Conviction and Prayer

Introduction

Nehemiah 1:1–11 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.” 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.

Sad News

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Nehemiah’s name means “the Lord comforts.” In this book we will see the Lord uses Nehemiah to revive the spirit of discouraged exiles and bring them hope.

Great Trouble and Shame is said to be the condition of the people. Shame is not necessarily a concept we understand like other cultures do.

Nehemiah’s great concern over Israel caused him to sit down and weep. Certainly it is easier to pray about something when one feels deep concern for it. But we all should prayer even when a feeling is not so profound.

What do you consider sad news? What is it that would cause you to mourn over the state of a city and a people?

Many studies these days measure the church’s effectiveness in culture. The numbers are shocking. According to the Barna Research Group, there are about 360,000 churches in America. Current numbers tell us that only 15 percent of these churches are growing, and only 2 to 5 percent of the churches are experiencing new conversion growth. I interpret that to mean most of the churches in America are losing, Those that are growing are doing so by transfer growth. This means that a small percentage of the bigger churches are getting bigger and the smaller churches are shrinking or disappearing altogether. We are merely reshuffling the deck with the same cards. In that same study we also find that 50 percent of all evangelical churches in America did not have a single convert last year. We gain a little and we lose a lot. The death rate of elderly Christians accounts for some of this. The bigger contributor is a wide-open back door—we are losing people faster than we are gaining them. The statistic that breaks my heart is the one Josh McDowell gives in his book The Last Christian Generation. In it he reveals that 85 percent of kids who come from Christian homes do not have a biblical worldview. Most of them are leaving the faith between ages eighteen and twenty-four, never to return. Many of the churches that do give their conversion numbers every year are usually giving the number of children that were baptized from their already-Christian congregations. Now we find that those young converts do not make it past their eighteenth birthday when it comes to their faith.1 While we are losing people, other religions are growing. Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world and is growing rapidly in the U.S. in spite of 9/11. Mormonism is the fastest-growing religion in America. Eastern philosophy permeates our society and has invaded every part of our thinking. The new American religion is one of no wrongs and everyone going to heaven. It is a hodge-podge of multiple religions, with the main objective being self-fulfillment and satisfaction. The Christian world has incorporated many of the doctrines of these religions without even knowing it. God’s winning team was supposed to reach the world. Instead, the world is reaching us. When the unchurched are asked why they don’t go to a church, most say they don’t because they have not been asked. What in the world is happening? Barna reports that most Christians will die without ever sharing their faith with anyone else. It makes sense when you remember what the culture is teaching: “What is good for you is good for you and what is good for me is good for me. Why does it matter if you believe my thing or your thing when everything leads to the same place?” You can see the loss of the church’s influence everywhere. We lament this fact at election time or when the Supreme Court makes another bad decision, but our Christian people do little to help matters. Some believers get sidetracked into believing if we change the laws, America will be godly again. But you cannot mandate morality. Christians could change the world by committing themselves to the mission Jesus gave us. If we lived and loved, and shared our faith the way Jesus asked us to, we would have a chance to see real transformation in the hearts of men and women. If we change the hearts, we change the votes people cast. If we look closely at the scoreboard, it tells us that the church in the United States is losing badly.

Putman, Jim. Church Is a Team Sport: A Championship Strategy for Doing Ministry Together . Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

The Prayer of Faith

(Neh. 1:5-11)

Nehemiah’s prayer proves that he was a man of faith. He believed in God and he had a knowledge of God and His word. These were his two sources of faith…God and his word.

The Prayer is broken down into 4 parts:

the Invocation to God

the confession of sin

the request to the Lord to remember his people

request for success

THE INVOCATION:

God is a great and awesome God.

God is a covenant keeping God. hessed…love, covenant of love

CONFESSION:

Sin always requires confessing. We know that sin is forgiven because of the death of Jesus. But the acknowledgement and ownership on our part is crucial to transforming our selfish hearts into a moldable humility.

Commissioning Service for Joe Costephens

Nehemiah realized that God justly punished Israel, but he reminded God that this very situation had been anticipated with the resolution being God’s promise of mercy, faithfulness, and forgiveness.

REQUEST:

Nehemiah’s greatness came from asking great things of a great God and attempting great things while relying on God.

SUCCESS:

Introduction: Joe Costephens

Time of Testimony: Joe Costephens

Today is the day that Nehemiah wanted success.

The Gospel Ministry: Michael Byrd

The Navy Chaplaincy: Chaplain Alex Cho

The Swearing In: Chaplain Alex Cho and Joe Costephens

Prayer: Dan Curnutt

Fellowship Time to Follow