A Burden and a Passion
Notes
Transcript
Have you ever noticed the relentless, unshakeable passion of a modern GPS system?
Imagine you’re driving down the highway in the city, completely distracted. The GPS says, "In 500 feet, take Exit 42." But you miss it. You fly right past the exit.
A normal human being in the passenger seat might sigh, roll their eyes, or yell, "I told you to turn!"
But not the GPS. The GPS doesn’t throw a fit. It doesn't throw its hands in the air and say, "Well, you messed up. I guess we live in this gas station parking lot now!"
No, the moment your tires miss that ramp, a calm, mechanical voice immediately says one word:
"Recalculating."
You make a wrong turn down a dead-end street? "Recalculating."
You hit a massive traffic jam, a detour, or a closed bridge? It doesn't quit, it doesn't shut off, and it doesn't lose its temper. It just recalculates. Why? Because the GPS is single-mindedly, fanatically obsessed with one thing: getting you to the destination. It refuses to let any mistake, obstacle, or detour ruin the mission.
This morning we are going to start talking about Nehemiah’s burden and passion for the walls around Jerusalem to be rebuilt
He will face many obstacles that we will discuss in the weeks to come, but he receives the burden and presses on with focus
Let’s begin with a little background:
In 586 BC under Nebuchadnezzar II Jerusalem was destroyed and the Israelites were taken into the Babylonian captivity..due to their rebellion against God
50 years later in 538 BC Zerubbabel returned and rebuilt the temple
However, the walls of the city were still ruined
Ezra returns in 458 BC and begins to restore temple worship and a return to the law
Then comes Nehemiah in 445 BC
One of Nehemiahs brothers came to him and Nehemiah asked him about those returning from exile and the state of Jerusalem
3 They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”
This is a big deal because cities could easily be overran if they did not have a wall surrounding them!
In a time of basically, survival of the fittest, they would need to have some form of protection.
Walls also identified a city as being autonomous and having their own identity
When Nehemiah hears this, it breaks his heart…
What I want to spend some time looking at this morning is how this affects Nehemiah
4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.
The heart of Nehemiah is broken and so what does he do?
He mourns, fasts and prays for days!
In the coming weeks, we are going to see how God blesses him!
I am curious this morning, is there anything that tugs on your heart like this?
What is your first response when you hear something like this?
If you are a fixer like me, the tempting first response is to try and fix the issue…maybe we need to take a lesson from Nehemiah this morning and go to God with our problems!
Notice that he experiences a time of mourning. It’s okay for us to experience times of mourning, especially when it involves the heart of God!
We are going to see over the coming weeks how God blesses Nehemiah and it becomes pretty clear that rebuilding the walls is something that matters to God!
Has God given you a heart and burden for something that matters to Him?
I just want to pause for a second and think, or pray, and ask the Lord if He would burden you for something that is important to Him…
And so now we spend some time praying and fasting
Let’s look at Nehemiah’s prayer
5 Then I said: “Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you.
He begins His prayer very similar to Jesus’ prayer that we refer to as the Lord’s prayer
“Our Father in heaven hallowed be your name..”
Nehemiah begins with recognizing the awesomeness of God and reminds God, or more than likely, himself of God’s love and faithfulness
This is often a good
Prayer Model:
Start by acknowledging God’s awesomeness, power, holiness, etc.
Root the prayer in God’s love, faithfulness, and promises
Then he requests that God listen to his prayer and that His eyes would be open to seeing his heart for His people
And then probably one of the key parts of the prayer, he confesses sin
The sins of all the Israelites
His own sins
The sins of his family
Prayer Model:
Start by acknowledging God’s awesomeness, power, holiness, etc.
Root the prayer in God’s love, faithfulness, and promises
Requests God listens and sees his heart
Confesses sins
7 We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses. 8 “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, 9 but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’
Prayer Model:
Start by acknowledging God’s awesomeness, power, holiness, etc.
Root the prayer in God’s love, faithfulness, and promises
Requests God listens and sees his heart
Confesses sins
Reminder of God’s full promise
10 “They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. 11 Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.” I was cupbearer to the king.
Prayer Model:
Start by acknowledging God’s awesomeness, power, holiness, etc.
Root the prayer in God’s love, faithfulness, and promises
Requests God listens and sees his heart
Confesses sins
Reminder of God’s full promise
Reminder they are God’s people
Request for God’s favor
Though this is certainly not the only model for prayer in the scripture I think that it gives us an idea of one that would be helpful
I am going to give us an opportunity to practice this model this morning….prayer team
Before we get to that - gospel!
Respond with prayer - then we will take up our offering…
