RISE UP! And Kneel Down!

Last week, we began our six week RISE UP! Sunday School Series and Sunday Morning Sermon Series.  If you weren’t here, we looked at Nehemiah 1:1-3, and we remember God’s faithfulness.

 

In that text, we were reminded of God’s faithfulness in being in control, in always providing, and in being holy and calling us to the same.  As a matter of fact, the wall of Jerusalem was broken down and the gates were burned with fire as God was disciplining Israel for their disobedience.  God is faithful to always bless obedience and always discipline disobedience.

 

Specifically, in 586 BC, Nebuchadnezzar had attacked the city, its walls, and its gates, and they had been in ruins for 140 years before Nehemiah.  RISE UP! is about God raising up Nehemiah to lead the people in restoring what had been destroyed and raising up the people of EBC to build what God can use to bring more people to Himself for salvation.

 

 

1. The Cause of Nehemiah’s Prayer, 1:4

4 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. 

 

Verse 4 says that Nehemiah heard some words, and when he did, he prayed.  What words had he heard?  Look at verse 3.

 

3 And 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.”

 

Jews who had escaped and survived the Babylonian captivity were now in Jerusalem, and they reported to Nehemiah through his brother, Hanani, that wall of Jerusalem was broken down, and the gates had been burned with fire.

 

Understandably, this broke Nehemiah’s heart.  How do we know?  After he heard, he sat.  When he sat, he cried.  In his crying, he mourned for many days. 

 

However, his grief and his mourning drove him to his knees.  He fasted and prayed before the God heaven.

 

Brothers and sisters, the walls had been torn down, and they needed to be rebuilt.  It was this need that drove Nehemiah to his knees in prayer. 

 

I am not going to stand before you this morning and tell you that a Family Life Center is a need that we have.  However, I will tell you that ministry to children and teenagers in our community is absolutely a need, and FLC would be a tremendous resource and tool that could help us in this ministry. 

 

By the way, statistics tell us again and again, that an individual doesn’t accept Christ as Lord and Savior as a child or teenager, chances are he or she won’t after they turn 18.   Specifically, 84% of Christians came to Christ before 18 years of age.  After 18, the number drops to 16%.

Personally, I want you to know our CFT understands this need.  Consequently, back on August 14-17, we did intermittent fasting for 3 days.  We fasted from breakfast and lunch on Monday and ate dinner.  We fasted from breakfast and lunch on Tuesday and ate dinner.  We fasted from breakfast and lunch on Wednesday and ate dinner. 

 

During breakfast and lunch, what did we do?  We read the entire book of Nehemiah in parts, and prayed.  We asked God to give us the resource and tool that would help us tremendously in reaching more children and teenagers in Rains County for Christ.

 

 

2. The Content of Nehemiah’s Prayer, 1:5-11a

5 And 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, 6 please 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. 7 We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. 8 Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations; 9 but 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.’ 10 Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand. 11 O 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.

 

I see three parts to Nehemiah’s prayer.  You may see more, but first, he asked for God’s attention in verses 5-6. 

 

Verse 6 says please let Your ear by attentive and Your eyes open that He might hear our prayers.  Do you know the best way to get God’s attention in my opinion? 

 

Tell Him how great He is. That may sound odd or weird, but isn’t that exactly what Nehemiah did?  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. 

 

As it relates to building a FLC debt free, we at EBC cannot do it!  But God…the God who is great and awesome, the God who loves children, the God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, the God of the possible and not the impossible.  But God can, and when He does, He will get all the glory and honor.

 

Let’s pray and first ask for God’s attention.

 

Second, notice that Nehemiah confessed their corruption or their sin.  There in verse 6, he said they had sinned against God.  They acted corruptly in verse 7 by not keeping or obeying God’s commands. 

 

By the way, the truth of verses 8 and 9 is all throughout the OT and needs to remain before us in our study of Nehemiah.  God is always faithful to bless our obedience, and He is faithful to discipline our disobedience. 

 

Verse 8 says He will scatter because of disobedience and gather because of obedience.  Whether we are talking about a FLC or not, brothers and sisters, learn this truth.  Live this truth.  Heed this truth.

 

What is your corruption or sin that needs to be confessed this morning?  As it relates to the FLC, is it the sin of fear? Did you know that “feat not” is the most prevalent command in the entire Bible?  God knows what He is doing, and His time is always right, and I believe that we are following God’s timing.

 

Maybe you need to confess the sin of doubt.  Where is your faith?  Do you have more faith in the mountain or the mountain mover?  If we have the faith of a mustard seed, we can say to that mountain go, and into the ocean it will go. 

 

Maybe you need to confess the sin of self-indulgence.  I read just this week that every adult in Texas has on average $5,308 in CC debt.  That means $10,000 per couple.  I’ve been there, and it was sin, and Christy and confessed and repented never to go there again. 

 

Third, Nehemiah prayed for prosperity.  Why was it ok for Nehemiah to prosper?  What was Nehemiah doing?  He was leading the people of God to be obedient to the word of God and rebuild the walls of the city of God. 

 

If we are able to build a FLC debt free, it will only be because God has provided.  Logically and financially, it doesn’t work out on paper, and people thought Noah was crazy building an ark when they had never seen rain. 

 

What would prosperity look like for this occasion?  First, pray for construction costs to come down to at least $225 per square foot. 

 

Second, pray for God to drawn in every single family at EBC to live out biblical, financial stewardship.  That means honoring God with you spend your money.  That means not spending more than you take in.  It means tithing.  It means being generous. 

 

Third, pray for God to provide every single cent to pay for this FLC in three years’ time beginning November 2022. 

 

 

3. The Consequence of Nehemiah’s Prayer, 6:16-16

15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God.

 

The consequence of Nehemiah’s prayer is that it was answered by God, and it was God who rebuilt the wall.  Remember, this remnant did the unthinkable.  They rebuilt the wall in 52 days after having been broken down for 140 years.

 

When God pays for this FLC through your generous giving, all the naysayers will be forced to say, “God showed up!”  I look forward to that day.

 

What can you do today?  Pray individually.  Pray during our 24-hour prayer vigil.  Pray in our prayer room weekly.