WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:00.719 Amen. 00:00:00.959 --> 00:00:02.799 We praise God for our worship team. 00:00:02.959 --> 00:00:03.520 Amen. 00:00:07.839 --> 00:00:11.359 How many of us know that there's no one greater than our God? 00:00:12.800 --> 00:00:13.439 Amen. 00:00:14.160 --> 00:00:14.640 Amen. 00:00:15.199 --> 00:00:16.079 Thank you. 00:00:21.199 --> 00:00:21.839 Amen. 00:00:23.359 --> 00:00:25.519 That's the next generation, church. 00:00:25.600 --> 00:00:26.960 That's the next generation. 00:00:27.199 --> 00:00:27.839 Amen. 00:00:29.359 --> 00:00:31.280 That's the next generation. 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:38.880 Such a blessing to see our children go over to play, but they're going also to learn the Bible. 00:00:39.679 --> 00:00:40.320 Amen. 00:00:41.600 --> 00:00:42.240 Amen. 00:00:42.640 --> 00:00:43.280 Amen. 00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:52.000 If you are visiting with us, we are walking through the book of Nehemiah. 00:00:53.439 --> 00:01:00.960 And I would tell you, we would, well, the goal is to do it chapter by chapter, verse by verse. 00:01:01.840 --> 00:01:06.560 But I will tell you, if we go verse by verse today, we won't get out of here until tomorrow. 00:01:09.359 --> 00:01:10.000 Amen. 00:01:11.359 --> 00:01:14.079 If you don't have anywhere to be, I don't have anywhere to be. 00:01:15.040 --> 00:01:17.120 We can just stay right here in the text. 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:17.840 Amen? 00:01:19.040 --> 00:01:19.519 Amen. 00:01:19.680 --> 00:01:22.959 So we're going to be in Nehemiah chapter 2. 00:01:23.359 --> 00:01:24.799 Nehemiah chapter 2. 00:01:24.879 --> 00:01:28.719 If you have a Bible, please turn with me to chapter 2. 00:01:28.879 --> 00:01:35.680 If you don't have a Bible, you can look in the row in front of you and you'll be able to find one there. 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:39.439 And you can turn and follow along with us. 00:01:39.599 --> 00:01:44.239 Keep Pastor Sammy and Mariah and Adassa in prayer. 00:01:46.719 --> 00:01:52.079 From one pastor's heart to another, it's not easy to be away from your flock. 00:01:52.879 --> 00:02:00.079 And so I know he is somewhat struggling, but can't be struggling too hard because he's on vacation. 00:02:00.640 --> 00:02:01.200 Amen. 00:02:01.680 --> 00:02:02.319 Amen. 00:02:04.640 --> 00:02:16.800 So we're going to be in the entire chapter of chapter two on today, but I just want to read for our hearing the first eight verses. 00:02:17.919 --> 00:02:24.400 But we'll wrestle with the all 20 verses in this chapter on this day. 00:02:24.479 --> 00:02:31.439 So please keep me in prayer and keep yourself in prayer as we walk through this passage together. 00:02:31.680 --> 00:02:32.319 Amen? 00:02:33.759 --> 00:02:43.680 As we always do, and in reverence to God's word, may we all stand for the reading and the reverence of God's holy word. 00:02:54.639 --> 00:03:06.400 In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. 00:03:06.879 --> 00:03:11.120 Now I had not been sad in his presence. 00:03:11.919 --> 00:03:20.000 And the king said to me, Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? 00:03:21.439 --> 00:03:24.240 This is nothing but sadness of heart. 00:03:24.879 --> 00:03:26.639 Then I was very much afraid. 00:03:26.879 --> 00:03:29.919 I said to the king, let the king live forever. 00:03:30.240 --> 00:03:42.400 Why should I not, why should not my face be sad when the king, when the city, the place of my father's graves, lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire. 00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:47.439 When the king said to me, then the king said to me, What are you requesting? 00:03:47.759 --> 00:03:51.759 So I prayed to the God of heaven. 00:03:52.319 --> 00:04:05.680 And I said to the king, If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah to the city of my father's grave, that I may rebuild it. 00:04:06.240 --> 00:04:14.479 And the king said to me, the queen sitting beside him, How long will you be gone, and when will you return? 00:04:15.280 --> 00:04:20.000 So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time. 00:04:20.720 --> 00:04:32.639 And I said to the king, If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province beyond the river, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah. 00:04:33.120 --> 00:04:48.240 And a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams of gates of the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy. 00:04:48.480 --> 00:04:57.360 And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me. 00:04:57.680 --> 00:04:58.160 Amen. 00:04:58.319 --> 00:05:00.160 That's God's word for God's people. 00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:00.720 Let us pray. 00:05:00.879 --> 00:05:08.959 Father God, we thank you for your hand upon our lives. 00:05:10.959 --> 00:05:17.680 For without you, O God, we would not have breath in our bodies. 00:05:18.879 --> 00:05:31.680 We wouldn't be able to stand here to hear, to worship and to listen to your holy word. 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:36.720 So we thank you, Father, that your word is living and it meets us right where we are. 00:05:36.800 --> 00:05:40.959 And so we pray right now, Father, for open ears and open hearts. 00:05:41.199 --> 00:05:49.439 We pray that your word that goes forth, dear God, that it is for our edification and for your glorification. 00:05:49.759 --> 00:05:52.879 Father, we pray for unsaved souls in this moment. 00:05:54.319 --> 00:06:01.839 That they hear something today, dear God, that pricks their hearts that they may come and ask, what must I do to be saved? 00:06:02.079 --> 00:06:08.399 Father, help me to set self out of the way so that your word can come forth. 00:06:08.639 --> 00:06:13.439 We thank you, we praise you, and we ask these blessings in Christ Jesus' name. 00:06:13.759 --> 00:06:14.399 Amen. 00:06:20.560 --> 00:06:32.959 I just want to talk to us for a moment about the kind of faith that God honors. 00:06:41.680 --> 00:06:56.160 Faith is a very common word that we always use, we know about, but when it's time to exercise faith, sometimes it's a totally different story. 00:07:01.199 --> 00:07:11.120 As a young adult in college, I lived in an apartment that caught on fire. 00:07:12.879 --> 00:07:20.160 I was not there in that moment, but I had two roommates who both had to jump out of the window. 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:26.959 One jumped out of the window with no problem. 00:07:27.360 --> 00:07:30.240 He just ran and jumped out of the window. 00:07:30.319 --> 00:07:31.839 It was only two stories. 00:07:33.040 --> 00:07:36.959 But then the other one just hung from the window. 00:07:39.040 --> 00:07:46.160 He hung from the window, and my roommate was trying to tell him, hey, you need to jump. 00:07:46.480 --> 00:07:48.000 You need to let go. 00:07:49.680 --> 00:07:52.959 And he looking down said, no, I can't let go. 00:07:54.480 --> 00:07:58.639 And my roommate said, just jump, I got you. 00:08:00.879 --> 00:08:08.800 And he let go of the window beam, and my roommate was able to catch them, and they both fell to the ground. 00:08:09.600 --> 00:08:17.040 But in that moment, he had to have the faith that our roommate would catch him. 00:08:19.439 --> 00:08:31.199 And so when we look at faith and we examine faith, we have to understand that faith is a gift from God. 00:08:34.320 --> 00:08:46.559 The Bible is full of narratives that we see that demonstrate how faith constantly opens pathways to divine favor. 00:08:49.200 --> 00:09:00.000 When you look through scriptures, you'll see Abraham's chief servant and Solomon both received wisdom when they sought, sought it out from God. 00:09:00.879 --> 00:09:06.480 Moses and Daniel's intercession for Israel brought divine mercy. 00:09:08.159 --> 00:09:18.879 Hannah found deliverance for her distress through earnest petition and prayer to God. 00:09:19.360 --> 00:09:21.200 And the list goes on and on. 00:09:21.360 --> 00:09:27.360 Joshua, Esther, Deborah, David, the disciples. 00:09:29.759 --> 00:09:43.279 These individuals were ordinary people who, like you and I, received answers to their prayers by placing confidence in God and trusting in his character and trusting in his word. 00:09:44.639 --> 00:09:50.080 Nehemiah is another name that needs to be added to that list of champions. 00:09:51.200 --> 00:10:02.320 His prayers for Jerusalem resulted in favor and protection for the reconstruction work. 00:10:03.679 --> 00:10:09.360 Chapter 1, we met Nehemiah, the Jewish cupbearer, to the Persian king. 00:10:09.919 --> 00:10:18.159 Nehemiah is living out the fulfillment of Scripture, and that he's experiencing the exile. 00:10:18.399 --> 00:10:21.200 He's a man who is a student of Scripture. 00:10:21.440 --> 00:10:33.519 He loves God, passionately prays for the king, for God's kingdom to come, and he has a deep concern for the welfare of his people. 00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:46.080 And now in chapter two, we have the privilege of watching what happens when God begins to answer Nehemiah's prayers. 00:10:48.000 --> 00:11:02.159 Nehemiah, distressed by the report of Jerusalem's broken and miserable condition, he approached God on behalf of the Jews. 00:11:02.240 --> 00:11:11.919 He fasted, he prayed, he sought God's mercy and help, and God heard Nehemiah and answered Nehemiah's prayer. 00:11:13.039 --> 00:11:17.120 You see, church, answered prayer strengthens and grows our faith. 00:11:19.519 --> 00:11:31.679 Faith itself, understood as living in complete dependence on God's presence, power, and future promises, is the condition for God's divine favor on our lives. 00:11:32.559 --> 00:11:38.559 It was the psalmist who understood this when he pinned these words in Psalms 116.1. 00:11:38.879 --> 00:11:45.440 It says, I love the Lord because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. 00:11:46.720 --> 00:11:49.279 God heard Nehemiah's plea. 00:11:50.639 --> 00:11:54.720 So let's look back at what Nehemiah prayed. 00:11:54.799 --> 00:11:58.159 Look with me at Nehemiah 1.11 in your Bible. 00:12:02.399 --> 00:12:06.000 Nehemiah 1.11 says, O Lord. 00:12:08.480 --> 00:12:11.039 And I want us to listen to this prayer very closely. 00:12:11.200 --> 00:12:24.240 It says, O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name. 00:12:24.879 --> 00:12:33.360 And give success to your servant today and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. 00:12:34.639 --> 00:12:43.759 This man whom Nehemiah served was the king of Persia, and God grants this very prayer to this man of God. 00:12:45.840 --> 00:12:53.600 Now, I don't want you to expect that this sermon will give you an easy formula to answer prayer. 00:12:54.960 --> 00:13:00.080 There are no religious formulas to answer prayer, church. 00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:08.720 There's no religious formulas that can minimize our sovereign God and his providence. 00:13:09.840 --> 00:13:14.000 Neither are there any shortcuts to answer prayer. 00:13:14.960 --> 00:13:20.399 Nehemiah's prayer did not move the hand of God because he said the right words the right way. 00:13:21.279 --> 00:13:27.679 God accepted Nehemiah's prayer because God accepted Nehemiah. 00:13:33.600 --> 00:13:40.960 Fundamental obstacle to walking in faith is inadequate personal knowledge of God. 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:58.559 And if you know what it means to walk in faith, and you've been walking with God for some time, you know that the more you walk with God, and the longer you walk with God, and the more you experience God, and the more you get to know God, the greater your faith. 00:14:03.200 --> 00:14:18.559 And so just as people naturally hesitate to trust strangers, Christians struggle to believe God's promises when they haven't developed genuine familiarity with his character and his track record. 00:14:19.759 --> 00:14:21.519 I like what Martin Luther says. 00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:28.559 He says, faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace. 00:14:29.679 --> 00:14:35.279 Jesus said faith can move mountains in Matthew 17, 20. 00:14:36.559 --> 00:14:40.879 And so, what kind of faith honors God? 00:14:43.600 --> 00:14:47.039 A living active faith is what honors God. 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:55.679 Nehemiah's life will demonstrate for us four aspects of living active faith. 00:14:56.080 --> 00:15:10.399 And as we study his testimony, we must examine our own hearts to see whether or not that we whether or not we are really walking and working by faith. 00:15:13.519 --> 00:15:28.799 So we see first that Nehemiah had faith that rested in the helping hand of God. 00:15:31.200 --> 00:15:45.840 Verses 1 through 4 of our text says this, in the month of Nisan, in the 20th year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. 00:15:46.080 --> 00:15:48.639 Now I had not been sad in his presence. 00:15:48.720 --> 00:15:52.639 And the king said to me, Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? 00:15:52.799 --> 00:15:55.279 This is nothing but sadness of heart. 00:15:55.519 --> 00:15:56.960 Then I was very much afraid. 00:15:57.120 --> 00:15:59.200 I said to the king, Let the king live forever. 00:15:59.360 --> 00:16:09.039 Why should not my face be sad when the city, the place of my father's graves, lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire? 00:16:09.279 --> 00:16:13.840 Then the king said to me, What are you requesting? 00:16:14.720 --> 00:16:16.639 And here it is, church. 00:16:16.960 --> 00:16:24.799 So I prayed to the God of heaven. 00:16:26.480 --> 00:16:38.000 When Nehemiah heard about the condition of Jerusalem's wall, he made himself available to God to do something about the situation. 00:16:38.639 --> 00:16:46.559 He was even willing to leave his royal executive job to go in order to rebuild the walls in Jerusalem. 00:16:46.639 --> 00:16:51.840 But Nehemiah knew nothing would be accomplished in his own strength. 00:16:52.080 --> 00:17:07.839 He knew nothing would be accomplished in his own wisdom, and he knew nothing would be accomplished in his own authority, no matter how willing he was for success of this entire project. 00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:12.640 He knew that it rested in the hands of God. 00:17:13.839 --> 00:17:19.599 And because Nehemiah knew that the outcome was in God's hands, he prayed boldly. 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:23.920 He prayed specific prayers, he prayed courageous prayers. 00:17:24.240 --> 00:17:26.720 Look with me again at verse 11. 00:17:27.200 --> 00:17:30.240 Verse 1, chapter 1, verse 11. 00:17:34.720 --> 00:17:44.400 The second half of this verse says, And give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. 00:17:44.640 --> 00:17:48.960 On the surface, these petitions may not seem like much. 00:17:50.160 --> 00:17:54.960 But the last sentence of the verse shows us the magnitude of the request. 00:17:55.839 --> 00:17:56.880 Look what it says. 00:17:57.039 --> 00:18:01.119 Now I was a cupbearer to the king. 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:03.200 And this is significant. 00:18:03.359 --> 00:18:04.640 We can't miss this. 00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:08.880 The cupbearer was the most important cabinet position in the kingdom. 00:18:09.119 --> 00:18:12.960 The king trusted the cupbearer with his very own life. 00:18:13.200 --> 00:18:19.359 Sadness was dangerous, was a dangerous emotion to express in the king's presence. 00:18:19.519 --> 00:18:24.799 The king noticed that the cupbearer was carrying a heavy burden. 00:18:25.599 --> 00:18:34.400 And had Arta Xerxes been in a bad mood, he might have banished Nehemiah or even ordered him killed. 00:18:34.720 --> 00:18:41.599 But instead the king inquired, why is his servant, why his servant was so sad? 00:18:42.160 --> 00:18:50.559 He looked at his face and asked him, Why are you so sad? 00:18:50.799 --> 00:18:54.960 In verse 2, why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? 00:18:55.200 --> 00:18:58.880 He knew that Nehemiah was not sick. 00:18:59.119 --> 00:19:10.960 You see, Persian monarchs required that those who served, who served them, were not to bring personal troubles into their presence. 00:19:12.880 --> 00:19:16.079 This sort of behavior would have had them killed. 00:19:16.160 --> 00:19:20.880 It was a signal for conspiracy or it was a signal for disrespect. 00:19:20.960 --> 00:19:29.119 But Arti Xerxes' next comment gave a little hope to Nehemiah because the king rightly interpreted his servant's disposition. 00:19:29.200 --> 00:19:31.279 Look what he says in verse 3. 00:19:35.519 --> 00:19:42.240 I said to the king, let the king live forever. 00:19:43.759 --> 00:19:46.160 Why should not my face be sad? 00:19:46.880 --> 00:19:55.599 When the city, the place of my father's graves, lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire. 00:19:56.720 --> 00:20:01.920 Verse 4, then the king said to me, What are you requesting? 00:20:03.359 --> 00:20:05.440 So I prayed to the God of heaven. 00:20:05.519 --> 00:20:12.640 The first thing that we see Nehemiah does in this text is in verse 3, is he approaches the king with respect and honor. 00:20:13.839 --> 00:20:19.039 The first thing he said, he assured the king that he was not in any kind of danger. 00:20:19.119 --> 00:20:23.039 He said, Let the king live forever. 00:20:24.240 --> 00:20:38.000 And then he was kind of wise when he says, Why should not my face be sad when the city, the place of my father's graves, lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire? 00:20:38.160 --> 00:20:45.759 There was a reason why Nehemiah did not mention Jerusalem in this text and in that verse. 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:53.359 And the reason was because in Ezra 4 tells us that the king had previously ordered that Jerusalem not be rebuilt. 00:20:54.160 --> 00:20:58.720 So he purposely does not mention the name Jerusalem in this text. 00:20:58.799 --> 00:21:07.119 And Nehemiah now plans to go to the throne room and tell Artaxerxes that he's ready to take a leave of absence. 00:21:08.480 --> 00:21:14.559 To go do the very thing that King Artaxerxes did not want to be done. 00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:24.319 But Nehemiah knew a king that is greater than Artaxerxes. 00:21:26.640 --> 00:21:32.559 And Nehemiah asked the greater king to make him successful. 00:21:33.759 --> 00:21:38.400 After Nehemiah expressed his grief, the Persian king asked Nehemiah for his request. 00:21:38.559 --> 00:21:45.200 And verse 4 records Nehemiah's response So I prayed to the God of heaven. 00:21:47.440 --> 00:21:48.079 Amen. 00:21:51.119 --> 00:21:59.519 Right in that moment, while he was talking to the Persian king, Nehemiah was able to breathe out a word of prayer. 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:07.759 You can only breathe out a word of prayer in an instant like that if prayer is a part of your life. 00:22:08.480 --> 00:22:19.359 If you're not a stranger to prayer, if you're praying every day and you're praying consistently, as the Bible teaches us to always pray, he was able to stand before the king. 00:22:20.640 --> 00:22:25.279 And while he was talking to the king, he breathed up a word of prayer. 00:22:25.440 --> 00:22:28.480 This is a reminder that there is a king. 00:22:30.559 --> 00:22:32.319 And there's the king. 00:22:33.359 --> 00:22:34.000 Amen. 00:22:38.079 --> 00:22:49.279 So he asked God, he asked God to touch the heart of Artaxerxes so that he would receive all that he needed to do the Lord's work. 00:22:49.359 --> 00:22:52.160 And God answered Nehemiah's prayer. 00:22:57.039 --> 00:23:10.559 Today we want to give up on careers and marriages that aren't going right because we're looking at a king and not the king. 00:23:12.960 --> 00:23:15.440 But I don't care what you're facing today. 00:23:16.720 --> 00:23:30.000 If you'll bring the king to bear it, it doesn't matter how big a king, a boss, or a rival or circumstance is. 00:23:31.039 --> 00:23:37.519 See, unlike Arta Xerxes, we serve a king who gives us permission to enter into his presence just as we are. 00:23:41.200 --> 00:23:47.440 And so if you discouraged, you can go to the king. 00:23:49.519 --> 00:23:56.000 If you're afraid, as the text says, and already Nehemiah was afraid, you can go to the king. 00:23:57.599 --> 00:24:03.599 When you're angry and brokenhearted, you can go to the king. 00:24:08.559 --> 00:24:13.359 You never have to worry if he'll be angry. 00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:18.559 You never have to worry if he'll want to do away with you. 00:24:18.960 --> 00:24:21.759 He accepts you just as you are. 00:24:21.920 --> 00:24:26.240 In fact, Hebrews tells us something so wonderful about our priestly king. 00:24:26.319 --> 00:24:29.920 He sympathizes with our weaknesses. 00:24:32.559 --> 00:24:46.000 So more than the Lord Jesus being willing to hear us in the state of our heart, he actually feels us in our frailties. 00:24:46.799 --> 00:24:49.200 That's the kind of God that we serve. 00:24:49.759 --> 00:24:56.799 We don't serve an earthly king, we serve a heavenly king who's in control of every situation. 00:24:57.279 --> 00:25:04.640 And Nehemiah understood that listen, I may be standing before a king, but I'm going to the king. 00:25:05.200 --> 00:25:05.759 Amen? 00:25:09.440 --> 00:25:15.759 And so Nehemiah had faith that rests in the helping hand of God. 00:25:17.599 --> 00:25:31.359 But not only that, he had the kind of faith that patiently waits on the Lord for directions. 00:25:33.759 --> 00:25:39.920 Four months had passed since Nehemiah received the bad news about the plight in Jerusalem. 00:25:40.079 --> 00:25:41.119 Four months. 00:25:41.440 --> 00:25:49.680 As every believer should, Nehemiah patiently waited on the Lord for directions because it's through faith and patience that we inherit promises. 00:25:50.880 --> 00:25:59.920 Verse one of our text, of our passage says, in the month of the Nisan, month of Nisan in the 20th year, King of Artizeres. 00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:05.119 It was four months until God answered Nehemiah's prayers. 00:26:06.319 --> 00:26:09.279 In chapter one, we see his prayers. 00:26:09.440 --> 00:26:17.680 So it was four months of praying, four months of fasting, four months of patiently waiting on the Lord. 00:26:18.960 --> 00:26:23.359 And so if you're like me, you would have the question why didn't God answer sooner? 00:26:24.480 --> 00:26:26.160 Because we can be like that. 00:26:26.480 --> 00:26:28.319 God, what's taking you so long? 00:26:28.960 --> 00:26:30.720 I need an answer now. 00:26:31.359 --> 00:26:35.279 But there are many reasons why God does not answer our request right away. 00:26:35.359 --> 00:26:41.039 And Nehemiah's story here in this chapter gives us one of those answers. 00:26:41.279 --> 00:26:50.640 And I submit to you today that divine delay can be the grace needed to give us time to practically plan and prepare. 00:26:52.319 --> 00:27:01.359 Divine delay can give us the grace we need to practically prepare and plan. 00:27:03.039 --> 00:27:13.680 Verses 5 through 10, Nehemiah shows us that these four months of fasting and praying, he was also thinking and strategizing. 00:27:14.160 --> 00:27:15.519 Look with me at verse 5. 00:27:15.599 --> 00:27:28.559 And I said to the king, if it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah to the city of my father's graves, that I may rebuild it. 00:27:29.200 --> 00:27:38.880 Verse 6, and the king said to me, the queen sitting beside him, How long will you be gone and when will you return? 00:27:39.279 --> 00:27:45.839 So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time. 00:27:47.519 --> 00:27:48.720 Verse 6. 00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:57.039 God, or the king here in the text, but it's actually God doing it. 00:27:57.279 --> 00:28:04.000 God is actually granting him permission to go and do what he has called him to do. 00:28:05.279 --> 00:28:11.839 But it's interesting in this text, and if you see it in your Bible, it has a parenthesis beside. 00:28:11.920 --> 00:28:15.039 It says the queen sitting behind beside him. 00:28:18.480 --> 00:28:20.319 That's not by chance. 00:28:21.599 --> 00:28:31.839 Because it was said that if the king's wife, a lot of kings had many wives, but he always had he had one that would sit next to him. 00:28:32.079 --> 00:28:41.920 And if the king was sitting if the king's wife was sitting next to him, the king would be a little bit nicer to his subjects during that time. 00:28:42.000 --> 00:28:45.839 So this was not by chance, and this is not in our text by chance. 00:28:46.079 --> 00:28:48.079 God is intervening church. 00:28:50.319 --> 00:28:53.519 And so in verse 6, he gets permission. 00:28:54.559 --> 00:29:05.839 In verse 7, and it said to the king, if it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province beyond the river that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah. 00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:08.559 Verse 7, he gets protection. 00:29:09.200 --> 00:29:24.480 And verse 8, and the letter to Asap, the king, the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple for all for the wall of the city and for the house that I shall occupy. 00:29:24.640 --> 00:29:27.279 And the king granted me what I asked. 00:29:27.599 --> 00:29:30.160 Verse 8, he gives provision. 00:29:30.400 --> 00:29:37.359 But notice where his provision comes from, for the good hand of my God was upon me. 00:29:45.200 --> 00:29:56.720 But this happened during the time, during the four months that Nehemiah was waiting on the Lord to answer his prayer. 00:29:57.680 --> 00:30:03.519 He was waiting on the Lord to answer his prayer, and during that time, God was preparing him. 00:30:03.839 --> 00:30:07.200 He was planning him, he was giving him a plan. 00:30:07.359 --> 00:30:09.279 He was allowed to strategize. 00:30:09.440 --> 00:30:15.200 How else would he know how much time it would take for him to return? 00:30:17.440 --> 00:30:22.480 He knew the people that he had to go before to have the protection that he needed. 00:30:22.720 --> 00:30:31.759 And when the answer, when it was time for him to answer the king, answer a king, he gave the answer from the king. 00:30:32.400 --> 00:30:36.319 And God provided everything that he needed. 00:30:39.200 --> 00:30:50.480 Church, this is a reminder that whenever we call out to God, whenever we wait on the Lord. 00:30:52.720 --> 00:30:56.720 And not just wait idly by sitting around doing nothing. 00:30:56.880 --> 00:31:03.920 No, and be while before God has answered, before we get to answer our prayer, He wants us to plan. 00:31:04.640 --> 00:31:06.240 He wants us to prepare. 00:31:13.359 --> 00:31:13.759 Right? 00:31:13.920 --> 00:31:15.119 He wants you to get ready. 00:31:15.279 --> 00:31:16.960 He wants you to get ready for your husband. 00:31:17.119 --> 00:31:21.599 If you want that job that you've been praying about, he wants you to get ready for that job. 00:31:21.759 --> 00:31:26.160 If he's calling you to ministry, he wants you to get ready for that ministry. 00:31:26.400 --> 00:31:30.799 He gives us time to prepare. 00:31:32.319 --> 00:31:40.400 And it's a shame if we don't take that time and use it for God's glory. 00:31:42.240 --> 00:31:44.400 But I want you to see something. 00:31:47.359 --> 00:31:55.759 Verse 9 says, Then I came to the governor of the province beyond the river and gave them the king's letters. 00:31:56.079 --> 00:32:03.200 Now the king has sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. 00:32:06.240 --> 00:32:10.160 See, Nehemiah asked for a visa. 00:32:12.160 --> 00:32:17.599 And God gave him a visa, and he gave him security. 00:32:18.799 --> 00:32:25.519 He gave him an army, officers to go with him, to protect him. 00:32:26.079 --> 00:32:28.799 But notice what happens in verse 10. 00:32:31.359 --> 00:32:45.519 But when Sanbalat the Hornite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel. 00:32:46.799 --> 00:32:57.200 Church, any time that you and I do something right for the Lord, enemies, enemies will show up. 00:33:00.799 --> 00:33:03.039 Satan church has his agenda. 00:33:05.759 --> 00:33:11.440 But we always need to remember that our struggle is not against flesh and blood. 00:33:13.519 --> 00:33:17.279 It's against spirit wickedness and spiritual palities in high places. 00:33:17.359 --> 00:33:19.440 There's a fight going on that we can't see. 00:33:20.160 --> 00:33:23.759 And so understand that it's not that individual that you're looking at. 00:33:24.480 --> 00:33:25.359 That's your enemy. 00:33:25.519 --> 00:33:26.559 They're not your enemy. 00:33:30.319 --> 00:33:34.160 So my question to you today is what obstacle stands before you? 00:33:36.079 --> 00:33:46.640 I submit to you that God honored Nehemiah's prayer in such a great way because Nehemiah had great faith in God. 00:33:57.200 --> 00:34:03.759 To have great faith in God is something that we have to thank him for. 00:34:06.000 --> 00:34:13.119 We have to always know that the faith we have is not because of any of our doing. 00:34:14.480 --> 00:34:17.840 Nehemiah walked by faith and not by sight. 00:34:18.559 --> 00:34:28.159 He tried something so great that he was sure to fail if the Lord did not help him. 00:34:29.360 --> 00:34:32.960 That's the kind of prayer that God answers. 00:34:33.039 --> 00:34:37.280 That's the kind of prayers, that's the kind of faith that God honors. 00:34:37.599 --> 00:34:42.880 God answers believing, faithful prayer. 00:34:44.960 --> 00:34:48.400 So what is it that you need God to do in your life? 00:34:49.519 --> 00:34:50.880 Whatever it is. 00:34:51.920 --> 00:34:54.239 Church, I got good news for you. 00:34:55.199 --> 00:34:56.400 God is able. 00:35:09.599 --> 00:35:14.000 God is able to bring you, bring your wandering child back home. 00:35:14.239 --> 00:35:19.039 God is able to heal a sin sick soul and a hurting body. 00:35:19.360 --> 00:35:23.119 God is able to strengthen us in our finances. 00:35:23.280 --> 00:35:26.159 God is able to save your loved ones. 00:35:26.320 --> 00:35:31.039 The issue is not God's ability to move in the situation. 00:35:31.199 --> 00:35:45.199 The issue is do you really believe that God is able to immeasurably above all that you can ask or think, handle whatever situation we bring before God. 00:35:46.239 --> 00:35:51.760 So the question is, are you willing to operate and to walk and to step out in faith? 00:35:52.559 --> 00:35:57.599 Jeremiah 33:3 says this, call to me and I will answer. 00:35:58.239 --> 00:36:01.760 I will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. 00:36:02.719 --> 00:36:06.480 Matthew 7, 7 says this, ask and it will be given to you. 00:36:07.119 --> 00:36:11.519 Seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you. 00:36:12.719 --> 00:36:28.480 1 John 5, 14 and 15 says this, and this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us, and if we know that he hears us, I love this part. 00:36:29.119 --> 00:36:34.559 If we know that he hears us, we know that we have the petitions that we desire of him. 00:36:35.440 --> 00:36:38.320 And so, church, and I said this number of times. 00:36:41.039 --> 00:36:47.599 If we're praying something and we know that it's according to God's will, how do we know if it's according to God's will? 00:36:49.360 --> 00:36:50.400 It's in the book. 00:36:51.440 --> 00:36:52.960 You don't have to guess. 00:36:53.519 --> 00:37:03.360 But when we pray that prayer and we know that it's part of God's will, we can get up from that prayer in full confidence, knowing that God has answered that prayer. 00:37:06.320 --> 00:37:07.679 We don't have to guess. 00:37:07.840 --> 00:37:23.039 He will answer that prayer in an instant, or it may take him a couple months to answer that prayer, maybe even six to a year or so to answer that prayer, but you can rest assured that God will answer that prayer. 00:37:23.199 --> 00:37:24.480 It's a done deal. 00:37:32.000 --> 00:37:49.280 And so God answers the kind of faith that rests in his hand, and God answers the kind of faith that waits on him for direction. 00:37:49.440 --> 00:38:04.960 But then thirdly, God answers the kind of faith that personally, personally examines situations. 00:38:07.119 --> 00:38:15.039 Verse 11 says, So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. 00:38:15.760 --> 00:38:20.239 This one verse is a connection to what happened in verse 10. 00:38:20.559 --> 00:38:22.639 Verse 10, he faced opposition. 00:38:22.800 --> 00:38:24.320 Verse 10, he faced the enemy. 00:38:24.480 --> 00:38:29.920 And verse, right in verse 11, he says, So I went to Jerusalem and I was there three days. 00:38:30.239 --> 00:38:33.840 See, the opposition did not hinder Nehemiah. 00:38:34.000 --> 00:38:37.440 He knew that he had a call on God for his life. 00:38:37.599 --> 00:38:42.000 They were greatly displeased that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people. 00:38:43.840 --> 00:38:45.760 And what did Nehemiah do? 00:38:46.480 --> 00:38:47.840 He marched on. 00:38:49.039 --> 00:39:04.960 And interesting, in verse 12, says that he rose in the night, him and a few men with him, and I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. 00:39:05.360 --> 00:39:11.519 Nehemiah never lost sight of the fact that he was called to be on mission for God. 00:39:12.559 --> 00:39:19.840 If God really put it in your heart, then Nehemiah, why wouldn't you tell others about it? 00:39:21.440 --> 00:39:25.199 If God really put it in his heart, why wouldn't he tell others about it? 00:39:25.280 --> 00:39:32.239 Well, the reason he didn't tell others about it is because in this moment it's between him and God. 00:39:33.760 --> 00:39:35.360 It's between him and God. 00:39:36.320 --> 00:39:40.159 The answer to that is found in verses 13 to 16. 00:39:40.880 --> 00:39:42.159 Look what it says. 00:39:42.320 --> 00:39:57.760 Verse 13, I went out by the night, I went out by night by the valley gate of the dragon spring to the Dungate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken, broken down, and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. 00:39:57.920 --> 00:40:07.039 Then I went on to the fountain gate, to the king's pools, but there was no room for the animal that I was under to under me to pass. 00:40:07.440 --> 00:40:16.800 Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the valley gate, so and so returned. 00:40:17.679 --> 00:40:23.039 Verse 16, and the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing. 00:40:23.199 --> 00:40:31.840 And I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work. 00:40:32.639 --> 00:40:36.559 Nehemiah went on a recognizance mission. 00:40:36.880 --> 00:40:42.079 He went to go inspect what he was sent there to do. 00:40:42.239 --> 00:41:05.599 He went to go investigate what he was sent there to do and included in God's will is Nehemiah facing the facts personally without any interruptions, without any questions from anybody, without any doubts from anybody, without any skepticism from those who had lived in Jerusalem from all this time. 00:41:05.760 --> 00:41:12.960 And he even grown accustomed that of those who had grown accustomed to live a life with all these walls and ruins torn down. 00:41:13.199 --> 00:41:21.599 Nehemiah knew that the job of rebuilding the walls could couldn't go forward unless he saw exactly how bad the situation was. 00:41:32.719 --> 00:41:38.400 Some like to always see the good, and then some like to always find what is wrong, and that's fine. 00:41:39.360 --> 00:41:40.239 We just built like that. 00:41:40.320 --> 00:41:44.639 There's some people that's all positive, there's some people that can be skeptics. 00:41:45.039 --> 00:41:50.480 But Nehemiah teaches us that we must see the broken down walls. 00:41:50.960 --> 00:42:01.360 But only if we have the right heart, only if we have right prayer, only if we have the right prayer life and the passion to be used by God to set it right. 00:42:01.920 --> 00:42:10.000 You see, with the right hearts, hearts ready to act, we must be, we must take an honest look. 00:42:10.639 --> 00:42:16.880 If you got the right heart, you got the heart to act, then we can take the we can take an honest look. 00:42:17.039 --> 00:42:18.559 These walls were real. 00:42:19.199 --> 00:42:24.559 They were real ruins where the people could see in plain sight. 00:42:25.039 --> 00:42:28.960 And you and I have figurative walls. 00:42:29.760 --> 00:42:33.519 We got figurative walls in our own lives that need an honest look. 00:42:34.719 --> 00:42:42.559 Some are desperately hurting or trapped in a cycle of sin and want to get out but don't know how to ask for help. 00:42:43.519 --> 00:42:53.039 Some have a respect and know God and know God is real, but don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ. 00:42:54.320 --> 00:43:08.960 When we look at the church, we can be thankful for it, but if we examine our impact on the community around us, we have to ask the question, what else can we do to impact the lives of Jesus? 00:43:09.119 --> 00:43:11.280 That's what it means to take an honest look. 00:43:11.840 --> 00:43:18.480 There's always more to be done when considering the outreach and the spread of the gospel. 00:43:18.719 --> 00:43:25.519 Many lives are like the city with broken walls, living with a constant sense of fear, poverty, and insecurity. 00:43:25.840 --> 00:43:37.920 And church, we should be the ones who don't hide our eyes to the brokenness in our own lives, and definitely not I hide our eyes in the brokenness that's around us. 00:43:38.159 --> 00:43:45.599 God wants us to see the brokenness so we can take the steps necessary to do what God has called us to do. 00:43:49.519 --> 00:43:58.960 Then lastly, God honors a faith that promotes unity and action. 00:44:00.159 --> 00:44:02.239 Verses 17 through 20. 00:44:03.760 --> 00:44:09.679 The time had finally come for Nehemiah to do what God has sent him there to do. 00:44:10.000 --> 00:44:15.199 He knew that he had to unite the people and encourage them to action. 00:44:15.679 --> 00:44:27.920 He understood this: that if it was one thing that was going to help him and necessary for him to rebuild the walls, he needed to build the people up first. 00:44:29.199 --> 00:44:30.320 And how did he do that? 00:44:30.480 --> 00:44:31.840 Verse 17 tells us this. 00:44:32.000 --> 00:44:38.400 Then he said, and watch this verse clearly carefully. 00:44:38.719 --> 00:44:43.519 He said to them, You see the trouble we are in? 00:44:44.159 --> 00:44:48.079 How Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. 00:44:48.480 --> 00:44:55.840 Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may long no longer suffer derision. 00:44:56.960 --> 00:45:02.639 Nehemiah could have approached them and made them feel guilty about the situation. 00:45:02.960 --> 00:45:10.320 He could have came to them, he could have said, Listen, y'all been here so long, y'all all this time, and y'all see that the wall is torn down. 00:45:10.480 --> 00:45:15.920 Why why why come none of y'all decided to fix the walls here? 00:45:16.639 --> 00:45:19.679 He could have came with that approach, but he didn't come with that approach. 00:45:19.760 --> 00:45:21.760 Look how he came to the people. 00:45:21.840 --> 00:45:22.960 He could have said all of that. 00:45:23.039 --> 00:45:25.199 No, but he he didn't do that. 00:45:25.519 --> 00:45:39.039 He could have said, listen, this over the last got God had to, I had to pray, I had to wait on God for four months, and then I had to travel all this way to come here when you guys are sitting right here in the city, you're looking right at it every day. 00:45:39.199 --> 00:45:40.480 He could have said that. 00:45:40.800 --> 00:45:42.400 But he didn't say that. 00:45:43.280 --> 00:45:45.440 His appeal was positive. 00:45:45.920 --> 00:45:49.760 He focused on the glory and the greatness of the Lord. 00:45:52.480 --> 00:45:55.119 He only been in the city for a few days. 00:45:55.199 --> 00:45:56.880 And look at verse 17 again. 00:45:56.960 --> 00:46:01.119 He says, You see the trouble we are in? 00:46:02.320 --> 00:46:06.559 How Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. 00:46:06.880 --> 00:46:16.960 Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision. 00:46:17.679 --> 00:46:21.679 Nehemiah said, look, we're in this together. 00:46:22.800 --> 00:46:28.639 In church, for any ministry to succeed, and I want to say this lovingly, as lovingly as I can. 00:46:30.239 --> 00:46:40.400