merely talk to themselves. The self-satisfied will not pray; they have no knowledge of their need. The self-righteous cannot pray; they have no basis on which to approach God.”

· A true leader is one who is not self-sufficient, self-satisfied, or self-righteous. On the contrary, he knows his need and is ready to humble himself before the One who alone is sufficient for it.

· Nehemiah knew the job was too great for him but not for HIM!!

A.C.T.S. - Prayer

Nehemiah 1:5–11 (NLT)

ADORATION

5 Then I said, “O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands,

6 listen to my prayer! Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel.

· Attributes of God

· His sovereignty–

o Great and Awesome God

· His love,

o unfailing

· His faithfulness,

o Keeps His Covenant – Promises

· His ability to see and hear all that is going on,

o Look down and see me praying

Rehearse His Attributes

· Sleep technique

o A,B,C’s of God

CONFESSION

v.6b - I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned!

7 We have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, decrees, and regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses.

· Sin? – Not obeying the Commands of God –

o The known will of God

· National Sin

o That’s a big list!

· Family Sin

o Might not be you personally but an acknowledgement of Family Sin

§ Alcoholism – Sin – disease for insurance purposes but not before God

§ Abuse – no excuse – Sin before God

§ Cruelty – verbally – physically – psychologically in order to control – Sin

o My family has sinned

§ Confession brings it to light – God is in the light

· Personal Sin

o Again – a very long list

§ What are harvest are you reaping now?

§ What fruit is on the tree now?

· Can you go backwards? – NO

· But you can confess and move forward Forgiven and Empowered by the Holy Spirit

Here is a secret of true leadership.

A true leader is not so much aware of the talents or gifts he has that others do not have as he is of the fact that he is as weak and as capable of sin as anyone.

It is when leaders forget their sinfulness that they fall into sin and lose their leadership ability.

THANKSGIVING

8 “Please remember what you told your servant Moses: ‘If you are unfaithful to me, I will scatter you among the nations.

9 But if you return to me and obey my commands and live by them, then even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth, I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored.’

10 “The people you rescued by your great power and strong hand are your servants.

· Have you ever signed a legal document created by Lawyers for insurance companies?

o Have you ever understood the legalities?

o There are so many fine print

· There is nothing complex or hidden in the Covenant of God

o Deut. 28 -30

§ Obey = Blessings

§ Disobey = Judgment

· Nehemiah gives Thanks for the Promises of God by remembering the Covenant.

o You don’t have to Remind God of His Promises – He didn’t forget

§ We confess them to remember and remind ourselves.

§ Brings it to the forefront of our attention.

§ Establishes it in our own hearts

o Obey = Blessed

o DisObey = Judged

§ You will not help your children by allowing them to disobey without consequence

· You are not showing the them the principles of God and what God has established

Leaders – Bless and Correct

SUPPLICATION – Our Needs and Desires

11 O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me.” In those days I was the king’s cup-bearer.

· Notice this is last part of Prayer not the first

· Tell God what you want and need to accomplish God’s purposes in and through your life

· Hear my prayer

· Listen – I want to Honor You

· Grant me success

· May I find favor with the King

o He is powerful

o I need his blessing

· How do you get people to change their minds? Generally you cannot, but God can, even in the case of kings.

Proverbs 21:1 (NLT) 1 The king’s heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord; he guides it wherever he pleases.

The first thing is to Keep the First Thing The First Thing

The first thing Nehemiah – A great leader – Did

· Too often, we plan our projects and then ask God to bless them; but Nehemiah didn’t make that mistake. He sat down and wept (Neh. 1:4), knelt down and prayed, and then stood up and worked because he knew he had the blessing of the Lord on what he was doing.

PRAY

· Adoration

· Confession

· Thanksgiving

· Supplication

Response time

· How Great is Our God

· Confession of Sin – privately

· Thanksgiving – what are you thankful for in one sentence.

· What are you asking for?