Nehemiah: The Adventure Begins

This morning I want to introduce you to an old friend of mine. This friend is someone that I have known for many years. He has taught me some great lessons and challenged me to do some hard things… and some wonderful things. In fact, he’s one of the most fascinating men that I know… and I love telling people about him… even though we have never met. Because, my friend’s name is Nehemiah, and this morning we will begin looking at the book in the Bible that bears his name. Now, as men of the Old Testament go… I think that Nehemiah has really received the short end of the stick. He’s probably best known for being the brunt of one of those bad bible jokes… you know the type… jokes like…. Who in the bible played tennis…? Joseph… because he served in Pharoahs court. How do we know the Apostles drove a Honda? Because, they were all in one accord. Well then, who was the shortest man in the bible? The answer… Nehemiah… Knee high Miah... get it? How’s that for a legacy? Poor Nehemiah. Yet, Nehemiah deserves far more respect than that… and by the way, there is nothing in the Bible to indicate Nehemiah was actually short... his name actually means, “the Lord’s comfort.” And I trust that you will be as blessed as I have been… as we study his life together, because as author Gene Getz points out, Nehemiah was not just one of the great leaders in the Bible… ‘Nehemiah was truly one of the great leaders of all time. And, as you will see, there are still some incredibly relevant lessons to be learned from this man. Just to name a few… Nehemiah models; How to pray when there seems to be no human solution to our problems. How to handle discouragement … How to react when everything around us seems to be falling apart. How to motivate others when morale is at an all-time low. How to cope with anger … How to accept a promotion without abusing or mis-using your authority. How to react when people make false accusations against you. How to solve tough problems How to talk to a touchy boss. And much… much more… So, our goal over the next few months will be not just to open up the truth of this book… but to also encourage and inspire you to follow Nehemiah’s example and dare to do great things for God… But, before we can begin to do that properly, we need to know a little bit of history. And I know what you are thinking… Yay… history… Everybody loves history right? I am sure just this week everyone was thinking to themselves… I can’t wait to study more history.... I hope the new pastor… preaches… long and hard about long lists of names I can’t pronounce and about things that happened thousands of years before I was born.... Well, then I glad you are as excited as I am… because… trying to understand this book without knowing it’s history would be really difficult. History plays a very important role to the place that Nehemiah finds himself… So, here is a quick recap… If you know your bible history… you know that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked the kingdom of Judah… Nebuchadnezzar, torn down the temple, pulled down the walls of Jerusalem and basically plundered everything. But, instead of just killing everyone… many of the people who were left alive … the most important ones anyway… were carried off as slaves to Babylon. And of course… no one stays on top forever… so about 50 years later, the Babylonian Empire was in turn conquered by the Persian Empire which was under the rule of King Cyrus. So the Jews, who had been the slaves of the Babylonians, now became the slaves of the Persians. So, they all packed up their things and schlepped their way from the old capital city of Babylon to the new capital in Susa… MAP of Persian Empire… This empire was really something… it was an empire… reaching in the west into Macedonia to the east into parts of India… From parts of Southern Russia in the North to Northern Africa in the south… We are talking BIG!... But, this is where things get interesting. Because, the book of Ezra tells us that God stirred up the heart of King Cyrus of Persia … …and one day King Cyrus looks at the Jews who are enslaved in his kingdom and says to himself… something like… these are not our prisoners… The Jews were never our enemies… So, he says to the Jews… you know if you want to… you can Go back to Jerusalem… And some of them did… which is where the book of Ezra begins… The first group was led by a guy a named ZERUBBABEL, who rebuilt the Temple… Then about 80 years later… a second group of Jews also returned to Jerusalem led by Ezra. And the book of Ezra ends with this small community of Jewish men and women… a small remnant of God’s people living in and around Jerusalem. But now thirteen more years have passed since that time… And that is where the book of Nehemiah begins… and we read in Nehemiah 1… v1. 1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: Now let’s stop there just for a moment… because as important a person as Nehemiah will become… that is all the introduction we are given to this man. And he is really a nobody. He’s never mentioned before in the Bible. And his father Hacaliah… well … we have never heard of him either. But, now compare that with introduction that his predecessor Ezra gets in Ezra 7 beginning in v1… Ezra son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, 2 the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, 3 the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, 4 the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, 5 the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest Did you hear the difference? And it just goes to show that Nehemiah is not a king or a prince or a person with any title at all. He is not a priest or a scribe or a pastor or a missionary… with fancy bible training… He’s simply Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. The kind of guy that goes to work… pays his taxes and enjoys a good hockey game on the weekend. I actually love the fact that Nehemiah spends most of his time in this book as a blue collar general contractor… He is a basically a construction foreman… If Nehemiah were to show up in church on Sunday… he would be the kind of guy who would be sitting in the pew right next to you… tired after a long week at work. Not the guy who would be speaking from the pulpit… Yet, what he accomplishes… not only helps rebuild a broken down city wall… God uses it to bring about spiritual revival… So, what was it about Nehemiah’s life that allowed him to be so effective in serving God… Well, as we get to know Nehemiah this morning, let’s look at a few things we can learn about this man’s life… And I actually have five lessons… that I want us to look at… For the first lesson… I am going to cheat a bit and skip down to the end of Nehemiah 1:11 where we are told that before Nehemiah went back to Jerusalem to help the people rebuild the wall of the city… he actually had a pretty cushy job serving the king as a cupbearer. Of course that’s doesn’t sound like all that impressive of a job. As the cup bearer your main job was to die first and die quickly … if someone poisoned the king’s wine. But, it also meant that Nehemiah had to be a person of unquestionable character. Honest, trustworthy, loyal and full of integrity. Because, the cupbearer was not the kind of guy you want to be open to taking bribes or have huge gambling debts… or be a little fuzzy about his ethical issues… We are talking about a level of character that was impeccable. Nehemiah was a man of character… and when it comes to serving God… especially when it comes to leadership… character counts. And I know that when we hire people for a job you want them to be capable… you want them to be skilled… And in the worlds eyes, the best known, the best educated, and the best looking are often moved directly to the front of the line. But, to God none of those things matter a bit without character. Paul actually picks up on this… in the New Testament when he gives the church a checklist of what to look for in Church leaders… 1 Timothy 3:2-4… 2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach (a good reputation), the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, (a good family man)… so he can properly handle the family of God… And when you look at that list… everything in there… with perhaps the exception of being able to teach… are character issues… When it comes to serving God… character comes first. And that is what Nehemiah had… he was a person of integrity… his position in the king’s court confirms it… But something was about to happen that would turn Nehemiah’s happy little life upside down. As verse 1 continues V1… In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, 2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem. One day… in late autumn in the year 446 BC… Nehemiah gets a visit from his brother and a couple of others… after they have returned from a trip to Jerusalem And Nehemiah asks what may have been just a polite question… How are things going in Jerusalem? But then Nehemiah gets his answer… 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.” The news from Jerusalem was basically all bad. The Jews were outnumbered. They had no peace or safety. The neighboring territories were harassing them. They lived in constant fear… And the city wall was a pile of rubbish and the gates had been burned to ash. And in those days, a city without a strong wall was nothing more than a group of people waiting to be robbed or killed. And when Nehemiah hears that news… look at his response. 4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. The answer to his own question breaks Nehemiah’s heart and brings him to his knees. And here again, we get another indication of what made Nehemiah the leader that he was. Because, Nehemiah lead from his heart. He was a man of compassion. That is the second reason that God was able to use Nehemiah so effectively. Nehemiah had a genuine concern for people that lead him to tears. He cared about people… even people he had never met. As a man, living in this modern world, I can’t help but be impressed with Nehemiah’s reaction. It takes a strong man to weep, especially in the presence of others. So often, we bottle it up, take it on the chin and then move on with our lives. We try so hard not to let things distract us. We try so hard to look tough, like nothing could affect us. But, Nehemiah wasn’t like that. Nehemiah let himself feel… Nehemiah let his heart be broken. He was so burdened, that he actually mourned and fasted and wept for days. This is not just a little ten minute cry at the end of a sad movie… This was a life changing sorrow… And I can tell you that… that was one of the things that made me curious about this passage… Because, nothing that Nehemiah’s brother said should have been news. The wall of Jerusalem wasn’t just knocked down last week… it had been in ruins for longer than Nehemiah was alive… Yet, there is something about this time… this moment… when Nehemiah hears this news… that touched him deeply… Like something just suddenly clicked… And maybe you have experienced that too… Where one day you are reading your bible… a passage you have perhaps read dozens of times before… but this time… something just jumps off the page at you… and you feel such a conviction… Or you are listening to a missionary share… and they are going through a speech that you have heard time and time again in one way or another… and most times… you just think… whatever… But, this time as that person speaks… you know in your heart… you have to give… you have to pray… you have to act… Or maybe it you are listening to the news one night and a story comes on… about people struggling… or someone in need… a story like any other story you hear day in and day out… but that day… you know… you need to do something… Let me tell you… That is a God thing… I remember a few years ago… Focus on the family released the documentary… the Drop Box… It was about a pastor in South Korea who set up a place where people could no questions asked… drop off a baby or a child to be cared for… that the family would have otherwise abandoned… or left on the streets to die. Over 600 children were rescued this way… But as we were in the middle of watching this movie… and Nathan just starts sobbing… His heart was just broken hearing about the pain and abandonment of those babies… And I remember as his dad… just being so proud of him… to see that kind of Godly brokenness over the hurt of other people. Nehemiah lived his entire life with the walls of Jerusalem in ruins… but this day… hearing about the pain of his own people…. that truth left him broken… Let me take just a moment this morning to encourage you this morning… to pay attention to your hearts… Listen and… be open to what God is saying… what he is speaking to you… Don’t dismiss those moments… as I must just be emotional today… embrace it… because… and I want you to hear this … Brokenness is how God often speaks into our lives… God’s vision… God’s purpose for your life… often begins with a deep sorrow in your heart… I was actually reading a blog this week by a guy named Brandon Cox that said… Great leadership doesn’t start with a great education, although that is incredibly valuable. And it certainly doesn’t start with a particular position within an organization. Great leadership often starts with a broken heart. Drive, determination, and competitiveness are valuable. Talent and charisma are great assets for leaders to possess. And no one could overestimate the vital role that relationships play in a leader’s path to success. But none of those things are as powerful as a heart, broken over the condition of something and burdened to fix it and make it better. Nehemiah discovered that truth… and it is so important that I am actually going to include it as the third reason that God was able to use him so greatly. Nehemiah let his brokenness become his passion. Nehemiah let his brokenness become a vision for his life. That is where Nehemiah finds himself. The city of Jerusalem… has become his heart song… It is the thing he can’t let go of… And look at how Nehemiah responds… V 4 continues… For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. As you hear that, I want you to appreciate both what Nehemiah does and does not do in response to the news he hears. When confronted with this report from his brother, it doesn’t say that he offered a single word of advice... He doesn’t start a petition or a grass roots movement... or start taking up a collection. He doesn’t jump in with both feet and start brainstorming for a solution to the problem. What he does do... is he takes his sorrow to God. He got before the God of heaven and he prayed. And this is the fourth thing that allowed Nehemiah to be used by God… Nehemiah was a man of prayer who had learned to wait on God. Going to God was his first response in any situation. Before he acts… he prays. And this is important… because I think that so often our first instinct when we hear bad news is how can I fix this. What can I do…? What can be done? But the danger in that… is that as people and even as a church… in our haste to solve whatever problem or crisis we have at hand… we can often bypass God completely… And I am sure Nehemiah faced that temptation as well… we will see… Nehemiah is a man of action… He makes decisions… gets things done…! Yet, first… before any of that… he takes it all to God in prayer… Nehemiah spends several days… praying… fasting …seeking God’s will… asking for God’s wisdom… searching for God’s strength… before he does anything else. Which brings us to the final thing we learn about Nehemiah this morning that allows God to use him… And that is when all is said and done… Nehemiah makes himself available to answer God’s call. And we know that because there is a Nehemiah chapter 2 waiting for us… Nehemiah could have said, Lord my heart is moved by this so I pray you would raise up someone else to help. But he didn’t. Instead, the attitude of Nehemiah’s heart was, Here I am lord send me. And that was a huge step. After all Nehemiah had a cushy job. I am sure that all the newspapers of the day… had cupbearer to the king among their top ten best jobs list every year… It meant he got to eat at the kings table. Sleep in the palace. Dress in the finest clothes. Travel in style everywhere he went… Meet all the most important people… Nehemiah never had to worry about going hungry or having a place to sleep at night. It meant safety and security for him and his family… Yet, Nehemiah was ready to leave it all behind when God called him to go. Which is where I think many other people turn back… Because it’s easy to have your heart broken in sorrow… over something. It can be easy to hear about a problem and say I will pray about that… But it can be hard… when God speaks… to say… I will do it… I will go… I will step up to the challenge… I will be the guy… or the girl… who is ready to leave it all behind… I will pay the cost… I will make the sacrifice… I will step out of my comfort zone… I will follow you Lord… But, that kind of commitment… that kind of dedication… that kind of passion… is exactly what I think God wants from his people… All of his people… Because in the end… we are all like Nehemiah… in one important way… God has a purpose… God has a plan… God has desire to use all of our lives… for his kingdom. He has a place in mind where every one of us can make a difference. And I believe that God has been stirring up the hearts of many of the people here... I believe there is a lot of brokenness here today… that is growing into a passion… I believe that Christ is at work in our lives. Shaping us. Molding us. Challenging us. Preparing us... …calling us… as individuals and as a church to greater things... And reminding us… that there is an adventure of faith always before us... In fact, that is why I answered the call to this church… Because I believe that God has a plan and a purpose for our ministry together... I believe God is up to something here… That God is giving us a vision. That we are a Church that is ready to take the next step… …a Church that is ready to let God lead... And that difference begins with you… taking hold of what God has prepared for you. That is the truth that I think Nehemiah takes hold of… as he is on his knees before the Lord… He has a new vision in his heart for the people of God… And even though he faces what seems like an impossible task… he knows he follows the God to whom nothing is impossible… As we continue in the weeks ahead to look at the life of Nehemiah, what I really want for us…. …is for us to be ready to answer the call of God in our lives. I want us to be ready and available to take hold of a God given vision in our lives and in our church. I want us to be ready to follow in Nehemiah’s footprints… Because the Church still desperately needs men and women like Nehemiah… who are willing to make a difference… People of godly character… People with compassion for others…. People with brokenness that is becoming a vision for something more… People who wait and pray… And people who will answer God…by saying here I am send me… Because, just like Nehemiah… as a church… our adventure is just beginning…