Even just hearing this first chapter and a half, we're beginning to understand what makes Nehemiah such a great book.
He's a fascinating figure, and we get wonderful personal insights into his life.
And in so many ways, we are seeing the glory and the greatness of our God.
It's a wonderful book.
It's part the memoirs of Nehemiah himself.
We get that sense that we're reading the private diary of a man of God as he is tasked with rebuilding the city of Jerusalem.
So he's going to do that physically, but also morally and spiritually.
The name Nehemiah means God will comfort.
And God has comforted his people, offering them hope and restoration in giving them this leader, Nehemiah.
So it's part memoirs.
It's also part prayer diary.
As we spend a few weeks in the book of Nehemiah, many times we will meet this man of God on his knees in prayer,
seeking God's glory and the good of his kingdom.
It's also, I think, these chapters are part of portrait gallery,
because we're going to meet various faces of Nehemiah along the way.
This man who's been raised up for the task of spiritual reformation,
we will see him in various roles with various responsibilities,
and all the time under the rule and guidance of God.
Maybe it's helpful to ask, why are we studying it together?
So this book, it dates from 445 BC.
So it's pretty ancient.
And we might find ourselves wondering,
why are we studying this ancient book about the rebuilding of an ancient city?
Well, at one level, at the local level,
the answer is that since, I guess since January,
as church elders, leaders here,
we've been praying about, we've been thinking through,
we've been reflecting on and working towards a development plan.
Seeking the ongoing renewal of God here within Becclew,
seeking a vision for coming years.
And there's so many helpful things for us as leaders,
but so many things for all of us that we can learn together in this wonderful book.
But more broadly, what will Nehemiah help us to learn together?
Let's look out for four things as we go week by week through this book.
First of all, I think Nehemiah will teach us to pray.
And as the church, we always need this.
So we hear him worship.
We hear him confess sin.
We hear him asking God for help.
We hear him pray for the ongoing renewal of the kingdom of God.
So the church needs to be a praying people.
The book of Nehemiah also teaches us the importance of contending for the gospel.
It reminds us, like so many books of the Bible, that opposition is normal.
We met some opposition at the end of our reading, chapter 2, verse 10.
But as we go through the weeks, we'll come to see that the battles that Nehemiah faces,
sometimes they're external, sometimes also they're internal.
And the book of Nehemiah reminds us to expect opposition and trouble
and to be ready and willing to contend for the cause of the Lord Jesus.
And as we do so, to put our trust in God himself.
To understand that we have a God who is totally committed to his glory
and to his people and to the good of his kingdom.
Another thing that becomes apparent as we look at the book of Nehemiah
is he teaches us that the preaching of God's word
is central to the life of God's people.
The high point of this book is literally a high point.
In chapter 8, we are going to meet Ezra.
And he's going to proclaim God's word.
And he's going to explain God's word from a high platform.
And that in itself reminds us that as the people of God,
we always need to be hearing and to be receiving God's word read and preached.
And one other thing I think we can be looking out for in the story of Nehemiah,
and we'll see it a lot next week.
The book teaches us that renewal,
the ongoing renewal of God's kingdom,
its shared responsibility.
This is very much an all-hands-on-deck kind of a book.
We get to see a lot of Nehemiah, this great servant leader,
but we're also going to hear about the responsibility of all God's people.
This is a book where the church is seen as a body
working together, struggling together for the glory of God
and the progress of the kingdom.
So we can watch out for those highlights as we go through the next few weeks.
But here we are, chapter 1, verse 1, to chapter 2, verse 10.
Three things for us to see.
First of all, the problem facing Nehemiah.
Look at the first four verses,
and we discover that Nehemiah here in Susa,
so he's in Iran at the moment,
and he hears a report about the Jewish remnant who've survived the exile.
And what's he told?
Those who survived the exile are back in the province.
They're in great trouble and disgrace.
The wall is broken down,
and Jerusalem gates have been burned with fire.
The British prime minister at the outbreak of World War II
was a chap called Neville Chamberlain.
And Neville Chamberlain had a small pocket diary,
which a few years ago went on display to the public.
Look, the day that Britain entered World War II
was the 3rd of September, 1939.
And on that day, we have a diary entry from Neville Chamberlain.
Do you know what he wrote?
He wrote, war declared.
And that was it.
This huge moment for the nation,
this huge moment for the world,
we get the fact, but we don't get any insight into,
what did Chamberlain feel at that moment?
What emotions was he going through?
Contrast that with verse 4,
with Nehemiah's private diary.
When I heard these things,
I sat down and wept.
For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed
before the God of heaven.
He discovers the trouble facing Jerusalem,
facing the people of God,
and he is deeply affected.
So let's ask ourselves briefly, why?
Why is he affected?
What's the problem?
Well, at a practical level, as we've just heard,
the survivors of the exile,
who maybe about 15 years or 20 years ago,
at the time of Ezra,
had been sent back from Persia to Jerusalem,
they're living in times of great trouble.
There's also the remnant who survived the exile,
the weak and the unimportant people,
and they are part of this disgrace
that's being felt within the city.
The city is in ruins.
The walls and the gates are broken down,
and they're on fire.
There's no security.
There's no stability.
There's no sense of honor.
We will recognize that they are being exposed
to their enemies,
and they're being exposed to mockery.
So that's what Nehemiah hears about.
But in his thinking, he's going deeper,
because he understands that beyond the physical,
there's also a spiritual problem here.
Nehemiah is someone who has a deep concern
for God's people and for God's glory.
God's people here are in a low state,
a place of weakness.
Remember, Jerusalem is the city that represents
the rule of God,
the presence of God,
the glory of God on this earth.
So when it's in ruins,
God's reputation stands somewhat in ruins.
It is significant that God's kingdom
is in a weak state.
It is a cause of deep distress
that while Ezra was sent back
with that task of restoring the walls
and the temple,
that building project has now been halted.
It has stalled because of enemies
and because of the royal decree from Persia.
So we meet in the first instance,
Nehemiah,
as a true servant leader of God.
And he is deeply moved
by the state of the church.
And remember where he is right now.
He's not there in Jerusalem among the ruins.
He's in Iran.
He's in a palace.
He's in a place of honor
and comfort and security.
And he could easily have said,
that's not my problem.
But he loves his God
and he loves God's church.
He knows that God is glorious
and he longs for that glory
to be on display in the world.
He feels it deep within his guts
that God is dishonored.
And so this sacrificial servant,
he weeps
and then he works.
And as we'll see,
the first work he does is to pray.
Now right at the outset,
I want to ask ourselves
a question this morning,
perhaps a question to reflect on
through the day,
through this week.
What is it that I am most passionate about?
Now if you're a Christian here today,
you know as I know instinctively
what the answer should be.
But what is the evidence of our lives?
Or to put it slightly differently,
how do we feel
about the low state of the church
in our nation?
As Keith was leading us in prayer.
As we think about the situation
in our city or in our church,
that the progress seems slow,
that God's honor is held in low regard.
Do we feel it?
Sometimes I think it's all too easy,
again,
to go back to that idea of idolatry.
Sometimes we can find it really easy
to be most passionate
about our own comfort, perhaps.
Or our own success,
whether that be in our career
or in our studies
or even thinking for our children.
We might even put our sports team
ahead of the glory of God
and the advance of His kingdom.
To look at Nehemiah's posture,
weeping, fasting, praying,
reveals his passion,
the glory of God
and the cause of the gospel.
He hears the report
and it's as if he can sense
that the smoking walls
and the city in ruins
and what that represents
about God's honor
and that brings him to his knees.
Let me ask each one of us individually
and for us as a church
about our posture
and about our passion.
So we sit here in Edinburgh
and it's very different, isn't it?
There's no smoking ruins.
In fact, we live in a wonderfully
beautiful city,
a great city.
We came back from holiday
and the cherry blossoms are there
and the meadows,
the sun's shut.
It's a wonderful city.
Visitors flock
and don't want to leave.
But let me ask,
can we see beneath the surface?
To recognize that for the people
who live here,
that without Jesus,
their lives in this city
is spiritual ruin and rubble.
Do we recognize
that there are many people around us
and they are hurting
and they are confused,
they're troubled,
they're heading for a lost eternity,
many of them without even realizing it?
Will we pray?
Do we pray?
To the God who sees,
who knows,
who cares.
To the God who is powerful
and to the God
who is passionate
about His glory
and about salvation.
So that's the problem
that we see.
Second thing we hear
is the prayer
of Nehemiah.
So we said Nehemiah
is like a portrait gallery.
Nehemiah is a man
of many faces.
We will see him
often as a leader.
Sometimes we'll see him
inspecting and exploring.
Sometimes we'll see him
engaged in buildings.
Sometimes we'll see him
helping the poor.
But it's so significant
that our first portrait
is of Nehemiah,
the man of prayer.
You search church history
and you will discover
that those who are most passionate
for God's glory,
those who are most used
in God's kingdom,
will be those who are
most passionately committed
to seeking God's help
and seeking God's honor
in prayer.
And so we have the privilege
this morning
of taking a page
from Nehemiah's
personal prayer diary.
And what do we discover
in this page?
We discover here is a man
of God who knows his God.
And he knows his Bible.
And he knows God's promises.
And he appreciates
that he lives under
God's providence.
And all of that is here
in his prayer.
And so as we spend
just a few minutes
looking at this prayer,
my prayer for us would be
that Nehemiah
would be teaching us
in our day
how to pray also.
So we begin there
at verse 5
and we come to see
that we pray
in part
to worship
our God.
We don't rush in
with our shopping list.
We give God glory.
Look at how
Nehemiah begins.
Lord, the God of heaven,
the great and awesome God
who keeps his covenant
of love with those
who love him
and keep his commandments.
It's good to remember
who we pray to.
The God who made
everything that we see.
The God who is great
and awesome
but the God who is also
loving
and keeps his covenant
and enters into
personal covenant
relationship
with his people.
And so we see
that we have
this privilege.
We're invited
into a personal
relationship
with the powerful
God of the universe.
That's a great motivator
for prayer, I think.
And what we see
from Nehemiah's prayer
is this reminder
that God is both
awesome
and he's approachable.
That he is both
a God to be feared
and honored
and a God
who is faithful.
And wonderfully
we know through Jesus
we're invited
to call this God
our Father in heaven.
To know that as his people
we are never denied access.
To know that when we pray
we come to the one
with all resources
for whom nothing
is impossible.
So we praise God
that we get to pray.
We pray to worship.
But we also pray
to confess our sin.
That's there, isn't it?
In verses 6 and 7.
I confess the sins
we Israelites
including myself
and my father's family
have committed against you.
And again, notice this.
There is no hint
of those guys over there.
They're the problem.
There's the people
over in Jerusalem.
It's we.
There's that shared sense
of guilt over sin.
Nehemiah's family
because they're part
of that society.
He recognized
they're part of the problem.
And the problem
there in verse 7
we have acted
very wickedly
towards you.
We have not obeyed
the commands, decrees
and laws you gave
your servant Moses.
He confesses disobedience.
He confesses
dishonoring God.
He understands
that by breaking
God's law
the people of God
they're causing damage
to God's honor.
They're causing damage
to the work
of God's kingdom.
And so he confesses sin.
He's just worshipped
and recognized
how awesome God is.
And when we rightly view
God's awesome holiness
isn't that so often
when we become
so aware of our own sin
and guilt
and awfulness.
That the holiness
of God
rightly seen
so often exposes
our own hypocrisy.
That huge gap
that can exist
between
here are the truths
that I believe
but here's the life
that I'm practicing.
That's one of the reasons
why it's so important
for us every week
as we worship
to confess our sin
together.
To acknowledge
that we are all guilty
before God
that we all stand
in need of His grace
and forgiveness
and there is grace
and forgiveness
to be found
in the gospel.
So we pray to worship
we pray to confess sin
and Nehemiah also shows us
that we pray
to claim God's promises
to claim God's promised help.
That's there in verses
8 to 10.
Look at how he begins
remember the instruction
you gave your servant Moses
and then he takes
his prayer towards
that key text
of Deuteronomy chapter 30
verses 1 to 5
where God makes the promise
that when His people
even if they've walked
so far away from His ways
if they will return
then God will restore
God will have compassion
God will bring His people
back to Himself.
And as Nehemiah prays
he remembers Scripture
and he knows
these are God's own words.
This is God's covenant commitment.
And so Nehemiah takes God
at His word
and he claims
the promise of God
found in the Bible.
And it's the same
in verse 10.
They are your servants
and your people
whom you redeemed
by your great strength
and your mighty hand.
So part of God's covenant faithfulness
was in His great act of rescue.
We might think of the story
of the Exodus
or we might think of
the return of the exiles.
And so Nehemiah puts before God
his own covenant commitment
and he trusts
that God will be faithful
to His character
and to His word
even though
His people have been unfaithful.
He trusts in a God
who will be faithful
to His promise
and to His people
through thick and thin.
Now a couple of observations
as we seek with God's help
that Nehemiah would encourage us
in prayer.
First is this.
Remember the power
of praying
together.
Look at verse 11.
We could easily miss this.
Lord, let your ear
be attentive
to the prayer
of this your servant.
Okay, we get that.
And to the prayer
of your servants
who delight
in revering your name.
What are we being told?
Nehemiah is praying
with other people.
There are others
who are committed
day by day
maybe even hour by hour
to God's kingdom
to God's glory
to God's will.
And there's a power
in that.
There's a goodness
to that.
As a local church
we must do
the Lord's work
and we must do it
in the Lord's way.
And how do we do
the work of God
together?
Fundamentally
as we pray.
We must be
praying together.
Plans,
strategies
absolutely are
so important
and we'll see it
but without prayer
we're missing
the key component.
Now the great example
I think in the Bible
of the church of God
praying together
is the book of Acts.
It has been said
that the early church
in the chapters
of Acts
it sounds just like
an extended prayer meeting.
Whatever is going on,
whatever God is working,
whatever need
is required,
the people are praying.
So if we're here today
and we feel perhaps
sad
or dissatisfied
or discouraged
about what's going on
in the world
or about the state
of the church
in Scotland
or if you're concerned
for your local church
here,
if there are people
on your heart
and you're hungry
for them to know
life with God,
to know the love
of God,
this is where we start
and we never shift
from this,
we must devote
ourselves
to praying together.
There is power
in that
and just as a sidebar,
just to remind us,
we pray
as a church
every Sunday
at 5pm
through there
and we pray
on a Wednesday
at lunchtime online
and we pray
on Wednesdays.
Matters.
So remember
the power
of praying together.
Secondly,
to find encouragement
from Nehemiah,
remember
who we pray
to.
Remember
that we pray
to a powerful
loving father
who loves
to hear
his children
pray.
This is one
father
and you will
never find
a do not disturb
on his office
door.
Our father
in heaven
will never
shush us
because he's
busy doing
something else.
Remember
that we are
praying to a
God
who is far
more committed
to his glory
and to his
kingdom
than you and I
will ever be.
He has
redeemed us
by way of
sending his son
Jesus to die
on the cross
for us
and then he's
raised them up
on the third day.
He will not
let that be
for nothing.
He is
committed
to building
his church.
And remember
that we pray
to the great
God who has
made great
promises.
We get so
many promises
and we know
that we hold
on to them
lightly.
We receive
so many
offers,
so many
emails and
we wonder
is this a
scam,
this sounds
too good
to be true.
That is
never the
case with
God's promises
in his word
and by faith
we are
invited to
claim them.
So we need
to know
God's word
and to pray
God's word
as we claim
those promises
and as we
come to
know the
God of glory
who will
build his
church,
who must
be faithful
to his
covenant,
for whom
nothing is
impossible,
then we have
the motivation
to pray
and to keep
praying.
So that's the
second thing.
So we've seen
the problem,
we've heard
the prayer,
now we
recognize in
those first
verses of
chapter 2
the planning
of Nehemiah.
It was a
president of
the United
States,
Benjamin Franklin,
who was
credited with
saying,
if you fail
to plan,
you plan
to fail.
If you spend
any time in
business or
management circles,
you will know
all about,
I am sure,
planning and
development and
it makes sense,
it makes sense
at a personal
level.
We have to
plan for
our meals,
we have to
plan as
pupils,
and as
students if
we're revising
for exams,
we have to
plan our
time to
make room
for exercise
perhaps or
family devotions,
and we need
to plan for
life within a
local church.
Nehemiah is
both a great
man of prayer
and a great
planner too.
And one
aspect of
planning that
I want us
to really see
from Nehemiah
is that it's
one thing to
make a plan,
maybe that's
quite easy.
What we see
from Nehemiah
is the
courage
required to
carry out
a plan.
Think about
that at
sort of a
personal level.
You know,
you want to
apply for
a new job,
that requires
a certain
amount of
courage,
because on
the one hand
you may be
rejected,
but on the
other hand
you may be
successful and
you have to
meet a whole
new load of
people,
learn a whole
new load of
skills.
Maybe you have
the good desire
to get
married,
and again
that's going
to take
courage,
it's going
to take
courage to
ask someone
out,
because again
you may
meet with
rejection.
Or you
want a
friend to
know Jesus,
there's courage
involved in
that too,
to invite
them along
to church
or to
open the
Bible with
them or
to talk
to them
about your
faith,
because again
there is
the prospect
that that
relationship
changes and
a person
might not
show any
interest.
the Nehemiah
we meet in
chapter 1 and
chapter 2 is
an example to
us both of
careful planning
but also of
courageous faith
as he puts
plans into
action.
But let's
first of all
really quickly
see the
careful planning.
Now I'm
going to
presume that
most of us
are not
familiar with
the Jewish
calendar system,
so we might
not notice,
I wouldn't
have noticed,
that the
difference
between
chapter 1
verse 1,
the date
there,
and chapter
2 verse 1
is four
months.
For four
months Nehemiah
has been
praying for
God's glory
and God's
kingdom,
but Nehemiah
at the same
time has
also been
planning.
And so as
we open this
page of his
diary we see
the advanced
planning that
has gone
into this.
So as he
stands before
the king
and as the
king asks him
the question,
Nehemiah,
what is it
that you
want?
You clearly
have something
on your
mind.
We hear
again Nehemiah
praying to the
God of heaven,
that's his
instinct,
but then we
see him put
his plans
into place.
So it
begins with
Nehemiah
requesting that
he be sent to
Jerusalem to
head up this
rebuilding project
and he already
has in mind how
long he thinks
that's going to
take.
And so he
makes that
request.
And then if
you look at
verse 7,
he asks for
some letters.
He wants
letters to
guarantee him
safe conduct
as he journeys
through the
kingdom.
He wants to
go with
official royal
permission.
And then look
at verse 8,
he's really
pushing things
now.
He asks for
another letter,
this time a
letter for the
man in charge of
the royal forest.
He wants a
work order to
be sent so the
king will
provide the
timber and
the building
materials at
the king's
own expense.
And then in
verse 9 and
10, we see
the planning
involved in
that Nehemiah
wants to go
with an army.
He wants to
make a clear
signal to the
enemies of
God.
He is coming
at the king's
command and
that God is
with him in
all of this.
So there is
careful planning,
but there is
also courageous
faith going on.
This week I
came across a
definition of
courage by a
guy called
Joseph Piper.
A helpful
definition.
I think courage
is the act of
risking suffering
for the sake of
the good.
Risking suffering
for the sake of
the good.
Again, think
about it.
If we believe
an action will
bring God
glory.
If we think
that applying
for that job
will bring God
glory or seeking
that new
relationship or
talking to a
friend about
Jesus, then we
risk suffering,
someone saying
no perhaps, for
the sake of the
greater good, that
God would be
glorified.
Nehemiah shows us
the life of faith
is a life of
courage that's
committed to the
glory of God and
is willing to
suffer.
And it all
starts with his
willingness to go.
So again, just
to remember, he's
not in Jerusalem.
He's living in a
very affluent, very
comfortable, very
secure city here in
Susa in the heart
of the Persian
empire.
But he is willing
to leave behind the
comfort of the
palace for the sake
of the greater good,
God's kingdom.
He runs so many
risks as he
presents his plan
to the king.
To leave his
important job behind,
to ask for a huge
amount of resources
from the king,
even to look sad
in the king's
presence.
But he risks it
for the sake of
the good.
We know
Nehemiah is a
man of faith.
He understands,
for example,
chapter 2,
verse 8,
the gracious hand
of his God
was with him
in granting him
success.
We hear it in
his prayers.
prayers.
And he is
willing to pray
and to plan
and to act,
not knowing how
things are going
to turn out.
But he knows
God is on the
throne,
not at the end
of the day,
this man,
Arctic Xerxes.
And so he acts
with courageous
faith.
And I wonder
if there is a
pattern there
for us to
follow.
To be ready
to pray,
to be ready
to make plans,
and then to have
the courage to put
plans into action
for the glory of
God,
even when we
don't know how
things will turn
out.
You'll think
about that
in our own
context here.
We never
know when
we pray.
Will God
use us
to be the
answer to
those prayers?
We don't
know.
Will God
be pleased
to use us
individually
or collectively
to advance
the gospel
in some way?
We don't
know in
God's wisdom
will Beclood
be used
for future
generations
to reach
this city
with the
good news
of Jesus.
But we
seek to
act in
courageous
faith.
We pray,
we plan,
and we act
on the plan.
So as a
church,
we've been
encouraged to
pray for
ten people
who don't
know and
love Jesus.
Part of
that praying
may likely
involve us
then having
to act,
to be ready
to love
them,
to serve
them,
to speak
to them,
to ask
their questions
and to seek
to answer
them.
Many of
us,
we pray
for new
families
in this
local community
to have
the chance
to hear
about Jesus
and to hear
about Jesus
through us
and through
our church.
So we pray
about that,
but we also
need to ask
God to guide
us and to
plan and to
think how
best can we
reach out
and welcome
people in.
We perhaps
find ourselves
praying about
a new
generation of
leaders within
the church.
That's a good
prayer.
But at the
same time,
we have to
make plans
today to
train,
to mentor,
to disciple
those God
has brought
to us and
will bring to
us in the
future.
And so the
life of
planning and
praying and
courageous faith
involves us
praying,
your kingdom
come,
your will be
done,
and it involves
us asking and
making plans.
What can I
do?
What can we
do for the
sake of God's
kingdom, for
the sake of
Jesus today,
this week,
this year?
And being
ready to act
with courage,
to risk
suffering for
the sake of
God's glory and
the spiritual
good of
others.
And so as we
begin to look at
the life of
Nehemiah,
the servant
leader,
there's a lot
that we can
learn, but
especially as
we look beyond
to the
greatest of
all servant
leaders, to
the Lord
Jesus Christ,
the sacrificial
servant, the
one who is
willing to leave
behind the
comfort of
his palace, to
leave behind the
glory of
heaven, to
come into
this world, to
carry out God's
great plan of
salvation.
And remember
Jesus, the
servant leader,
he too would
weep over
Jerusalem.
spiritually lost
and ruined.
Jesus is the
one who would
pray for his
father's glory
and his
father's glory
in the salvation
of sinners and
the building up
of God's
kingdom.
Jesus, who in
love will
suffer and die
for our
greatest good,
that we by
faith might be
brought into the
kingdom of God.
God.
He is the
leader we look
to and with
his help we
pray, we plan,
we act for
his glory, for
the glory of
God, for the
renewal and
spiritual reformation
that we seek here
and the clux here
in ourselves.
Thank you so much
that we have