Nehemiah's handout #1

The Tender Heart...

— 1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. It came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the citadel, 2 that Hanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. 3 And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.” 4 So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

This morning we spoke of the tender heart of Nehemiah upon hearing the bad news of his fellow Jewish brethren.

We look in a focused way at v4 So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

There we saw the Attitude of a Tender Heart “I sat down”.

We also saw the Anguish of a Tender Heart “wept, and mourned … days”.

Everyone look up and read .

Like the prophet Ezekiel, Nehemiah knew how to weep with those who weep. The grief of Ezekiel was too deep for words when he saw the plight of the exiles near the Chebar river. All he could do was sit among them for seven days—overwhelmed.

Do we know of this empathy with our fellow Christians in their suffering? (share)

Does it bother us that so many churches (including ours) are ineffective in reaching the lost in Roselawn?

Does it grieve us that the church in America is so fractured and divided?

Do you think that the deadly blow by the devil was to get the church to lay aside the mighty weapon of prayer? (Discuss)

In v1 our complacency is challenged. They are at ease and feel secure. All the while look at the emptiness of their position (6:2).

Then look at the chilling and scathing description of their true plight (6:3).

Then we see the end of their wealth (6:4-7).

In effect he says, “Go ahead and have...

your Sunday Schools

your giving money to the food pantry

your giving money to the food pantry

your grand choirs

your efforts at revival

As long as you do not bring the power of Almighty God into these thing by earnest, persistent, and believing prayer!!”

We know that Nehemiah’s prayer is recorded as being, “before the God of heaven”. We know from the rest of the book that Nehemiah went on to complete the wall in some 52 days.

Read . How does this philosophy of prayer effect your private time with God?

Do you think our lack of private time with God accounts for much of the powerlessness of the American church?

So God saw and heard Nehemiah’s prayers and then rewarded him openly by giving grace to those who labored and built the walls!

Look up and read aloud the following verses

, ; . How do we see this played out in Nehemiah’s walk with God?

The verb to cast signifies the act of exerting effort to fling something away from ourselves. It describes a deliberate act. Once we have thrown away our anxieties, although not our troubles, we know that God cares for us. In both the Old and New Testaments God’s promise to care for his children is sure (see ; ).