Pray for the Glory of God!

Welcome

Good Morning! I’m Pastor Wayne and I’d like to welcome you all to the gathering of Ephesus Baptist Church.

Jesus said in John 16:22, “but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”

Today, you are here to worship God; to give glory to His name; to find your joy in the hope we have in Christ! He will return and our hearts will rejoice.

May you revel in the steadfast love of God as we worship Him together for His glory and our joy!

If you are visiting with us this morning, we want you to know that Ephesus is an active faith community on a mission with Jesus.

We don’t all share the same story; in fact, we come from many different paths. But here, we are one people giving our all to love God, love others, proclaim Jesus, and make disciples in our generation.

We have a connect card in the pew in front of you. I invite you to take one and fill it out! If you have prayer needs, you can let us know about those as well.

I promise, our prayer team will lift you up soon. You can place those cards in the offering plate when it comes around.

Scripture Memory

Nehemiah 9:6 ESV

6 “You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you.

Opening Scripture

Psalm 80:1–19 ESV

1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth. 2 Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up your might and come to save us! 3 Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved! 4 O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? 5 You have fed them with the bread of tears and given them tears to drink in full measure. 6 You make us an object of contention for our neighbors, and our enemies laugh among themselves. 7 Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved! 8 You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. 9 You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land. 10 The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches. 11 It sent out its branches to the sea and its shoots to the River. 12 Why then have you broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit? 13 The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it. 14 Turn again, O God of hosts! Look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine, 15 the stock that your right hand planted, and for the son whom you made strong for yourself. 16 They have burned it with fire; they have cut it down; may they perish at the rebuke of your face! 17 But let your hand be on the man of your right hand, the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself! 18 Then we shall not turn back from you; give us life, and we will call upon your name! 19 Restore us, O Lord God of hosts! Let your face shine, that we may be saved!

Opening Prayer

Introduction

Today, we are continuing along in the Book of Nehemiah. So far...

We have discovered that Nehemiah was an ordinary guy who was full of character and virtue. He was a guy who was comfortably serving as the Cupbearer of the King of Persia.

Last week, we began to see a man who is zealous for the glory of God. Upon an exploration and examination into the the current reality of Jerusalem, Nehemiah became broken of spirit and greatly burdened by the news of the walls and gates being destroyed.

So what did Nehemiah do next?

You can learn a lot about the character of a leader by his reaction to a crisis.

Do you remember his reaction?

Did he panic? No. Did he go to the King’s ABC store to self-medicate? No. Did he complain? No. Did he look to escape life? No. Did he bury himself in busyness? No. Does he start to develop a strategical plan to fix the problem on his own? No!!!

What does he do? He prays!

Upon hearing the news of Jerusalem, Nehemiah immediately began to pray and seek the Lord on behalf of the city and its people.

I told you all last week that the gap from Nehemiah 1:1 to 2:1 is around 4 months long. Nehemiah

It only took them 52 days to build the walls (6:15). Nehemiah spent more time in prayer than in the building the walls.

Nehemiah humbled himself before the Lord and spoke candidly about the sinful condition and redemptive needs of his people.

Surely, we would have to admit that our society is in much the same condition as was Jerusalem.

Our spiritual walls and gates are broken down and destroyed. Our churches are declining and plateauing at an astonishing rate.

Biblical Illiteracy is at an all time high despite our having access to more Bible Study tools than any previous generation of believers.

Yes, we have many similar needs among us today. Where is our brokenness? Where is our desire to see God glorified in His church again?

I trust as we look at the prayer of Nehemiah that we will be convicted of the needs within our lives and compelled to pray about the situation in our land. We need those today who will be open and honest with the Lord regarding our needs!

I believe that the Spirit of God has left us with this prayer out of the pages of Nehemiah’s personal memoirs to learn something of the substance and power of prayer.

Nehemiah 1:4–11 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. 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. 8 Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, 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. 11 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” Now I was cupbearer to the king.

The main take-away today is this:

Prayer is essential for beginning and completing a great work of revitalization for the glory of God.

When I was a student in Campus Crusade for Christ many years ago, I learned that prayer is the backbone of any successful ministry.

Prayer was the backbone of Nehemiah’s ministry. He prayed at least 10 times in 13 chapters. And God responded powerfully!

Prayer is powerful church! This prayer by Nehemiah was extremely powerful as it allowed God to get His people’s attention and begin to move them in accordance with His good and perfect will.

The question I believe we should ask is this:

What is the substance of the powerful prayer we find in Nehemiah?

Allow me to briefly share with you five elements of powerful prayer found in Nehemiah’s Prayer.

1. Brokenness. (1:4)

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.

We discussed this in detail last week, but suffice it to say: this whole story begins when Nehemiah sat down to weep and mourn over the walls and gates remaining in destruction in Jerusalem.

He understands that to mean that God is not being glorified among the nations. He sees thing differently now. He’s burdened for the Glory of God.

He is broken over the fact that without God’s glory being revealed to the nations through Jerusalem, all hope is lost.

It’s easy to just go through the motions and not be broken over the lostness and the brokenness of our sin riddled world.

But it takes real strength of character, conviction, and commitment to see the need for God’s glory to shine salvation light into the dark recesses of humanity. We should be broken until we are moved to actionable joy!

God will never bless a tear-less ministry that is not burdened by the brokenness of sinfulness!

Are you broken when you see the church numbers remaining static rather than growing dynamically?

Are we broken when we realize that most Christians have never been truly discipled?

Are we broken when we see that personal preference is superior to providential promises found in God’s Word?

Are we broken when we see a spouse abused by an alcoholic spouse?

Are we broken when we see the deplorable nature of our cultures vulgar language, immoral sexuality, lust for power, and greedy materialism?

Are we broken? Are we truly broken today?

Do our hearts grieve over our own sin the way God grieves overs our sin?

2. Praise and Adoration (1:5)

Nehemiah 1:5 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,

Nehemiah gives us a great example of how to begin prayer. It is very similar to the way Jesus taught his disciples to pray.

Matthew 6:9–10 ESV

9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Jesus taught us to reorient our hearts by meditating on the character and nature of God. That is precisely how Nehemiah begins his prayer!

“O Lord God of Heaven” – is a declaration that God rules over everything. He is the sovereign God of Heaven. There is no problem to large for Him to handle.

“Great and Awesome” - Nehemiah speaks of God’s great power. God is a great God!

Awesome speaks to the holiness and majesty of God’s character that leaves us in awe-filled wonder.

The Hebrew root (yr’ pronounced yahreh) means, “to inspire awe, terror, or dread.”

God is one who is to be feared and offered complete reverence toward.

Nehemiah was aware that he was taking his petition before the God of heaven, the only true God. As he came before Him, he did so in humility and awe.

It would do us good to see God for who He really is. I firmly believe if we could possibly grasp the holiness and sanctity of our God, we would never be the same.

We would live differently; we would pray differently; we would worship differently. I pray that as we seek the Lord for the needs of our day that we will do so recognizing His holiness!

“who keeps covenant and steadfast love” Covenant is a sacred bond between two parties. God is totally reliable. He keeps His promises and expects us to honor him with our obedience. “hesed” – steadfast, loyal love. It is a covenant of love.

Mervin Breneman rightly said that hesed,

...emphasizes God’s mercy and love to his people. This followed by “With those who love him and obey his commands” shows that covenant love or loyalty was to be reciprocal. God’s people are to obey God’s commands, which express his will. The mention of the covenant should always cause us to recognize God’s faithfulness and our responsibility.

Notice that all these attributes of God are related to Nehemiah’s concern and future mission! Reminding yourself of the attributes of God inspires confidence and prepares us for our mission.

3. Confession of Sin (1:6-7)

Nehemiah 1:6–7 ESV

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.

Look at the pronouns. “We,” “my,” and “I,”

Nehemiah knows his personal relationship is tied with the communal relationship with God and His people. Nehemiah understands that he is just one of the covenant people of God. Nehemiah includes himself.

What does he confess?

His sin, His father’s sin, Israel’s national sin!

There is no sin that God can’t forgive so there should be no sin that we don’t confess.

I our world today, no one wants to accept responsibility for their sin. We like to point the blame to someone else. We blame everyone but ourselves.

We tend to believe that sin is caused by something outside of us rather than what’s inside of us.

But Here is the truth:

You can not make spiritual progress in your walk with Christ if you don’t accept responsibility for your own sin, confess it, and repent of it.

Nehemiah doesn’t say, “Hey, I wasn’t born when Israel was exiled, I didn’t cause this to happen so why do I have to pay for it?

No, Nehemiah takes it personally. He owns His sin, His families sin, and His nations sin. Do we own the sins of those that came before us in America?

Listen church, no true revitalization work can happen until we confess and repent of our sins!

It is when we are honest before God in brokenness and repentance, that we can realize Gods’ amazing grace, find His mercy and experience His revitalization.

Prayer is grants us the power to do a great work for the glory of God, in proportion to us getting our hearts right before God.

4. Confidence in God’s Word (1:8-10)

Nehemiah 1:8–10 ESV

8 Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, 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’s prayer is based on God’s Word. In other words, he drew confidence in approaching the throne of grace through his study of God’s Word.

“Remember,” prayed Nehemiah, “the instruction you gave your servant Moses.

Most of this prayer is based on Dueteronomy.

Nehemiah recalls God’s word about Israel’s unfaithfulness leading to their exile (1:8), and God’s promise concerning God’s people being restored through repentance according to God’s mercy, faithfulness, and forgiveness (1:9).

Deuteronomy 4:25–31 ESV

25 “When you father children and children’s children, and have grown old in the land, if you act corruptly by making a carved image in the form of anything, and by doing what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, so as to provoke him to anger, 26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. You will not live long in it, but will be utterly destroyed. 27 And the Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you. 28 And there you will serve gods of wood and stone, the work of human hands, that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. 29 But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the Lord your God and obey his voice. 31 For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.

Deuteronomy 30:1–6 ESV

1 “And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, 2 and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. 4 If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there he will take you. 5 And the Lord your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. And he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. 6 And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

Nehemiah has confidence that he prays to the God who stands by His Word! Nehemiah challenges us to prayer based on an understanding of God’s purpose and will as found in his Word.

Nehemiah, similar to Moses, intercedes for the people, based on God’s redemptive promises.

Nehemiah understands that God cares for His people.

We have experienced a greater redemption, a greater Exodus, through a greater Deliverer, the Lord Jesus Christ!

Romans 8:32 ESV

32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

God doesn’t redeem us to leave us to our own plans and purposes. As our loving Father, He cares for His children with an everlasting love in Christ.

Ephesus, build your prayer life upon the promises of God. Dig deep into His Word, know His Character, His Nature, and His promises. Come, pray to God with confidence!

5. Faithful Trust for God’s Providential Answer (1:11)

Nehemiah 1:11 ESV

11 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” Now I was cupbearer to the king.

Nehemiah prayed, “O Lord, let your ear be attentive, .... and give success,…and grant mercy in the sight of this man.”

Have you noticed how many times Nehemiah has used the words “servant” or “servants?” Eight times!

A servant who doesn’t trust in His Master’s providence is an unhappy and potentially unfaithful servant. Not Nehemiah! He was a servant who Delighted in the name, the glory of God!

You won’t be zealous for God’s glory, if you don’t delight in God’s name.

This is what we should care about: That Jesus’ name would be proclaimed as great through Ephesus Baptist Church!

Nehemiah had prayed for many days, now he was arriving at a decisive moment. After prayer was to come action, and Nehemiah had determined that the time was “today.”

He asked that King Artaxerxes might be divinely moved to act on behalf of God’s people. Humanly speaking, Nehemiah had no reason to expect such favor.

Do you realize what Nehemiah is praying? He is praying for God to change the heart of this king. And he’s not just a king, he’s an unbelieving king. He is a persian king!

Nehemiah believes that the only way this king will listen to his request to return to Jerusalem is God working in this man’s heart.

Proverbs 21:1 ESV

1 The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.

Every earthly leader is subject to the Sovereign leader of all creation!

Nehemiah’s greatness came from asking great things of a great God and attempting great things in confident dependence on Him.

Nehemiah’s final comment, “Now I was cupbearer to the king”, I believe is his acknowledgment that God had already begun to move on Israel’s behalf by placing Nehemiah in such a strategic position with access to the king.

Ephesus how has God positioned you?

Are you broken for His glory?

Do you praise and adore God for who He reveals Himself to be?

Are you living in constant confession and repentance seeking a holy life in obedience to God’s Word?

Are you studying and praying through God’s Word until God’s work gets into you?

Are you seeking to understand His will, and let it guide you in your prayers and in your daily walk?

Are you trusting faithfully that God will providentially provide you answers to those prayers that are in line with His revealed will?

Prayer

Hymn of Invitation

Hymn No. 320

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus