|
Sermon
of 02-15-03
"DON'T HESITATE - INVESTIGATE!"
by Dr. D.A. Farmer, pastor
Nehemiah 2:1-2; "And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence. V:2
Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid."
In the days when blacksmiths were common, we used to hear the proverb, "Strike while the iron is hot." Not many would understand that these days; today we have shortened it to: "Get with it man!"
This morning we continue our series into the book of Nehemiah. We are traveling through the entire book of Nehemiah. As we go through it we will see how this Old Testament book can help us today rebuild our lives back into the life Christ would have us live. And the 2nd chapter of Nehemiah is a good place to begin.
Last week we left Nehemiah weeping and praying over the ruins of Jerusalem. He was pleading with God to lead and direct him in how to rebuild the walls and gates of Jerusalem. As the second chapter opens, we find Nehemiah at his 1st point of opportunity.
Did you notice that this chapter has a different date than the opening words of Chapter 1? It is in the month of Nisan of the Hebrew calendar when Nehemiah finally has an opportunity to inform the king of his concern over Jerusalem. Last week we looked at incidents that took place in the month of Chislev, which is approximately the same as our month of December. Nisan corresponds to our April, so there is a lapse of about four months between these chapters.
We are not told why Nehemiah delayed that long in bringing his problem to the king. The king may be gone from his palace. The king may have been in the wrong mood for Nehemiah to talk to him. Or, maybe we can assume that because he was a man of prayer he was waiting for the Lord to indicate the right time. What ever the answer is, the Bible says that in the month Nisan, Nehemiah found the right time.
The Bible also says in verse 2, that when Nehemiah went before the king to serve him some wine, his face shows concern. The king noticed this immediately and asks Nehemiah why he looked so sad. Nehemiah's response was that he had become "dreadfully afraid." But Nehemiah may have also sensed that this was God opening the door. So with trembling lips and tearful eyes he revealed the cause of his sorrow. "Let the king live forever," he answered. "Why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchers, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?" V:3
When the king heard the condition of Jerusalem, it must have awakened his sympathy toward Nehemiah. So in verse 4 the King ask;
"What do you request?" NKJV But Nehemiah did not reply till he had sought direction from One higher than the King. Verse 4 says that Nehemiah "prayed to the God of heaven."
There is a lesson for us to learn there too.
When trouble comes our way or we find ourselves in trouble, we can send up a petition to God for divine guidance. We can ask for His protection. This is the kind of prayer Paul meant when he said,
"Pray without ceasing" in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. God wants us to come to Him anytime anyplace.
In Verses 5-9, we learn Nehemiah obtained what he wanted from the king. The king gave him the needed Royal letters to the governors of the provinces beyond the Euphrates. The territory through which he must pass on his way to Judea. Verse 8 says that he also obtained a letter to the keeper of the king's forest in the mountains of Lebanon, directing him to furnish as much timber as would be needed.
In verses 9-10, we find that Nehemiah safely made his journey to Jerusalem. That shouldn't surprise any of us because after all, what enemy would dared molest an official who is guarded by the power army of the Persian king?
But when you get to verse 10, you find there was some upset. Listen to verse 10;
"When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel."
These so called leaders watched every step Nehemiah made. They tried with all their power to prevent Nehemiah's plans and stop his work. Does this situation sound familiar? I mean how many times have we seen the devil use someone to spoil God's plans? We just have to make sure that we are not the one the devil is using. Because the devil can and will use any of us unless we are on our guard. We need we must be men and women of prayer for God's will to be done. Why? Because men and women of prayer are also men and women of action in God's will!
Looking now at Nehemiah 2:11-16, we find that on the third night after his arrival, Nehemiah rose at midnight and with a few of his trusted friends went out to look over the desolation of Jerusalem. Listen;
"So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.
V:12 And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I [any] man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither [was there any] beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon.
V:13 And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.
V:14 Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king's pool: but [there was] no place for the beast [that was] under me to pass.
V:15 Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and [so] returned.
V:16 And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told [it] to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work."
Nehemiah passed from one part of the city to another riding on donkey, surveying the broken-down walls and gates of the city. It wasn't long until Nehemiah was filled with sorrow as he gazed upon the ruins of Jerusalem. Memories of Israel's past greatness now stood out in disgrace. Anticipating resistance, Nehemiah did not tell anyone what he was doing until he had seen for himself what needed to be done. And evidently according to verse 14 the walls and gates were in such a state of shambles that his donkey couldn't even make it through parts of it. So with saddened heart Nehemiah examines his beloved city only to find it in ruins. It was as if the people didn't care anymore.
And is it not the same when God's Holy Angels survey the condition of Christ Church today? Just like Nehemiah and his friends found God's City in shambles, as if people did not care, I wonder how often we appear to the Holy Angels and even to the world that we don't care? This is God's House. We must treat it as such. From how we clean it to how many times we cut the grass. There should never a day go by that every one of us hasn't done our part to keep it clean and looking its best. We must be careful what we say and how we say it. Whether you believe it or not that is what God expects from us!
After Nehemiah was through examining the city walls and gates, verse 15 says that he spent the rest of the night in prayer. In verse 17 we find that Nehemiah didn't wait long before going into action. Listen; "Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach."
The very next day after his survey of the walls, a body of the village elders assembled to hear his report. Nehemiah reminded them of the disgraceful state the city is in. His speech must have been a real go-get-her because with much renewed enthusiasm in verse 18 the elders stand up and say let's "rise up and build." So Nehemiah fired up the Jews into action.
But listen to what happens next in verse 19; "But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughedì¥Á 5@ ð¿ 1/27
bjbjÏ2Ï2 "Z X X £/ ÿÿ ÿÿ ÿÿ ˆ " " " " " " " ¦ î î î 8 & l ì¥Á
5@ ð¿ 1/27
bjbjÏ2Ï2 "Z X X £/ ÿÿ ÿÿ ÿÿ ˆ " " " " " " " ¦ î î î 8 & l ide the covenant of God's promises. None had a claim from God to inherit any of the land. That is why Nehemiah took this stand.
First these men "mocked and ridiculed." This is usually the first weapon the devil uses. Some of you may have felt mocked and ridiculed even laughed at when you became a Christian and took a stand. The devil often uses people to ridicule our religious convictions. Some resort to criticisms. Others may threaten or slander our good names. If ridicule or slander doesn't work, the devil may try force. Whatever it takes to get us away from God, the devil will try.
And sad as it is to say, unfortunately, it doesn't have to come from beyond these doors. I've seen the times when the devil has used these same tactics from within God's house. That's why we have to be careful that the devil doesn't use us! Never be fooled into thinking that the devil can't use any of us to do his work! That's what he is good at. That what he's trained himself to do. And many Christians have been used by the devil to do his work. He can trick us into believing we are doing God' will when in reality, we are doing his work.
We must be careful every minute on what we say and do, because we may be hindering God's plans while at the same time believing we are doing God's will. This is what Saul was doing before he meets the Lord on the road to Damascus in Acts chapter 9. The devil can confused, manipulated and misled anyone of us. Yet he has no right to do so.
Jesus came to restore us back to God. Listen to Galatians 5:1; "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."
Now Galatians 4:4, 5; "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons."
What that means is that we do not need to be bound by the devil into doing his dirty work. No matter how innocent something might appear, we do not need to be slaves to slander or criticisms. The same goes for drugs, sex, alcohol, tobacco, or whatever may be controlling us.
Remember Paul's great cry, in 1 Corinthians 6:12? "I will not be brought under the power of anything!" (NIV). Why would Paul say this? Because he was under the power of God. This is what Nehemiah declares too in verse 20.
Friends, hopefully what we all have learned from chapter two is this; Satan takes advantage of every opportunity to accomplish his plans. Among those who profess to be the supporters of God's will you will also find those who unite with the devil. Even some who desire to do the work of God may yet halt or slow down God's plans simple by listening, reporting, full or half believing the slanders and those who criticize God's work. Prophets and Kings page 645 says; "Satan works with miraculous success through his agents." But, like Nehemiah, God's people are neither to fear nor to despise our enemies.
We are to put our trust in God alone. Never forget what Paul wrote in Romans 8:31;
"If God be for us, who can be against us?" Even with all his great discouragement, Nehemiah still made God his trust and defense. Let us have the same response of faith today as Nehemiah did in Nehemiah 4:20,
"Our God shall fight for us."
This is where we will pick up the story in a couple of weeks. Please read the next chapter before then so you will once more have a better idea of what we are studying.
|
