Beginning
Again
Beginning
Again
Mitch Marlowe / General
Nehemiah 1:1–11
Notes
Advent Christian Church 1-1-2017
Have You Ever Had to Begin Again?
Well did you
stay up last night and watch the ball drop?
Did you make those New Year resolutions?
I read this week that only 8% of us actually keep all of our New Year's
resolutions. And in my mind, half of
those are lying!
It seems we
are always struggling and we can either give up or begin again.
Have you ever
been in a situation that you needed to begin again?
Nehemiah shows
us 3 great principles that we can use to begin again. Let's take a look at this passage and allow
me to walk with you through these verses.
Nehemiah
1:1-12
The words
of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah:
In the
month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa,
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.
According
to scholars, this time of the year was like our November and December.
Hanani
could have been a blood brother or just someone that was close as a
brother. Later in the book, he has a
prominent place of leadership.
Look at
verse 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.”
Have you
ever thought about home? I am from
Statesville in Iredell County. I am
always interested in hearing about what is happening back home. I will occasionally read the paper online to
stay connected. When I hear of trouble
and heartache there, I too get troubled.
I can imagine that is what Nehemiah experienced here.
However, I
think metaphorically speaking there is another application here. Jerusalem at that time was the spiritual
center of the world. The walls and gates
housed the temple where the priests made atonement for the sins of the
people. During this time, not only the
walls and gates had been destroyed but the city was in ruins having been over
run by enemies.
Interestingly,
Paul called our bodies the temple of God.
1 Corinthians 3:16 NIV84
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that
God’s Spirit lives in you?
Have your
spiritual walls ever been in ruin?
Perhaps you have found yourself in a condition needing repair and with
no hope in sight. Maybe you feel this
way right now and are in need of repair.
On this first day of the New Year I have hope for you. Not only can your spiritual walls be rebuilt,
but they can be fortified with a cornerstone.
Isaiah 28:16 NIV84
So this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;
the one who trusts will never be dismayed.
Look now
back at Nehemiah 1:4
When I
heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and
prayed before the God of heaven.
When you
get discouraging news, what do you do?
Do you get angry? Do you withdraw
from those around you? Look at what
Nehemiah did. He sat down. I think this means he spent some time
pondering it, thinking about it. The
bible then tells us he wept. There are
many things that will make us distraught.
This past November on election day, I voted and when I left the voting
booth, I literally wept over the condition in our country. Nehemiah says that he mourned for days and he
fasted and prayed. Notice his
progression here, he didn't stop with life.
He progressed through his sorrow and used that time to prepare himself
to go before God.
Notice what
happens next in verses 5-11:
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, 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. We have
acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and
laws you gave your servant Moses.
“Remember
the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I
will scatter you among the nations, 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.’
“They are
your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and
your mighty hand. 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.”
There are
several applications we can find in this prayer. First and foremost, if you have a Bible that
gives your lots of cross references, you
will notice that almost every phrase in this prayer is a reference to another
passage in the Bible. One of the
beautiful aspects of the Word of God is that it interprets itself. I want to encourage you to look at the
references that come from other places in the Old Testament: Deuteronomy, 1 and
2 Kings, Daniel, 2 Chronicles, Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel all are
referenced in this short prayer. This
tells me that Nehemiah was a student of God's word and he used God's word in
his prayer. Do you ever pray utilizing
Scripture?
Look at the
attributes of this prayer:
There is
Praise:
“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,
There is
Confession:
I confess
the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s house, have committed
against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the
commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.
There is
Petition:
“Remember
the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I
will scatter you among the nations, 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.’
“They are
your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and
your mighty hand.
This is
just not just a "Now I lay me down to sleep" prayer! It is a prayer that is
scripturally-based. It is a prayer that
is for the people of Nehemiah's home. It
is a prayer for guidance and preparation as Nehemiah recognizes the opportunity
in front of him:
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.”
Notice what
Nehemiah throws in after his prayer:
I was
cupbearer to the king.
This is far
from being arrogant on Nehemiah's part. He certainly doesn't throw in a
"nana nana boo boo" here!
Nehemiah is reminding us of his circle of influence. He has told us that he spent some time
thinking about the situation as well as praying about the situation. Notice the pattern here: Each step is carefully designed and well
thought out! Now he is showing us that God has placed him in a special place.
Ezra and Nehemiah: An
Introduction and Commentary The Prayer of Nehemiah
(1:4–11)
The cupbearer (the same word as the ‘butler’ of the Joseph
story, Gen. 40:2ff.) was a high official in the royal household, whose basic
duty of choosing and tasting the wine to demonstrate that it was not poisoned,
and of presenting it to the king, gave him frequent access to the king’s
presence and made him potentially a man of influence.
Don't you
know that God has a way of placing His people right where they need to be? Think about your circle of influence. You and I have been divinely placed in areas
where we can demonstrate His love.
Whether it is your work, your family, your garden club, your civic club,
your favorite booth in your favorite restaurant or even the pew you are sitting
on right now! God can use your circle of
influence to rebuild lives! Are you
letting Him?
So what can
we take from this incredible passage?
There are 3 principles that you and I can apply today and begin this New
Year in a way that will help us rebuild our spiritual walls.
First,
Nehemiah started right where he was. Too
often when we are faced with a tough situation where we need to begin again, we
think we have to wait until the situation gets better, or when we can afford
it, or when the right timing occurs.
Nehemiah recognized that he needed to begin again right now. You and I can learn lots from that! There is no time like the present!
Hebrews 3:13 NIV84
But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
Luke 23:43 NIV84
Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be
with me in paradise.”
A second
principle that you and I can learn from Nehemiah in beginning again, is
Nehemiah synthesized the facts. In other
words, Nehemiah gathered lots of information to understand the situation.
I don't
think he goes to FACEBOOK to get his facts!
Have you ever noticed that when something happens and we want to gain
instant news, where do we turn? Nehemiah
gathered facts. I would imagine that he
was able to discern the facts and filter them through Godly wisdom. Nehemiah listened to those he trusted and
processed what was happening in his beloved home.
The third
principle we see here is probably the most important of all: In beginning again, Nehemiah sought sovereign
wisdom through prayer. What would happen
if you and I prayed as much as we worried?
What about if we prayed as much as we complained? The example we have here is scriptural prayer
complete with praise, confession, and
petition. I don't think we can go wrong
doing this in 2017 do you?
How are you
going to begin again?