The Power of a Repentant Heart

Professional truck drivers must always be aware of clearances. Most need 13.5 feet to successfully go under a bridge. If it is less and your truck is more—there is going to be a costly encounter.

So it is with life. The path called life we take is filled with obstructions that, when encountered, will be costly and filled with problems.

For the ancient people of Israel, their costly encounter was idolatry. Even though God proved Himself over and over again—being faithful to protect and guide His people, Israel routinely rejected His grace and mercy, desiring to be more like the nations that surrounded them—worshiping their false gods and embracing sinful practices.

This resulted in God withdrawing His favor, which led Israel to lose everything—their wealth, their independence, their cities, and their land. For over seventy years they lived in exile.

But God, in is grace and mercy, did not forget His people—even though they forgot Him. He orchestrated events that would lead His people back to Jerusalem. But the consequences of their sin were still felt.

Nehemiah 1:1–3 ESV

1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, 2 that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. 3 And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.”

The people were in great trouble and shame.

These are some of the consequences of sin.

QUESTION: What trouble and shame are you experiencing today?

These circumstances led Israel to be vulnerable: “The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.”

Today, you may be experiencing great trouble and shame—and you feel very vulnerable—insecure, afraid.

I have a message of hope to give you—a message that can not only change what you feel inside, but change your circumstances—moving your life from failure and defeat, to victory and peace.

ILLUSTRATION: When I was a professional truck driver, and I was coming up to a low clearance, it required me to stop and change direction. And, that is exactly what God’s word tells us to do to go from defeat to victory.

We need to turn!

Stop

Nehemiah was confronted with the news that is people were experiencing great suffering, great shame—open to the whims of their enemies. The first thing he did was to stop—to press hard on the breaks, and contemplate the situation.

Nehemiah 1:4 ESV

4 As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

This is not about confronting a problem by stopping and sticking your head in the sand—ignoring the reality of your circumstances.

Nehemiah reacted to the bad news with three actions:

He grieved: “I sat down and wept and mourned for days.”

He wanted his heart to break over the plight of His people.

We need to grieve over our sin. In this same verse we see that Nehemiah did everything “before the God of heaven.”

We need to see our sin from God’s perspective—not water it down, not minimize it, not ignore it, not justify it. See sin for what it is! It drives a wedge between us and God.

He fasted.

Eating signifies life as normal. It can be a time of celebration. A gathering of family and friend. It usually makes us feel good.

But, when you a grieving over something, usually your appetite goes away.

Fasting as a spiritual discipline, as one of its several purposes, is to set aside time to contemplate spiritual things—including the sins that hold us captive and render us ineffective for God’s purposes.

So Nehemiah fasted before God—allowing himself to feel the weight of the consequences of sin.

He prayed.

Nehemiah earnestly sought God.

He prayed about praying—striving to know what words would be appropriate to commune rightly before the Holy God of heaven.

The Bible tells us that even when we do not know what to pray, the Holy Spirit will come along side and help us pray effectively.

These three actions steps were absolutely necessary for Nehemiah to be in the right state of mind and attitude and approach God by confessing that something had to change. The direction Israel was going needed to change.

So, from stopping, Nehemiah now was ready to turn.

Turn

Let’s look at his prayer in chapter 1, beginning with verse 5:

Nehemiah 1:5–7 ESV

5 And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father’s house have sinned. 7 We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses.

Nehemiah 1:5-

Look with me at several things Nehemiah said in his prayer:

Nehemiah recognized God—who His is “Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God” and what His has done for His people “who keeps covenant and steadfast love...”

Nehemiah confessed His sins. He acknowledged His failures—and in a corporate sense, acknowledged the failures of His people.

Nehemiah did not blame anyone else—He owed up to is responsibilities in this failure.

Confessing sins is a absolutely necessary and essential component to live victoriously.

And, it is not just confessing sins—it is deliberately deciding to change direction—to turn from what we were doing, to doing what pleases God.

This is repentance—it literally is a change of direction.

This change of direction leads to a profound, fundamental change in attitude and how we interact with God.

See, when Nehemiah heard the new of Israel’s circumstances, he stopped, he turned, which led him to...

Trust

Nehemiah 1:9–10 ESV

9 but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’ 10 They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand.

Nehemiah reminded himself that God is faithful—what God promises He will do.

The prophet Isaiah wrote:

Isaiah 1:18 ESV

18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

Is 1:18

Repentance is not just stopping, and it is more than just confessing, it is trusting God with all your heart—allowing God to lead you and to bring you to a place that fulfills His will for your life.

Conclusion

Maybe you feel stuck in your life—defeated—discouraged—alone. God, through His Word, reminds us of his faithfulness to help—but you need to let him.

A starting point is to confront the sin in your life. It will only lead you to spiritual failure. God has a plan for your life—and it is not spiritual failure.

Begin with genuine repentance:

Stop life as usual and seriously think about where you are with God.

Turn direction be confessing—admitting your responsibility in this in you are facing in your life.

Trust God and His faithfulness to lead and guide you!

1 John 1:9 ESV

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.