Take some “RE” time! (Nehemiah 2:11)

So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days.        

THE STUDY:

          Reading this short verse we may see the superficial idea: he rested from the 2 month journey. But looking a little deeper we can see something more. As a leader we need not to only be concerned for those we are leading but for ourselves as well. Nehemiah may have accomplished three things during these three days: rest for himself and his group, planned his next step, and allowed himself to blend in to his surroundings.

          After his long difficult journey, Nehemiah took time to rest; for leaders must take care of themselves if they are going to be able to serve the Lord (Mark 6:31). He also took time to get “the lay of the land” without arousing the concern of the enemy. A good leader doesn’t rush into his work but patiently gathers the facts firsthand and then plans his strategy (Prov. 18:13). We must be “wise as serpents” because the enemy is always watching and waiting to attack.^[1]

                                       

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

• We walk away this morning with the understanding the importance of rest. Rest for the body, mind and spirit. An athlete would call this time of rest “re-covery” time. A leader would call this time of rest “re-grouping” time. A person of faith would call this time “re-connecting” time.  

APPLICATION:

          Three days seems to be the running theme in scripture: Jonah spends three days in the belly of a fish, Ezra rested for three days, Jesus was resurrected in three days, and the list could go on. There seems to be significance to “3 days!”

          For the physical body, it allows the muscles to heal. For the mind, it allows time to process. For the soul, we can see by the examples of Jonah, Ezra, and Jesus it was a time of re-joining!

          Today, we may be feeling tired, lost, and isolated! The only one we can blame is ourselves. Jesus has always given us examples of rest. So today, as you approach the holiday weekend get some rest: for the body, mind and soul. Allow yourself some recovery time, some regrouping time, and some reconnecting time.

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

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^[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Determined. “Be” Commentary Series (30). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Opposition Will Rise! (Nehemiah 2:10)

But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.

THE STUDY:

          What we find in this verse is two individuals: Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite. Sanballat is believed to be the governor of Samaria which was close to Jerusalem.   

          “Tobiah the Ammonite official” was likely governor of Ammon, although he may have been an Ammonite official under Sanballat’s authority. Tobiah is a Jewish name and not Ammonite, but the Tobiad family was to have influence in Ammon for a long time.²⁸ These Tobiads may have been descendants of the Tobiah who in Ezra 2:60 was rejected from the Jewish community because “they could not show that their families were descended from Israel.” If so, their long-standing enmity against the Jewish community may have begun at that time.

          Earlier in the reign of Artaxerxes their complaints against Jerusalem had been accepted by the king, who decreed that the Jews stop building. So a Jew coming now as governor, with authorization to build, greatly disturbed them.^[1]

                             

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

We walk away this morning with the understanding that even today there are some who are disturbed when God blesses His work, but Nehemiah reminds us we should not fear that the work of God is finally dependent upon human attitudes. We are involved in a spiritual conflict of cosmic proportions, but God’s armor is available, and his victory is assured (Eph 6:10–18).

APPLICATION:

           As I read this verse I am reminded of my childhood. If I found out someone didn’t like me (whoever it was), it disturbed me. I would react in a multitude of different ways: anger, jealousy, rage, tears, and the list could go on. My conclusion to the fact of that person not liking me was because of who I was, how I was, and what I was. But as I got older I started to realize that this was not the case. The majority of the time, the reason someone didn’t like me or had something against me was because our spirit didn’t line up. We are given examples in scripture that reveals this concept: Unequally yoked or an evil spirit opposed to a christlike spirit.

          Nehemiah had not even started and opposition was rising up. The same may be true with us in the world we live in. Today, as a believer, we may run across someone who is against what we are doing, what we are thinking, or what we are saying. This may not be personal but yet it might. Whatever the case may be, there is a good chance it all stems from the fact that your Spirit is not equally yoked with theirs. Stay the course, keep your eyes on the task at hand and don’t stop praying. Remember this verse, I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

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^[1] Breneman, M. (1993). Vol. 10: Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (electronic ed.). The New American Commentary (178–179). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

The Great Orchestrator! (Nehemiah 2:9)

          Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen.

THE STUDY:

          He is off! We believe it will take him about 2 months to arrive at his destination. Nehemiah is on his way to Jerusalem with documents in hand and a military escort. I can only imagine the king’s captains and horsemen riding together as one team escorting the king’s favored servant. I can only imagine how those townsmen must have felt as this military team gallops through as one locomotive passing through a small country town. Better yet, I can only imagine how Nehemiah felt with the authority and protection from the king.

          I would like to believe that all of this was reassuring to Nehemiah but what was most secure in his heart was that God had ordained all of this. He was in transit by the authority of God and was given God’s protection. Sometimes we can get caught up in all the emotion and hoopla of what’s taking place and forget it was orchestrated and being played out by God.

                             

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

• We walk away this morning with the understanding that while experiencing all the wonder and beauty of God’s plan and/or creation we should never forget, it is He that is making it happen and it is He who has ordained it to be so.

APPLICATION:

          I am reminded of a story of an lady who was in a hurry to get home from work. She had company coming over for dinner and she needed to get some things from the store on the way home. She pulls into the grocery parking lot and to her disappointment she finds it full. As her heart starts to race she begins to pray, “Lord, please give me a parking spot close to the front so I can get in and out quickly.”

          She drove around and around for what seemed like hours (actually about 2 minutes) and continued to pray. Her heart was starting to beat faster as her anxiety level started to go up. But right in the middle of her repeated prayer she noticed a spot opening up. She immediately says to God, “Never mind Lord, I found one!”

          Unlike this woman at the grocery store, Nehemiah never forgot who was the great orchestrator of his life was, God! Let us remember that no matter how emotional we get, no matter how much our anxiety level rises, or no matter how bleak the situations may look, God is the one orchestrating, maneuvering, and in control.   

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

He Gets The Glory! (Nehemiah 2:7-8)

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, 8 and a letter to Asaph, 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, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy.” And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.

THE STUDY:

          What we see in these two verses is Nehemiahs preparation and understanding of how things worked. He knew leaders names and their area of responsible. What I found profound was the last statement in verse 8, And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.

          Nehemiah was realistic, giving God the credit for causing the king to grant his requests. Because Nehemiah was sure this was of God, he had no problem accepting what the king offered. In the Bible, God often uses the king of a country in the divine plan (e.g., Exod 6:1; 10:1; 14:4; Isa 45:1–7).

          God’s work and our planning are not contradictory. J. White notes, “Prayer is where planning starts.” Nehemiah modeled good leadership; he prayed, planned, and acted in dependence on God and submission to his guidance. Neither is research contrary to dependence on God. Nehemiah knew who the officials were with whom he would have to deal, so he requested the credentials he would need as the project progressed.^[1]

                             

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

• We walk away this morning with the understanding that through research and planning God’s plan is destined for victory. We are to put forth our best for God but we are to also remember the Glory goes to Him.

APPLICATION:

           Burt Reynolds starred in an old film entitled "The End". In the film he decides to commit suicide by swimming out as far as he can until he is exhausted and then just go under. But after going under he is looking at the surface from the underside and decides not to go through with it. As he breaks the surface of the water he screams, "I want to live! I want to live!" He then begins to try to swim to shore, but it is a very long way off. As he begins to swim he talks to God. He promises to obey all of the Ten Commandments, and then realizes he doesn't know what all of them are so he promises to learn them. Then, in his panic, he says, "Lord, if you get me out of this, I will give you 80% of everything I have." But time passes and he is still going strong, and besides he can just begin to see the shoreline. But as he continues to swim he feels his strength holding out and says, "Lord, if you help me to get to shore alive I will give you 10% of all my earnings." And, finally, he struggles to the place where he sees that he is just going to be able to make it to land and says, "Well, Lord, let's just forget about what I said before. I think I can make it from here on my own." Reynolds' attitude is reflective of the attitude of many people today

          Nehemiah knew He needed God to accomplish the task at hand. He never forgot who was doing what. Not the King but the King of Kings! Today, let us not forget we can research, prepare, and accomplish great things through God, but he must get the Glory!

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

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^[1] Breneman, M. (1993). Vol. 10: Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (electronic ed.). The New American Commentary (177). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

Who Can God Use! (Nehemiah 2:6)

And the king said to me (the queen sitting beside him), “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time.

THE STUDY:

          Continuing on with the outline of the book of Nehemiah, we find in this section (the request) the permission from the King. The word šēgal is not the usual word for “queen.” In Ps 45:10 it appears to refer to the chief member of the royal harem. We do not know whether it was his official queen, Damaspia, or some favorite from his harem. But why was she mentioned here? Some suggest she may have favored Nehemiah and thus helped his cause.¹⁹ Others suggest her significance was as a witness of the king’s words to Nehemiah. The detailed questions and answers and the fact that the queen was not usually present at the great feasts suggest that this may have been a more private scene.^[1]

          The king’s response is evidence of the sovereignty of God in the affairs of nations. We expect God to be able to work through a dedicated believer like Nehemiah, but we forget that God can also work through unbelievers to accomplish His will.^[2]

                             

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

• We walk away this morning with the understanding that in the case of Nehemiah God answered his earlier prayers by using people that Nehemiah may not have ever expected. This is how God can work! No one is off limits to God.

• I am reminded in the book of Jeremiah how God called King Nebuchadnezzar His servant, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant” (Jer. 43:10) Just because someone is not a believer doesn’t mean they cannot be used by God to fulfill his purpose.

APPLICATION:

              In a small town lived on elderly woman who loved the Lord very much. Every morning she would run out on the front porch of her home and shout, "Praise the Lord!". This really made her next door neighbor mad because he was an atheist. So each morning he would shout back at her, "There ain't no Lord!"

              Hard times hit the little town and the elderly woman still ran out on her front porch every morning to shout, "Praise the Lord!",  but now she added; "...and Lord please send me some groceries." Her neighbor thought, "This is my chance to teach her a lesson!"

             The next morning when the elderly woman ran out on her front porch to shout,  "Praise the Lord",  she noticed a nice big bag of groceries waiting for her. She shouted,  "Thank You and Praise You, Lord!"   Out from behind a bush jumped her neighbor, laughing and saying; "I told you there ain't no Lord!   I bought those groceries!"

The elderly woman replied; "Praise the Lord! Not only did You give me groceries, You made the devil pay for them!"

This morning I believe God wants you to know that he hears your prayers and he will answer them, The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous (Proverbs 15:29). There is power in your prayers, The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working (James 5:16). Keep praying and watch God work in ways you never thought possible.

  

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

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^[1] Breneman, M. (1993). Vol. 10: Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (electronic ed.). The New American Commentary (176). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

^[2] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Determined. “Be” Commentary Series (29). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.