Nehemiah – From Vision to Victory
Discover your Passion
Dive into Prayer
Recognize God for Who He is
Repent of your sins
Remember God’s Promises
Request Specific Help
Don’t let your Position Hinder you
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We are back this week into our series From Ordinary to Extraordinary.
Have you ever had a glimpse of what could be?
You have seen the way things are first hand and God has given you a vision for what could be, if only…
Perhaps you have seen kids in the foster care system and thought for some of them this could be so much better if only someone would step up and care for some of them
Perhaps you have seen a neighborhood in crisis due to poverty and lack of care of homes and thought this could be a nice neighborhood if only someone would come and begin to make efforts at change.
Perhaps you have seen people in your workplace suffering through life situations and thought if only they would be in church and start learning God’s principals of living, they would not have to experience the pain they are going through.
Perhaps you have seen these same things within the church and thought they could be so much better if the church were doing a better job of teaching them.
Perhaps you have seen kids just hanging out or watching TV through the summer and thought if only there were some organized activities at a safe place for them to keep them active and off the streets.
If only…
It is that “if only…” that is the stickler
If only someone would do something about this!
If only someone would see what I see.
If only someone could understand how much better things could be.
If only someone…
What if that “if only someone…” was you?
It can’t be me.
I don’t have the abilities.
I don’t have the time.
I don’t have the knowledge.
I don’t know what to do.
I can’t lead this.
Is it “I don’t…I can’t…or I won’t?
What if that vision that you see of what could be is actually God laying this on your heart and calling you to act?
But I don’t know what to do!
What do you do when you don’t know what to do?
Well, we are going to look at a person today whom God laid a vision upon his heart and we are going to look at what he did so we might learn and be able to take obedient steps of faith when the Lord lays something on our heart.
Today we are going to look at Nehemiah and the read about the better thing he saw and the actions he took in Nehemiah 1:1-11 (p. 342).
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Neha who a?
Nehemiah.
He was a person from the Old Testament whom God used in an extraordinary way. He gave him a vision and helped bring it to victory.
I want to give you a quick background of Nehemiah so you can have the context of the situation.
Nearly 600 years before Christ, Jerusalem and the Temple had been destroyed by the Babylonians and many Isrealites were taken into captivity back to Babylon.
After nearly 50 years of exile some Jews returned and rebuilt the temple.
After another 70 years, a few more return to rebuild the city with Ezra.
After another 13 years, in 445 BC, is when the events we are about to read in Nehemiah take place.
Nehemiah 1:1-11 (p. 342)
1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah:
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 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. 5 Then I said:
"O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s house, have committed against you. 7 We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.
8 "Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ’If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, 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.’
10 "They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. 11 O 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."
I was cupbearer to the king.
Pray.
Now here is a person who is going about life, doing his job, walking with the Lord and he hears some news that affects him profoundly.
I would imagine that it affected him more profoundly than he thought. I am sure he did not expect the news he got, but he probably did not expect that his reaction would be what it was, that he would be so burdened and passionate about it.
Sometimes we hear something and it is sad but it doesn’t affect us so deeply.
Others can hear the same thing and be greatly affected.
Other things we discover affect us deeply while other people are not that greatly affected.
God impassions and burdens different people to do different things.
If He gave us all the same passion, only one thing would get done.
So while God has created us differently, I do believe He desires to use all of us in extraordinary ways.
And if He is going to use us in the area of your passion,
That means you need to
Discover Your Passion
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How do you do that?
Well, first we need to understand that this passion is not like, “I have a passion for baseball” so God must want me to play baseball.
You may have a passion for baseball and in fact God may use your passion for baseball, but what I mean is more of a burdening in your heart, for something that will help the betterment of people.
We see something and think ,“if this were different, it could be so much better for people” and it is something that burden’s us.
Nehemiah heard about the wall being in ruins and thought about the disrespect that others must have for the people of Israel and he couldn’t stop thinking about it and it having an effect upon him.
He was burdened and he became passionate about it.
How did he discover that passion?
Discovering your passion is not about you going and looking for it.
Discovering your passion is more about it discovering you.
That happens as you are walking with the Lord.
If you are not walking with the Lord, you are not going to be burdened with what the Lord could lay on your heart, because your heart is not open to Him if you are not walking with Him
There is no doubt in my mind that Nehemiah is walking with the Lord, because we see his first reaction is to pray to the Lord.
Nehemiah 1:4
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.
His first reaction indicates that Nehemiah is walking with the Lord.
When we are walking with the Lord, we are being prepared by God for Him to do great things in us and through us.
As that happens, as we walk with the Lord and He burdens us and gives us a passion about something, then what do we do?
It is not like we have all of these skills all of the sudden.
What is our next step?
Our next step should be to do just what Nehemiah did.
Dive into Prayer
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That’s what we see Nehemiah do.
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.
He prayed.
I want us to take a look at Nehemiah’s prayer here, because I think there are some important things we can learn about prayer in general but even more specifically about praying about something that the Lord has given us a burden and passion for.
Notice, Nehemiah just didn’t pray, “God this is bad, do something about it.” He starts first with what we need to start with too.
Recognize God for Who He is
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Nehemiah 1:5a - "O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God”
I believe one of the essential elements of effective, vision fulfilling prayer is first give glory to God. Nehemiah glorifies God by recognizing who God is.
This helps give everything perspective when we pray and it helps us to understand that we are not just reciting some words as an incantation.
Like Open Sesame!
Not our words, but God who has power
No, it is not our words that have the power in these situations,
but it is our God who has the power to alter situations and the course of history.
When we first recognize God for who He is, we cannot help to glorify Him.
The Apostles recognize God as Creator
We see the apostles do this in Acts 4:24. When Peter and John were released from prison, having been arrested for healing a crippled man and preaching Jesus, they prayed and began their prayer like this.
Acts 4:24
24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.
They glorified God by recognizing an aspect of who He is, creator of everything.
Jesus recognizes God’s holiness
Jesus, when He gives us a pattern for prayer in the Lord’s Prayer, says
Matthew 6:9
"’Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
It is a recognition of His holiness.
Nehemiah recognizes who God is
Nehemiah recognizes God as great and awesome and as a Keeper of His promises.
When we pray, we need to recognize God for who He is.
As creator
As Faithful
As a keeper of His promises
As great and mighty
As powerful.
When we do this, we glorify God in recognizing it, but it also puts us in the mindset of recognizing that we are praying to a God who really is able to accomplish what He has laid on our hearts as a burden and a passion.
As we recognize who He is, it raises our ability to believe that He can do what He is laying on our heart.
So, when you pray start out by recognizing who God is.
The next thing we see Nehemiah do is
Repent of sins
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Nehemiah 1:6-7
6. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s house, have committed against you. 7 We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.
Nehemiah doesn’t just give some milk toast confession.
“Sorry” (said like you don’t want to say it to a brother or sister)
No, He doesn’t just leave himself in as another person but singles himself out because he is repenting for himself and what he has failed to do in being an example for the rest of the nation as well.
To be used by God and succeed in the vision that He has for us, we must be clean vessels. This doesn’t mean sinless, this means clean.
Understand that our prayers and our ability to be used by God are hindered by sin.
But as we confess and repent of our sin, God cleans us and makes us able to be used.
1 John 1:9
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Jesus purifies us from the sin that we commit in our lives and makes us clean. When we are clean, God not only hears our prayers, but He will use us to glorify Himself in answering our prayers.
James tells us
James 5:16
The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
Listen, it is imperative to know that
If we are going to move from having a vision to having victory in fulfilling that vision, we must be confessing and repenting of our sins.
And be specific. Don’t just say forgive me of my sins.
Nehemiah acknowledged the wickedness of his sin and what they were.
They had not obeyed the Lord in his commands.
When we confess be specific about what you are repenting of.
Another thing we need to do in prayer is
Remember God’s Promises
Slide 7
Nehemiah 1:8-10
8 "Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ’If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, 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.’
10 "They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand.
Now it seems like Nehemiah is reminding God, but I guarantee you God did not forget.
Nehemiah knows God did not forget about his promises.
But when we pray God’s word and promises back to Him, God likes that because that means
we know what His promises are and
we are counting on His promises and
we are trusting God to be true to His promises.
We see this happen often in Moses’ prayers.
Exodus 32:12b-13
Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. 13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ’I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’"
Moses a great man of God remembers what God himself has said and repeats it back to Him in prayer.
When we know God’s promises and His will, we are better able to confidently and effectively pray.
You need to know God’s promises though, which are found in God’s word.
If you don’t know God’s word, you will never know his promises and you won’t be able to be used in an extraordinary way by Him.
Finally, when praying, we need to
Request Specific Help
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Nehemiah 1:11
11 O 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."
If God has burdened you for something and given you a passion about it and you sense that you have a vision for how it could be better than it currently is, you need to continue praying, and be thinking about how God could use you and then ask God to do it specifically.
This prayer we read of Nehemiah’s is his at the end of his praying.
For at least 3 months, possibly four, he has been praying and fasting and thinking and God has been working in His heart to show him that he is the one that God has given this vision to and that Nehemiah needs to respond to it.
And finally, Nehemiah has come to the point of seeing that he is the one that needs to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls but as he has thought through it, he recognizes that he is going to need the support of the king, so he prays specifically for that.
We need to pray specifically for things we think are even impossible, because nothing is impossible with God, especially if He has laid something on your heart to do.
And this leads to the last point
After you discover your passion and have dove into prayer,
Don’t let your Position Hinder you
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In Nehemiah 1:11 we read that Nehemiah “was cupbearer to the king.”
What is a cupbearer?
Actually the cupbearer was a pretty important job.
In this day, the rulers just didn’t get voted out of office. The king was the king for life. To be removed from office they had to die.
There were those at times who would like to assist that process of the king dying.
To avoid that, the king would often have a “cupbearer,” someone who would bring him his food and drink but would eat and drink part of it first to make sure it was ok. If the cupbearer did not die, then the king would not die.
Now, as king, you would not want any old person in this position. You would want someone who was extremely trustworthy and who had your complete confidence. You would keep this person close to you so that you could trust him.
This is what Nehemiah was to King Artaxerxes.
This was an important position with many benefits to it.
In addition, he was about 1000 miles away from Jerusalem.
Nehemiah could have had a myriad of excuses for not going to rebuild the wall.
In our lives, we can have things that God places on our hearts that we just continue to make excuses for as to why it can’t be us, but it needs to be somebody else.
It is too big for me.
I have other responsibilities
I am not equipped to do that
It would take too much time
And on and on we could go.
Let me tell you something. If God is placing something on your heart and you just keep making excuses as to why it can’t be you, eventually your heart will become cold to what the Lord is saying and you are going to miss out on being used in an extraordinary way by the Lord.
Conclusion
Is the Lord burdening you to do something?
Has He been laying something on your heart?
For those of you in the workplace, maybe you think I have to work, what can I do?
CME illustration
When I worked at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, as I lived my life in front of people, they came to know that I was a Christian. Eventually this prompted conversations about my faith and the myriad of situations you find yourself in.
There were a couple of guys who wanted to know more about the Bible, so at lunch once a week, we would have a little Bible study, about a half hour.
Well, as I met with these guys, they talked to others and at one point, we were meeting in the conference room of an investment bank where I knew no one, but one of the other guys had secured, with about a dozen other guys most of whom were non believers, but were coming to a recognition in their life that money wasn’t providing them what they thought it would.
That went on for a number of weeks as we talked about some of the basics of Christianity.
That was an extraordinary opportunity that if you had asked me if this could happen, I would have said no.
Is God laying an opportunity or a passion in front of you?
Start praying.
As you do that, the Lord will give you direction.
Don’t base your decision to follow upon
your circumstances,
your abilities, or
your fear.
I will tell you that as you respond to Him, you will feel
ill equipped,
ill prepared, and
fearful.
That is just where you need to be if God is going to use you in an extraordinary way. That is because then you must be dependent on Him.
Is God laying a passion on your heart?
If He is pray.
If He isn’t, then your job is to live life fully and openly as a Christ follower.
Learn God’s word so you know His promises.
In 2 weeks we will be having signups for small groups.
I want to encourage everyone to participate in a small group.
This will help prepare you to be used by God so that you will know His word and His ways.
Let’s pray this morning and ask for God’s wisdom and guidance in using us to do extraordinary things.
Pray.
