Nehemiah

Series Preface - Part II: Nehemiah

This morning we continue our Obedience series

Prayer

Good to be back with you.

Hook

Hook

Introduce Subject

Fallen Condition Focus

Prayer (or maybe do all of this up in announcements.)

Reason to Hear

Transition to Text

So this morning we are going to look at the story of Nehemiah. Can y’all say Nehemiah?

This story is a fascinating one found in the Old Testament in between the books of Ezra and Esther.

If the Old Testament was ordered based on time, which it is not, this book would be near the end of the Old Testament.

Let me lay the context for you.

The Three Returns from Exile

Captivity 70 years

Zerubbabel – temple rebuilt (538-516)

Haggai – 520

Zechariah 520-518

Gap 58 years

Esther (484 – 465?)

Ezra – People reformed (458 – 456)

Gap 12 years

Nehemiah – wall rebuilt (444 – 432)

Neh.’s Second Return 430 (?)

Malachi (450 – 430) (?)

400 silent years

Remember a few weeks ago when I was talking about the Prophet Hosea who was prophesying that exile was going to come and they were going to be taken away to another country? Yeah, well that just didn’t happen for Israel but it happened for Judah as well.

Both Israel and Judah were living in exile during the time of Nehemiah in another country with only a remnant, a small portion of the people of Israel were living in the land at the time.

So as we set up this story of Nehemiah you have to understand that Nehemiah is one of those people who has been exiled and is serving as the Kings cup-bearer. A cup bearer is someone who would test the kings drink for him amongst other things so that if there was poison he would take the hit first. Believe it or not this was an important and very trusted role; one in which would interact with the king daily.

So Nehemiah’s brother along with some other folks came from Jerusalem and Nehemiah wanted to know the current state of affairs in Jerusalem and well, they were awful.

says

Nehemiah 1:3 NIV

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.”

Nememiah 1:3

So whoever was left over from exile were in an incredible vulnerable state on many levels and in essence were defenceless.

Any one around Jerusalem who had power or authority would have viewed this city as easy pickings to maraude and attack.

V. 4 Nehemiah’s reaction to this was weeping and the Bible says that “he mourned and fasted and prayed.”

Do you know why Nehemiah, wept and mourned and reacted as if he did? He saw the current state of affairs and new that this was not God’s desire for the people of Jerusalem.

Nehemiah prays this powerful prayer that highlights

God’s greatness and covenant

Confession of his people’s sin - deserving of exile

Reminds God of his word to bring people back from exile if they would obey

Huge ask - Favour with the king

That brings us through chapter one.

Chapter 2

Nehemiah comes before the king sad and he had never done so before so it provoked the king to ask.

Nehemiah 2:

Passage: & 2

Verses 1-3: The Situation

Nehemiah 2:2 NIV

so the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.” I was very much afraid,

Verse 4: The Reaction

2:1-8: The Ask and Favour of God

Insert Bible Text

But then Nehemiah makes this huge, bold ask(s) after the kings asks him the question

Need to set up context- the importance of the wall and why this grieve Nehemiah.

Nehemiah 2:4 NIV

The king said to me, “What is it you want?” Then I prayed to the God of heaven,

The first ask is the for the overall job

Nehemiah 2:5 NIV

and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.”

Nemehiah asks to build the wall and the king grants his request.

Then Nehemiah has the boldness and courage to not only ask for time off work to go do another job he asks him for letters for safe passage for the trip home, and he asks for a bunch of wood and ends up getting officers and calvary.

So let me set this up for you - It be like if I was fishing with George and I was like, hey George, can I take the season off lobstering so I can go on a mission trip. Oh and George, can you fund me some security guards to go with me. Oh and George, and I hate to ask, but can I use your truck,....oh and um I guess the guard will need a vehicle too so…uh…can we use your car too. And George, one more thing, that wood you got stored away, well, can we use that for the project. Actually George were kind of wondering if you could fund the whole project. What do you say???

Oh George, old buddy, old pal.

This is what I want you to see

Nehemiah carried the favour of God

Favour comes with obedience

When we walk in obedience we walk in the favour of God.

When we walk in God’s favour his blessing rests upon us and he gives us favour with man. Crazy, amazing doors will begin to open and blessings will come from areas you didn’t even imagine. That’s the kind of God we serve. If God has called you to a specific task he is going to provide.

So why did Nehemiah have such favour with God?

Well you pick it up in chapter one as Nehemiah prayed - He mourned, fasted and prayed and it talks about in his prayer how Nehemiah had a reverence for God.

2. Obedience requires humility

If we want to walk in obedience to God and walk in God’s favour we need to first and foremost humble ourselves before God.

What’s amazing about this passage of Scripture is Nehemiah humbles himself before God and what does the Bible say

James 4:10 NIV

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

So Nehemiah humbles himself in the sight of God with this need with weeping, fasting and prayer and God exalts him to a position of authority.

Here’s a question - what made Nehemiah humble himself?

He knew his people in exile were experiencing God’s judgement because of disobedience

Do you see the favour of God that is on this guy? Why does this guy hav

He took responsibility for it

He was overwhelmed by the huge need that only God could help respond to - You see that in how prayer is mentioned in both chapters 1 & 2

He knows he is going to have the courage and gumption to make a big ask to the king

He actually makes the asks which is humbling in and of itself

He already has a humility before God as he reveres him

Often times our circumstances brings us to the point of humility before God but I think Nehemiah already had a sense of humility before hand as well based on he respond to the situation.

While circumstances can humble our hearts before God it’s always better to be humble before the circumstances.

When you are humble before the circumstances your first default is to go to God vs. having to be beat down by the circumstances.

And just to go back to the encouraging passage of Scripture when we are faced with circumstances.

Romans 8:28 NIV

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Nehemiah humbles himself before the Lord and God lifts him up.

I love the progression in these two chapters.

Nehemiah gets word of condition of walls

Comes to God with mourning, fasting and prayer - asks for help

Ask for help again

Makes the big ask

Receives favour, blessing and is sent by the King

What would it look like if we followed Nehemiah’s example?

I think so often we are guilty of not having a burden for the lost people in our communities.

Our we grieved at their vulnerability? Do we realize the current state of our communities? Does it drive us to the point where sit down and weep and fast and pray? Does the state of our communities our region bring us to the point of humbling ourselves before God and say God, we need you.

PAUSE!

This is what I think - I think our churches and region has this sense of hopelessness when it comes to reaching the unchurched.

Maybe it’s similar to how the people living in Jerusalem felt.

Imagine with me for a moment the people living in Jerusalem. No means and no leadership to fully get the job done of building the walls so their people could be secure and protected.

I wonder how often church has felt like that - we want to reach the lost and we know that is the job that needs to be done but we feel like we don’t have the means and we don’t have the leadership.

We have experienced some success here at our church and all the praise goes to God because he gets all the glory and we’re humble enough to know that.

But there is still so much more work to do and so many more lost people.

Wouldn’t it be awesome if God would provide the means and leadership for us to help us fulfill the mission God has burdened us for.

Wouldn’t it be awesome if we were granted favour with some kings and we were to tell them - Hey, we got this burden - Woods Harbour, Barrington and Pubnico are needing Jesus and we need major help because the mission is bigger than our means. Or what if we brought that burden to Jesus first and then watch Jesus open doors and conversations to see some things come together.

Well, I am here to tell you this morning that that is exactly what has gone on over the past two years. God has given me such a burden for not just our community and that has led me to prayer.

Nehemiah was convinced only God can fix the problem.

3. Obedience requires God’s help

I am convinced that only God can fix the problem of lostness in our communities.

We really need his help.

So we have been praying. As a matter of fact years before I got here Rod and Joy and many others have been praying for these communities.

And we are beginning to see some amazing answers to prayer as God sets the stage for the work he wants to do.

We celebrate stories like Tremaine’s, Allen and others who have made the step of faith to accept Jesus and be unashamed to do so.

But we need help, we need workers, we need support, we need Jesus.

So as we have continued to pray God has brought some other answers to prayer.

For the last year I have been meeting with a group of people who have a burden to see a church established in Barrington.

Part of our mission is to increase the witness of Jesus in Barrington and what better way to increase the witness of Jesus then to help partner to plant a church there.

Ever since I was first called to Woods Harbour Two Years ago God put in my heart a dream of a vibrant, growing 21st century church in Barrington and I am so pleased to announce this morning that Yarmouth Wesleyan in partnership with our church and a group of people here and Barrington our planting a church in Barrington, God being our help, this September 29th.

Coastal Church will launch this Fall and leading up to that we will be conducting interest nights starting this Sunday night at 6pm. So there Alpha will be cancelled and I want to encourage as many of you who can be there to be there next Sunday night at 6pm.

Our core team of about 15 of us are already at the point where we are needing help and have begun to recruit people. Planting Coastal, in my opinion is best possible way for us to fulfill the vision God has given us of increasing the witness of Jesus in Barrington so we are going to pour as much gas on the fire as we can with our time, effort, resources and everything.

This is going to be an opportunity for us to not just sit back and support - there are going to be opportunities for us to engage as time goes on.

Some of you are hearing this and there is like a resurrection happening in your heart and if that is you would you do something.

Would you kindly email me or message me just so I know because God may be calling you to do something or be part of something.

Have you noticed that for the last number of months my sermons have been getting us ready for something? Well here it is.

Now, many of you have a lot of questions and I would love to hear them so feel free to email or Facebook message me as well.

Don’t worry, I will still be your Pastor, well as long as you vote for it that is. lol.

As time goes on there will be more announcements and so on but just want to celebrate that.

Back to Nehemiah

This whole journey has been a long process kind of like what was happening with Nehemiah. God has been writing this incredible story.

I am so excited this morning because I think that this step is a major step for us to actually fulfill God’s mission. I believe people are going to come to faith in Jesus. I believe we are going to see families reached. I believe we are going to see lives restored. I believe great things are going to happen because I believe my God is able. I believe God is writing an amazing story. I believe God is fulfilling his mission and we are getting in step with what he is already up to. I believe in a God who is up to something major and now, in these moments, he is putting some of his cards on table and inviting us to partner with him.

What say you?

Back to Story

External Resistance

Internal Conflict

Building the walls 3-6

List of the builders 3

Enemy opposition 4

Internal troubles 5

Wall is finished 6

If you read through the rest of the story you will find that

Building the walls 3-6

Chapter 3 - Everyone had a job to do - the word repair/rebuild or built is used 46 times in one chapter. The people were doing their part, under the leadership of Nehemiah under the provision of the king.

Doesn’t that paint a beautiful picture.

What does that mean?

It means we all have a part to play. ALL, everyone.

If you are doing nothing as a follower of Jesus then you are walking in disobedience.

We all have a part to play and as we work together as a team we all get the job done.

When I say church you say body - church, body, church body.

When I say body, you say team - right?

But listen, it’s not going to be all sunshine and lollipops. If we look at Nehemiah’s story they had resistance all through the process of working. And his resistance and conflict came from both outside and inside.

As the leader of this church and as we seek to plant a church in Barrington I am going into this experience expecting there to be resistance from the outside and conflict on the inside.

As I have been sharing these last few months - giving, sowing, and all the things are going to be incovenient.

Trust me it wasn’t convenient for Nehemiah to give up his cooshy little office job hanging out with the king.

You know it would be so much less work and so much easier for me to just come here and invest in our church and our community but I would be miserable like Nehemiah because I know there is a region need reaching.

External Resistance

I would be miserable because I know the kingdom potential that lies in this room, in Yarmouth Wesleyan and in the people who have been meeting to launch this thing.

I never want to get to a place in my relationship with Jesus where I settle because it is inconvenient.

It wasn’t convenient for Jesus to go to the cross but he did - why? Because it was his mission to rescue us and give us hope and healing.

Despite the external resistance and the internal conflict. His disciples abandoned him and the pharisees and religious leaders mocked him and spit on him.

Despite those things he set his eyes like flint on the cross and accomplished the mission the Father had set out for him to do.

Jesus died on the cross and finished the work there so we could put our faith in Him and be forgiven, set free and liberated.

Jesus finished the work on the cross so we could be secure in the walls of his love.

Jesus wants to protect us and surround us.

We may feel like we are surrounded by him.

It’s true we are all vulberable but when Christ comes into our life he protects us and makes us strong and secure.

Maybe inside this morning you are not feeling that. You feel like wave after wave is hitting you over and over again.

I’m thankful for a Jesus who conquered sin and death who is my Defender.

Psalm 91:1–2 NIV

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

God is our shelter and because of Jesus we can find refuge in him.

And we can believe God for greater days. The best is yet to come.

It may look way different then what we think or plan but God is going to do some amazing things in our communities.

Do you believe that?

- External Resistance

Internal Conflict

Building the walls 3-6

List of the builders 3

It’s not building them a fence...it’s national security

Enemy opposition 4

Internal troubles 5

Why this story;

Wall is finished 6

I’ve never heard God’s audible voice asking me to do anything. Many are frustrated that they have never heard God ask them to do anything. ’ve often described it as God’s thumb on my chest.

But I have felt his deep conviction or burden/holy discontent that I needed to move. I have been deeply stirred that I must do something.

Have you ever felt the “God’s Thumb”?

Maybe it was over a sense of injustice.

Maybe it was an opportunity you needed to take.

Maybe it was a risk you needed to step into.

Nehemiah moves first. Someone has to be the catalyst.

A lot of people would be tempted to sit passively.

Someone else will do it.

Not my problem.

What am I going to do? It’s bigger than me. (Nehemiah leveraged his cupbearer position)

When others move, I’ll move with them.

A move of God never starts with a consensus...it always starts in the heart of one or two and ripples out from there. EXAMPLES….

God’s Favour is on Display

Doors opening- King and beyond.

Opposition still comes- do not seem opposition as the end… The wall was still completed.

I’ve coming up on end of 3 years at lead at YWC and we’ve been saying for a while that God was stirring. My goal when I landed was to strengthen home base, we’ve been strengthening our relationships with other churches, to realize we are on one team.

But I’ve been saying that God was going to ask us to move boldly. Well, it’s time. Over the next few months you are going to be hearing a string of announcements- some will be significant to you, some may not seem like a big deal, but I believe God is leading us through a season of transformation. The YWC that you’ve always known will be coming to an end, and the YWC that God wants to use in this next decade will be birthed.

That starts today with a significant, historic announcement.

Recap Barrington history….

Partnership with WHWC

Jason’s burden for this region

An open door has come to us in Barrington

There’s a group of people who have a burden to see a healthy vibrant gospel presence in Barrington and Jason and I think that if YWC and WHWC team up we can birth a brand new church in Barrington this fall.

Some might wonder what this does for Pubnico- we will keep increasing our presence and witness in Pubnico. Dave’s group continues to do a good work out there.

You’ll be hearing much more about this and we will work through many details in the months to come- but this is me rolling out our intentions.

Questions- my email address on screen.

Transition back into passage: sometimes when God speaks it’s not a voice, but a burden, a burden for a people, a place, an action, someone has to go.