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Scripture: Nehemiah 1:4-11
4 When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days;
and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 5 And I said, “I
beseech Thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who
preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep
His commandments, 6 let Thine ear now be attentive and Thine eyes open to
hear the prayer of Thy servant which I am praying before Thee now, day and
night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Thy servants, confessing the sins
of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against Thee; I and my father’s
house have sinned. 7“We have acted very corruptly against You and have
not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which You
commanded Your servant Moses. 8“Remember the word which You commanded
Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful I will scatter you
among the peoples; 9but if you return to Me and keep My
commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were
in the most remote part of the heavens, I will gather them from there and
will bring them to the place where I have chosen to cause My name to
dwell.’ 10“They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by
Your great power and by Your strong hand. 11“O Lord, I beseech You, may
Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your
servants who delight to revere Your name, and make Your servant successful
today and grant him compassion before this man.” Now I was the cupbearer
to the king.
A. Nehemiah’s Exaltation of
God vs.
5
“I beseech Thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who
preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep
His commandments,
Nehemiah sees Him as . . .
1. The Great and Awesome God
Nehemiah, like Isaiah, had a high view of God. It is a
perspective that is somewhat lacking in our day. Consider his account of
God’s call to service. Isaiah 6:1-6; 1In the year of
King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and
exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. 2Seraphim stood
above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with
two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3And one called out to
another and said,
“Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts,
The whole earth is full of His glory.”
4 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him
who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. 5Then I said,
“Woe is me, for I am ruined!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I live among a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”
6Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand,
which he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7He touched my mouth with
it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity
is taken away and your sin is forgiven.”
Is that the way that most people view God? Is that your concept of God?
Has God changed? Has the Majestic, Sovereign God of Isaiah and Nehemiah
become a casual acquaintance whom we put on “hold” until needed?
Perhaps we need to be reminded that Christianity was never a means to
change God; it was a means to change us!
2. The Covenant-keeper and Source of Lovingkindness
I love what Paul wrote to the Hebrew Christians about God’s
unchanging faithfulness. Hebrews 6:16-20; 16For men swear
by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given
as confirmation is an end of every dispute. 17In the same way
God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the
unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, 18so
that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie,
we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of
the hope set before us. 19This hope we have as an anchor of the
soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within
the veil, 20where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us,
having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
See also Paul’s letter to Titus; Titus 1:1,2 1 “Paul,
a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of
those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to
godliness, 2in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie,
promised long ages ago,” When God “cut” His covenant with
Abraham it was unilateral and unconditional.
See Genesis 15:12-20 where Abraham was instructed to
“cut” sacrificial animals in half laying each half on opposite sides
of a path. The parties making the covenant walked between the parts in
effect saying, let it be done unto me as was done unto these animals if I
do not keep my word. It is significant that Abraham slept and God alone
passed between the slain beasts
“cutting His covenant in blood.” You can trust God. He will deliver
in grace.
B. Nehemiah’s Confession to
God
Vs. 6-
1. He made it Personal: 6b “I and my father’s house have
sinned.”
2. He Confessed their Disobedience “We have acted very corruptly
against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the
ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses.
This is called repentance. Sinner and saint alike has need of
repentance. For the sinner it’s to acknowledge one’s sinfulness, turn
from it and ask for God’s mercy based on the finished work of Christ. Acts
17:30,31 For the saint, it is confessing one’s sin and receiving His
cleansing and restoration to fellowship based on his relationship to
Christ as a child of God. 1st John 1:9 – 2:2
C. Nehemiah’s Acknowledgement of God’s
Word vs. 8-11
1. Nehemiah Remembered God’s Word vs. 8
8 “Remember the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, Nehemiah
Remembered God’s Warning
saying, ‘If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples;
2. Nehemiah Remembered God’s Promise vs. 9
9 but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do
them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote
part of the heavens, I will gather them from there and will bring them to
the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell.’
God will someday heal their land! 2nd Chronicles 7:13-18 13
“If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command
the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people,
14 and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray
and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from
heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
3. Nehemiah Remembered God’s People vs. 10
10 “They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your
great power and by Your strong hand.
4. Nehemiah Requested God’s Provision vs. 11
11 “O Lord, I beseech You, may Your ear be attentive to
the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to
revere Your name, and make Your servant successful today and grant him
compassion before this man.” Nehemiah had a vision. “Where there is no
vision the people perish!” Proverbs 29:18 God
has given us a vision. Now may He give us a burden for our community and
our country.
1st Timothy 2:1-6 “ . . . I urge that entreaties and prayers,
petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men . . .”
It is our prayer that God will use this message to bring the Truth that
set us free and brings a peace that passes all understanding.
Jesus said “Peace
I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give
I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
John 14:27 There is no way to have that kind of peace except
by coming to God through Jesus Christ. Jesus said “. . . I
am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by
me.” John 14:6
Dear sinner, you need to confess your sin, Dear ones who have need of
salvation; repent of sins and come to God
accepting the fact that Christ died on the cross, rose from the dead and
paid the full penalty.
Dear saints who know the Savior, we need to avoid sin and should we
sin, keep our sins confessed up to date and pray for
the servants of God all the while serving God ourselves on every occasion
and opportunity as God enables and directs.
We see that these are great assets for the
Christian. Have you found a church home? Better yet; have
you found new life in Christ? Why not come to Him today? God will receive those who will come to
Him. He has provided the
means for you to be saved, baptized and be a part of His New Testament
Local Church ministry -- He gave His Son to intercede; all you need to do
is cast yourself upon His mercy and grace.
Jesus said in John
6:37-4038
“For I have come down from heaven,
not to do My own will, but the
will of Him who sent Me. 39
“And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all
that He has given Me I lose nothing,
but raise it up on the last day. 40
“For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds
the Son and believes in Him, may have
eternal life; and I Myself will raise him
up on the last day.”
It
is important to note Luke's comment in Acts
4:12
“And
there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven
that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.”
Please contact
us if you sense your need to come to Him. We can help. (To
reach me just
click on "contact us.")
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