Sunday, May 23, 2004
Dr. Kevin Harrison, Pastor

Preface:  I want you to take your Bible this morning and turn to Nehemiah 1. 
When I was a kid I used to like to build things: Forts, tree houses, soapbox derby cars, pieces of wood put together that made no sense, but they did have a lot of nails in them.  I liked to build things.  But of all the things I built as a kid, none of those things are still around today because I built them the way I thought they should be built, not the way they really should have been built.  I chose inferior, temporary materials and put them together hoping they would last. 

Here we are today starting a new chapter in life and, guess what, its time to start building again…the right way with the right materials.  However, this building project is not about building temporary structures that will rot away, but people who have eternal souls.  It’s the ultimate building project: Ministry to people.

(Reach back and get the blocks)  This building project is going to require building blocks for the future.   Everyone is this room understands the concept that you can’t put the roof on the building until you have the walls and you can’t have the walls until you have a foundation to build upon.  Over the next several weeks, we are going to be building this wall, from the ground up, with the building blocks for the future for The Gospel Tabernacle of Baltimore. 

Why do we need to lay the building blocks for the future?  Because every great thing God builds has a clear starting point and foundation.  These are the building blocks of direction, purpose, and meaning.

As we look at Nehemiah 1, we see a man who was on the verge of building something great and yet things weren’t looking so good at the time. 

Background: Around 587BC the Babylonians invaded Judah and destroyed the city of Jerusalem, along with Solomon’s temple. This was the third of three campaigns into that region. About 70 years after the first Babylonian invasion, Cyrus, King of Persia, gave the Jews permission to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. Under the leadership of a man named Zerubbabel, these exiled Jews returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the temple. Things were looking up for while. It seemed as if Israel was on the verge of becoming a blessed nation once again. But the people refused to turn away from the very sins that God had judged their ancestors for. The temple was not being maintained. Sacrifices had ceased. The Jews continued to adopt the religious practices and culture of the surrounding nations. By the time our story begins, the political, social, and spiritual conditions in Jerusalem were deplorable.

Meanwhile, back in Persia, a Jewish man named Nehemiah heard about the condition of his homeland and here’s what he wrote.

Nehemiah 1:1-11 (NKJV)

Nehemiah's Prayer for Jerusalem
1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. It came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the citadel, 2that Hanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. 3And they said to me, "The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire." 4So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 5And I said: "I pray, LORD God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments, 6please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father's house and I have sinned. 7We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. 8Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, "If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations; 9but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.' 10Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand. 11O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man."  For I was the king's cupbearer.

I was cupbearer to the king.

Prayer

Transition:  The story of Nehemiah has great significance for our lives.  Today we’re going to look at two of the crucial building blocks that are going to make us the church God has called us to be.  Let’s start by laying the first block in the wall: The people of prayer.

The people of prayer

In everyday terms.  You need to understand something this morning: He’s talking about Nehemiah’s home.  Imagine if you were in a foreign country and someone was to come up to you and tell you that terrorists had just come to the Baltimore area, hit it with a bomb, and the city is now lying in ruins.  Smoke is still rising and the people are completely disoriented.  They have no idea what to do.  When you heard those words, what would be your first response? 

Nehemiah’s response.  I want you to get the picture of what is happening to Nehemiah: Hanani comes to Nehemiah and tells him the condition of the walls, the gates, and then the people.  It had to be a tremendous blow.  However, as he is talking, I can see Nehemiah starting to go down to his knees and Hanani saying, “What are you doing Nehemiah?  I just told you things are in ruins.  Jerusalem doesn’t look like it once did.  Aren’t you going to do something?”  And Nehemiah looks back up at him and says, “I’m going to do the best thing I can and fall to my knees.  God holds the answers in His hand!” Nehemiah could have taken matters in his own hand because he was a resourceful and respected person.  He could have gone to his employer, the king…and he did.  Notice the lesson Nehemiah teaches us for when we are faced any obstacle: We must be people of prayer.

Application.  Here’s the application for us today.  As I stand here as your new pastor this and we’re trying to determine our vision, mission, core values, purpose, and direction we must be a people of prayer.  I believe in programs, and they are necessary, but I feel like too many churches across America have replaced prayer with programs to attract people.  As I look at the incredible task that lies ahead of us of reaching thousands of people for Christ in Perry Hall and Baltimore County, I know we must be a people of prayer.  I make this declaration today that The Gospel Tabernacle of Baltimore will be a church that prays. 

There are many prayer warriors in this room.  Some of you my not be as able to do other things as you have been able to do in the past, but you can commit yourselves to a deeper level of intercession.

So, if we’re going to be a people of prayer, we have to understand what biblical prayer is. 

Biblical prayer is simply:

1) Talking to God
a) Philippians 4:6 (NKJV) Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
b) Illustration:  When my child cries out, everything else in my life stops at that point because my ear is inclined to what is going on in her life.  I hear voice and I can distinguish it from every other voice on the playground.
c) All she has to do I talk to me and that’s all we have to do with our Father.
2) Listening to God
a) John 10:27 (KJV) My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
b) Illustration: One-way conversations – people who never stop talking can never really hear what someone else is saying.
c) We must take the time to not only speak, but also must listen
d) Psalm 46:10  (NKJV)
Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
3) Not about only what we can get, but what we can give. 
a) Too many treat God like he is a holy Santa Claus who gives us whatever we ask for when they pray
b) But God prayer is about getting so that you can give

Prayer is about understanding we cannot survive without the presence of God.

Illustration: Umbilical cord is that which feeds and nourishes that which cannot be seen on the inside.

We are all impregnated with potential, but it’s at this foundational point where our effectiveness is going to be determined.  It’s not merely about the programs we can build to attract people.  The Holy Spirit’s job is to draw all people to Jesus and this is going to be accomplished when there is a body of believers who are unified in seeking after the heart of God.

Proverbs 15:29 (NIV)
The LORD is far from the wicked but he hears the prayer of the righteous.

Transition: Nehemiah understood that the people who are going make an impact in their world are those who are people of prayer. 

Another important building block for the future is found in the purpose of preparation.

The process of preparation

In everyday terms.  Anyone who has ever done any building from scratch understands that laying the foundation requires a process of preparation.  You don’t just to a site and start pouring the concrete.  You first have to take soil samples, level the terrain, make sure it’s an acceptable location to build on, and then you have to put up the framework to pour inside. 

Nehemiah’s action.  Nehemiah knew that the rebuilding of Jerusalem wasn’t going to happen overnight.  It was a process from the very beginning.  Notice what is written in verse 4:

Nehemiah 1:4 (NJKV)
So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

You need to understand that in order for something new to be built that it is going involve a process of preparation.

Application:  As we look at where we are today, I want you to know that I believe God is going to do something quickly in this church.  We’re going to see growth.  We’re going to see life, but the thing the Lord wants us to know before we can see growth we have to be ready for it.

Illustration:  SAGU’s growth in 2000 and the subsequent declining years.  In 2000, SAGU had the highest number of students in their history.  However, for the next several years there was a declining enrollment.  I wanted to know why that was so I did some investigation.  As I began to ask questions of students, I found out that they school wasn’t ready for the growth it received and as a result they lacked in key areas of customer service that lead to students leaving. 

What am I saying?  We have to be ready for the growth that God is going to bring to this church!  I’m not interested in short-term solutions that don’t produce long-lasting results!  God wants to build His kingdom right here and Perry Hall and He wants The Gospel Tabernacle of Baltimore to be a key figure in this!

Look around you and what do you see?
Look again and see people of all ages filling the sanctuary in multiple services and families being

I can see:
1) Families with children playing on our playground and worshipping with us, but we need a children’s church and ministry to reach out to them.
2) Youth coming from all the junior high and high schools with a desire to learn more about God, but we have need youth ministry.
3) College age students who are looking for a place to hang on Friday night with some of their friends and hear about the Gospel.
4) Couples who might be having marriage issues that can receive godly counseling and their love for one another can be re-ignited.
5) Small groups being instituted throughout the church so that those who wouldn’t come to a church building could be introduced to God in a home.
6) The lost and destitute coming here because they at the end of the rope and need someone to care for them.  They can come and find hope here!

What am I saying?  I’m saying I can see all of these things happening in a relatively short period of time right here in this church, but we have to understand the process of preparation or they’ll come hungry and leave empty.

Illustration: Dad rebuilding a church in Waynesboro, Virginia.  At the time we didn’t have hardly any children in the church and dad told the men of the church they needed to build a nursery and put six baby cribs in it.  In the natural it made no sense because there were no babies to fill it.  I remember dad telling them that if God is in this and He will fill them.  Well, it just took a few months and that nursery was busting at the seams with children.  Why?  He understood the process of preparation. 

Jesus understood the process of preparation and that’s why He sent John the Baptist out ahead of Him.

Matthew 3:1-3 (NKJV)
1In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." 3This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.' "

He was using this radical man of faith to get people ready to receive what He had to say.

What makes the process of preparation so important for us?

1) Preparation provides us with purpose
a) Illustration:  A person filing bags with sand would, after while, feel like what they are doing has no purpose.  However, If you were to tell that person the reason they are filling the sandbags is to make protect the city from a flood that is on the way, their motivation and perspective changes.
b) Jeremiah 29:11 (KJV) – “I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord.  Plans to prosper you and to give you a future.
c) It’s easier to work when you know there’s a plan – more motivated
2) Preparation produces long-lasting structures
a) Illustration: Church in Meridian built in seven days.  It was hailed as a great victory, but anyone who saw the structure five years later knew it was about to fall down.
b) Luke 14: 31-33 (NIV) 31"Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
3) Preparation positions you for what God has already planned
a) God is not sitting up in heaven being caught off guard by anything that is happening
b) He clearly knows everything even before it happens
c) “The steps of the righteous are ordered of God”

It’s often in the stage of preparation where disillusionment sets in and griping can begin. 

Illustration:  Students in college come excited first semester and leave cynical by their last semester.  They forget the reason why they are getting prepared.

Wrap Up:  Why do we have to lay the building blocks for the future?  Think about it in terms of where we are in world today.  Terrorists have targeted America and Israel and want to bring mass destruction to our homelands, killing innocent people.  The reality is that this war on terror is a bloody mess and people are needlessly being killed.  I pray for the families of those lost in battle regularly.  But the cost of action is far less than the cost of inaction.  We can sit by and do nothing and suffer the consequences or we can get aggressive and lay the foundations for a safer and more peaceful world in ten years. 

Now let’s bring the full spiritual picture into view: In the next 60 seconds, 105 people are going to die across this world and go to hell.  (Have everyone close his or her eyes for one minute)

Why do we have to lay the building blocks for the future?  The price of action will cost us something, but the price of inaction will cost us even more.  We must be a people of prayer who understand the purpose of preparation. 

Altar Call:  I want you to spend some time in the altar this morning and commit yourself to even more prayer and ask god to transform your agenda to His agenda.

The purpose of purification

Illustration: – Taking a bath.  We take baths because there comes a time and point in our lives where dirt has rubbed of on us and we just need to get clean. 

1 Corinthians 6
17"Therefore come out from them
       and be separate, says the Lord.
   Touch no unclean thing,
       and I will receive you."[4]
    18"I will be a Father to you,
       and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."[5]

2 Corinthians 7

1Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

2 Timothy 2:21 (NIV)
If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.

 "http://bible.gospelcom.net/cgi-bin/bible?passage=JAS+4:8&language=english&version=NKJV&showfn=on&showxref=on"  (NKJV)
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Psalm 24:3-5 (NKJV)
3Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
4He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor sworn deceitfully.
5He shall receive blessing from the LORD,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.

Jerusalem will not look like it used to.  There will be some familiar spots, but there will have to be change as a result of where they are.  New buildings will be built.  New families will move in. 
This is not something that will happen immediately. 
Businesses constantly look for ways to reinvent themselves.  They look for emerging trends and try to find ways to meet the needs of potential clients.
We have to get ready for what God is going to do! 

Counting the cost involves:

Assessment

Acceptance

Action

1 Peter 1:13 (NIV)
Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self¬-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.

This sermon series is based on the book “visioneering” by Andy Stanley. Parts of this sermon are taken directly from the material contained in his book.

Vision – Part 1
March 16, 2003

Life is a journey and every journey has a destination. Everybody ends up somewhere in life. A few people end up somewhere on purpose.

A clear vision, along with the courage to follow through, dramatically increases your chances of coming to the end of your life, looking back with a deep satisfaction and thinking “I did it. I succeeded. I finished well. My life counted.”

Without a clear vision, odds are you will come to the end of your life and wonder what you could have done – what you should have done. And like so many, you may wonder if your life really mattered at all.

Vision gives significance to the otherwise meaningless details of our lives. It’s not always about what we’re doing, but rather why we are doing it.

How many of you would be excited to spend all day today filling bags with dirt?
How many of you would be excited to spend all day today filling bags with dirt to build a dike around your city to keep it from being flooded?

There’s nothing glamorous or fulfilling about filling bags with dirt, but saving a city is another thing altogether. Building a dike gives meaning to the chore of filling bags with dirt.

The same is true of vision. Too many times the routines of life begin to feel like shoveling dirt. But take those same routines, those same responsibilities, and view them through the lens of vision and everything looks different. Vision brings your world into focus. Vision brings order to chaos. A clear vision enables you to see everything differently.

Granted, we have all heard or read about vision before. There are plenty of self- help books out there that tell us how to set goals and have vision. They teach that if you can believe, you can achieve.

Read “Oh the places you’ll go” by Dr. Suess

While the average person may have the right to dream his own dreams and develop his own picture of what his future could and should be, we as followers of Christ have surrendered our lives to follow Christ and His plan. We gave up our right to be in charge when we accepted Christ and agreed to follow Him.

Ephesians 2:10 – “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.”

God has a vision for your life. Why would you want to think up and do your own thing? What could be more fulfilling than the plan that God has for you?

In Andy Stanley’s book Visioneering, he says - “Without God’s vision, you may find yourself in the all too common position on looking back on a life that was given to accumulating green pieces of paper with pictures of dead presidents on them. Accumulating money or stuff is a vision of sorts. But it is the kind of vision that leaves men and women wondering. Wondering if there was more. Wondering what they could have done – should have done – with their brief stay on this little ball of dirt.”

As Christians, any vision that we can think up, will always fall short and leave us wondering.

We serve an intensely creative God. We talk about the fact that no two snowflakes are alike, but God has never made two of anything alike. God’s vision for you does not include trying to fit into someone else’s mold. Unless you discover God’s unique vision for your future, your life may very well be a rerun.

Over the next several weeks, we will be looking at 20 essential building blocks for vision. These come from the book “Visioneering” by Andy Stanley that I mentioned just a moment ago.

We will also be looking at the life and vision of Nehemiah, in relation to these 20 building blocks. The one thing I find most encouraging about the story of Nehemiah is that he was just a regular guy who caught a divine glimpse of what could and should be. And then went after it with all his heart.

What is vision?

Where does vision come from?

A Vision is born in the soul of a man or woman who is consumed with the tension between what is and what could be. Anyone who is frustrated, or brokenhearted about the way things are, in light of the way they believe things could be, is a candidate for vision.

In fact, that is how the vision for this church began. I was on staff at a good church, but was becoming more and more frustrated with the way things were, versus the way I believed things could be. God was giving me a vision for a new church.

However, vision is more than simply what could be. After all, what could be is simply an idea or a dream. Vision also carries with it a sense of conviction. It’s not only what could be done, but what should be done. It’s something that must happen. It moves you from passive concern to action. Conviction is what gives vision a sense of urgency.

Vision always stands in contrast to the world as it is. Vision demands change. But a vision also always requires someone to champion the cause. It takes someone who is willing to put his or her neck on the line. Someone who has the courage to act on an idea.

This brings us to the story of Nehemiah and the 20 building blocks that we will be looking at today and over the next three weeks.

Let’s look at Nehemiah 1 verses 1-4.

Nehemiah was so moved by what he heard that he wept. It’s not that he was weak, or emotionally unstable, but instead that he was burdened. In fact he was so burdened that it says in verse 4 he mourned and fasted and prayed for days. Little did he know that these deep feelings were the initial birth pains of a vision that people would be reading about thousands of years later. Notice that Nehemiah’s vision didn’t start out as a vision. It began as a concern or a burden for his nation and it’s people.

Building Block #1 – A vision begins as a concern

A God ordained vision will begin as a concern. You will hear or see something that gets your attention. Something will bother you about the way things are or the way things are headed.

Unlike many passing concerns, this will stick with you.
You will find yourself thinking about them in your free time.
You may lose sleep over them.
You won’t be able to let them go because they won’t let you go.

Nehemiah’s concern over the condition of Jerusalem consumed him. It broke his heart. Thoughts of what was, as opposed to what could be brought tears to his eyes. This was not just a casual concern…it was a vision in the making.

So what did he do?

He didn’t steal away across the desert in the night. He didn’t fabricate a reason to leave Persia. He didn’t even share his burden with other concerned Jews.

But he also didn’t allow his daily responsibilities to distract him from the burden that had gripped his heart.

No, Nehemiah chose the third and most difficult option. He chose to wait. Nehemiah knew what so many of us have a hard time remembering.

What could be and should be can’t be until God is ready for it to be. So he waited.

Habakkuk 2:2-3: “Then the Lord said to me, “write my answer in large, clear letters, on a tablet, so that a runner can read it and tell everyone else. But these things won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.”

This brings us to the second building block.

Building Block #2 – A vision does not necessarily require immediate action.

A lot of people have good ideas. Many times God may be in the process of birthing a vision in their hearts. But most of the time, they want to start NOW!

But the story of Nehemiah, along with numerous other Biblical accounts, illustrates the truth that a clear vision does not necessarily indicate a green light to begin. Too often when a person with an idea that seems to be a God ordained vision charges out of the gates too early, the result is failure, discouragement and disillusionment.

A vision rarely requires immediate action. But it always requires patience.

Many people ask, why wait? After all, there are people to rescue. Why not just plunge ahead?

Because developing and discovering a vision is a process. Sometimes it’s painful and agonizing. But it is always worth every bit of the agony along the way.

Waiting often seems like a waste of time. The assumption is, since we aren’t moving ahead, nothing’s going on. But that is not the case at all. Some important things are taking place while we wait.

While not every good idea is vision material, every vision begins as an idea.
Not all burdens are vision material, but every vision begins as a burden.

Waiting gives us a chance to examine our emotions and sort out minor concerns from major ones. If what concerned you yesterday is of little concern today, odds are that it was not vision material.

Just as you cannot rush the development of a child in the womb, you cannot rush the development of a vision. God determines the schedule for both.

Acting too quickly on a vision is like delivering a baby prematurely.
They are always weak. And in some cases a preemie cannot survive the rigors of life outside the womb.
So it is with vision. Immature visions are weak. They rarely make it in the real world.

As we wait, not only does the vision mature, but we also mature and become ready for the vision.

Many times the tendency is to assume that since I know what I am to do, I’m ready to do it. But God has to grow us into our vision. Just as a vision must be God ordained, it must also be done according to God’s timetable.

Philippians 2:13-14 says “For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him. In everything you do, stay away from complaining and arguing.”

Everything you do, includes waiting. Yet, we often complain about waiting, and argue with God that our timing is better.

Have you ever met someone who had a good idea but bad timing?

Remember Moses? He had the right idea, but his timing and methods were terrible. His vision was to free his people from Egyptian slavery. And that was a God thing if there ever was one. So what did he do? He went to work and killed an Egyptian. If Moses had sat down and calculated how long it would take him to kill all of the Egyptians, he would have realized that it would take several lifetimes. So, what did God do? He sent Moses to the University of Sinai to study in their wilderness program for 40 years. It took Moses 40 years to grow into the vision that God has designed for him.

Nehemiah, on the other hand, had it pretty easy by comparison. He only had to wait four months before the wheels started turning. But working for the King of Persia was still somewhat of a desert experience for him. Nehemiah was a man with immense leadership ability who awoke every day to do a job that tapped little or none of those skills.

Can you relate? Do you wake up every day to circumstances that seem to have nothing to do with the vision you sense God is developing in you?

Then you are in good company.
Joseph reviewed his vision from an Egyptian dungeon.
Moses spent years following sheep.
David, the teenage king, spent years hiding in caves.
And Nehemiah was the cupbearer to the king whose ancestors had destroyed the very city he longed to rebuild. Be encouraged. God has you where He has you for a reason.

Not only does the vision need to mature, and we need to mature to be prepared for the vision, but God is also working behind the scenes to prepare the way. This is why it is so important to wait on his timing.

Remember that the vision God has for our life is only a small piece of the entire puzzle. God’s vision for your life is much bigger than you. Apart from his intervention and preparation, you and I are incapable of pulling off even our small part of the operation.

Time of Reflection?

One of the most difficult things related to vision, is distinguishing between good ideas and God ideas. We all have good ideas. Everybody is concerned or burdened about something, but how do you know which ideas to act on?

1. If it is God who is giving you a vision of what could and should be, over time you will begin to sense that not to follow through with it would be an act of disobedience. As the burden in your heart grows, you feel compelled to take action. Your only alternative to following through is to say “No! I refuse to move in that direction!”
2. A God ordained vision will be in line with what God is up to in the world. There will always be a correlation between what God has put in an individual’s heart to do and what He is up to in the world at large. As a believer and follower of Christ, there is a larger, more encompassing context for everything you do. After all, it wasn’t the condition of the walls that broke Nehemiah’s heart, it was the spiritual condition of his people. If the idea you are mulling over is from God, it will become apparent how the thing you feel compelled to do connects with what God is up to in this generation.

Next week, among other things we will take a look at what Nehemiah did while he was waiting.

Nehemiah 2

Artaxerxes Sends Nehemiah to Jerusalem

1 In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before; 2 so the king asked me, "Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart."
I was very much afraid, 3 but I said to the king, "May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?"
4 The king said to me, "What is it you want?"
Then I prayed to the God of heaven, 5 and I answered the king, "If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it."
6 Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, "How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?" It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.
7 I also said to him, "If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? 8 And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king's forest, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?" And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests. 9 So I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates and gave them the king's letters. The king had also sent army officers and cavalry with me.
10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites.

Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem's Walls
11 I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days 12 I set out during the night with a few men. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on.
13 By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal [1] Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire. 14 Then I moved on toward the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool, but there was not enough room for my mount to get through; 15 so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and reentered through the Valley Gate. 16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work.
17 Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace." 18 I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me.
They replied, "Let us start rebuilding." So they began this good work.
19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. "What is this you are doing?" they asked. "Are you rebelling against the king?"
20 I answered them by saying, "The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it."

Nehemiah was the Persian king's cup-bearer. When God has work to do, he will never want instruments to do it with. Nehemiah lived at ease, and in honour, but does not forget that he is an Israelite, and that his brethren are in distress. He was ready to do them all the good offices he could; and that he might know how best to do them a kindness, he makes inquiries about them. We should inquire especially concerning the state of the church and religion. Every Jerusalem on this side the heavenly one will have some defect, which will require the help and services of its friends. Nehemiah's first application was to God, that he might have the fuller confidence in his application to the king. Our best pleas in prayer are taken from the promise of God, the word on which he has caused us to hope. Other means must be used, but the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails most. Communion with God will best prepare us for our dealings with men. When we have intrusted our concerns to God, the mind is set at liberty; it feels satisfaction and composure, and difficulties vanish. We know that if the affair be hurtful, he can easily hinder it; and if it be good for us, he can as easily forward it.

Verses 1-8 Our prayers must be seconded with serious endeavours, else we mock God. We are not limited to certain moments in our addresses to the King of kings, but have liberty to go to him at all times; approaches to the throne of grace are never out of season. But the sense of God's displeasure and the afflictions of his people, are causes of sorrow to the children of God, under which no earthly delights can comfort. The king encouraged Nehemiah to tell his mind. This gave him boldness to speak; much more may the invitation Christ has given us to pray, and the promise that we shall speed, encourage us to come boldly to the throne of grace. Nehemiah prayed to the God of heaven, as infinitely above even this mighty monarch. He lifted up his heart to that God who understands the language of the heart. Nor should we ever engage in any pursuit in which it would be wrong for us thus to seek and expect the Divine direction, assistance, and blessing. There was an immediate answer to his prayer; for the seed of Jacob never sought the God of Jacob in vain.

Verses 9-18 When Nehemiah had considered the matter, he told the Jews that God had put it into his heart to build the wall of Jerusalem. He does not undertake to do it without them. By stirring up ourselves and one another to that which is good, we strengthen ourselves and one another for it. We are weak in our duty, when we are cold and careless.

Verses 19-20 The enmity of the serpent's seed against the cause of Christ is confined to no age or nation. The application to ourselves is plain. The church of God asks for our help. Is it not desolate, and exposed to assaults? Does the consideration of its low estate cause you any grief? Let not business, pleasure, or the support of a party so engage attention, as that Zion and her welfare shall be nothing to you.