PLUGGING INTO POWER

TEXT:  Nehemiah 1:1-4

INTRODUCTION:  Nehemiah was the cupbearer of Artaxeraxes king of Persia.  One of his close kinsmen was informed of the pitiful condition of Jerusalem and residents of Judea.   Upon learning their condition, Nehemiah was much grieved and at once conceived an idea of going to Jerusalem and rebuilding the walls of the city. This was a great task, which required much hard work; but Nehemiah was willing to work, and  found  others  who were  willing to work with him  By a united effort and a will to I work, the job was finished.  Nehemiah Plugged in the Power by:

NEHEMIAH

Born in captivity, of the tribe of Judah. His father as an unknown. Sixty years earlier his people had been pulled out of Jerusalem by Babylonians. Raised among the decadence and wealth of the capitol of Babylon, the fabled city of SUSA.

CUPBEARER
A cup bearer is a combination of prime minister and "master of ceremonies" rolled into one office. Kings lived in isolation (intrigue and assassination a threat). They gravitate to wise and trusted men around them. He tested food, guarded sleeping quarters and would be general adviser and confident of the King.

THE VISIT OF HIS BROTHER

His brother Hanani came to see him in the month of Chislev (November /December) in the twentieth year of the King Artaxerxes (445 B.C.).
BAD NEWS HANANI Instead of seeing half full, sees half empty. The kind of guy who can hardly wait for the future so he can look back on it with regret. Every time smells flowers, looks around for the funeral. Also, it is impossible to be truly prayerful and pessimistic at same time. When Nehemiah asked about Jerusalem he received the disheartening news. The walls are still down. The spirit is down. The city is defenseless. Few lives there (no wonder!).

HOW DID ITGET IN THAT CONDITION: NEHEMIAH IN GENERAL HISTORY

Review how Kingdoms divided after Solomon. In 722 the northern Kingdom finally collapses under the Assyrians. By this time they were scattered, and many had married pagans, compromised their faith and caused the Jews continually problems. Since the chief city in that area was SAMARIA these were soon called SAMARITANS. The Southern Kingdom (Judah [and Benjamin]) survived but failed to learn. Eventually they were overrun by the Babylonians. Unlike the Assyrians, however, the Babylonians did not seek to destroy their national identity. They allowed them to stay together, worship God (usually). During the seventy years they were in "captivity" Babylon itself was overrun by the combined forces of the Medes and the Persians. King Cyrus, the new ruler, gave per-mission for some to return to Jerusalem.  Several groups returned over a period of fifteen years. The word on rebuilding was begun, but never finished. Finally, during the reign of Artaxerxes 1st Nehemiah came to Jerusalem. Morale was low. Wall was down. Rich exploiting the poor. Economic depression. Spiritual ignorance.

KNOWING THE NEED

Nehemiah was in Babylon, he felt powerless to help his people He turned to God as the only answer. All prayer must begin with knowledge of need. Alan Redpath (Victorious Christian Service Revell, 1958), "Much of our praying is just asking God to bless some folks that are ill and to keep us plugging along. But prayer is not merely prattle: it is warfare." Nehemiah met a pessimist, depressing person who loves to tell it like it is as long as it is bad. But when the outlook is bad, try the up look.

I.          PREPARe FOR THE TASK

A.        See the necessity of the undertaking. (Nehemiah 1:2‑3)

1.      His beloved city walls were destroyed

2.      His people were suffering afflictions and reproach

3.      There was a job to he done and Nehemiah was the man for the task

4.      Seeing  the  necessity of  and  feeling the  responsibility  for  any  good  and worthy  work  is important to the final success thereof

5.      We need to see the decay of Home, Lives, America

a)      One must see:

b)      The need of Christ in their lives

c)      The need of Souls to be saved

d)      The need of Growth in the Church- Spiritual and Numerical

e)      The problems in our lives

B.        Take God into the task. (Nehemiah 1:4)

1.      Nehemiah did not underestimate the job, neither did he undertake the great task before prayer

2.      God's people often see the necessity of certain things to be done and undertake them without taking God into the task with them

C.        Work with God in all Christian endeavors

1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.

1.      Paul recognized the importance of working with God

2.      To work with him we have to work His way, not ours

3.      We are not independent workers

II.       RECOGNIZE THE DIFFICULTIES

A.        The monster of fear (Neh.2:2)

1.      The first enemy he met was fear

a)      He was afraid of the king

b)      Nehemiah was about to cross the bridge before he came to it

c)      When the king understood Nehemiah's problem, he encouraged and helped him to rebuild the walls

2.      We always fear the future, never the past

a)      Most of the things we fear never happen

b)      We generate fear while we sit and wait

c)      Fear is overcome by action

d)      Fear has defeated more people than any other monster

B.        There will be some enemies (Nehemiah 2:10)

1.      There are always some who oppose the Lord's work

2.      Nehemiah did not become discouraged to the point of quitting, he fought on until the walls were completely finished

C.        There are always some discouraging features in every good work

1.      The devil always opposes God's people and every good work, heaping upon them discouragement, extra burdens and every hardship possible

2.      Discouragement is next to fear in defeating God’s purpose in the endeavors of His people

III.    make up your MIND TO WORK

A.        Put your hope in God (Nehemiah 2:20)

1.      When people have nothing else to depend on they usually turn to God

2.      This is exactly what the children of Israel did and He helped them in time of need

3.      He will help everyone who relies upon Him

B.        Be willing to work (Neh.2:18)

1.      When they heard the encouraging words of their leader, they said, Let us rise up and build

2.      A willing mind is hard to defeat

3.      Over every obstacle they worked on, keeping in view the finished walls

C.        Realize the work is great work and you cannot leave it

1.      The enemy has many ways to hinder the work of God

2.      After Sanballet had tried laughing, scorning and criticizing, he then invited Nehemiah to one of the villages in the plain of Ono for a conference

3.      He, no doubt would have given Nehemiah a big honorable feast if he had agreed to leave the work of God

4.      The enemy would do a great many honors to God’s   people   if   they   would compromise

D.        Acknowledge that it is a big, hard job (Nehemiah 4:19)

1.      God's people can do big things when fear and discouragement are overcome

2.      Deciding to do a thing is half the battle

3.      After these people made up their mind, they worked from early morning until dark

CONCLUSION:   Any congregation can build a church house, if they decide they want. Any church can have revival if they decided they want one.   Any little group of God's people can increase their congregation and build their Sunday School, if they decide to go to work. The walls of Jerusalem were built because the people had a mind to work.  Let us make up our minds that we are going to work        

Unclaimed Insurance

To most people, the great depression of the 30s has been forgotten in the wave of prosperity that followed. Out of those hard times, however, came a story which has a strange ending yet teaches us a powerful lesson. When a timid old lady approached the first desk she saw in an insurance office in Minneapolis, she was asked what she wanted. With trembling hand, she took from her well-worn purse an old policy and explained regretfully that she was unable to meet the current premium. She explained that it was hard for her to get work and what little she did get was hardly enough to clothe, feed her and keep a roof over her head.
After quick investigation, the clerk recognized that the policy was very valuable. He warned the old lady that she was making an unwise move to stop payment. Did not her husband have anything to say? It was his policy made out to her benefit, he explained. "My husband? Oh, he has been dead for three years," she remarked sadly. Immediately the company officials went into action. They soon discovered that she was indeed telling the truth. What she didn’t understand was that the policy was her husband’s and that she was the beneficiary at his death. They were thus obligated to refund the overpaid premiums plus the full amount for which the husband had insured his life in her favor. The money was sufficient to keep her in comfort the rest of her life.

Listen: The greatest life insurance policy of all time became due when Jesus Christ died on the cross! Thousands of people continue trying to make payments on their own salvation while all they need to do is accept the immeasurable gift that is theirs through the death and resurrection of our Savior. To become the beneficiary of God’s Life Insurance Policy, we need simply to acknowledge our need as sinners and thank Him for the gift of His only begotten Son who died on the Cross and rose again (II Cor. 9:15) that we might have God’s forgiveness.

Hachaliah

hak uh LIGH uh

Chisleu

KISS loo

Shushan

SHOO shan

Hanani

huh NAY nigh