An Anchor For Your Soul or A Hope For Your Future
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1 In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence.
nehemiah had waited 4 months from the time of Nehemiah 1 to come before the king and ask. He has brought the wine for the king. Because he was so bothered about Jerusalem, Nehemiah was truly sad and could nothide it.
2 And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid.
The king recognizes Nehemiahs’ sadness, and asks about it.
Nehemiah is afraid. He should be.
Remember, this is the king that had halted the rebuilding of Jerusalem earlier. Also, it was never proper to be sad in the king’s presence. He was not to be bothered.
3 I said to the king, “Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”
Note, he states his case…but he doesn’t mention Jerusalem.
4 Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.
The king valued Nehemiah. He wanted to help. Nehemiah, if he hesitated, may fall into question. The king may think he is up to somehting. But by praying, Nehemiah recognizes who ultimately holds his fate in his hand. He prays a minute prayer.
But keep in mind that these “emergency prayers” were backed up by four months of fasting and praying. If Nehemiah had not been diligent to pray in private, his “telegraph prayers” might have gone unanswered. “
Nehemiah will pray 5 other times in this beief book. He was a man of prayer.
Those who are the boldest for God have the greatest need to be in prayer.
5 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ graves, that I may rebuild it.”
Nehemiah asks for permission to go. He wants to rebuild the city of Jerusalem.
6 And the king said to me (the queen sitting beside him), “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time.
We are not told of the time he gave. We do know that he stayed for 12 years, though the wall was rebuilt much quicker than that.... he became governor.
7 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah,
He gets letters to get passage.
8 and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy.” And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.
He gets letters for provisions.
He recognizes the hand of God upon his life.
THE INVESTMENT OF WAITING...
THE INVESTMENT OF WAITING...
So why the wait by Nehemiah before going to the king for permission to go?
As every believer should, Nehemiah patiently waited on the Lord for directions; because it is “through faith and patience” that we inherit the promises (Heb. 6:12). “He that believeth shall not make haste” (Isa. 28:16). True faith in God brings a calmness to the heart that keeps us from rushing about and trying to do in our own strength what only God can do
We must know not only how to weep and pray, but also how to wait and pray.
13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.
18 She replied, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today.”
10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
THE INSPIRATION OF THE PAST
THE INSPIRATION OF THE PAST
Why rebuild the wall in the first place?
3 I said to the king, “Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”
THE PLACE OF MY FATHERS’ GRAVES
5 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ graves, that I may rebuild it.”
THE PLACE OF MY FATHERS’ GRAVES
Listen to the respect that Nehemiah had for his ancestors.
Who is buried in Jerusalem? Actually few. He wasn’t referring to Abraham isaac and jacob. They were buried long before Jerusalem was their life.
He wasn’t even referring to King David 500 years before. David was buried in Israel- but in the city of david. Bethlehem. (There is a tomb in Jerusalem called David’s tomb- but the biblical account places it in Bethlehem and that’s where most of the digs take place.)
Hezekiah, Joash, Josiah, Jehoahaz, most of the kings of Judah.... And some were good and some were bad.
Many of the deaths say, “He was carried by the people to Jerusalem in a chariot. And he was buried among the kings”… or he was buried with the kings.
One of the most tragic lines about the kings who died is found in 2 Chronicles 21:20, concerning King Jehoahaz.
20 He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he departed with no one’s regret. They buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.
He departed with no one’s regret. they buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.
So what was it about his fathers and Jerusalem that motivated his desire to rebuild the walls.?
As a whole, Nehemiah learned from the past to live for the future.
Nehemiah had dreams. He actually had vision. He wanted to see his city restored. He wanted the captivity over. He wanted to see his people back where they were supposed to be.
But he knew the real reason that they were in captivity in the first place: sin. Years and years of God speaking to them about the way they were living, the sin they were committing, and their failure to repent.
How do I know this?
Remember Josiah’s prayer from last week., in the 1st chapter....
He is told about 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.
So Nehemiah is willing to honor his forefather’s memory without sugarcoating their reality. “He was a good man..” may sound wonderful at the side of the casket, but to the child who he raised and was beaten every day and watched his mother suffer those words are hollow at best. But when that child grows up committed to never doing those things… well, he’s learned something.
Nehemiah didn’t want to destroy their memory- he wanted to learn from it.
Far too many people allow their past to become an anchor instead of a rudder. The past can guide you into your future- or it can hold you like an anchor to a past that is unhelpful at best and death at worst.
If your mantra is “as it was in the beginning, it is now and ever shall be.” you’ve already set yourself up for failure.
Unhealthy patterns of the past have to go.
Unhealthy people may have to be let go.
When the future is at stake- literally life or death- you learn from the past and use that wisdom to form your future.
Always remember Nehemiah’s prayer.
Nehemiah never tried to duplicate the past- he built on the past so Israel would have a future.
THE WISDOM OF PREPARING
THE WISDOM OF PREPARING
Go back to Nehemiah 2.4 for a moment...
4 Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.
The prayer was short because the preparation was complete.
Remember, for 4 months Nehemiah waited and prepared before he asked the king. Because he had spent that time in preparation he could pray with brevity in faith.
I’m not advocating for brief or long prayers- but when the works been done the faith begins.
Nehemiah was acting in faith not in fear.
So he asked for letters. He got them.
He asked for materials. He got them.
He asked for time. He got time.
Later in Nehemiah he says this: the hand of god was upon me.
18 And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.
It was his willing heart that God used to begin the process of rebuilding Jerusalem.
When Jesus called his disciples:
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
He gave them the authority to do thei job and then he promised to meet their every need.
1 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.
2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;
4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans,
6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.
9 Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts,
10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food.
11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart.
12 As you enter the house, greet it.
13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.
14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.
15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
YOUR PAST SHOULD NOT BE AN ANCHOR- IT SHOULD BE A RUDDER
YOUR PAST SHOULD NOT BE AN ANCHOR- IT SHOULD BE A RUDDER
Jesus said, I have not come to destroy the law and the prophets.. I’ve come to fulfil them.
Hebrews says this…Hebrews 6.17-20
17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath,
18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.
19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain,
20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
When Sodom was destroyed some stayed and died- but Lot left.
When Israel was in bondage in Egypt- God freed them for the promised land.
When Moses was in exile God used that time to prepare him for Next.
When David was a shepherd he learned how to protect the flock.
When David was in Saul’s court, he learned to duck spears- before he became king.
When Peter was fishing on the sea of Galilee Jesus was teaching him how to fish for people.
God’s past dealings are meant to teach us and lead us into HIS future.
I’ve shown this before, but I’m going to close iwth it.
Joel and Luke Smallbone.... from Australia… they are a group called King and Country.
Burn the Ships. When the past becomes an anchor- you’ve got to burn the ships.