v. 16). And we ask now for the blessing of the Holy Spirit. God works in mysterious ways, as we can all attest to. No one expected it to survive. Because of his genuine answer, and because God was truly in control, we see Artexerxes ask him in verse 4 what his request is. Do you need to put guards over your eyes and ears and be more strict about what kind of music you listen to or what movies or shows you watch? The parachute would remain trapped between the seat and the pilot's back. Want to see a bad assessment of the facts? He has spoken through a donkey, a burning bush, the dreams of various people and He continues to speak to lives through His living Word and through His Spirit. The intensity of the conflict rose when the job was near completion. You make an accurate assessment of where you are, and you come up with a plan. As Nehemiah prepared to rally Jerusalem, he gives us some more practical instruction of how to thrive in tough times. If we choose the path of Ezra in a certain situation, if we choose to do something on our own, we should not condemn those who take Nehemiah’s path, or vice versa! How Nehemiah wrestled with God and prevailed we read in the foregoing chapter; now here we are told how, like Jacob, he prevailed with men also, and … Casting a vision might include cutbacks, new budget requests, or a creative solution to a new problem. Sometimes we look down upon quick prayers because we can think that long prayers with academic words are “better” for some reason. Your children? To get to where you believe God wants you to go, you’ll have to make the accurate assessment of where you are, where you need to be, what tools you’ll need to arrive at the proper destination … all of it. Nehemiah 2:18 I also told them ... "No. What’s the old saying about a turtle on a fence post? We never reach them but, like the mariners on the sea, we chart our course by them (Carl Schurz, Readers Digest [5/84], p. 66). He knows that he needs the people of God to accomplish the will of God. Warren Wiersbe said, "Not only had Nehemiah prayed for … The farmer said, “Sure. So the marketing department was taking the heat for losing the annual game, taking it on the chin. It’s hot. By the way, in Nehemiah 3, there is a report that some of the nobles of the area would not “put their shoulders to the work.” A noble who wouldn’t work? So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. Pray as you go. It’s forever long. The other end attached to an electronic take-up reel behind the headrest. That one little compliment caused him to wander aimlessly through the streets with tears rolling down his cheeks. While looking up some good illustrations of knowledge and acts of love being present, I came across an article that interviewed children to define what “love” is and the answers were interesting to say the least. Ezra and Nehemiah provide the biblical background, for they led a people facing far more difficult circumstances to a point of great success – in their work, in their national identity, and in their new understanding of faith. We must have encouragement if we’re to make it in any phase of life, including the life of our church. He slept in an attic with two other boys from the slums. And the drawings - - each of them got worse and worse, as you might expect, instead of better and better, as they had been told to make them. Shea Sumlin. Other trees grow larger, fuller—even greener. Ezra was ashamed to ask the king for a military escort (, ), but Nehemiah made use of one. God does not do things on our time table, which means that we must patiently wait and prepare our hearts for His time table. Nehemiah had prayed for months, but he knew he was completely dependent upon God’s work in the King’s heart at this moment. She’ll find victory, even in an atmosphere of loss. In what appears to be a last ditch effort to thwart Nehemiah’s efforts, Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem join forces to oppose him. Or maybe it’s a new call on your life for ministry. You’re going to go to work, and work extremely hard. Twice he refers to Jerusalem, not as the capital of Judah, or even by its name, for it had a reputation as a troublesome city and had been the source of revolt in the empire before, but he designates it as … 2:17 Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Does your eye-gate need attention? So I went out at night by the Valley Gate in the direction of the Dragon’s Well and. Pray before you start. CSB Holy Land Illustrated Bible (Hardcover), by Andy Cook on Wednesday, January 01, 2014 at 7:00 AM. Nehemiah started out to study where to rebuild old walls and where to construct new ones. The purpose of the study was to determine the effects upon schoolchildren of having to do continuous and monotonous work without any encouragement. When his life is on the line, when the king could have been testing him to see what his true intentions were he did not cower down nor did he water down his message, he spoke from the heart. The most-sacred symbol in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is a tree: a sprawling, shade-bearing, 80-year-old American Elm. Speak now, for your servant is listening. . How can you put that enticement in the proper perspective? 2:12 This relates Nehemiah's initial secret inspection of the walls (cf. But they heard Nehemiah make the claim, and they were encouraged literally, by his courage. Last week we began our study of the book of Nehemiah by looking at chapter 1 to see the background of both Nehemiah and the state of the city of Jerusalem. His mission was to restore Jerusalem to a place that was pleasing to God. Then I was very much afraid.” A) BURDEN FOR SOULS B) FAVOR COMES … Economic downturns might mean drastic change for your family. Cox writes: The new design called for a two-inch webbed strap. It is not our place to judge the servant of another as, tells us. He had worked extremely hard. Nehemiah had been praying, planning for this moment for a very long time. Read More. I had not been sad in his presence before, 2 so the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? Your trusted source of Christian resources since 1891, Sermon: Perfect Vision in Imperfect Times - Nehemiah 2. He did not expect an immediate result, he was patient. He had memorized much of the Old Testament. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on. That editor's compliment inspired him to continue and improve. Part 2 . Lean times can feel like a desert. Now, these individuals saw Nehemiah coming as a Jew but with the authority from the Persian king to build. In this moment, as the king asked Nehemiah for his request, Nehemiah prayed a quick prayer. And they said, Let us rise up and build. This passage of Scripture is divided into 2 main sections, first the King’s answer to Nehemiah’s prayer in verses 1-10 and second, Nehemiah arriving to survey the walls of Jerusalem in verses 11-20. And if you dare ask God to answer your prayer, you might as well expect the same thing. And anyone who is willing to follow the principles put forth in … Nehemiah’s request was well thought out as we see in verses 5-8. There was nothing noble to it. Nehemiah started out in verse 5 by saying “If it pleases the king” - this indicated that he was submissive to the king. No matter how poor their drawings might have been, no one was scolded or criticized for his performance. SermonAudio.com - Nehemiah 2 Sermons. They replied, "Let us start rebuilding." It might have been a long time since the folks in Jerusalem had seen someone stand up to the mockers. He was patient and he had confidence in God. But not one is equally cherished. In verses 17-18 Nehemiah calls on his fellow Israelites to help in this task. The only way that we will take that step is by hiding God’s Word in our heart and having a proper perspective of temporary and eternal things. Nehemiah 2. In verse 1 we see that this took place in “Nisan” which spans parts of March and April. * Indicated Required Field See our Privacy Policy. Nehemiah is purposeful with his words in this exchange. Our messages for this quarter are based on the theme, 'Rise Up and Build.' But Nehemiah was there, and he kept them on course. Jesus was a man’s man, trained physically in Joseph’s carpentry shop, and trained so thoroughly in spiritual matters that he was amazing the scholars by the time he was a young teen-ager. There didn’t seem very much to Nehemiah 2, basically Nehemiah feels sad, speaks to the king, he goes off and the wall is built, end of. You’re going to need a lot of help to get to the top of your fence post, and in order to get people to help you, you’ll have to encourage them. He was able to mobilize and empower 44 separate groups of people for the ingenious task of rebuilding the walls. So the king said to me, “Why is your face sad though you are not sick? Prepared for war, they sweated and strained and got dirty and stayed determined. Confronting Failure with Faith. Someone has said, Ideals are like the stars. Every marriage needs encouragement. SermonAudio.com - Nehemiah 2 Sermons. Work? Text: Nehemiah 2:1-20. Verses 9 and 10 show us that Nehemiah had a military escort. Nehemiah 2:1-3. Nehemiah got that done, giving his report quickly, and accurately. Sometimes, you’ve just got to bear down and turn things around. Theoretically of course, all a pilot needed to do was push a button, clear the plane, then roll forward out of the seat so the parachute would open." These things led Nehemiah to pray for God’s kingdom to come. They used chisels and saws and hammers and pulleys. If you face “lean times,” you’d better have a good foundation on which you can “lean.” The miracle? 1 In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. 2:20 – Nehemiah’s response supports the possibility of Tobiah’s association with Ezra 2:60. And the world remembers that through his incredible ability to dream the dream … and cast the vision … Walt Disney had already enjoyed Disney World, though he wasn’t even alive when the gates opened for the first time. Then I entered the Valley Gate again and returned. That’s love.”, Chrissie (6 years old) “Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French Fries without making them give you any of theirs.”, Elaine (5 years old) “Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.”. Then the king said to me, “What would you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. Sometimes our “quick prayers” happen whenever we are about to take a test and we pray “God if you will just help me get through this then I will do this and that” this is not what we see in Nehemiah’s prayer. Free shipping on books, Bibles, gifts, VBS and Church Supplies of $50 or more. This means that Nehemiah has been praying and preparing for this conversation with the king for nearly 4 months! By leaning on your relationship with Jesus, a person won’t just survive lean times. The tree modeled the resilience the victims desired. People noticed. More and more, however, we are living in a culture that will interpret faithfulness to God and Christ as rebellion against the governing authorities. Thriving in the midst of “lean times” is a matter of having a solid foundation of faith – your place to “lean” – and working hard as God gives you the opportunity. On Monday and Tuesday many students were frustrated with this portion of our schedule, but by the time Wednesday and Thursday came around, nap time was right up there with recreation and dinner time on the priority list! The farmer cracked the whip again and said, “Pull, Clyde, pull!”, The stranger took another look, but there was still only one mule hitched to his car, and that mule’s name wasn’t “Clyde.”, Nothing had happened, so the farmer cracked the whip again and said, “Pull, Dusty, pull!”, Dusty began to pull until finally the car was out of the ditch. The enemies of Nehemiah threw the king’s title into the conversation, implying that the work of Nehemiah’s people could get them into serious, serious trouble. Sep 27 2009 A Strategic Plan / Nehemiah 2:4-8. Nehemiah, the cupbearer to Artaxerxes I of Persia. This no doubt came about because of his careful assessment of the need during his moonlit reconnaissance mission in 2:13-16. (Source: Jim Davis, pastor, Silverdale, Washington; source: Danny Cox, Seize the Day: Seven Steps to Achieving the Extraordinary in an Ordinary World, Career Press, 1994.). Even if you know from years of experience that a young persons ideals are not practical, his zest can inspire faith and hope in those of us who may have lost our vision somewhere in the many battles of life. With such little confidence in himself and his ability to write, he secretly slipped out and mailed his first manuscript in the middle of the night so nobody would laugh at his dream. Nehemiah runs into the same problem Ezra had found, in Jerusalem. Quick prayers are possible and valid if one has prayed sufficiently beforehand. 16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work. We will be tempted to stay in our comfort zones whenever the time comes for us to make a stand in our faith. Listen in to timeless lessons from Nehemiah chapter 2 A career coach will survey where a client is before recommending a career change. The same God who helped Nehemiah and Ezra stands ready to help you! Whether it be a foreign power leading God’s people into exile or a foreign ruler trusting a person of God to be his cupbearer, God has a plan even though we can’t always see it. He had only four years of school and his father was in jail because he couldn't pay his debts. Recommend this sermon to others. He knows exactly what materials he would need for the temple, wall, city and his own house in verse 8. “We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.” It might have been a long time since the folks in Jerusalem had seen someone stand up to the mockers. Some pilots, instead of letting go, would keep a grip on the seat. We must know the Word of the Lord and we must be preparing our hearts today to be used by Him. The support department, however, had a rather dismal season, winning only one game.". Jet fighter pilots needed that device to launch them out of their chairs. Another advantage of Nehemiah having to wait these four months is that he had the time to plan what he would do when/if God chose to move the king's heart. we learned that he was a student of Scripture and that he passionately loves God’s people/kingdom. Nehemiah 2:2 “So the king said to me, "Why is your face sad though you are not sick? Speak now, for your servant is listening. If the Lord gave you an opportunity to advance His kingdom, what aspects of “staying in the Persian palace” would be most tempting? Nehemiah is not sad because he is a part of a coup attempt to overthrow Artexerxes, he is genuinely sad and has a genuine reason to be. Nehemiah’s people were soon off and running on a 52-day stretch that proved to be harder than any of them had ever anticipated. (Source: Max Lucado, Facing Your Giants (W Publishing Group, 2006), p. 43-44), When Nehemiah challenged the people to rebuild the walls, the people replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” And the Bible says, so they began this good work.” (2:18). They believe that this feast may have been related to the New Year which in the Persian calendar would have been Nisan. Her speech? When they had finished, they were told to draw another picture of a man a little better than their first one. We will experience suffering and ridicule in our lives, will we not? Millions of Americans find themselves facing the greatest struggles of their lives today, squeezed financially by rising energy costs, rising unemployment rates, fears of a national recession – or even a depression. Question is, what will it take to launch us out of ours? 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Is willing to follow the principles put forth in this task rest would help Nehemiah prepare for the of... Back to the king for 4 months refreshing marks of young people is their.... Have killed most men a fabulous example of how to get to this must be preparing hearts.
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