Restorers Repairers and Rebuilders #2 Sanctified Servant - Nehemiah 11:1-11
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An Egyptian Pharaoh hired an engineer to raise an obelisk in his honor. The Pharaoh did not think that the engineer was being careful enough in his plans so as not to drop the huge stone pillar and break it. On the day, the obelisk was planned to be raised the engineer walked out to the site and looked over the work. There he saw tied to the very top of the pillar as it lay on the ground his only son. When he went to the Pharaoh to ask to have his son released the pharaoh responded, “Now you will be very careful with my obelisk because now your heart is in it."
Though we would not agree with the Pharaoh’s means we would agree with his statement. To do anything right you must have your heart in it. You must care, you must possess passion for the undertaking. This is always true in the work you do for God as a restorer, repairer and rebuilder.
Last week we look at Sanctified Service and Worthy Worship. God’s instructions for Fasting and the Keeping of the Sabbath showed us what He accepts as service in His name. This morning we are going to look not at the service but at the servant in Nehemiah chapter 1.
A Man of The Palace - Nehemiah 1:1
The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,
Nehemiah Leaves It All
Nehemiah was in Shusan a city where which was the winter residence of the Persian Kings and he dates his writing as the 20th year from the time that Artaxerxes began to reign. This would be in the year 445 BC.
Nehemiah was an educated, cultured and valuable man serving in one of the most influential positions that anyone could have in the palace of Artaxerxes, at that time the most powerful king anywhere on the earth.
An yet Nehemiah is going to leave it all, his position, his place in the palace in order to go and serve God in what had become a backwater part of the Persian Empire, a broken down, forgotten city called Jerusalem.
Rebuilding May Mean Relocating
None of knows from one day to the next where we might be and what circumstances might move us from where we are comfortable and where we have worked to be. This is true of any one at any time, but for the rebuilder in God’s service there must be a willingness to let God move me, relocated me if He deems it necessary.
For many this idea of letting God move us physically as well as spiritually and emotionally is too frightening, too extreme and they hold back in their surrender to God. I can only say from my own life and from the examples I see in scripture that if God moves you, He will truly bless you. And if you truly want to see God do wonderful things in your life, then it will require both an emotional moving and the willingness for Him to move us physically as well.
Starting next week we are going to have missionaries coming out of our ears. They are going to be running around all over the place. If you get a chance to talk to them, you should ask them was it worth it? Did God’s blessing multiply when you allowed Him to move you? I know the answer in my own life and I can predict the answer in theirs. Yes, it was worth it.
If God had moved me a thousand times and thousands of miles, he would have giving a thousand blessing at each step of the way.
Never forget that the first command of the Great Commission is “Go.” One way or the other in your heart, your head or your home address God is going to move you and you must be willing to go.
Nehemiah was a man of the palace but he left the palace willingly because he was also a man of passion.
A Man of Passion - Nehemiah 1:2-3
That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.
Nehemiah is Broken by Jerusalem’s Brokenness
Nehemiah’s brother Hanani returns from a trip to Jerusalem. The people of God had been returning to their homeland for many years now and Nehemiah was eager to hear news. A few years earlier in 458 BC, Artaxerxes had allowed some Jews to return under the scribe Ezra and the governor Zerubbabel in order to rebuild the temple and the houses they would need to live in. For about 13 year Zerubbabel and Ezra had been in Jerusalem rebuilding the city. Nehemiah was excited to get a report .
But what Hanani told him was not the news he must have been praying to hear. Vs. 3 “The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.”
Jerusalem and its inhabitants, all that remained of the once great nation of God and the city of David, was wide open to the dangers of attack from enemies, outlaws and even wild animals. The city that once held the Temple of the God of Heaven was still laid waste. Where once silver was as common as stones in the reign of Solomon, now wild animals roamed the streets at night. Where once was heard the praise of Solomon’s wisdom now was heard the laughter of derision from Israel’s enemies. Where once a beautiful temple had stood filled with the glory of God, now there was just an empty hulk and an empty mount filled only with the sound of the wind.
After Nehemiah hears the news from his brother his heart is burdened and he collapses in sorrow and brokeness before God.
It was Nehemiah’s heartbreak, and pain that would move him to give up his place in the King’s palace, his role as the kings most trusted servant, his power in this elevated position, he was willing to forsake it all and set his face and heart toward the work of rebuilding Jerusalem.
Rebuilding Requires Brokenness
If we are to be a rebuilder for the Lord then you must realize there is a cost. Not only must you be willing to let God move you but you must also be willing to be broken by the burden of God’s calling. This is not a task lightly undertaken. It is not playing at being a Christian, it requires the spirit of a humble servant and the sacrifice of all we have.
The principle of brokenness in order to be used by God is absolutely necessary and it is clearly taught throughout God’s word. Let me give you just one verse of scripture.
Psalm 126:4-6 Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
I know that verse is often used to talk about soul winning but that is not its context. It is the prayer of the nation of Israel for God to bring them back and restore their nation. It is a Psalms of brokenness and sorrow, of passion and through that passion the power of God can be released to his people. The key condition in the verse to seeing their return is going out in tears, carrying hope as a precious seed and in that sorrow and hope knowing they will return in joy. But without the brokenness, without the tears, there could be no return and no joy.
For us as Christians wanting to rebuild lives, hearts souls and families, we must be willing to risk our emotional safety net and go forth bearing the precious seed of the gospel. Telling the story of a Savior broken on the cross of Calvary by our sin, in order to bring the joy of His return to life and the hope of a return to God, where brokenness becomes blessings.
The next step for Nehemiah is actually the first aspect of the work of rebuilding. He begins, not by gathering material or men or money but by going to God in prayer.
A Man of Prayer and Fasting - Nehemiah 1:4-11
And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven, And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there. Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.
Nehemiah Prays to Find Power
In his brokenness Nehemiah went to God. It was here in God's presence that he begins the work of rebuilding Jerusalem though prayer. He seeks God’s power to do God’s will and finish God’s work. Nehemiah knew that the first work in God’s service must always be prayer. In doing more research I found that from the time of Hanani’s news to the time that Nehemiah approached the King was 4 months from Chisleu to Nisan. Four months and according to what we read here, “he prayed before God day and night.” Four months of daily prayer to God and after prayer had saturated his life and given him hope, then he went to the King.
Nehemiah also fasted as he prayed. Now I’m sure he didn’t fast for 4 months, but instead I imagine he fasted for certain times of the day and dedicated himself to prayer during those times. By prayer and fasting Nehemiah takes the first steps in the work of rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls. Just as a builder begins by securing his tools and materials, prayer is the beginning of any work for God. It is God’s work and Nehemiah is going to be used to carry out that work, but it is God who must provide the opportunities and the power for that work. Prayer with fasting is how God has determined He will supply us.
Psalms 62:5-8 5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us.
Rebuilder’s Power Is In Prayer
If we are to be rebuilders and restorers in the Lord’s work then we must have a burden and a passion for the work. We must also see our need for God’s power and His intervention in the work He has called us to fulfill. That means we must pray. Our first impulse is always to just jump in and get started, but the pattern in the Bible is that before God’s chosen servants begin the work they always pray. Pray flows from our passion and it must precede all that we hope to accomplish for God or it will not really be His work.
We make prayer the preparation for work, it is never that in the Bible. Prayer is the exercise of drawing on the grace of God. - Oswald Chambers
A Prayer That Brings Power
I must see prayer as Nehemiah did if I am to find the power to do God’s restoration work.
First, my Prayer should contain praise of God Nehemiah 1:5
And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:
My prayer should confession my sin and weakness - Nehemiah 1:5-7
Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.
My prayer should make an appeal to God based upon God's word - Nehemiah 1:8-9
Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.
My prayer should be built upon my relationship with God's - Nehemiah 1:10
Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.
And My prayer should plea for God's power and providence - Nehemiah 1:11
O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.
The Need for Fasting
Not only must I pray but just like Nehemiah I must also understand the need for fasting.
Prayer draws me close to God while fasting separates me from this world. Fasting from food is denying the appetites of the flesh. It may seem strange, but your focus is sharper while you are fasting.
Not only should I fast from food while seeking God’s power through prayer, but I should also fast from other distractions in the world around me. Fasting brings a narrowing of my concentration and faith upon God. Fasting, in the greater sense, removes, the distractions of this world. Things like the internet, cell phones, television, movies, music or anything else that takes my focus from seeking God. These things dilute my seeking and finding the power of God, fasting concentrates my aim on God and away from this world.
Being a rebuilder requires a concentration and dedication of time and of energy and like all great tasks you have to let somethings go. A fast is a reminder of letting go so we can let God give us the power we need to get the work done.
Jesus told us to fast and gave us its purpose in Matthew 6:17-18 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
Fast unto God and He shall reward thee. He shall give you what you need to fulfill the task of being a rebuilder.
It comes down to this by prayer and fasting we empty ourselves in order that we might be filled with God’s power and provision.
Finally, Nehemiah was…
CONCLUSION- A Man Prepared By God – Nehemiah 4:11
O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.
Nehemiah was Prepared by God
Prepared for the Place and Purpose of Rebuilding the Wall Of Jerusalem.
His name means “The Lord has comforted.” He was in a position of great responsibility and privilege as the Kings cupbearer. This was man who stood next to the king. To have this high position he had to be cultured, educated, able to talk with the king and wise enough to advise him if needed. The cupbearer was a man of great influence and God had prepared Nehemiah for that position and then in that position he was prepared for the purpose of rebuilding the city of Jerusalem. God gave him a passion for his people and for his city and the understanding of the need for power through prayer and fasting.
Prepared for such a time as this.
One of the most inspiring and insightful phrases ever uttered in the Bible is found in the book fo Esther. Mordecai is talking to Esther who is afraid of going to the king and he says in Esther 4:14 For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
God prepared Esther and Mordecia, he prepared Abraham, he prepared Joseph, he prepared Ruth and Naomi and on and on throughout the Bible, When God has a need, a work, a task, a soul, a church, He puts a man, women or child in to position and prepares them for just such a time as this. It could be this time, it could be this place, it could be this church. It could be you or I that God is preparing right now.
God can use you if you are not too afraid to be broken, not too proud to pray, not too weak to fast and not too big to be humbled.
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