Nehemiah’s Repairs
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The Cost of Following Jesus
57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
59 He said to another man, “Follow me.”
But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”
62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” -
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. 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? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”
I was very much afraid, 3 but I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”
4 The king said to me, “What is it you want?”
Then I prayed to the God of heaven, 5 and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.”
6 Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?” It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.
7 I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? 8 And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal park, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests.
Introduction
100 yrs before Neh’s time, the Israelites had been taken into exile to Babylon (2Kings 25v21). Over those 100 years the Jews had worked & lived in Babylon & some had good jobs, like Dan. Nehemiah was another one Neh 2:1. He served in the court of the King. Comfortable, settled, nice area, family life is good. A generation had passed since King Cyrus allowed Some exiles to return to Jeru (Ezra 1), the Temple in Jeru had been rebuilt (Haggai 1) but much of Jerusalem was still in ruins. Neh was settled in Babylon, so what if Jeru was in ruins? He could have been excused for thinking that. BUT Neh didn't shrug his shoulders. His response was a lesson for us (especially as you are looking for a new minister).
Repairs
Neh 2:1-8 shows Neh had a plan and a vision, prob given in his days of fasting & prayer. The Lord showed Neh what needed to be done (Chpt 1). If Neh hadn’t taken the time to seek, if he had stayed in his comfort zone he would never have known what the Lord wanted him to do. I hope you can see the message for this church today both personally & St.Caths. Sometimes when things disturb us, it could be that God is nudging us to be active, be vocal or be prayerful. Neh was settled until he got a nudge! The nudge from the Lord made him very sad. It was about Jeru.
Neh 2:3 ‘why should I not be sad, when the city, the place of my ancestors, lies in ruins & its gates destroyed by fire’
Neh 2:5 we learn what he was prompted to do repairs in the Jerusalem, He ‘Said to the King, if it pleases the King… send me to Judah to the city of my ancestors…that I may rebuild it..’
Let us to think of repairs on 3 different levels that we can apply to our own situation.
1. Repairs in church
2. Repairs in Zion
3. Repairs in our lives
What are the spiritual lessons we can learn from this historical story?
Repairs in church
Repairs in church and this town. You know about things that are going on in this church and this town. Some have drifted away from the Lord or from the fellowship. There are outreach opportunities with friends, relatives and young families…… Nehemiah wept over his town. How do we feel about our town? The Lord revealed to Nehemiah the needs in Jerusalem as he wept and prayed. As you pray, your eyes can be opened to see the needs of the church & the lost. Being a Christian is not a kind of hobby, something to do with our spare time. If we are willing, like Nehemiah, to sit & reflect, weep & pray for the things that is going on in this area, if you are prepared to be part of the answer, you can be a repairer of broken walls in this church. It may be costly. In Luke 9:57, Jesus spoke about the cost of following him.
Repairs in Zion
We can do repairs in our world, in Zion. Zion is under attack at this time. Nehemiah wept over Jeru. Through his intercessions the Lord revealed to him, the needs of Jerusalem.
Look again at this scripture, Jerusalem ‘gates destroyed by fire.’ The gates were a symbol of praise. Psalm 100:4 ‘enter his gates with thanksgiving….his courts with praise.’ Not so for Neh (sad cause the gates were burned (Neh 2:3). Zion was a symbol of separation from a Godless world, now in ruins after Babylon’s sac.Is the Lord challenging us to be intercessors, bring to God the needs we see & hear about in our new bulletins, our Christian charity mailings and online CMJ, Ebeneezer Trust, CFI, & others, Derek Prince, allowing ourselves to be impacted by their pain. Generous in our giving to the projects we feel guided to support. We can be part of repairs in Zion through our weeping, our prayers and our response.
Repairs in our lives
Lastly, we must survey the ruins of our own lives. Ways in which our lives fail to reflect our Lord Jesus Christ. Survey your prayer life, your reading of the bible & study, your serving, your witness to others, your thoughts and viewing habits. Are some of these pillars of faith in ruins? As you survey your own life and confess and turn then that is where the repair begins. As we allow the Holy Spirit to renew us. No matter how much you think you are in ruins, the repair has begun. For you personally, for this church and through our prayers, repairs in our needy world.
Cover Photo Jason Swain Photography https://jasonswain.co.uk/
