Tag: nehemiah

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Nehemiah-5-Generosity.mp3″]

Our text for today is Nehemiah 5:14-19.

Last week we looked at Nehemiah 5:1-13 and saw a beautiful picture of the gospel and what it expects from us. Nehemiah urges the people to forgive each other’s debts so they can all buy grains and keep their families alive so that the kingdom work can continue.

We learned that even we should be in a position to forgive those who hurt or frustrate us in words or deeds. And the reason we do that is because God forgives us of our sins and shows love in that manner. Our offense to God is not a small thing but still he chooses to forgive. We looked at three ways of how to do that –

1. Hold back our anger
2. Forget the hurt and show love
3. Stop talking about them

This week we will look at how Nehemiah sets an example to the people for the extension of God’s Kingdom and also conveys a key Kingdom principle that every Christian should follow.

[bctt tweet=”Laying down our rights for the sake of the Kingdom” username=”gatheringmumbai”]

While reading this passage, I realised that it is Nehemiah who is writing these things as a personal note maybe in his personal dairy about the events that are happening during the time the wall is being built, and the whole conversation seems to be addressed towards God and not to any man because he ends the passage by saying “Remember me favourably, my God, for all that I have done for this people”.

That shows me that he is not writing these accounts to prove anything to any man, I don’t even think that Nehemiah intended that his personal notes should be displayed publicly when he was writing them down.I God in his sovereignty planned that these notes should be added to the scriptures because Nehemiah was under the influence of the Spirit of God while he wrote them.

The reason I pointed it out to you is so that we understand that these are not boastful words of Nehemiah where he is trying to show off his achievements. But they are a humble declaration to God with an expectation of a reward from God alone.

He starts by saying in v14

Moreover, from the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, until his thirty-second year—twelve years—neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor.

One key lesson Nehemiah is teaching us is that leaders must be above reproach, proving to be examples to the flock as written in 1 Pet 5:1-4.

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

By all means Nehemiah had all the rights to enjoy what was offered to the Governor for his service towards the people. He rightly could have demanded a food allowance as his predecessors had done by taxing the people and then sending  servants out to collect the tax with force. The governor had a right to such an allowance, and Nehemiah could have imposed it upon the people.

But Nehemiah set aside his right to the governor’s food allowance and apparently bore these costs out of his own pocket. 

Many Christian leaders fall into the trap of thinking that their position gives them certain rights and power over the people. But when we look at Jesus as our example, we see that he laid aside all His rights, took a form of a servant and was obedient even to death on the cross.

Nehemiah gives two reasons why he started that trend for his people by laying aside his rights. First, He feared God (5:15b), and he was concerned “because the burden was heavy on this people” (5:18b). Every person who is leading and discipling another person must constantly remember that he is only a servant under God, and that he must answer to God someday. This is not “our” church; it is Christ’s church and we are just His under-shepherd. Fearing God means that we should not do things as others. We must fear God first and foremost.and, we must care about hurting people. To add to the burden of those who are already burdened would be insensitive and unloving.

Second; in doing so Nehemiah was setting an example of putting the work of God ahead of his own personal interest.

Another similar example in the bible is Paul, a man I personally admire the most and desire to follow in his footsteps. In 1 Cor 9:1-15 he writes

Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?Are you not the result of my work in the Lord?

Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. Don’t we have the right to food and drink? Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas? Or is it only I and Barnabas who lack the right to not work for a living?

Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyardand does not eat its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink the milk? Do I say this merely on human authority? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.”  Is it about oxen that God is concerned? Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because whoever plows and threshes should be able to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more?

But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.

Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.

But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me, for I would rather die than allow anyone to deprive me of this boast.

I am not trying to argue whether ministers should be supported financially or not. (I want you to hear what I say and not what I don’t say) It is all a question of what is better for the cause of the gospel and the extension of His kingdom.

If it is better for a minister to be able to devote himself full time to the care and teaching of God’s people, he should be supported. And there is nothing wrong about it.

But if it is better for him not to be supported that way, he shouldn’t.

There is something wrong with a minister who will only minister to God’s people if the money is right.

Nehemiah decided to lay down his rights for food allowance and other benefits because that was a better option to consider since the bondage was heavy on the people.

[bctt tweet=”This passage conveys a Kingdom principle that is applicable to every Christian.” username=”gatheringmumbai”]

I believe that Nehemiah & Paul is not just setting an example as a leader to other leaders but they are also conveying a Kingdom principle that is applicable to every Christian.

We read that in Phil 2

Read Phil 2:1-4

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit,if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

The principle is “Let each of you look not only to his own interest, but also to the interests of others”

And it points back to the gospel again in the following verses.

We see this principle in action in the book of Acts 2:44-45 ….. people were concerned about each other’s needs instead of holding back their money and possession and looking at their own interest. The result was v46-47 A growing church.

In the light of what we heard today lets search our hearts. What is that growing concern about the Kingdom of God that bothers you time and again? Like for example – It could be a concern for the lost and unsaved people of the world, it could be a concern for the state of the churches around us, it could be a concern for the orphans and the under privileged children in our city, it could be a concern for the widows and the aged people who are left on their own without any love and care, it could be a concern for the sick people who have lost hope. And what is it that God is asking you in particular to lay down and make a difference.

Nehemiah didn’t just lay down his rights but he gave out of his own pocket. And he did not give only his money and food but also gave himself for the service of the people.     

What is it that God is asking you to do? And to what extent are you willing to go to fulfill that call?

The Story of Eric Liddell is a beautiful example of a man who sacrificed and gave away his rights for the sake of the Kingdom.

One interesting thing I want to point out at the end of the passage is that Nehemiah was not working for man’s applause, but for God’s “well done.”

V19 – Remember me favorably, my God, for all that I have done for this people.

Matthew Henry (Matthew Henry’s Commentary [Scripture Truth Book Company], 2:1085) writes, “He mentions it to God in prayer not as if he thought he had hereby merited any favor from God, as a debt, but to show that he looked not for any recompense of his generosity from men, but depended upon God only to make up to him what he had lost and laid out for his honor; and he reckoned the favor of God enough.” We all should labor for God’s approval and reckon it enough, even if people do not say ’thanks’.

Nehemiah 4:9-14

And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night. In Judah it was said, “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.” And our enemies said, “They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.” At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times, “You must return to us.” So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

Background to the text: The story of Nehemiah starts out by mentioning the great trouble and shame that came upon the Israelites because the city walls were broken and the gates were destroyed by fire. On hearing this news, Nehemiah fasts and weeps for many days confessing his sins and the sins of the people. He knew that the reason why they were in trouble was because of the sins of the people. The walls were a mirror image of the condition of their hearts. The hearts of the people were far away from God.

In the midst of that God calls Nehemiah out of his life of comfort to lead the people back to God. God provides favor in the eyes of the King, he approves of the rebuilding plan and the Jews finally after 150 years start rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. You can imagine how big a deal it was for them! Two weeks back we looked at the first eight verses of Chapter 4 where we find a lot of opposition to the rebuilding work.

The enemy cities around Jerusalem taunted them and plotted ways to hinder the work. We learnt that there’s always a cost when it comes to obeying God’s Word. There is opposition from within – your own flesh and there’s opposition on the outside – when you’re persecuted and insulted. We need to be a community of Jesus followers willing to pay the cost for being obedient to God.

Today we’ll be looking through verses 9-14 of Chapter 4. I believe the text teaches us two things:

1. The priority of prayer
2. What it means to be in a Promise filled Partnership with God

The Priority of Prayer

V8 And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. 9 And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.

In verses 8, we see how the enemy nations get together and plot against the Jews to distract them from rebuilding the walls. They were furious when they came to know that the walls were being rebuilt. They concluded that the elevation of Jerusalem meant the depression of their state and an insult to their national dignity. They couldn’t allow that to happen so they began to plot and scheme.

V9 says that in response to that Jerusalem prayed to God!

In the previous chapters, we’ve already seen how Nehemiah turned to God in prayer at every point. Now it’s beginning to rub off on the Israelites as well.

Genuine faith is always contagious!

Why did they have to pray in the first place? Didn’t God already know that they were facing severe opposition? Doesn’t Jesus say that “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him”? (Matt 6:8) What happens when we pray? I think it’s a good time to remind ourselves about the doctrine of prayer.

The truth is that God doesn’t want us to pray so that he can find out what we need. He already knows. He wants us to pray so that our dependence on Him can increase. When we approach God in prayer, we express a trust in Him, that God hears and answers our prayers. That’s why Jesus compares our prayers to a child asking his father for a fish or an egg (Lk 11:9-11). A child expects and trusts his father to provide for his needs. Similarly we ought to expect, in faith that God will provide for us. Our dependency on God increases through prayer.

Secondly, God does not only desire that our trust in Him grows through prayer, but He also wants our love and our relationship with Him to deepen. What happens when we truly pray is that the wholeness of our character relates to the wholeness of God’s character. What I mean by that is that everything we think and feel about God also gets communicated while praying to God. This in turn will deepen our love and understanding of God, and therefore deepens our relationship with Him. God absolutely delights in that! And God loves that! He delights that you make much of Him as you pray!

Lastly, what happens when we pray is that it allows us to be participants of a story that is bigger than our own. Through prayer, we are aligned to God’s kingdom purposes that have eternal significance. Isn’t that what Jesus referred to when he prayed the Lord’s prayer: “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. It’s not without reason that great revivals broke out of an intense time of prayer.

Prayer is THE thing for a believer in Christ. Your dependence of God increases, your love and relationship with Him grows and it realigns you to God’s will and gives you a burden for eternal purposes. I like one definition that I heard about prayer: Prayer is a very important vehicle through which God accomplishes His purposes through our lives!

How often have we viewed “prayer” as something so vital and indispensable to the Christian walk? Why do you go to God in prayer? Do you seek to depend more on God, trust Him more fully, deepen your love relationship with Him and align your life to God’s will through prayer?

And I think the phrase “we prayed to our God” should push us to also focus on corporate prayer. When a brother or a sister in the Lord shares a struggle, when we think about the lost in the city, when we think about growing in our love for Christ, does it move us to pray as a church?

Prayer must be a priority for a Christian both personally and corporately!

What it means to be in a Promise filled Partnership with God

Now we’ll come across three different types of challenges that we face while trying to do what God has asked us to do. I’ll list down the three challenges and then we’ll look at the faithful response to those challenges:

1) The enormity of the problem

In Judah it was said, “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.” (v10)

They suddenly realized that the vigor and strength of the porters who carried the load were wavering. They were becoming weaker. They saw the debris on the ground and they were like “we can’t do this! It’s impossible.”

Have we been in a similar place before? You’re looking at the circumstance around you and you feel defeated. The problem is too huge to be fixed. Maybe it’s a struggle with sin, you’ve tried different ways of removing and controlling it, but you’re left helpless and defeated. You respond by “I can’t do this. It’s impossible”. Maybe you’re crushed by the weight of the task to reach the lost. You look around you at 23 million people and it leaves you feeling perplexed and discouraged. Maybe it’s a broken relationship with a family member or a friend, you don’t think there’s a possibility of seeing that relationship restored and so you’ve given up. The problem is enormous!

2) The threat of the enemy

11 And our enemies said, “They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.”

The enemy’s plan was to secretly surprise and invade the Israelites as they were building the walls. By killing the Jews, the work would inevitably stop. That was their aim. Just think about the Israelites, what were they risking in the rebuilding process? Their own lives!What would happen if someone threatened you because of your faith? You’re living out your faith radically but that doesn’t settle too well with some people. Have you considered that cost of following Jesus? Maybe it’s not physical persecution in your case but what about social and psychological persecution. What would happen if you were threatened to be removed from your circle of friends because of your love for Jesus? Or being mocked and insulted for being a Jesus follower?

What would happen if someone threatened you because of your faith? You’re living out your faith radically but that doesn’t settle too well with some people. Have you considered that cost of following Jesus? Maybe it’s not physical persecution in your case but what about social and psychological persecution. What would happen if you were threatened to be removed from your circle of friends because of your love for Jesus? Or being mocked and insulted for being a Jesus follower?What about persecution in your college or workplace? What if obedience to Christ cost you your job or your studies? You were trying to share your faith but it didn’t go down well with the management. These threats hit us at the core of our faith because of the cost involved.

What about persecution in your college or workplace? What if obedience to Christ cost you your job or your studies? You were trying to share your faith but it didn’t go down well with the management. These threats hit us at the core of our faith because of the cost involved.

3) The discouragement from family and friends

At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times, “You must return to us.”(v12)

Ten times! Ten times family members and friends of the Jews who heard these enemy threats came and tried to persuade the Israelites to quit and return back from to safety.

I think one of the hardest things to deal with is the discouragement we receive from family and our close friends. You’re trying to live out your faith in obedience and the people who have a lot of influence over you are trying to pull you away. The pressure is immense because they’re the ones who’ve poured into you, invested in your life and supported you. Sometimes it’s out of a genuine concern but in reality it is a discouragement from being obedient to God. Just imagine being put in a position where you’re confronted by your family & your only response is that you need to be obedient to God. In other words you’re put in a spot where there’s no other explanation or reason to their questions except that you want to be obedient to God. How hard is that? I know of many cases where family was their breaking point in obedience to God.

And this is how they responded to the enormity of the problem, the threat of the enemy and the discouragement from family and friends:So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. 14 And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. 14 And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.

Nehemiah reminds them of who God is! He tells them to recall and bring to mind who God is and what He has done for them. We end up having a skewed understanding about the character of God due to our sin. That was the impact of the fall when Adam and Eve sinned. They questioned and doubted the goodness of God and thought he was withholding something good from them by telling them not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Similarly, all of our unbelief stems from a wrong understanding of God. So what can change that? God’s character and promises! We need to be frequently reminded because we’re professional forgetters.

You may think you can’t have victory over your sin, you probably feel weighed down by the enormous task of the mission, or the helplessness with respect to seeing that broken relationship restored…God is great and awesome! He’s bigger than your situation. “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jer 32:27)You might be facing severe threats from enemies who don’t want you to be obeying God. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. (Ps 18:2)

And the same goes with the discouragement that comes from family. When the people closest to us seem distant, the reminder is that “Our God will never leave us, nor forsake us”.

Lastly, I find it interesting that Nehemiah said “and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes”. There was prayer, there was a reminder of God’s character and promises but let’s not forget that there was also a fight! Active involvement of the Israelites was required.And that’s one of the key things about the Christian life. It is a partnership with God. More specifically, it is a responsive partnership! There is a responsibility on our part but it is always responsive! That’s how God designed it to be. For eg: God commands us to do something and as responsive partners we obey. In fact it was this partnership that was majorly affected in the Fall. Man no longer wanted to be in a partnership with God. He wanted to be independent of God thus bringing the wrath of God upon himself. But God is so loving that He sent His one and only Son to die in our place to satisfy the wrath of God. God saves us by sending Jesus to die on the cross and in response we put our trust in Jesus. God reveals His glory and in response we worship! Even in the challenges that were mentioned today: struggle with sin, broken relationships, weight of the mission, tough circumstances that you’re facing, threats of the enemy and the

And that’s one of the key things about the Christian life. It is a partnership with God. More specifically, it is a responsive partnership! There is a responsibility on our part but it is always responsive! That’s how God designed it to be. For eg: God commands us to do something and as responsive partners we obey. In fact it was this partnership that was majorly affected in the Fall. Man no longer wanted to be in a partnership with God. He wanted to be independent of God thus bringing the wrath of God upon himself. But God is so loving that He sent His one and only Son to die in our place to satisfy the wrath of God. God saves us by sending Jesus to die on the cross and in response we put our trust in Jesus. God reveals His glory and in response we worship! Even in the challenges that were mentioned today: struggle with sin, broken relationships, weight of the mission, tough circumstances that you’re facing, threats of the enemy and the discouragement from family and friends…know that even at this point God wants you to be actively involved. You are still a responsive partner. There is a fight!

You’ll need to fight for your faith. Fight for your purity. Fight to seek restoration in relationships. Fight to continue being missional. Fight to not quit while facing threats. Fight to honor God even when your family pressurizes you.

I’m not advocating a self-effort Christianity but also neither do I want to swing to the other extreme and use the grace and power of God as an excuse to exempt us from actively “working out our salvation”. God empowers us to obedience, a process in which we’re actively involved as responsive partners.Where specifically in your life is God asking you to be a responsive partner today? What do you need to fight for today?

Where specifically in your life is God asking you to be a responsive partner today? What do you need to fight for today?Let our study on the priority of prayer and the meaning of being in a Promise filled Responsive partnership with God change the way we respond to God this week.

Let our study on the priority of prayer and the meaning of being in a Promise filled Responsive partnership with God change the way we respond to God this week.

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Nehemiah-4.mp3″]

Last week we looked at Nehemiah 3 and learnt that the walls we build are not the walls of separation but of distinction. God did not call us to separate ourselves from the world, people and the culture around us. In fact, he wants us to be involved in the affairs of our culture but as distinct people of God living exemplary lives for the Glory of God.

Today our text is Nehemiah 4:1-8.

Nehemiah was a cup bearer to the King and when he heard the news that his people who came out of exile were in great distress and shame because the walls of Jerusalem were broken down; his immediate response was to go to God in prayer.

He wept and mourned for days, repented of his sins and asked God to intervene and help him find favor in the eyes of the King. In response to Nehemiah’s prayer, God turns the King’s attention to him. When the King gets to hear Nehemiah’s condition he grants him permission to go build the walls and not just that, he also permits him to take any resource needed to build the walls.

Nehemiah in obedience to Gods calling upon his life leaves for Jerusalem and starts inspecting, planning and gathering people. In Nehemiah 3 we see the building work already started. Almost everyone participated and it seemed like a well thought strategy, everyone started building the walls in parts and at different locations.

Just like Nehemiah God has a calling on each one of our lives, some of you have already discovered your calling and some of you are yet to hear from the Lord. As a church God has called us to be a blessing to the city of Mumbai, to reach the unreached with the Gospel of Jesus.

Remember, the first step, the key step, the only step that will lead us to fulfillment of our calling is unconditional obedience to God’s word and his calling just like Nehemiah stepped out in obedience and saw God’s blessing in everything he did.

I don’t how you view obedience but let me tell you it’s not an easy thing to do.

When I was growing up like I said, I was born in a Christian family and I was told that if I live an obedient Christian life everything will work out fine for me. ‘God will make you successful and bless you with great wealth and comfortable life. Look at those families settled in America and doing well, they are prayerful people, regularly attending church and reading their bible every day. They are good people blessed by God, and that is what God wants for all his children, a wealthy, successful and a comfortable life.’ There were some of the statements made.

But here’s the thing no one told me. They never told me that obedience to God will also lead to suffering, opposition, persecution & insults.

When Nehemiah stepped out in obedience to God, he faced opposition and insults. It says in Nehemiah 4:1-3

“When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious, completely enraged, and he ridiculed the Jews. He spoke before his brothers and the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Can they restore it for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they finish in a day? Can they revive the stones from the heaps of dust and rubbish, even the ones that have been burned?” Now Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Even what they are building—if a fox should get up on it, he would break down their stone wall.”

Obedience is not easy. We have to pay a cost for following Jesus. Wish I could tell you that Christian life is a bed of roses if you followed Jesus’ commands, but that would be a lie.

Let me warn you beforehand that obedience demands a cost. A Christian life is a life of battle, you have to fight it.

1Tim 6:12 – Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

I think of people who talk about prosperity & comfortable life as ones who’ve never read the Bible carefully. Because when I read the bible and especially the words of Jesus it goes completely against the teachings of this world.

In Matthew 6:25-34

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

How many of you find this easy to obey?

I remember once as a young boy I quoted these verses to my Father when he was insisting that I should plan my future and find ways to make money to survive. He got really angry on me for saying that.

He even told me that too much involvement in the church was driving me crazy and that I should restrain myself from it.

2 Timothy 3:12

Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

The first opposition you will face will be from your own flesh.

Gal 5:17

“For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.”

When God calls you to obedience your own flesh will come against you with raging war,

Your SELF will fill your mind with doubts like ‘Does God really mean that I need to go against my natural cravings, isn’t that the way God made me?’.

Your SELF will fill your minds with unbelief like ‘Does God really exist, is He really looking at me while I’m watching pornography? Well I can’t see him.

You SELF will provoke you to compromise and manipulate the scriptures like ‘God is loving and gracious and I don’t think he would mind me getting involved in small little sins here and there.’

Your flesh will be your greatest enemy.

But the good news is Rom 7:23.

But I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.

God is at work since the day we surrendered our lives to Christ. The Bible says that Jesus has already won the victory over sin and death. Even Jesus suffered a painful death for the sake of obedience to God. In his flesh he desired that God would take away the cup of suffering but yet he said not my will, but yours be done.

And what kind of suffering did Jesus endure?

Isaiah 53:3-12

He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.

The question I want to ask you today is, How far are you willing to go when it comes to obeying God?

Are you willing to endure suffering and persecution and insults?

1 Peter 4:12-14

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

1 Peter 3:17

For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

You own people will stand against you for doing things that doesn’t fit their agenda.

You colleagues at work will hate you, and mock at you for your beliefs and steps of obedience.

You will be dragged & questioned by evil people for proclaiming the gospel

1 John 3:13

Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.

But here’s a promise from the Lord.

2 Cor 4:8-12

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

Nehemiah had to face opposition for being obedient to God.

And how do we respond to opposition? Jinson beautifully explained it a few Sundays back in quoting Romans 12:17-21

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

In the story of Nehemiah what really stood out to me was verse 6 –

So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.

They did not give up on what God called them to do even in the face of opposition, persecution and insults. And eventually God fulfilled his promise and the wall was built.

And how did the people react?

But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry. And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.

More trouble…

As we close in, let’s reflect on the cost we will have to pay to be obedient to God word. How far are we willing to go? What will be our faithful response?

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/a-distinct-people-of-god.mp3″]

Last week Jinson shared a beautiful sermon on ‘Our response to Opposition while serving an unstoppable God’ from Nehemiah chapter 2.

We learned about the Unstoppable might of Gods plan unfolded in the life of Nehemiah, the significance of waiting & our faithful response while facing opposition.

Today let’s look at Nehemiah chapter 3.

After reading through chapter 3 you must have already realized that this chapter is a bit different from all the other chapters, the chapter is all about who built which part of the wall and that’s it.

Most people skip chapter 3 when they’re preaching through Nehemiah and commentaries are very short on this chapter. One of the best books on Nehemiah is “Hand Me Another Brick” by Chuck Swindoll and nor does he address chapter 3 in his book.

Basically, Nehemiah chapter 3 is where the rebuilding of the walls begins. The purpose for which Nehemaih was sent is now in progress.

As we see the walls being rebuilt, there are 2 questions we need to ask ourselves.

First Question – Why were the walls being rebuilt?

Yes, we did talk about it in the earlier chapter that the walls were built to protect the people from their enemies. But do you think that God really needed a wall to protect his people?

Second Question – What walls are we supposed to build around us today?

Most often as Christians we can conclude that the walls are the walls of separation; separation from the world, separation from the society, separation from the culture around us.

I’ve been a victim of this conclusion people made from the scriptures. Growing up in a Christian family I was always asked to separate myself from the world and to live a holy life. Psalms chapter 1 was always read out to me in defense to that lifestyle.

‘Do not stand in the way of sinners
Do not sit in the seat of the scoffers’.

But that’s not the truth. Our calling is not to build walls between ourselves and society. The point is not for us to separate ourselves from the culture around us.

Let’s turn our bible to Jeremiah 29:41-9 and see what God is saying to his people.

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the Lord.

God says to his people to find their welfare in the welfare of the city. The false prophet came and told the people to separate themselves — something that we are tempted to do today — but that was not what God had for His people).
We must remember that we have been called into the world — to be in the world, but not of the world.

Jesus Christ when he was in this world demonstrated that lifestyle for us. He was often found among unbelievers, tax collectors, people who were rejected by society and the religious people of that generation, the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

Just last week I was having a conversation with one of my friend in the office and he said to me, ‘If we ignore the fact that Jesus was the son God and just a mere man, what he said and did while he was on this earth would look quite offensive to the current generation Christians’. He was a radical man with a radical approach to life and people around him.

In John 17:13-18 Jesus said,

“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them,for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

Often a wrong understanding leads Christians into wrong behavior towards others.

As Christians we can go to work and never interact with people from other religious backgrounds, we distance ourselves, we judge them wrongly, look down on them for their beliefs, never participate in their fun activities, avoid going to movies with them, avoid parties etc.

Remember, God is always on a mission and as God’s children we are on a mission. There must be proximity to the people who don’t know Him in order to show them who God is. So, why rebuild these walls then?

The walls are much more to do with Distinction.

While we are not called to separate ourselves from the world, we are called to be the distinct people of God. We are different from people who don’t know Him. We have been ransomed by Jesus Christ, bought back from the world. We’ve been saved from Satan, Sin & Death but we’ve also been saved to a newness of life, one in which our lives look drastically different than the world looks. And our desire now should be to put this newness of life on display and making the distinctions obvious so that it can be the aroma of life to some.

I believe that the wall around Jerusalem should be thought of us analogy to the wall of distinction around God’s people today. Not a wall to separate, but a wall to identify.

But here’s the beautiful thing, Jesus went outside the wall, he went outside the camp. And so are we called to live.

Not just are we called to live outside the camp but we are called to live Exemplary lives, one that Glorifies God in everything we do.

We see a snapshot list in Hebrews 13:1-16, a kind of lifestyle we are called to live.

• Let brotherly love continue.
• Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
• Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.
• Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
• Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
• Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.
• Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.
• Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood, therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.
• Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
• Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
The first section of this text talks about the importance of distinction. The second section talks about how we use that distinction to give ourselves away outside the walls (the camp).

It’s a privilege to be called a distinct people of God and our response is to faithfully serve him and live for His glory till the last breath of our lives.

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Nehemiah-Jinson2.mp3″]

One of the most challenging issues to deal with as Christians is responding to opposition. How do we respond to people who ridicule us and oppose us for doing what God has called us to do? In the midst of that how do you initiate or continue doing something that God has called you to do?

Wouldn’t you agree? The question seems simple but all of us agree that it isn’t so simple. So we’ll attempt to answer this question and some others as we look into the text today.

(Read Nehemiah chapter 2)

It’s been a joy reading through Nehemiah, right? I’ve seen how Nehemiah’s prayer life and devotion to God has impacted my own prayer life. It’s an amazing story of how God restores the hearts of the people to Himself. The physical condition of the wall pointed to the spiritual condition of the hearts of the people. It was in ruins! And God chose a man disconnected from the people and from the situation in Jerusalem to come and lead the people out of misery. When you think about it, it’s astonishing how God operates. He doesn’t nominate and select the people we think are the best fit but God selects people who are willing to humbly submit to His leading. Nehemiah, cup-bearer to the king was chosen by the King of Kings for a much greater calling…redeeming God’s people!

Let’s jump into the text.

1. The unstoppable might of God’s plan

v8 And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.

v9 Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. 10 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.

In V8, Nehemiah makes a statement saying that God’s hand was upon him and therefore the king responded to his requests favorably. V9 is now a description of that favor.

Nehemiah doesn’t land up in his home town all alone. He arrives with an entourage! Who all are there in his company? Officers of the army and horsemen. This shows the authority that backed this decision to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Not only did he have letters for the governors of the province but he was also accompanied by the officials of the palace to add credibility to the whole order. It’s pretty clear that this was a work of God. It wasn’t Nehemiah’s convincing ability or friendship to the king that made this possible. God worked in the heart of the king to not only show favor but also fully support the initiative. How Sovereign and awesome is our God?

On the other hand in v10 we also see the tension and the opposition that Nehemiah faces. Sanballat was a governor of the Samaria region and Tobiah was probably his secretary. It says that it “displeased them greatly”. The Hebrew words for that actually describe it as a strong emotion that actually makes a person tremble or shake with rapid motion. Just shows how angry they were by this decision. Now why would they have a problem with “someone who came to seek the welfare of the people of Israel”?
These men concluded that the elevation of Jerusalem virtually meant the depression of Samaria; that, indirectly, Nehemiah had come to lower the dignity if not to lessen the prosperity of their state, and they counted him an enemy.

That’s how dangerous envy and jealously can be. It’s not just a trivial feeling that can be overlooked. It will result in disastrous end.

James 3:16 says “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.”

These two characters will be mentioned a lot in the course of this book as they try various deceptive means to thwart this whole plan. The truth is they weren’t fighting against Nehemiah, they were fighting against God Himself. And that’s a scary position to be in because if you’re fighting against God, there’s only going to be one victor! God.

Shouldn’t that encourage you and I today? God’s plan is glorious and unstoppable! He is redeeming people and drawing people to Himself from every corner of the earth. Nobody or nothing can stop his plan. Why? Because God Himself is the one working in hearts and creating circumstances for people to respond to him. People who oppose this plan do not fight against man but against God! That should encourage us as we step out and share our faith every day. The question isn’t if God’s plan will work or not….God’s plan is unstoppable! The question is “are you on God’s side today”?

2. The significance of Waiting before Acting

V11: So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. Then I arose….

It seems like a short statement but it’s loaded with implications for our faith. Nehemiah got the approval, letters and even officials from the Persian King. What would you and I do if we were in his shoes? We would go to Jerusalem…convene a meeting with all the elders. Tell them that we need to start building and just do it, right?
I find it intriguing that Nehemiah goes to Jerusalem and waits there for 3 days. What do you think he did in those 3 days? He prayed. Even though it’s not explicitly mentioned in the text, but I think it’s quite possible that he spent those 3 days praying and asking God to act.

I think that’s the case because:

1) In chapter 1 when Hanani comes to him and shares the sad state of affairs of his people and the city, he responds with prayer and fasting for months.

2) In chapter 2, just before he makes a request to the king, he prays and asks God for help.

So there’s every reason to think that this might have been the purpose of the wait in Jerusalem before he went ahead and did something.

And it’s got huge implications for us today. The reason why waiting on the Lord and praying is tough for many of us is not just because we are impatient. I think it’s because we struggle to believe that it’s God who actually acts and works through us! We want to hold on to every ounce of control so that in the end if it works out, we’d be able to take the credit/glory for making an active contribution.

Let’s try and apply it to our own lives:

1. How much of waiting on the Lord in prayer goes into the important decisions of your life? Where to live? Where to move to? Which job to take? Which school to go to? Whom to marry? What kind of lifestyle to have?

2. When you think about reaching the city and planning strategies, are you really asking the Lord for direction and guidance or are you trying to work things out with your own intellect and ability?

I’m not saying that having a plan is wrong. It’s important and in fact as you even see in Nehemiah’s story…he had a plan. He knew what he wanted even before he made a request to the king. In v12-16, we learnt that he inspected the walls, formulated a plan and then spoke to the people of Judah. It’s good to have a plan but what I’m saying here is often we make decisions and plans expecting God to bless it but neglecting the need to seek God before we make those decisions and plans. And sometimes we make our plans sound so Christianized and spiritual, but we need to ask ourselves: is God really in all of this?

Proverbs 16:1-3 offers us some help:

The plans of the heart belong to man,
but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,
but the Lord weighs the spirit.
Commit your work to the Lord,
and your plans will be established.

Jesus being the Son of God would often retire to quiet places to meditate. Obviously he had plans and knew exactly what he was doing on the earth. But still he understood the significance of waiting before acting. How does that speak to our hearts today?

3. The faithful response while facing opposition

Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” 18 And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work. 19 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” 20 Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim[a] in Jerusalem.” [ V17-20]

We see Sanballat, Tobiah come into the picture once again. This time along with an Arab named Geshem. What they did this time is accuse Nehemiah of rebelling against the king. Defying the king’s orders. What they’re probably referring to is Ezra 4 when the Persian King commanded the Jews to stop rebuilding the walls. This time however, as we’ve seen Nehemiah arrives in Jerusalem with the blessing of the king.
What I find interesting is that Nehemiah doesn’t respond to their taunts by showing them the king’s letter or retaliating with more insults, he responds by a declaration of trust in what God would do. And that’s remarkable. He realized that this whole plan and mission wasn’t his own agenda. It wasn’t his own random decision to come to Jerusalem and rebuild the wall. God awakened his heart to the situation in Jerusalem, God gave him favour in the sight of the king…all he did was respond in obedience. Even in v12, he makes that very clear.
And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem.

Therefore, he knew that it would be God who would also finish and complete the whole rebuilding task. “God initiates, God sustains and God completes what He plans to do”: A clear understanding and faith in the person and plan of God enabled Nehemiah to respond in that way.

Often the reason why we react in retaliation or frustration to insults is because we fail to believe in the character and promises of God. Because we don’t believe in some aspect of the character and promises of God, we want to take matters into our own hands and we retaliate.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Rom 12:17-20)

What this means is that our God is just and that He will bring about judgment on those who act wickedly towards us but let God be the one who judges. In this case, trusting in the Justice of God enables us to
not take revenge and show love and concern to our enemies.

The fact is that all of us deserved the wrath and judgment of God because of our sins. God is Holy and He tolerates no evil and no sin. We on the other hand are sinful not only in our actions but are sinful by nature. Therefore, by nature you and I are enemies of a Holy God. But God showed His great love and mercy on us by sending His one and only Son Jesus to die for your sins and mine. All your sins were paid for on the cross and God’s judgment was poured on Jesus instead of you and I. Christ showed grace when we didn’t deserve, so now we show grace even to our enemies.

How do you respond when faced with insults for your faith? How do you respond when people mock you and ridicule you for doing what God has called you to do?

As God calls us to be obedient to Him, as He draws us into more areas where we’ll need to trust Him, we’ll often face opposition. This is going to happen to us personally as we look to obey God’s call on our lives and even corporately as we seek to honor him together as a family. In both cases, we know that God’s plans are unstoppable: Nobody or nothing can stop Him. We’re called to wait on Him in prayer before we act so that we know that it’s God who acts and works through us. And this helps us respond graciously to our enemies as we trust in God’s character and His promises.

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/nehemiah.mp3″]

Since last few weeks we’ve been doing this series on the Book of Nehemiah.

We looked through chapter 1 and now moving on to chapter 2

Here’s a short summary of Nehemiah’s story so far –

This story is from 445 BC, a story recorded in the Bible. The people of God disobeyed and rebelled against Him. In return, God turned them over to their enemies and they were expelled from their native country for almost 70 years. Nehemiah was one of those exiled people who ended up as a cup-bearer to the Persian King Artaxerxes and was stationed at his winter palace in Susa the citadel.

After 70 years of exile, the people of God were now coming back to their native country led by two other men called Zerubbabel & Ezra. Nehemiah is living  a comfortable life as a cup-bearer to the King and after hearing the news of his people he is devastated and for almost 4 to 5 months he fasts, mourns and prays to God reflecting on His promises and asking him to show compassion in the eyes of the king so he can go to his people and rebuild the walls again.

Week 1 – We saw how the Book of Nehemiah was primarily the Story of God. It’s a story that gives us a glimpse of how God graciously worked among His people just after the great exile. We saw God as a Promise-making, covenant keeping, loving and gracious God. It ultimately points us to Jesus Christ and his sacrifice on the cross that rescued us from sin, shame, death and defeat. God kept his promise and displayed his love and grace by making a new covenant with us through his son.

Week 2 – We looked at Nehemiah’s reaction when he heard that his people were in great danger. In the light of Gods saving grace, we learned that it’s never too late to turn back to God, that Gods timing is always perfect and even through our failures and short-comings he is always Glorifying himself in and through us.

Week 3 – We saw Nehemiah’s response in prayer, a patient, heartfelt, long-suffering prayer. His prayer starts with God at the center, he owns his sins, he reflects on Gods promises and ultimately desires that God’s WILL would be fulfilled in all of it.

Last week I was personally convicted of two things 1) I felt that I never started on the right note before stepping into this ministry and that I hardly spend time seeking God the way I should be. 2) I felt at times I’ve been quite complacent and ignorant about the pain, suffering, needs of the people in this city to whom we want to reach out. And as I confessed and repented before the Lord last week I felt God’s peace and a newness in my spirit.

For this week, the passage we will look into is Nehemiah 2:1-8. We will learn about God’s Sovereignty, Graciousness and Provision and what should be our right response to all of it.

Let’s read through Nehemiah 2

One day after around 4-5 months, Nehemiah as usual goes to the King to serve him and unlike other days, Nehemiah was quite sad in the presence of the king. Interestingly the King notices his sorrowful countenance and asks him the reason for this .

Nehemiah’s reaction implies that he did not expect the King to ask him that question because he became afraid when the King questioned him. He firstly responds by saying “Let the king live forever” indicating that he means no harm to the king in anyway. He then personalizes the problem saying “the city where my father belonged to is in ruins, its gates are destroyed by fire.”

And when the king asks him for his request, he immediately makes a quick prayer to the Lord going on to say “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my father’s graves, that I may rebuild it”. When the king asked him about his return he immediately gave him a time and also added “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the prince beyond the river, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the Kings forest that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city and for the house that I shall occupy.

And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me”.

When I look at this passage the first thing that strikes me is God Sovereignty over the situation.

What seems like a casual interaction between Nehemiah & King Artexerxes was pre-ordained by God,  He was in complete control from the beginning of the story. We can sometimes wrongly conclude by thinking that because Nehemiah prayed, God acted or else the walls of Jerusalem would have been in ruins forever.

But the truth is, it’s the other way around. God in His sovereignty prepared Nehemiah’s heart to fall on his knees in prayer so that He can act.

Psalms 135:6 says “Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps“

Psalms 115:3 says “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever he pleases“

Isaiah 46:10 God declares “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my pleasure“

Imagine a chess game between a grand master and an inexperienced young player. No matter what  strategy the new guy starts comes up with, the master ultimately find his way around to win the game.

In our story God is the grand master, his ultimate goal is His Glory. We are like the young player, no matter what wise orfoolish choices we make in our pursuit of fulfilling Gods purposes in our lives God ultimately finds His way around to bring us to a point where He is glorified in and through us. Isn’t that amazing!

God uses us and our circumstances ultimately to bring Glory to His name.

And that’s what he did in Nehemiah’s life and that’s what is does in our life.

God is the story writer, the cinematographer, the producer, the director and even the main character of a film that when released will shake the foundations of humans beliefs and change the course of human history forever.

We are the fortunate ones that God has chosen as instruments in his hand.

I look at my past and see God’s sovereignty over every aspect of my life. My failures, my successes, my disappointments, my anxieties, my hardships, my wrong choices, my right choices … all of it seems to be so much orchestrated by a sovereign God who desires His glory more than anything else.

Our God is a sovereign God.

Talking about Gods sovereignty, once Abraham Lincoln was sitting with his ministers and while addressing a problem one of his ministers turned to him and said “we should pray that God is on our side” to which Abraham Lincoln said “Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.”

The second thing I see in this passage is God’s gracious heart towards his people. I love the portion in Ezra’s prayer in

Ezra 9:8-9 he says “Even in our slavery, God has given us new life and light to our eyes. Though we we are slaves, our God has not abandoned us in slavery. He has extended grace to us in the presence of the Persian kings“

Ezra 9:13 – “Our God have punished us less than our sins deserved and have allowed us to survive“

We see God’s graciousness evident even in Nehemiah’s situation. In verse 8 Nehemiah says “And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me“.

The third thing we see is God’s provision for his people. God not only moved the king’s heart to release Nehemiah from his duty but also to provide timber to make beams for the gates and for the walls.

When God Calls, He also Equips. When God Calls, He Enables. When God Calls you, He qualifies you. When God Calls, He Provides, Equips, Enables, Qualifies & Provides.

God provided Nehemiah everything he desired to re-build the walls of Jerusalem for the protection of his people.

When Jane & I decided to move to this new church plant in mumbai we did not anticipate anything, we had no clue where we will be heading to. All we wanted to do was to follow the Lords leading and here we are enjoying God’s blessing and favor.

He gave us a family  to encourage us, build us, cover us, pray for us, Love us, care for us. Just the last week the owner of this hall where we meet called us into his office and brought down our rent money to less than half. Isn’t that God’s favor?

Matthew 6:33 – When we seek Gods kingdom and his righteousness he promises to provide everything that we need.

Remember he is a promise making and covenant keeping God.

Hers’s how Nehemiah responded to Gods sovereignty, graciousness & provision.

1. Because he knew that God will extend His grace as He did in the past Nehemiah trusted in him –He knew God will show up and did not lose hope.

You see Nehemiah saw God changing the Assyrian king’s attitude toward them in Ezra 6:22 “For seven days they celebrated with joy the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because the LORD had filled them with joy by changing the attitude of the king of Assyria so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel.”

On the other hand he also knew that it was King Artaxerxes who had in the past decreed that work of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem should stop. (Ezra 4:23).

There was hope as well as uncertainty & risk but Nehemiah knew God will act and show grace.

The question we need to ask ourselves is how are we doing in the aspect of trusting in him?

When things get rough do we believe God to be the grand weaver who is at work and is making everything beautiful in his perfect time?

When our hearts are driven towards sin and temptation, do we believe and constantly remind ourselves of the power of the Gospel that is constantly at work in our lives?

Or do we lose hope and give up on God?

Nehemiah trusted in God.

As a church, God  has called us to be a blessing to the city of Mumbai. Are we willing to trust God and put our hope in him for growth and fruitfulness?

Man says,‘Show me and I’ll trust in you’. God says, ‘Trust in me and I will show you’.

We can’t always see where the road leads but God promises there’s something better up ahead, we just have to trust him.

2. Because Nehemiah knew God is sovereign, He waited on the Lord– He not only trusted but waited on the Lord till he showed up. Almost for 4-5 months he continued fasting and praying until one day God showed up at the Kings palace.

Waiting is one of the hardest things to do, isn’t it? Especially for our generation who are used to instant gratification.

Psalms 37:34 Wait for the LORD and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land.

Lamentations 3:25 The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.

How are we doing with WAITING? I’m sure everyone here has been holding on to some promises of God over your life. How long are you willing to wait? It could be 5 days, 5 months, 5 years or even more.

Most often when we don’t see an answer from the Lord, our tendency is to work things out on our strength and wisdom. We can get carried away with the need so badly that we can fail to allow God to do his work in his time.and by doing that we make a mess of our lives.

Even though we know the scripture in Proverbs 3:5 that says “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” we still go back to working out things on our own.

Nehemiah could have done a 100 things on his own but he waited on the Lord and continued fasting, weeping and praying till God answered.

As a church lets continue to be in the posture of prayer as the Lord reminded us last Sunday, faithfully serving him; even sharing and witnessing to our friends, colleagues and the people God brings in our life.

At the right time God will show up and cause us to inherit His land for His glory. Amen.

3. Because Nehemiah knew God will provide, He was well prepared– Even before God showed up, Nehemiah had already prepared his heart to step out in faith. He had done the planning, he had counted the days because when the king asked him to give a definite date of his return he was prepared with an answer. He knew exactly what resources he would need for the building of the walls.

Our prepared heart is the evidence of our faith.

There were two farmers who prayed for rain while there was a drought in the land, but only one of them would get up in the morning and plough his field. Tell me which farmer trusted the Lord more?

God wants us to have a prepared heart just like Nehemiah so that when the opportunity comes we are ready to step up.

All you young men and ladies prepare yourselves in the Lord. Let’s not remain as infants feeding on milk. Soak yourselves in the Word of God, grow in your faith. Pray unceasingly, so that when the harvest is ready we will have enough laborers to gather the crops. You know what I am talking about.

God is doing a great work among us. He is building his Kingdom in the city of Mumbai. Either we are in or out. Today you will have to decide for yourself whether you want to trust in Him, wait for his perfect timing and stay prepared when the call comes.

God bless you!

Nehemiah’s Story is a part of our story… How? Because it is the story of God’s faithfulness to make a way for Jesus life death and resurrection bring salvation to sinners.

Nehemiah was awakened to God’s purposes and plan’s and was awakened to his own part in God’s grand story of redemption.

RECAP – Who is Nehemiah? What is going on in his heart?

Nehemiah was the Cup Bearer to the king (trusted)
He was living in the Persian Kings (Artexerxes) Winter Palace.

Nehemiah was comfortable, he had it good. But his people were broken, distraught and filled with shame. Nehemiah’s brother brings news of their people’s condition and Nehemiah’s heart was broken. He could not remain comfortable while his people sank in their shame.

Whatever we find comfort in we will spend all our time protecting and maintaining that. It will consume our thoughts, it will control our fears, and empty us of our time, talents, and affections…

Nehemiah was reminded…

// This is not who you are! //

You might be doing this job and God might have provided for you and his people through this job, or circumstance but that is not your identity… You are worth more than this and your purpose on the earth is greater than this BECAUSE

YOU BELONG TO GOD!

He chose you from the foundation of the earth to be spotless and without blemish He set you apart for HIS glory and HIS purposes!

Nehemiah’s response

Weeping, Praying, and Fasting:

This began in the month of Chislev and Nehemiah’s request to the king happened in the month of Nissan… The passage says that He prayed and fasted day and night… This season of prayer and fasting lasted anywhere from three – five months.

The prayer that we read is not one eloquent prayer it is the cliff notes of Patient, Heart-felt, long-suffering prayer.

Nehemiah went to God first and was was willing to wait on Him until he understood what God was doing.

Psalm 130:5
“I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;”

4 things we learn from Nehemiah’s prayer

1. Nehemiah prayer starts with God and was centered on God’s character and nature.
2. Nehemiah owned His sin (humility // dependance and need)
3. Nehemiah knew God’s promises (Creature of the word)
4. Nehemiah’s desire is for the scriptures to be fulfilled (God’s plan and not His own)

Related Sermons from the Nehemiah series:

• Nehemiah – A Covenant Making, Promise Keeping, Loving and Gracious God (04.04.2016)
• Nehemiah: It’s Never Too Late to Turn Back (11.04.2016)

We just started a new series from the book of Nehemiah. To put it plainly this is an amazing story of a covenant making, promise keeping, loving and gracious God!

Last week we were reminded about three truths about God:

1. God’s promises are bigger than our circumstances: When your circumstances trouble you and overwhelm you, know that even in those moments God’s promises are as sure and firm as a solid rock! You can bank your life on the certain and sure promises of God.
2. God’s faithfulness is bigger than our rebellion: That’s the assurance for sinners like you and me. Our destiny lies in the hands of an unchanging God. 1 John 1:9 says…if you confess your sins, he is faithful and just to forgive you from all your unrighteousness. Our forgiveness is based upon the faithfulness of an unchanging God.
3. The cycle of failing to keep God’s law is always broken by grace and provision of God: We all struggle to keep God’s law. We know that’s impossible for us in our flesh to obey God’s law perfectly as he demands. So God shows grace and provides a way through His Son by which that cycle can be broken. And that’s how He’s always operated right through history!!

And today we’ll be taking a closer look at the first four verses and look to apply those truths in our lives.

The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, 2 that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. 3 And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.” 4 As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. (Nehemiah1:1-4)

In the first verse we are introduced to this character called Nehemiah. And the setting is in the king’s palace because he was a cup-bearer to the king. It was an important position because it meant that he worked very closely with the King. That’s where Hanani, his brother and some other men from Judah come to meet him. And you see him inquire and question them about the Jews who survived the exile and the condition of Jerusalem.

Right away you understand that he’s concerned about his people. Even though he’s in a culture and a lifestyle that’s distant from the Israelites, he still retains his identity which is why he would want to know how things were back home. Another way of putting the question: these are the people of God…my people…how are they doing?

However, the fact that he would actually ask it showed that he was disconnected from what was taking place in Jerusalem. This was their answer:

And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.” V3

What are they referring to? In 2 Kings 25 it tells us how Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon burned the house of the Lord, the king’s house and the great houses of Jerusalem and the army broke down the walls around Jerusalem. And all of Judah were taken captive and brought out as prisoners of war!

By the time we reach the book of Ezra, we see that the people have returned back to Jerusalem and Judah and start the rebuilding process. Some of the enemy leaders of the province wrote a formal letter of complaint to the Persian King requesting him to stop the work that is taking place. They made it seem like something wicked was being plotted by the Israelites as they were rebuilding the walls. The King listens to them and writes back telling them to stop the work until another decree made by the King approves of that. The rebuilding work stopped soon after it began and the work was made to halt for another 15 years.

As a result, Jerusalem and the people are left open and defenseless against their enemies because they don’t have a city wall. So it’s not just for decorative purposes that they needed a city wall. It was absolutely necessary for protection! A lack of a city wall clearly brought trouble and shame to the Israelites as described by Hanani and the other men.

And this is how Nehemiah responds to the news. As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. (v4)

He understood the plight of his people. He began to feel the weight of the trouble and the shame that his people were going through. This was his wake up call! One thing we can infer from this text is that Nehemiah probably was going through a season of comfortability. He was working in the palace, he had a dignified position and a place in society, was man of influence. How do we know if he was being too comfortable and needed a wakeup call?

Look at his response…v6 and 7. He’s confessing the sins of his people and his own sins. How did that happen? He realized that what was happening to the remnant was not because of anything else but because they forsook God. The parallel of the city walls with the condition of the Israelites hearts is very evident. When the city walls were broken and torn down, it was also a reflection of the spiritual decline that had taken place. They were spiritually in ruins!
The brokenness of the people exposed and made him aware of his spiritual need for God. Immediately you see him turn to God in repentance. He got his wake up call!

Let’s just pause and think for a moment.

When you look at the moral and spiritual condition of the people around you…your family, your neighbors, your colleagues, your college friends and the 23 million people in the city, does it break your heart and move you to weep for them? Does it prompt you to pray for them because you realize they’ve forsaken God? When was the last time you wept and prayed for someone?

What would it take for us to be awakened to the reality of spiritual decline all around us?

It is a convicting question when we take a closer look at our comfortability and apathy. It is convicting to realize that we need to be awakened from our state of slumber. We need to be reminded that there is hope in the grace and provision of God!

Firstly, I want us to be encouraged by this truth. It’s never too late to turn back to God.

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13 and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and he relents over disaster. (Joel 2:12-13)

“Yet even now”…It wasn’t too late for Nehemiah and it isn’t too late for us! All of us realize that we’re not where we should be. Our burden and brokenness for our own sins and the lost in the world is not where it should be. We struggle with the same issue of comfortability and apathy just as Nehemiah did. However, let’s be encouraged by the fact that it’s not too late and God wants us to repent.

Secondly, his timing is perfect.

One would think that the people’s disobedience and Nehemiah’s apathy could ruin God’s plan but it’s not the case. God is still in firm control of everything as He has planned. He will redeem His people as He has ordained. After this prayer of repentance we see how Nehemiah’s position as a cupbearer to the King was carefully used by God to accomplish His purposes. Does that encourage you to know that even though we fail and mess up, everything is still on time on God’s watch?

Thirdly, God uses our failures for His glory.

God gave Nehemiah such fervor for God’s glory and concern for people that now Nehemiah is the man whom God uses to restore the people back to God!!! Who would’ve expected a person who is a public servant, disconnected from His people to be the leader appointed to complete the task of restoring the city walls and likewise the people’s hearts to God? And that’s the encouragement. If you feel today like you’ve failed in your service toward God, know that God can still use you as a powerful vehicle to display His glory if you repent and turn to Him. The reason for that is He is God! He delights in the humble submission of His people: People who seem to be ordinary and unworthy and failures by worldly standards but used in extraordinary ways for His glory.

What God calls us to is repentance and humble dependence on Him. Being transformed and used for the purposes of God is purely His doing. That’s a common pattern that you see in the Bible. People encounter a Holy God, their sin is revealed, they respond in repentance and humble dependence and it’s God who then commissions them. Let’s look at one of those passages in the Bible:

Isaiah 6:1-8

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called 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 shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

Isaiah’s Commission from the Lord
8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”

Again in v7 see a provision made from God to remove our sin and guilt. That could only be removed by a sacrifice on our behalf. We need to remember that our repentance is only made effectual by the death of Jesus on the cross. Apart from Jesus, there is no forgiveness, no cleansing and no service that will be acceptable to God. Jesus died in our place, purchased our freedom and now sends us to go and proclaim His glory!

And how do we respond to him? In humble dependence! Many times it’s our own sin that prevents us from seeing the brokenness around us. Let’s turn to the Lord in repentance – repenting of our sin, comfortability and apathy. Let’s ask God to break our hearts for the lost around us so that it moves us to weep and pray for them. All he requires from us is humble dependence on Him!

Related Sermons from the Nehemiah series:

• Nehemiah – A Covenant Making, Promise Keeping, Loving and Gracious God (04.04.2016)
• Nehemiah: A Patient, Heart-felt, Long-suffering Prayer (17.04.2016)

We are staring with a new series on the Book of Nehemiah. The approach is to do an Expository study of Nehemiah and understand God’s heart and His purposes for our lives as His children.

Expository preaching involves the exposition, or comprehensive explanation of the Scripture; that is, expository preaching presents the meaning and intent of a biblical text, providing commentary and examples to make the passage clear and understandable. The word exposition is related to the word expose — the expository preacher’s goal is simply to expose the meaning of the Bible, verse by verse.

In case you’re wondering why we’ve taken this route, here are 5 reasons why we think it’s Significant.

1. Exposition magnifies the Scripture which therefore leads the preachers to discover the original intent and meaning of the text before drawing out any conclusions.

2. Expository preaching is one of the best ways to preach the Bible because if every word of God is pure and true, then every word needs to be dealt with.

3. Expository preaching familiarizes people with the scripture itself instead of simply giving them a speech. It also encourages them to study the Bible on their own.

4. In Expository preaching, the Scripture clearly stands out as the ultimate Authority no matter how powerful and gifted the preacher is.

5. Last but not the least and my personal favorite – Expository preaching drives us to see the Gospel at work in every text of the Bible because the ultimate goal of every word of the Bible is to point us to Christ and His finished work on the cross.

Let’s Read Nehemiah 1

Personally, I love the story of Nehemiah. I’ve always been drawn to the courage of this guy called Nehemiah who took up the challenge to build the broken walls of Jerusalem at any cost.

This time though when I read through the story of Nehemiah, I realized that Nehemiah is not just a story of a man and the Rebuilding of the wall. The story of Nehemiah is an amazing story that gives us a glimpse of how God graciously worked among His people just after the great exile. It is primarily the story of God.

Rebuilding the wall was least critical in the rebuilding of a nation dedicated to God’s purposes. The wall is important only because what was restored at the same time behind the wall.

– The more special the watch case, the more expensive the watch.
– The more guards around a home, the more valuable the goods and people within are esteemed.

So the wall was rebuilt to protect and maintain a work within the people of God.

What made the walls of Jerusalem so valuable are not the walls themselves but what the walls could protect: the heart of the nation of Israel or later as we discover, the heart of God’s people, the Jews.

So, as we open the series on Nehemiah, the goal for today is to see God as a covenant making, promise keeping, loving and gracious God. That’s the goal for today.

The story of Nehemiah goes back in history when God’s people sinned against him and God turned them over to their enemies.

2 Kings 17:7 – “And this occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods”

Psalms 78 gives us a descriptive explanation of how Israel rebelled against God and refused to obey Him and acknowledge Him even after all the wonders He did for them.

God eventually turned them over to the enemies because it was God’s Glory that was at stake.

2 Kings 24 – Nebuchadnezzar (king of Babylon) came up to Jerusalem, and the city was attacked.

70 years of exile is what they went through.

At the end of these 70 years, we see a number of Jewish exiles returning back to Jerusalem.

Ezra 1-6: Zerubbabel led the first wave of Jewish exiles to return in 536 BC
Ezra 7-10: Ezra led the second in 445 BC
Nehemiah 1 -3: Nehemiah led the third in 445 BC

The book of Nehemiah opens up with an account where Hanani, one of the brothers come to meet him and when asked by Nehemiah about the people who returned from exile, he replies by saying “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.”

A closer look at the man Nehemiah will tell you that he wasn’t different than anyone of us who live in the city of Mumbai. He had a full-time job as the cup bearer to the King and possibly lived a routine life, though a luxurious one because to be a cupbearer to the King was not a low esteem job. But what amazes me is his heart for God and for his people.

Even though he was far away from his country and people, living a comfortable routine life, he obviously seemed to be a devoted person because his first and immediate response when he heard the dreadful news was to go to God in prayer. The other aspect in his opening statement reveals that he knew his God and revered Him unceasingly.

“O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments”

Nehemiah calls on God by mentioning His character & His nature. ‘A God who is a covenant making, promise keeping, loving and gracious God.’

His people are in trouble, life seems to be unfair to them, and they are falling prey to their enemies because of the broken walls but Nehemiah goes to God and calls out to Him as a covenant making, promise keeping loving and gracious God.

Our generation almost live in similar circumstances where pain and suffering are part of life for many around us. Wars, deaths, calamities, destruction, poverty, hunger are headlines in our newspapers. It is easy for people to look around and say God does not exist because if God exists this wouldn’t be the state of our world.

The truth is not that God doesn’t exist but that we constantly fail to go to Him and give Him the Glory He deserves.

In a situation like this it is important how we as children of God respond back to Him. Do we join the majority and question God and his sovereignty? Or do we go to Him in a humble posture of worship just like Nehemiah and remember Him as the covenant making, promise keeping, loving and gracious God?

“He is and will ever be the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments.”

In the light of Nehemiah’s beginning statements I want us to remember 3 things about God that which if we hold close to our hearts will change us more as a person and will take us on an unbelievable journey just like Nehemiah in building the Kingdom of God.

1. God’s Promises are bigger than our circumstances

Yes, the circumstances of the people of God who came out of exile was devastating. They were in great trouble and shame because of their enemies who had access to the city due to broken walls.

But Nehemiah was falling back on the promises of God because he knew God’s promises are bigger than any circumstances his people are facing.

In a similar way even though Sarah was barren and couldn’t bear children for Abraham, he still believed in the promises of God that his children will be as numerous as the stars in the sky. The bible says in Genesis 15:6

“Abram believed the LORD, and he credited to him as righteousness”

Abraham believed that God’s promises were bigger than his present circumstances.

What is our response when we look at our present circumstances? Do we get disappointed and heart broken or do we chose to fall back on God’s promises instead? Let’s search our hearts.

2. God’s faithfulness is bigger than our rebellion

As we read through the book of Nehemiah you will learn that these people even after returning from the exile had the same issues of rebelliousness and disobedience.

They ridiculed Nehemiah, spoke lies, behaved Lazy, entertained ungodly fear and even continued having strife among themselves.

Before we judge these people let’s be honest, don’t we behave like them at certain times? We quite often disobey and hurt God in indulging in our sins, we pretend and perform to cover our wrong doings, behave lazily and even entertain ungodly fear while proclaiming the gospel to our friends and colleagues.

What is God’s response to all of this?

FAITHFULNESS

2 Timothy 2:13 – “Even though we are faithless, he remains faithful – for he cannot deny himself”

Deuteronomy 7:9 – “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations”

Let’s remember this – God’s faithfulness is bigger than our rebellion and our response should be Repentance just like Nehemiah.

3. The cycle of failing to keep the law is always broken/overcome by the grace and mercy and provision of God.

After Nehemiah repented of his and his forefathers sins, he took on the task of obeying God by rebuilding of the walls. And as we read on the story we will learn that eventually the cycle of failing to keep the law was broken and overcome by the grace, mercy and the provision of God.

What is our greatest need today?

Deliverance from sin and slavery and a healthy relationship with our heavenly father. Isn’t it?

Did God already make provision for our need?

Yes, he did.

Can we achieve it on our own?

Never. The Bible says Even our righteousness are like filthy rags before a Holy God.

The fact is we can receive forgiveness & freedom from our sins only by believing in God’s son Jesus Christ who came and died for us 2000 years ago. He lived a sinless life yet paid the penalty that our sins deserved by dying a horrific death on the cross, conquered death and rose again in victory on the third day.

There is absolutely nothing more that we can do other than believe in Jesus and accept His Grace, Mercy and Provision which he bestowed upon us in full measure.

Just like the days of Nehemiah, God is building His Kingdom and our response to Him is what will matter the most. And remember the end goal of all of this is GLORY, GLORY, GLORY to the Lord Almighty.

Let’s Pray.

Related Sermons from the Nehemiah series:

• Nehemiah: It’s Never Too Late to Turn Back (11.04.2016)
• Nehemiah: A Patient, Heart-felt, Long-suffering Prayer (17.04.2016)