Rebuilding Your Spiritual Life

Nehemiah 1:1-4

“Does Anybody Care about Me”

There was once a man who had been put into a prison as a prisoner of war.

He thought that at any moment his comrades would come and retrieve him but that never happened. Instead he spent day after day in that prison with a floor of mostly dirt and the only light coming from a crack in the roof. He even got so despondent that he cried out one day, “Does anybody care about me?”

The next week a small plant began to grow in his cell responding to the light from the crack above.

Day by day it grew bigger till one day it bloomed into a beautiful flower.

On that day he learned something.

This man learned that yes somebody does care for him…God does.

We know that God cares about us.

I’ve got a question for you this morning?

Who cares about God?

I think that is an honest question.

Who really cares about God?

Oh it is one thing to say that you care about God.

It is quite another to live it out.

If one of our little ones were to run out to the street…no doubt one of you would run out and risk your own life to save him from an oncoming car.

Because you care.

But in a day when God’s church is going down instead of up.

In a day when morality is at a low ebb.

Do you care about God?

Do you care enough to do something about it.

Nehemiah was a man that cared.

Nehemiah was the cup bearer to the king.

This was a very trust worthy job…but when you think about it…Nehemiah had it made.

While most Jews were suffering back in the promised land and in captivity trying to make a go at it…Nehemiah was able to live the good life in this palace.

He had a place of safety.

He had a place of comfort.

He had the trust of the Persian king.

Nehemiah sees his brother one day in the palace and he could have asked many questions.

But the questions he asks concerns the people and the city of God.

The response that he hears is not good.

The wall of Jerusalem is broken down…the gates have been burned with fire.

Not only that but the people of God are continuously being attacked by the enemy.

The Bible says that Nehemiah went and fasted and prayed and wept for many days.

Why?

Here was a man that cared.

He cared about what was happening to the people of God.

He cared about what was happening to the worship of God in the city of God.

He cared enough that he did more than just cry and pray.

I get so sick sometimes of hearing Christians say…well I’ll be praying for you.

No, he cared enough to leave all the comforts of the palace to go to Jerusalem.

He cared enough to go and to do.

2:1-6

He went.

And when he got there Nehemiah began to lead the people into doing some things to the city.

And this morning I want to ask you a question before I go any further.

Do you care about your God?

Because if you do…then there are some things that you will do as well.

Just as Nehemiah took care of some things…so will you.

I. The first thing Nehemiah did was rebuild the walls of the city.

The walls of the city was one of the most important defenses a city of this time had.

One of the first things a king would do would be to build up his walls.

One of the first things an enemy would do would be to tear down the walls.

Walls were built to keep the enemy out and the people safe.

David was so concerned about his walls that he prayed.

Psalm 51:18

18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.

Well just as Nehemiah rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem God is also calling us to build up the walls in our own lives.

A wall of separation from Sin.

G.K. Chersterton so wisely once said, “Don’t ever take down a fence till you realize the reason it was put up.”

I’ve got a friend who had a fenced in back yard.

I used to be so glad they had that fenced in back yard.

Because on the other side of the fence was this huge Rock Wiler.

My friend God has called us to be a Holy and different people.

He has called us to live in this world…yes.

But he has not called us to live like this world.

And the reason is…God knows what sin will do to you.