Wednesday Night Week 1

I want to thank you for joining us tonight as we begin our Wednesday night Fasting and prayer focus.

And to get us kicked off, I thought it would be appropriate tonight if we took some time to discuss why we are fasting and praying during this time.

As I shared a couple of weeks ago, as we started 2020, I felt like it was important that we take some time too fast and pray. And as you may recall, from February 5th through February 25th we fasted, prayed, and held Wednesday night services just like we are doing right now.

And it was during that time that I felt like the Lord was speaking two words into my heart. The words were “Be Prepared”.

To be honest, a lot of thoughts went through my mind as to what that might mean.

My first thought was concerning Easter. And that God maybe wanted us to be prepared for Easter. That maybe Easter was going to bring a harvest of souls we’d never seen before.

I also considered that it could be something of a personal nature. That maybe God was wanting me to prepare for something personally.

And so through the fast I focused in on being prepared not really knowing what we needed to be prepared for.

And then the unthinkable happened as March rolled around and the threat of global pandemic led to a nation wide shutdown of life as we know it as schools, businesses, sporting activities, and in person church services came to a screeching halt.

And never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought we would go 12 weeks without meeting as a church family. Never would I have thought we we’d see the division the pandemic has caused in our country. Never would I have thought 2020 would play out like it has so far.

So, as I look back on our February fast, it’s obvious to me now what God was getting us prepared for. He was getting us prepared for the Coronavirus and the challenges we would face going into it.

And I truly believe had we not fasted, we wouldn’t be where we are at as a church today.

I don’t believe we would have experienced the financial blessings we’ve had.

I don’t believe we would have a new paved parking lot.

I don’t believe we would have all the new people that are coming to the church because they watched us online during the Pandemic. Because on a weekly basis we have people coming who started attending MCF online during that 12 week period.

I don’t believe we would we back at 110% of our average attendance while many churches have only seen 30-50% come back.

You see I believe because we fasted and because we prayed, God went before us and He prepared us and He prepared the church for everything we would need to not only survive during the pandemic, but too flourish.

All that to say, as we enter into the Fall of 2020, I think we would be foolish if we didn’t fast and pray. If we didn’t recognize our need for God’s help. Because while the threat of the coronavirus may not be what it was in March, new threats, new uncertainties, and new challenges still lie ahead.

That being said, as we enter into this fast, I feel like the Lord has laid two more words on my heart. Two words that are going to become our focus for the next few weeks. The words are “Get Ready”.

Now, you might be thinking, “Well, that’s great pastor. Sounds interesting. But what exactly do you think we need to get ready for?”

I don’t know.

But what I sense is that it’s not anything negative. Instead what I sense is that it’s about an opportunity. An opportunity to be the church in way we’ve never been before. An opportunity to impact and reach this community in a way that literally changes the spiritual landscape of our region. An opportunity to be light in the midst of darkness. Because whether you’re aware of it or not, we are living in dark times and people are looking for hope.

But like all opportunities, it can be missed. Missed if we’re not ready for it. Missed if we’re not willing to do what it takes to get ready. So, we have to get ready.

So, how do we get ready? That’s what our focus is going to be beginning tonight. And to help us get started on what it means to Get Ready, we are going to go to the book of Nehemiah.

You say, “Why the book of Nehemiah?” Well, in many respects, Nehemiah is a book about Hope. A book about the return of the nation of Israel from exile. A book about a group of men and women who stepped out in faith, trusted God, and saw the impossible happen as a nation was restored.

But before any of that could happen, they had to get ready. And it all started with a man named Nehemiah.

And so what I want to do tonight is look at the first chapter of Nehemiah, and from that chapter highlight three initial steps we need to be willing to take in order to get ready.

So, if you have your Bible, your Bible App, or your notes, follow along with me as we go to Nehemiah 1. Beginning in chapter 1 verse 1, Nehemiah writes:

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.”

Nehemiah begins by giving us the circumstances for everything that is about to take place. And from what he tells us we learn three things about his current condition and the condition of the nation of Israel.

First, Nehemiah is writing from a position of captivity. In other words, he’s writing from Babylon, specifically from Susa, where the people of Israel had been taken captive 140 years prior to this. Which means, Nehemiah is living in the midst of a foreign and godless nation.

Second, while Nehemiah is physically in Babylon, his heart is in Jerusalem. In other words, his concern and longing is for what has been lost.

Third, the news of what’s been lost isn’t good. Because as Nehemiah inquires about what has become of Jersualem, the answer he receives is discouraging as he’s told that those who remained and weren’t taken into captivity are living in great trouble and shame. But not only that, the wall of Jersualem is broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire.

How did this happen? It happened 140 years before this when King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the city of Jerusalem. We read about it in 2 Kings 25:

2 Kings 25:8–12 ESV

8 In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month—that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9 And he burned the house of the Lord and the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. 10 And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem. 11 And the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile. 12 But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.

So, in a 140 years, not much has changed in Jersualem. And it cuts Nehemiah to the core. Because listen to how Nehemiah responded to the news:

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.

Nehemiah says when he heard how bad it was in Jersualem, all he could do is weep. All he could do was fast and pray before God. It was all he knew to do.

So, what’s this saying to us?

I think what it’s saying, is like Nehemiah, as we consider the condition of our nation, it ought to move us.

Because like Nehemiah, we are no longer living in the America we once knew. No, we aren’t living as exiles in a foreign nation, but we are living in a post Christian nation that for the most part has abandoned godly principles and morality.

A nation where cities are literally being burned down on a nightly basis.

A nation where the unborn are no longer safe.

A nation where lawlessness rules.

A nation where sexual immorality runs rampant.

A nation where racial division is tearing us apart.

A nation where right has become wrong and wrong has become right.

And it ought to move us. It ought to bother us. Like Nehemiah it ought to bring us to our knees as we fast and pray and seek God. Because the fact is, unless God intervenes, unless God moves, there’s a good chance the America we once knew will never exist again.

Now, you might be thinking, “Wow Pastor, that’s depressing. Kind of wish I wouldn’t have come tonight.”

Listen, I know it’s depressing. And that’s why we are fasting and praying. That’s why we are getting ready. Because I believe it’s not too late for America.

But here’s the deal. If we want to see a move of God, and we want to get ready for it, it begins with us.

It begins with you and I taking some initial steps as we fast and pray.

So, a great question would be, “What are those initial steps?”

Nehemiah is going to give them to us. Because as he begins to fast and pray, I want you to notice what he does:

Nehemiah gets ready by focusing on the greatness of God.

In verse 5 we read:

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,

What I want you to notice is as Nehemiah begins too fast and pray, he begins by giving God praise.

You say, “Why is this important?” It’s important for a couple of reasons:

# 1 - By starting with praise, we are acknowledging that God is the answer to our problem.

Notice what Nehemiah says. “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.”

What Nehemiah is acknowledging here is that God is a God of promise. A God who shows steadfast love to those who keep his commandments.

In other words, if Jersualem is to be saved, it starts with the God who promised He would rebuild it if the people’s hearts would turn back to Him.

The writer of 2 Chronicles puts it like this:

2 Chronicles 30:9 ESV

9 For if you return to the Lord, your brothers and your children will find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.”

The write says, if the people will acknowledge their need for God, He will return them to the land.

So, based on that, in this moment Nehemiah acknowledges only God is able to help them at this point.

#2 - By starting with praise, we remind ourselves that God is bigger than our problem.

The fact is, what Nehemiah and the people of Israel are facing is beyond their ability to overcome. Only God has the ability to do what seems impossible.

And that’s why Nehemiah starts out by praying, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God...”

And in this moment Nehemiah looks to the God of the universe for the answer. The God who created and controls all things. And he begs for His help.

What’s this saying to us? It’s saying if we want to see God move in our community and in our country, we have to start with praise. We have to start by acknowledging that God is the answer. And that if we want to see our nation pulled back from the brink of disaster, then we have to be nation that moves back to God.

And to do that, you and I need to start seeing God as bigger than the problem.

Which means, we have to stop living with this fearful mindset that all is lost if a certain candidate wins over another.

Or that if we could just post our opinion on Facebook it would make a difference.

Or that if we could just get more conservative judges on the supreme court our problems would be over.

We have to stop believing all of that. And instead start believing that we serve a God that is bigger than our problem. To start thinking like the Psalmist when he writes:

Psalm 121:1–8 ESV

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

So, if we want to get ready, it starts with praise. I starts by putting our focus not on the problem, but on the answer to our problem.

This leads us to a second step. Because in order to make God the answer, it requires us to do something.

2. Nehemiah gets ready by confessing his sin.

Look at what he says as he continues to pray:

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.

Notice what Nehemiah prays. He prays and acknowledges the sin of his nation and his own personal sin.

Why does he do this? He does it because he knows if God is to work on his behalf, it starts with repentance. It starts with confessing and acknowledging our sin.

And so he prays for the nation of Israel. And He acknowledges how sinful they’ve been. And not only that, he acknowledges his own sin and confesses his own sin.

Again it’s what the writer of 2 Chronicles was talking about when he wrote:

2 Chronicles 7:14 ESV

14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

God promises if His people repent, he will heal their land.

Here’s what this is saying to us. If we want to get ready for what God is going to do, then we need to lead our nation into repentance.

How do we do that? We do it by starting with our own sin. We start by acknowledging that like our nation, we too have fallen short. We too have given ourselves to ungodly behavior. We too have given ourselves to sensual pleasure. That we too at times aren’t much different than the godless nation we live in.

Here’s what I want to challenge you with on this fast. I want to challenge you to ask God to reveal the sin in you. Reveal what is keeping you from moving forward with Him. Reveal in you what you’ve allowed in that is working against your relationship with God. To pray like the Psalmist when he prays:

Psalm 139:23–24 ESV

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

I’m telling right now church, if we want to be ready and a part of what God is going to do, then we have to get rid of the sin. We have to get rid of what is holding us back. We have to get rid of what is keeping us from getting ready.

This leads us to a final step in our preparation to get ready. Because after confessing his sin:

3. Nehemiah gets ready by asking God for help.

Picking up in verse 9 he continues to pray:

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.

In this part of his prayer Nehemiah moves from confession to petition as he asks God specifically for a couple of things:

#1 - He asks God to remember His promises.

What promises? The promise that if the people return to Him, that he will heal them. His promise that if the people return to him, that he will return them to their land. The promise that if the people will turn to Him, He will redeem them by His great power.

But what’s interesting about this prayer, is Nehemiah asks God for this before the people actually repent. Which tells us, this is a proactive prayer. This is a prayer of anticipation. This is a prayer of faith. This is Nehemiah claiming the promises of God before anything has happened.

And the fact is, we must be willing to do the same. And what I mean by that is instead of complaining and fretting over how bad it is, we need to start anticipating a move of God. We need to start proactively praying that God will make good on His promises when people begin to repent.

Let me put lit like this. We need to begin to pray like what we’re praying for is really going to happen.

Because in essence that’s what Nehemiah is doing. He’s proclaiming victory before it’s ever happened and he’s reminding God of what He said He’d do when the people repent.

Now that’s faith. To pray and believe that what you are praying for is going to happen. And you’re so certain of it, that you remind God of His part in it.

You see, that’s part of getting ready. It’s you and I praying like the victory has already taken place.

But here’s the deal, while we need to pray with that kind of faith, what we can’t forget is we need God’s help for it to happen. Because that’s what Nehemiah prays for next. As He now:

#2 - He asks God for favor and success.

Picking up in verse 11 he concludes his prayer like this:

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 now asks God to grant him success. Success in what we might ask.

Well, unfortunately we don’t have time to go into all of it tonight, but in order to address the problem in Jerusalem and restore the walls, Nehemiah needs favor from the King. A king named Artaxerxes. And it just so happens that Nehemiah is the cupbearer to the king. Which meant his job was to taste test the kings drink before he drank it.

Some might wonder, “Why would the King want him to do that? Was it to make sure it tasted ok?”

No, it was to make sure it wasn’t poisoned. Which means, Nehemiah is a ginny pig. He’s dispensable. In all honesty, he’s just a nobody.

But what he does have is access to the king. And his hope is that maybe an opportunity would arise where he could ask the king for help.

But there’s some real danger in that. Because number one, he’s probably not allowed to speak to the king, and if he were to try, it could mean death for him.

Number 2, if he were to act in anyway suspicious, it could be a sign to the king that he’s a danger or threat.

And so if he’s going to have any opportunity with the king, Nehemiah know’s God is the only one that could give him that kind of favor with the King.

And so he petitions God, and he prays, “God, please give me favor with the king, because I believe you are going to work through me, so I’m asking you for help.”

So, does God help Nehemiah? You bet he does. In fact, if we were to go onto read, we would discover that the King poured favor upon Nehemiah and gave him everything he needed to go and restore the walls of Jerusalem.

And what was true for Nehemiah must and can be true for us. Because the fact is, if we want to be ready for what God is about to do, we need his favor. We need Him to go before us.

And I believe through this fast, if we are willing to ask God for his favor, I believe God is going to go before us in a way we could never imagine. That like Nehemiah we will be able to say:

“And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.” Nehemiah 2:8b (ESV)

MCF, I want the good hand of God to be upon us. But for that to happen, we have to ask God for his favor to go before us.

Worship Team Come