Well, hello and welcome to another broadcast. We're in Nehemiah chapter 1. Be sure and have your Bible ready. You'll get more out of this study if you can possibly follow along in the scriptures. We're reading in Nehemiah chapter 1, verse number 1, it says, the words of Nehemiah, the son of Hekeliah. Hekeliah, that is his father, and the word means whom Jehovah enlightens. That's very interesting. The words of Nehemiah, the son of a father who has been enlightened by Jehovah, and it came to pass in the month Chisloon, now that would correspond to our December, in the 20th year, now it's talking about the 20th year of our taxes of the king, you can see that in chapter 2 and verse 1. He said, as I was in the Shushan the palace, Hanani, one of my brethren, came, and he and certain men of Judah, and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction. Now this is not a very good report. Now it says here that one of his brethren by the name of Hanani. And it's very possible if you check with chapter seven and verse two, that he was an actual brother of Nehemiah. If he was, that's very interesting that he would have gone back with the remnant and Nehemiah didn't. In any event, whether he was an actual brother or a brother as far as being a brother in the Lord is concerned, I don't think we can tell for sure. Anyway, he asked them concerning, concerning, get that word, concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. Well, the report was not very good. What's it mean when Nehemiah was concerned? Well, to be concerned about something is to have something important enough to get involved and to feel a responsibility to do something about something. Well, in verse number two, we see he's concerned about the Jews. That is, he's concerned about the people. And not only that, in verse two, we see he's concerned about Jerusalem. And that is he's concerned about the place. He's concerned about the people of God, and he's concerned about the place of God. Now, why was he concerned? We said on our last broadcast, he was born into captivity. He had never been back there. He had a very plushy job in the palace. Was it because of the influence of his father? His father says his name means whom Jehovah enlightened. Did he get a message from a burdened parent who had seen the old towers in Jerusalem and seen the palace and seen everything in Solomon's temple? Was he burdened because of the stories and the influence from his father? I think he probably was. Well, not only was he concerned, but we see that he was convicted. It says in verse 4, And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. Now we asked the question in our last broadcast, what makes us weep? Is Nehemiah going to just weep over some broken down walls? No, he's got a burden somehow in his heart, and I think probably he got it from his father. And we cannot overestimate the importance of father influencing their children for the things of God. Well, a little background information here would help. The temple had been rebuilt now for about 70 years at this time. However, the walls that Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed were lying still in ruins. The people were defenseless against any attack of their enemies, and Nehemiah Nehemiah was a cupbearer to the king here, and as I said, he had a pretty good position here. But Nehemiah is concerned about God's real purpose for his life. Did God send me into this world to simply be a cupbearer? Now had he chosen, and we all choose. We have no choice but to choose when God speaks to us. We're either going to listen or we're not. Now had he remained a cupbearer, that'd be the end of the story. We wouldn't have this whole story about Nehemiah. A fantastic story how God used a layman. I mean, who is Nehemiah? He's not a prophet. He's not one of these great men like Ezekiel or Daniel or Moses. He's just a fellow with a job. But he said, what is my purpose in this world? What purpose does God have for me? Anybody can be the king's cupbearer. But not anybody can go back there and be used of God like Nehemiah was used of God Then he was called of God and he was listening to God and he had a burden for his people Are you burdened at all for the people of God today? Are you concerned about the mess that we're in? Nehemiah's burden was greater than his lifestyle and as you look into the Bible and the people that God used that was the case Abraham had a great lifestyle Things were going very well for him in Ur of the Chaldees. He was very wealthy. He had everything that people could want today, but his burden to find God's purpose for his life was greater than his lifestyle. Look at Joseph, and we find what God did through that young fellow. He was just a fellow put out on the backside of the desert looking after a few sheep. Well, no, God had a great plan for him. And then there was Moses. We read he was very content. back there with a wife and a couple of children looking after the sheep. Man, this is the pleasant life. And God put that bush on fire and said, Moses, what are you going to do now? Are you content to just stay here? That'd be the end of the story for you, Moses. Well, there he was back there with a few sheep, and there he was. He had his wife and children, and he was a happy little boy. No, he said, no, I'm going to let God use me to do whatever he wants to do. And what we need to do today is figure out what is God's purpose for you, you listening to this broadcast right now. Is that all there is to it, that you're just going to go? Now, if He wants you to have that secular job, be the best at it you can possibly be. If you're a plumber, be the best plumber that God has on the face of the earth. If you're a teacher, be a teacher. Be whatever God wants you to be. But we see here that Nehemiah is stopping to think for a little bit. He's got this burden for God's people, and it's a tremendous privilege that God would take this layman, this little fellow named Nehemiah. We call him a layman. I think everybody's in service for God. But here he is. He's got this tremendous privilege before him. and he takes advantage of it. His burden for God's people was greater than his lifestyle. Not only did he have a burden for God's people, but he had a desire to fulfill his purpose. He said, all right, if my purpose in this world is more than just to be a cupbearer for the king, I have a desire to fulfill that purpose. And so he, in order to do that, would have to get out of his comfort zone. He would have to make a decision to do that. Getting outside of our comfort zone. Well, there's a challenge that we just need to just say, Lord, I'm living a pretty comfortable lifestyle here. What do you want me to do?" and have a desire to fulfill God's purpose. And then he had a commitment, a commitment to God's plan. God had a plan for Nehemiah, and God has a plan for everybody here in this world. First thing his plan is, is that we receive Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. But then if that was only, if all there was to that was a trip to heaven, he might as well have killed you right after you got saved, took you on to heaven's a lot better than earth. No, he has a purpose, and he has a plan for you in this world. And if you're a father, then, gee fathers, bring up your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. All of these plans are there for us, no matter what position that we hold in this world. Well, Nehemiah, he had a commitment to God's plan. He made a commitment. And so then we start in verse number five through seven, and we see his prayer. And it's really a confession. He says, I beseech thee, O Lord God. Now you notice the word Lord is all capital letters followed by the word God. We've said before, and I think it's important to repeat this, that when you see the word Lord God spelled that way in the Old Testament, it's always referring to Jesus. He's praying to the Lord. He says, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments. Now, he said, I love you, Lord. I want to keep your commandments, and I'm calling on your mercy. We don't deserve anything because we're just trying to do what the Lord wants us to do, but we are calling for your mercy. He says in verse 6, Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now day and night. It was not a quick fix with some trip down to the altar at the front of the church after the morning service. This was something that he prayed day and night. What's he praying for? for himself. No, it says here that he is praying verse six for the children of Israel, not for himself, for the children of Israel, thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we, we have sinned against thee. Both I and my Father's house have sinned, we have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandest thy servant Moses." We have not been doing what we're told to do, and He is including Himself in this. We are not doing it, and He is asking God, He is confessing His sin, He is asking God for His mercy. and then he reminds God of his covenant in verse 8 he says I remember I beseech thee the word that thou commandest thy servant Moses saying if ye transgress and he's saying we've done that I will scatter you abroad among the nations and God did that but if ye turn unto me and keep my commandments and do them, though there were of you cast out into the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there." As we said in our last broadcast, for him, that was Jerusalem. For us, it is in the home of the Christian, it is in the church. God says, I have chosen to set my name there. And he said, I want the world to look into that church and see this is representing me. Boy, there's not much of that going on in the world today. He said, I want the world to look into the Christian home and see this is a representative of me. And all we need to do is make sure that we're doing our responsibilities, be it in the home or be it in the church. God says, I have chosen to set my name there. Then we see here in verse number 11, Nehemiah is going to do something about it. He's still praying, but he says, and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant," referring to himself, this day, now it's time, enough praying, I've been praying for four months here, now is the day, grant me, he said, mercy in the sight of this man, for I was the king's cupbearer. So it's time now for a counterattack. Something's got to be done. Can't just sit here and pray all day, we gotta get to work. Now, if you're going to work without praying, you're wasting your time. If you're going to pray without working, there's something wrong with that picture, too. And so what we see here is he said, all right, today, this day, here we go. Grant me mercy in the sight of this man, the king, for I was, he said, the cup bearer. Now, what we have is a counter reaction here, a counter attack. What is that? It is a military offense following an enemy attack. The enemy is attacking. We're just going to sit here and let him have the victory? Paul says, no, I don't fight as one that beat at the air. No, he said, I'm going to make contact with old smut face. I always refer to the devil as smut face. I'm not going to call him anything nice. Paul says, when I'm going to fight the devil, I'm going to make contact. Well, what are we doing today? We're living in a kind of a peaceful coexistence where we're all just sitting around, and I'm talking about the remnant here. You remember, we're not talking about the masses that stayed back there in Babylon and said, well, we're quite content just to sit back here and make money. No, he's talking to that faithful group who came back to Jerusalem, and he is saying, now listen, remnant, listen. We need to have a counter-attack. We need to make a military offensive seeing that we have been attacked by an enemy. Today we're living in a situation where we're quite content just to have peaceful coexistence with the attackers. That's not the way it's supposed to be. And so we see here in Nehemiah, he finally says we need to have a confrontation There can be no more peaceful coexistence with the enemies of God. And as we go through the rest of this story, right through all of it, in the book of Nehemiah, we'll find there is one major confrontation going on. Well, we're out of time again. Be sure and tune in for our next broadcast. We'll continue in this series of Nehemiah.