18-11-2018
Nehemiah 1:1-4 New International Version (NIV)
Nehemiah’s Prayer
1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah:
In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, 2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.
3 They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”
4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.
Nehemiah 1:11 New International Version (NIV)
11 Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.”
In Matthew 5, Jesus said "you are the salt of the earth and the light of the world." Salt adds flavour. Salt also heals. Light gives warmth and clarity.
Making a difference is very much of our heart's desire and God's desire.
Nehemiah was a cupbearer to King Artaxerxes. As a young man, he worked hard and rose to the level of a cupbearer to the King. He drank and ate all the nice wine and food. If one had wanted to kill the king, he would be the first to die.
He was in the marketplace. He was in a place of comfort and called himself successful.
One day, he heard from his brothers coming back from Jerusalem what has happened in the city of Jerusalem.
80 years ago, Zerubbabel took some of the exiles back to Jerusalem and established the temple.
10 years ago, Ezra established the law.
Nehemiah, in his comfort, questioned them about the Jewish remnants who survived the exile.
How do you make a difference in your life?
Nehemiah saw that the city of Jerusalem was in disgrace. The walls were broken down. The gates have been burned.
Nehemiah had a great sense of concern.
We need to understand that we live in a broken world. If we cared enough, our hearts will see.
When it is broken, there is great disgrace.
God is calling us to make a difference.
When hope is gone, relationships are broken.
As we open out eyes, we will see brokenness around us.
There are many broken lives in the marketplace.
The reality is, we live in a broken world.
Coming to church, sometimes we come with a broken mindset to only receive from God. We forget that we are the Body of Christ called to love and care for one another and to rise up to proclaim His kingdom.
Jesus spoke about brokenness.
Luke 10:25-37 New International Version (NIV)
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Do you look enough to see the brokenness for you to respond?
As we look at Nehemiah's life, he cared for the brokenness of his people. Because he cared, he wept for the needs of his people.
When was the last time we capture something about what Nehemiah felt?
He wept, he fasted, he prayed.
As salt and light to make a different out there, we need to carry the heart that Nehemiah had.
The place where you spend the most of our time is the place that God will call you to make a difference.
Nehemiah also moved. He said, "God, I want to step beyond my comfort zone to care for this broken nation of Jerusalem."
May God grant us hearts to see, care, weep and move.
Jesus had that heart. He cared, He died for us, He wept for Jerusalem, and He moved.
That should be the starting point for each of us to make a difference.
The challenge for us is outside the church. That's where the power of God is seen through your life and my life.
Have the heart that expresses the heart of God in conversation and deeds.
Our role is to care and love them where they are.
Open your eyes and see the brokenness where you are and in those that God has brought into your life.
If we care enough to look, we will make a difference. May God open our eyes to look.
Zerubbabel was there for 80 years. He built the temple but the city was not completed.
Ezra took more than 10 years to establish the law.
Nehemiah 6:15 New International Version (NIV)
15 So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days.
Nehemiah took 52 days.
1) 52 Days:
Rediscover Destiny
Understood Why
Ownership
Nehemiah 1:9 New International Version (NIV)
9 but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’
God reminded them.
Find that reward in the destiny and purposes of God. The destiny and purposes of God are seen in the place where God has placed you.
Making a difference is more than just sharing the gospel.
Making a difference is allowing ourselves to be used by God to love the people that God brings into our lives.
Jesus said, "Love your neighbours as yourself." We earn the respect to speak the gospel. We need to care for them.
Find the time when the phone is off and build relationships so that we earn the right to bring Christ into their lives as you love and care.
How do you make a difference when you do not build relationships?
Allow the truths that Jesus taught to be true in our lives.
As God works in your life, inspire each other to build.
Nehemiah inspired everyone to build. In Nehemiah 3, the residents in Jerusalem worked next to each other to rebuild and restore what had been broken and destroyed.
Take ownership.
Build communities together. Be part of a community that we can love.
When you being to love one another, that's when the presence of God comes.
Opposition:
Be Prepared
Be Anchored
Be Faithful
Every time when we do the work of God and want to make a difference, there will always be opposition.
Sanballat and Tobiah opposed Nehemiah.
There were internal and external problems.
But Nehemiah prepared them.
Nehemiah told them to read and to read. He gave them the inner strength to face opposition. The intensity was balanced by the Word of God.
Get the Word of God into our lives for the days ahead as we move.
The Word of God anchors the reality of God's truth to face the challenges ahead.
Be faithful. Don't give up because God is with us. God is found in the place where we are doing His will and purposes.
Matthew 28:20 New International Version (NIV)
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Joshua 1:9 New International Version (NIV)
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Acts 1:8 New International Version (NIV)
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Nehemiah 4:20 New International Version (NIV)
20 Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!”
God is found when you do His will and purposes.
The God of second chances can restore our hurts to bring healing to all those around us.
Isaiah 61 New International Version (NIV)
The Year of the Lord’s Favor
61 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a]
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.
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