WEBVTT

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 Well, hi everybody and welcome to this morning's online message in which we are continuing

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 with our studies in the book of Nehemiah.

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 And today we're thinking about Nehemiah's amazing prayer in chapter 1 and trying to

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 glean for ourselves what principles in prayer we might discover here that would help us

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 in our own walk with God today.

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 But before we dig into the text, why don't I pray for us?

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 Lord, thank you very much indeed for your word and we thank you that our Lord Jesus taught

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 that your word is truth and that your truth can set people like us free.

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 And so we ask, Father, even through this weird online medium of communication, that you would

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 send your Holy Spirit upon our hearers, Lord, that they might discern your truth and your

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 truth might indeed free them to be the people that you call them to be.

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 In Jesus' name.

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 Amen.

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 Amen.

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 I want to take as a text the very last half of the last verse of chapter 1, which is the

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 final petition of Nehemiah's prayer.

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 And Nehemiah prays these words.

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 Give your servant success today by granting him favour in the presence of this man.

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 So this man that Nehemiah refers to, we think, is King Artaxerxes I.

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 Some modern scholars have raised doubts and asked whether this was actually Artaxerxes II.

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 But I think that most scholars, and I'm not a scholar, but I certainly think that it probably

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 was Artaxerxes I, partly because it makes most sense of the implicit timeline of the Old Testament.

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 So Ezra the scribe goes back to Jerusalem first and restores the temple.

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 And then it's followed up by Nehemiah with his great quest to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem.

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 Some of you may be asking yourselves, and it's a great question in many ways, but the question

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 is something like this.

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 Why would I think that a book written 2,400 years ago or thereabouts would have anything

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 to say to me in my modern, sophisticated life in the 21st century?

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 I think that's a great question.

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 And I hope just to show you very briefly in my introduction now that in fact there are factors

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 around at the time of Nehemiah which are not dissimilar from some of the factors that exist now.

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 And in showing you these, I hope that you will think that Nehemiah might have something to

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 say to us.

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 And Nehemiah was credited, incidentally, with being the person who not only got Judaism into

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 some kind of recovery, but kind of set the tone of Judaism, which means it's lasted the

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 course and is here with us today, thank God.

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 So, Nehemiah was around at a time of real crisis for the Old Testament people of God.

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 They were in exile, their temple had been restored, they got news of this, but perhaps in a way

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 that we don't quite grasp.

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 The seriousness of the walls being at a demolished state was a massive problem at the time.

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 Nehemiah stopped the earth.

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 Why was that?

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 Well, it was because in those days a lot of regimes were very lawless.

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 They didn't think twice about slaughtering wholesale populations.

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 And a war around the city was a way of protecting, it was a barrier that meant that the city could prevail

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 when under attack.

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 So, of course, the reverse is true.

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 When the walls are broken down, the city is very vulnerable.

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 And as we'll see in a moment, Nehemiah is deeply moved when he gets the news that the walls are broken down.

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 Why would that be?

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 Because he understood the seriousness of it.

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 The big challenge of being in exile is the challenge of maintaining your kind of distinctive identity and culture

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 when you are in a land where the culture and identity is entirely different and based on entirely different principles.

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 The Old Testament people of God were monotheists.

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 They believed in one God.

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 The people of Assyria and the people of Persia were idolaters and they were what's called polytheists.

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 That is, they worshipped a range of different gods.

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 Sometimes those gods would be animals.

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 Sometimes, as we read in the early chapters of Daniel, they could be effigies of a king,

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 that the king in Daniel insisted that all the subjects should bow their knee to his effigy

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 and those who didn't would be dealt with harshly.

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 For instance, Daniel and his three friends who were put in the red-hot furnace for their disobedience.

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 The big deal is, in an environment where your culture is completely taken away and transplanted into another culture,

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 how do you retain your identity?

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 How do you retain your religious culture?

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 That was a massive question for those Jews in exile.

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 And you remember, there's a verse in the Psalms where the question is asked,

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 how should we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?

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 How do we retain our culture and our identity in this very strange place where people don't think like we do?

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 Well, of course, you've only got to say that to realise that our culture has changed and continues to change.

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 And a lot of those changes have been good changes, but some of them have been changes which have marginalised faith,

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 have certainly cut down the number of worshippers who worship in the 21st century.

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 And of course, as we've thought about before on our Sunday messages,

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 there's a good deal of anxiety around about following COVID.

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 Well, what will the church look like after that?

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 Will people come back?

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 Well, we really hope you will, but we don't know if you will just yet.

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 So the big issue for the church today is standing in the face of the tsunami of secularism

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 and strange ways of thinking to the minds of many biblical Christians.

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 How do we retain our identity and our culture when it seems like a lot of the policymakers

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 and decision makers in our country work with an entirely different set of assumptions

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 about what a civilised society would look like?

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 That's why I think the book of Nehemiah has something to offer us today,

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 because it's dealing with the whole issue of retaining kind of cultural identity.

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 And retaining cultural identity has always been important for Christians.

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 We've always felt from the days of the early church that the life we're called to lead

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 in Christ with God is a distinctive life.

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 It's different.

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 It's meant to be different.

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 So here we are.

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 Here's Nehemiah.

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 He's heard that the temple's been rebuilt and he gets news at the beginning of chapter one

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 that the walls are still in a state of demolition.

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 And what does he do?

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 Well, we're told in verse four,

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 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept.

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 For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.

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 I wonder when was the last time you were moved to tears by something in your life.

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 I mean, it might have been something, a great sadness.

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 It might have been a big disappointment.

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 It might have been a soppy movie on the TV or at the cinema.

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 What I mean is, when were you so moved with passion that you just broke down?

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 I remember years ago during the anti-Vietnam demonstrations,

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 and somebody had a placard in one of the many crowds that we observed in the USA on university campuses.

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 And the placard said,

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 War?

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 War?

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 Question mark.

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 It's not worth dying for.

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 Writing his great apologia some years later for the Christian faith, Charles Colson,

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 asked the question,

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 What do people think is worth dying for these days?

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 Because real passion inevitably is evidenced by sacrifice.

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 Well, I wonder if I were to ask you the question,

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 When was the last time you were so moved with passion for the church?

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 I wonder what your answer would be.

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 I wonder when you look at the state of the church in the 21st century,

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 and the cultural conditions in which we're forced to think about what we really do believe.

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 When you hear of diminishing numbers,

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 when you hear of financial problems in the church,

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 how moved are you to do something about it?

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 Well, we're talking today about Nehemiah as a man of prayer.

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 I want to say that he was a man of prayer,

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 but he was also a man of passion and purpose.

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 And also, as we read in the early verses of chapter 2,

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 he was a man who had a plan.

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 He understood that if he was going to get his people from A to B,

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 he needed a plan to do that.

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 And it was, by all accounts,

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 a very high-risk plan.

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 I'll explain that in a moment.

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 But he understood this,

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 that passion, purpose, planning would go nowhere

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 if it wasn't earthed in prayer.

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 And in Nehemiah's case, a confident prayer.

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 I mean, this was a guy

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 who didn't think twice about praying

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 that God would grant him success

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 in what he was about to have a go at.

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 So the prayer is an amazing prayer.

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 And I love the confidence in the prayer,

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 but there are a number of aspects of the prayer

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 which I think are worth reflecting on.

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 The first thing is,

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 Nehemiah understands that the plight of the people of God

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 in exile was a result of their disobedience and wrongdoing.

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 And so his first move in the prayer

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 is to pray for repentance.

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 Listen to these words.

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 I confess the sins we Israelites,

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 including myself and my father's house,

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 have committed against you.

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 We have acted very wickedly towards you.

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 We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws

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 you gave your servant Moses.

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 Listen to me.

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 I want to ask you this as a serious question,

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 but is there anything in your indifference,

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 maybe, to the church,

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 your lack of concern,

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 your lack of commitment to it,

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 is there anything in there

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 that makes you feel

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 that when you come before God in prayer,

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 you need to begin

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 by confessing

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 the stuff in your life that's not right.

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 And I know what it's like.

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 I know that it's much easier to confess other people's sins.

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 We can see that very easily in them.

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 But what about your sin?

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 Nehemiah, of course,

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 was bold enough

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 not just to seek God's forgiveness for his sins,

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 but at the same time,

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 he was very happy to

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 pray on behalf of his people,

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 say, you know,

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 we've got this wrong, Lord,

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 and please forgive us,

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 and hear our prayer.

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 Repentance isn't just about saying sorry.

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 I mean, it certainly is,

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 but it also means turning away from your sin,

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 turning away from the life you've been living,

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 and turning towards God.

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 And there's little doubt when you read Nehemiah's prayer

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 that that is his intent.

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 It's not just looking for a quick kind of

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 sorry about this, Lord,

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 you know,

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 we're human,

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 you know,

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 we might not be perfect,

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 but, you know,

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 we're doing okay, thank you.

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 No.

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 That's not Nehemiah.

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 Nehemiah starts with a prayer of repentance.

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 Secondly,

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 he prays a prayer of recollection,

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 that he recollects

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 what God has done

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 in his people's past.

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 Verse 8.

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 Remember the instruction

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 you gave your servant Moses.

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 Say,

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 if you are unfaithful,

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 I will scatter you among the nations,

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 but if you return to me

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 and obey my commands,

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 then even if you exile people,

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 even if you exile people

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 are at the farthest horizon,

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 I will gather them from there

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 and bring them to the place

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 I have chosen as a dwelling for them.

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 Repentance is followed

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 by a recollection of the way

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 that God has acted

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 in the past.

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 A reminder

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 that with God

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 there always remains open

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 an alleyway called hope.

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 And that's what Nehemiah

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 brings before God.

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 He brings his sorrow

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 at his behavior

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 and then he brings

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 alongside that

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 a recollection

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 of the good things

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 God has done.

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 I wonder

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 when you pray,

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 can you remember

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 to think back

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 over your life,

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 even if right now

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 your faith feels

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 a bit stale,

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 a bit stodgy?

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 Can you recall

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 the good times

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 in your life

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 when God acted

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 and you were in no doubt

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 about his action?

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 Well, that's what

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 Nehemiah does.

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 Repentance,

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 recollection,

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 and then

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 Nehemiah wants to pray

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 another prayer

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 and that is

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 he wants to pray

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 for a result.

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 This is a kind

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 of confidence

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 in prayer

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 that I think

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 many of us

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 don't sit terribly

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 easily with.

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 So he prays,

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 you know,

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 Lord, let your ear

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 be attentive

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 to the prayer

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 of this,

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 your servant

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 and to the prayer

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 of your servants

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 you delight

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 in revering your name.

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 Give your servant

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 success today

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 by granting him

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 favor

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 in the presence

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 of this man.

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 Well, we said

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 that Nehemiah

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 is a man of passion.

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 When he got news,

00:17:57.519 --> 00:17:57.980
 he wept.

00:17:58.360 --> 00:17:59.580
 We said Nehemiah

00:17:59.580 --> 00:18:01.360
 is a man of purpose.

00:18:02.340 --> 00:18:03.040
 He knew

00:18:03.040 --> 00:18:04.080
 what he had to do.

00:18:04.640 --> 00:18:05.440
 We said that

00:18:05.440 --> 00:18:06.500
 all this need

00:18:06.500 --> 00:18:07.160
 to be earth

00:18:07.160 --> 00:18:07.600
 in prayer,

00:18:07.680 --> 00:18:08.559
 but we said also

00:18:08.559 --> 00:18:09.240
 this is a man

00:18:09.240 --> 00:18:09.820
 with a plan.

00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:12.640
 And his plan

00:18:12.640 --> 00:18:14.360
 was he couldn't

00:18:14.360 --> 00:18:15.320
 just go to

00:18:15.320 --> 00:18:16.539
 Jerusalem and start.

00:18:17.420 --> 00:18:18.580
 Who was Nehemiah?

00:18:18.640 --> 00:18:19.360
 He was a layman.

00:18:19.440 --> 00:18:20.259
 He wasn't a priest.

00:18:20.720 --> 00:18:21.680
 He had very little

00:18:21.680 --> 00:18:23.180
 standing in one way

00:18:23.180 --> 00:18:24.759
 except in the court

00:18:24.759 --> 00:18:25.759
 of Artaxerxes

00:18:25.759 --> 00:18:26.840
 where we told,

00:18:27.380 --> 00:18:28.420
 as Clive reminded us

00:18:28.420 --> 00:18:28.980
 last week,

00:18:29.180 --> 00:18:30.279
 he's a cupbearer.

00:18:30.279 --> 00:18:32.259
 He is,

00:18:32.440 --> 00:18:33.220
 in effect,

00:18:34.180 --> 00:18:35.139
 the kind of,

00:18:35.319 --> 00:18:36.700
 how would you say,

00:18:37.079 --> 00:18:38.059
 the chief of

00:18:38.059 --> 00:18:39.819
 the king's security.

00:18:41.259 --> 00:18:42.720
 And he uses that

00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:44.119
 unashamedly

00:18:44.119 --> 00:18:45.399
 to go before the king

00:18:45.399 --> 00:18:46.720
 and ask permission

00:18:46.720 --> 00:18:48.240
 to leave

00:18:48.240 --> 00:18:50.779
 the city of Susa

00:18:50.779 --> 00:18:52.000
 and go to Jerusalem

00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:53.399
 and begin his task.

00:18:54.400 --> 00:18:55.320
 And let me just say,

00:18:55.940 --> 00:18:56.940
 this king is not

00:18:56.940 --> 00:18:58.420
 entirely straightforward.

00:18:58.680 --> 00:18:59.259
 He is some

00:18:59.259 --> 00:19:00.460
 bad hair days.

00:19:01.100 --> 00:19:02.080
 He had to quash

00:19:02.080 --> 00:19:03.960
 a revolt against Egypt

00:19:03.960 --> 00:19:05.460
 and he did that

00:19:05.460 --> 00:19:06.040
 in a rather

00:19:06.040 --> 00:19:07.060
 brutal fashion.

00:19:08.140 --> 00:19:09.220
 This was not a man

00:19:09.220 --> 00:19:10.300
 in whom there was

00:19:10.300 --> 00:19:10.759
 a kind of

00:19:10.759 --> 00:19:12.080
 guaranteed grace.

00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:12.700
 No.

00:19:13.860 --> 00:19:14.960
 This was a man

00:19:14.960 --> 00:19:17.160
 who could be

00:19:17.160 --> 00:19:17.840
 capricious.

00:19:18.300 --> 00:19:18.880
 Could be,

00:19:19.180 --> 00:19:20.060
 get him on the right

00:19:20.060 --> 00:19:20.420
 day,

00:19:21.000 --> 00:19:21.740
 good guy.

00:19:22.060 --> 00:19:22.820
 Get him on the wrong

00:19:22.820 --> 00:19:23.140
 day,

00:19:23.700 --> 00:19:24.259
 you could lose

00:19:24.259 --> 00:19:24.680
 your head.

00:19:24.960 --> 00:19:25.160
 I mean,

00:19:25.220 --> 00:19:25.540
 literally.

00:19:27.380 --> 00:19:28.160
 His plan was to

00:19:28.160 --> 00:19:28.860
 go before him

00:19:28.860 --> 00:19:30.160
 and the answer

00:19:30.160 --> 00:19:31.460
 to his prayer

00:19:31.460 --> 00:19:32.500
 is just staggering.

00:19:32.680 --> 00:19:33.600
 Not only does the king

00:19:33.600 --> 00:19:34.480
 give him permission,

00:19:35.120 --> 00:19:36.100
 not only does he

00:19:36.100 --> 00:19:37.340
 give him security

00:19:37.340 --> 00:19:38.280
 because travelling

00:19:38.280 --> 00:19:39.080
 was a dangerous

00:19:39.080 --> 00:19:40.460
 business in those days,

00:19:41.000 --> 00:19:41.600
 not only does he

00:19:41.600 --> 00:19:42.160
 do all this,

00:19:42.220 --> 00:19:42.740
 but he helps

00:19:42.740 --> 00:19:44.020
 provide materials,

00:19:44.160 --> 00:19:44.800
 the materials

00:19:44.800 --> 00:19:45.380
 they'll need

00:19:45.380 --> 00:19:46.080
 to rebuild

00:19:46.080 --> 00:19:47.140
 the wall.

00:19:49.460 --> 00:19:50.220
 And Clive reminded

00:19:50.220 --> 00:19:51.780
 us last week

00:19:51.780 --> 00:19:53.120
 that this task

00:19:53.119 --> 00:19:54.500
 took just

00:19:54.500 --> 00:19:56.619
 52 days.

00:19:59.239 --> 00:20:00.039
 Some of you

00:20:00.039 --> 00:20:01.079
 know what it's

00:20:01.079 --> 00:20:02.819
 like when you

00:20:02.819 --> 00:20:03.439
 have the

00:20:03.439 --> 00:20:05.539
 builders in the

00:20:05.539 --> 00:20:05.779
 house,

00:20:05.859 --> 00:20:06.079
 you know,

00:20:06.119 --> 00:20:07.059
 they never get

00:20:07.059 --> 00:20:07.819
 out on time,

00:20:07.919 --> 00:20:08.299
 do they?

00:20:09.139 --> 00:20:09.359
 Well,

00:20:09.399 --> 00:20:09.759
 none of the

00:20:09.759 --> 00:20:10.439
 Amirans,

00:20:10.579 --> 00:20:11.259
 co-hosts,

00:20:11.259 --> 00:20:12.519
 they got the job

00:20:12.519 --> 00:20:14.099
 done and they

00:20:14.099 --> 00:20:14.599
 got it done

00:20:14.599 --> 00:20:15.179
 thoroughly.

00:20:15.180 --> 00:20:19.000
 and they got it

00:20:19.000 --> 00:20:20.220
 done so that

00:20:20.220 --> 00:20:21.259
 the city of God,

00:20:21.640 --> 00:20:22.180
 Jerusalem,

00:20:22.880 --> 00:20:23.940
 was no longer

00:20:23.940 --> 00:20:24.539
 vulnerable.

00:20:27.480 --> 00:20:28.340
 Here's the most

00:20:28.340 --> 00:20:29.220
 important thing.

00:20:30.640 --> 00:20:31.039
 One,

00:20:32.500 --> 00:20:33.820
 Nehemiah was one

00:20:33.820 --> 00:20:36.340
 man who changed

00:20:36.340 --> 00:20:37.140
 the outcomes

00:20:37.140 --> 00:20:39.000
 of a nation.

00:20:40.080 --> 00:20:40.440
 Two,

00:20:40.840 --> 00:20:41.700
 he wasn't a

00:20:41.700 --> 00:20:42.000
 priest,

00:20:42.140 --> 00:20:42.680
 he didn't have

00:20:42.680 --> 00:20:43.340
 the same kind

00:20:43.340 --> 00:20:43.900
 of standing,

00:20:44.020 --> 00:20:44.520
 he wasn't a

00:20:44.520 --> 00:20:44.820
 prophet,

00:20:44.980 --> 00:20:45.480
 he had none

00:20:45.480 --> 00:20:46.200
 of that history

00:20:46.200 --> 00:20:46.940
 behind him.

00:20:48.620 --> 00:20:49.520
 But he stepped

00:20:49.520 --> 00:20:51.480
 up and he did

00:20:51.480 --> 00:20:52.660
 what was necessary.

00:20:52.660 --> 00:20:57.060
 Listen to me,

00:20:57.460 --> 00:20:58.320
 the church is in

00:20:58.320 --> 00:20:59.460
 a very challenging

00:20:59.460 --> 00:21:00.279
 time, a bit

00:21:00.279 --> 00:21:00.960
 like the people

00:21:00.960 --> 00:21:01.640
 of God were

00:21:01.640 --> 00:21:02.340
 at the time

00:21:02.340 --> 00:21:03.240
 of Nehemiah.

00:21:03.740 --> 00:21:04.620
 And God is

00:21:04.620 --> 00:21:05.100
 asking,

00:21:05.640 --> 00:21:06.900
 who will stand

00:21:06.900 --> 00:21:07.680
 up with me?

00:21:08.660 --> 00:21:09.500
 Who will be

00:21:09.500 --> 00:21:10.320
 moved with

00:21:10.320 --> 00:21:10.759
 passion?

00:21:11.759 --> 00:21:12.900
 Who will become

00:21:12.900 --> 00:21:13.920
 a person of

00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:14.500
 purpose?

00:21:15.680 --> 00:21:16.320
 But most

00:21:16.320 --> 00:21:16.960
 importantly,

00:21:17.700 --> 00:21:18.880
 who will

00:21:18.880 --> 00:21:19.460
 earn that

00:21:19.460 --> 00:21:19.980
 passion,

00:21:20.500 --> 00:21:21.300
 that purpose

00:21:21.300 --> 00:21:22.259
 and that

00:21:22.259 --> 00:21:22.759
 planning

00:21:22.759 --> 00:21:25.400
 in prayer.

00:21:26.579 --> 00:21:27.539
 Prayer which

00:21:27.539 --> 00:21:28.400
 shows God

00:21:28.400 --> 00:21:29.640
 we're dependent

00:21:29.640 --> 00:21:30.220
 on him.

00:21:31.539 --> 00:21:32.259
 Prayer which

00:21:32.259 --> 00:21:33.640
 releases things

00:21:33.640 --> 00:21:35.220
 that nothing

00:21:35.220 --> 00:21:35.759
 else would

00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:36.279
 release.

00:21:37.759 --> 00:21:38.940
 Prayer which

00:21:38.940 --> 00:21:39.480
 can really

00:21:39.480 --> 00:21:40.420
 make a difference,

00:21:40.720 --> 00:21:41.339
 not just to

00:21:41.339 --> 00:21:42.000
 your life,

00:21:42.879 --> 00:21:43.680
 not just to

00:21:43.680 --> 00:21:44.240
 the life of

00:21:44.240 --> 00:21:44.799
 the church,

00:21:45.700 --> 00:21:46.400
 but to the

00:21:46.400 --> 00:21:46.920
 life of the

00:21:46.920 --> 00:21:47.319
 world.

00:21:48.440 --> 00:21:49.079
 One man

00:21:49.079 --> 00:21:50.539
 and those

00:21:50.539 --> 00:21:51.319
 possibilities.

00:21:52.259 --> 00:21:53.000
 Amen.

00:21:53.000 --> 00:21:53.140
 Amen.

00:21:53.140 --> 00:21:53.180
 Amen.