nehemiah 1

Nehemiah 1:1-11 

Does anybody even care 

Nehemiah had burden  

Series title: be determined  

To He cared enough ask  

Nehemiah was a layman, cupbearer to the king artaxerxes.  

A cupbearer was much more than our modern butler 

It was a posistion of great responsibility and privelage 

He was to make sure the kings drink was not poised at every meal which means the king would know him on a personal level 

A man who was that close to the king would have to be handsome, cultured, knowledgeable in court presiding, and able to conversed with the king and advise him if asked.  

Because he had access to the king, the cupbearer was a man of great influence, which he could use for good or evil.  

Nehemiah by holding such a position in the kings palace would speak to his character and ability.  

For nearly a century a remnant had been back in the land, and Nehemiah could have joined them, but he chose to remain in the palace.  

It turned out that God had a work for him to do there that he could not have accomplished elsewhere.  

God put Nehemiah in Shushan the palace just as he had Esther there a generation before, and just as he had put Joseph in Egypt and Daniel in Babylon.  

When God wants to accomplish a work, he always prepares his workers and puts them in the right places at the right times 

Nehemiah is met by his brother Hanani , who had just returned from a visit to Jerusalem, but it turned out to be a turning point in Nehemiah’s life.  

Like large doors, great life-changing events can swing on small hinges.  

It was just another day in the life of Moses when god came to him in a burning bush.  

It was just an ordinary day when David was called home from sheparding the sheep to be anointed king.  

It was just another day when peter, Andrew, James, and john were mending their nets after a night of failure, but there was the day that Jesus called them to be fishers of men.  

You never know what God has in store, even in a commonplace conversation with a friend or relative, so keep your heart open to God’s providential leading.  

Why would Nehemiah inquire about a struggling group remnant of people who lived hundreds of miles away?  

After all, he was the king’s cupbearer 

He was successfully secure in his own life.  

He was in his comfort zone 

Why would he care about a people who were struggling to survive? 

Some people preferred not to know what was going on because they think ignorance means no obligation.  

They say what you don’t know can’t hurt you.  

All you need in your life is ignorance and confidence, then success is sure. 

But what we do not know could hurt us a great deal.  

If you don’t know you have cancer and you die from it it hurt you a great deal.  

If you don’t know your car doesn’t have any oil in it and the engine blows it could hurt you a great deal.  

If you don’t know that Jesus Christ died for you and you die it will hurt you a great deal  

‘Not knowing something that can save you will hurt you a great deal.  

Nehemiah asked about Jerusalem and the Jews living there because he had a caring heart 

When we truly care about people, we want facts, no matter how painful they are 

Practical politics a consists in ignoring facts  

Facts do not cease to exists just because they are ignored  

Closing our ears and eyes to the truth could be the first step toward trade by for ourselves as well as for others 

What did nehemiah learn about the people and the land.  

Remnant  

Ruin 

Reproach  

These three words summarize the conversation about the people in the land 

Instead of a land inhabited by a great nation 

Only a remnant of people lived there, and they were in great afflication and struggling to survive.  

Instead of a magnificent city 

Jerusalem was in shambles 

Where there was once great glory  

There was now nothing but great reproach  

Without walls and gates the city was open to ridicule and attack 

Are we like nehemiah 

Anxious to know truth even about the worst situations?  

Is our interest born of concern or idle curiosity? 

When we read missionary prayer letters, the news in religious periodicals, or even our church ministry reports, do we want the facts, and do the facts burden our hearts? 

Are we the kind of people who care enough to ask? 

He Cared enough to weep 

What makes people laugh or weep is often a true indication of character.  

People who laugh at others mistakes or misfortunes, or who weep over trivial personal disappointments, are lacking either in culture or character, and possibly both 

We see sometimes weeping is a sign of weakness 

But for nehemiah it was a sign of strength 

As it was for Jeremiah, Paul, and the Lord Jesus Christ.  

In fact, Nehemiah was like the Lord Jesus in that he willingly shared the burden that was crushing others.  

When God puts a burden on your heart 

Don’t try to escape it 

If you do  

You may miss out on the blessing He has planned for you 

The book of Nehemiah starts with great afflictions, but before it closes there is great joy. 

Our tear water the seeds of providence and without our tears , those seeds could never grow and produce fruit 

It was customary for the Jews to sit down when they mourned 

Unconsciously, Nehemiah was imitating the grieving captives who had been exiled in Babylon years before.  

Nehemiah spent several days fasting, weeping, and praying.  

He knew somebody had to do someth8ing to rescue Jerusalem 

He was willing to God 

Sometimes that’s all God wants is for us to be willing to leave our palace of comfort and security and Go and do what he wills. 

When we step out of comfort into the will of God he will guide and protect us the entire way. 

We are prone to live a life of comfort  

If we live a life of comfort we will never do anything great for God 

Don’t tell me you want to do great things for God when you wont tell others about him 

Don’t tell me you want to do great things for God when you aren’t reading your bible everyday 

You want to be like nehemiah 

Then start turning your palace of comfort into a building project 

You need to go from comfort to willingness 

You need to ,make a decision today do you want to live a life of comfort 

Or  

Do you want to serve God 

We must understand Nehemiah posistion here  

He was sitting in the palace  

He’s not dealing with ruin  

He not dealing with reproach  

He’s not dealing with remnant  

He had a top posistion  

He is in the kings palace everyday 

He could have ignored the news 

Nehemiah choose to get involved 

There was one thing standing in the way of Nehemiah doing nothing  

Nehemiah had a burden 

Something on his heart 

Something moving in him 

Instead of sitting in Persia  

He went back to Jerusalem 

When you got a burden you gotta do something about it 

I’m here to challenge you today that by the grace of god you will put your feet down like a tree planted by the rivers of water  

That you will say when it comes to the work of God  

There is no other option  

There is nothing to discuss  

There is no negotiation  

There is no nothing to consider 

Not serving God isn’t a choice im allowed to make 

Not serving God isn’t a choice ill consider to make 

I’ve made my mind up  

I’ve decided to follow Jesus 

I’ve made my mind up  

I serve God and him alone 

I’ve made my mind up 

The Bible is the only rule of faith and practice 

I’ve made my mind up  

The devil is a liar 

I’ve made my mind up 

Sin is no good 

I’ve made my mind up 

The world hates my Jesus 

I’ve made my mind up  

The Holy Spirit isn’t a maniac 

I’ve made my mind up 

Forget political correctness  

I’ve decided to work for God  

He loved you and saved you so you could bring glory to him 

It’s always been about God 

Finish 

Because we will never finish the work until God Comes back 

He cared enough to Pray 

This prayer is the first of twelve instances of prayer recorded in this book  

The book of nehemiah opens and closes in prayer.  

It is obvious that Nehemiah was a man of faith who depended wholly on the Lord to help him accomplish the work God had called him to do 

One man once said that in whatever man does without God, he must fail miserably, or succeed more miserably. 

Nehemiah succeeded because he was dependent on God 

The prayer begins with a description of Praise to God 

O Lord God of Heaven 

To what kind of a God do we pray when we lift our Prayers to the Lord God of Heaven  

We pray to a great and terrible God 

Who is worthy of our praise and worship 

If you are experiencing great affliction  

Pray 

If you are about to undertake a great work  

Pray  

If you need great power  

Pray 

If you need great goodness 

Pray  

If you need great mercy  

Pray 

Is the God you worship big envious h to handle the challenges you face? 

He is also the God that keeps his word 

The lord had made a covenant with his people. 

He promised prosperity if they listened and obeyed  

But if they did not listen or obey he told them he would chasten them 

The city of Jerusalem was in ruin 

The nation was feeble 

Why  

Because they had sinned against God 

The greatest part about Nehemiah’s prayer was devoted to the confession of sin  

The God who promised blessing and chastening also promised forgiveness if his people would repent and turn back to him 

It was this promise that nehemiah was claiming as he prayed for himself and the nation 

God’s eyes are upon his people and his ears are open to their prayers 

We see that nehemiah uses the pronoun we not they here  

In doiuing this he is identifying himself with the nation of israel instead of apart from them 

It would have been easy for him to look back and blame his ancestor for the reproach of Jerusalem, but Nehemiah looked within and blamed himself 

When one Jewish soldier sinned at Jericho God said that the children of israel committed a trespass and that israel sinned and transgressed the covenant 

Since the sin of one man was the sin of the whole nation  

It brought shame and defeat to the whole nation  

Once that sin had been dealt with  

God caulks use his people again 

How do we know that God forgives our sins when we repent and confess to him? 

He promised in his word 

Nehemiah’s prayewr us saturated with quations from and allusions to the covenants of God found in Leviticus and dueterinimy.  

He certainly knew the Old Testament law!  

The humble prayer closed with and expression of confidence 

To begin with he had confidence in the power of God 

Nehemiah knew he was too weak to rebuild Jerusalem, but he had faith that God would work on his behalf 

He also had confidence in God’s faithfulness 

Unlike Elijah who though himself the only faithful Jew left 

Nehemiah believed that God would raise up people to help him in the work.  

Great leaders are not only believing people who obey the Lord and courageously move ahead, but they also challenge others to go with them.  

You cant be a true leader unless you have followers, and nehemiah was able to enlist others to help him do the work 

Finally nehemiah was confident in the fact that God would work in the heart of artaxerxes the king and secure  for the project the official support that is needed.   

Nehemiah couldn’t simply quit his job and move to Jerusalem  

Too often we plan our projects and then ask God to bless them 

Nehemiah didn’t do that  

He sat down  

He wept  

He prayed 

Then he stood up and worked because he knew he had the blessing of the lord on what he was doing 

He cared enough to volunteer 

It has been said that prayer is not getting man’s will done in heaven but it is getting God’s will done on earth 

For God’s will to be done in earth he must have willing people available for him to use 

While nehemiah was praying his burden for Jerusalem became greater and his vision became clearer 

Real prayer keeps your heart and your head in balance so your burden doesn’t make you impatient to run ahead of the Lord and ruin everything 

As we pray God tells us 

What to do 

When to do it  

How to do it  

And all are important to the accomplishing of the will of God 

Nehemiah would have to ask the king for a leave of absence  

The kings cup bearer would have to sacrifice the comfort and security of the pa;ace for the rigors and dangers of a life in a ruined city.  

Luxury replaced by ruins 

Prestige by ridicule and slander 

Instead of sharing the kings bounties  

Nehemiah would personally pay for the upkeep of scores of people who would eat at his table 

He would leave behind the ease of the palace and take up the toils of encouraging a beaten people and finishing an almost impossible task 

And with the help of God he did it 

In fifty-two days time the walls were rebuilt  

The gates were restored  

And the people were rejoicing  

And it all started because just one man cared 

Abraham cared and rescued lot from sodom 

Moses cared and delivered the israelites from Egypt 

David cared and brought the nation and the kingdom back to the Lord 

Esther cared and risked her life to save her nation from genocide 

Paul cared and took the gospel throughout the Roman Empire 

Jesus Cared and died on the cross for all  

God is still looking for people who care  

People like nehemiah 

Who cared enough to ask for the facts 

Who weep for the needs 

Pray for God’s help 

And then volunteer to get the job done 

Here am I Lord Send Me