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Speaker: Rev. Shine Thomas
Posted on: 2011-05-08
Series: Nehemiah

Introduction

Have you come across situations where things in your life have gone beyond your control? Maybe everything had been going smooth but now you feel that you have no more control over those situations. The more you try to correct, the more the situation is getting out of hand and you do not know what to do about it.

Today we are starting a new preaching series straight out of the book of Nehemiah and today we are going to look at the introduction to the book of Nehemiah. We are also going to see what to do when our situations are beyond our control.

Historic Background

The children of Israel settled in Israel the land God promised Abraham. During the time of King David and King Solomon Israel became the richest and most powerful nation in the world. But when Solomon died, the kingdom divided. The northern section became the nation of Israel. The southern section became the nation of Judah. It was so sad that brothers started fighting against each other and split.

Finally, Assyria attacked the northern kingdom and wiped it out. Years later the armies of Babylon conquered the southern kingdom, and destroyed Jerusalem. The finest of the survivors were taken as hostages to Babylon. They lived as captives in a foreign land.

After 70 years Cyrus, King of Persia, attacked and conquered the Babylonians. Now God moved the heart of Cyrus and Cyrus freed the Jews to go back to Jerusalem. Was Cyrus a believer? No. He did not believe in God, but God can use both those who believe and those who do not believe in Him to accomplish His purpose.

So the migration back to Jerusalem began. Three separate times large groups migrated back to Jerusalem. Group 1 was led by Zerubbabel and this group immediately started rebuilding the Temple, and building homes for themselves. But they left most of the city and its walls still in ruins.

After 80 years another group of Jews migrated back to Jerusalem under the leadership of Ezra, the Scribe. But Ezra was not a builder. He was a teacher of the law, and outside of building a few homes, they leave the city and the walls just as they found them in ruins.

Here is where Nehemiah comes into the picture. Nehemiah lives in Babylon and he is inquiring about Jerusalem. Nehemiah 1:1-4 1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah: In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, 2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem. 3 They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.” 4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.

When Nehemiah hears that the walls of Jerusalem are broken down and the gates have been burned with fire he is very disturbed by the news. Now Nehemiah is living in Babylon and he is so concerned about the broken walls of Jerusalem which is far beyond his reach. Everybody has something that is broken, something that is beyond their control. In every area of life there almost always seems to be someone with authority over us or situations of which we do not have any control of. So, how do we handle that? How do we deal with the one who is over us?

Proverbs 21:1 ASV The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord. The king's heart, regardless of how powerful and strong he might be, in the hands of the Lord is like water in an irrigation channel. The Lord can change the direction the water flows. If God can change the way that king thinks and the way he responds, God can also change the attitude of the people who have authority over us.

Let's see how it is true in the life of Nehemiah: Nehemiah is the cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, the ruler of the Persian Empire. The cupbearer is a very important person. His task is to taste the king's food and wine to make certain that no one has poisoned it. The king's life is in his hands. So the person who serves as cupbearer must be someone the king trusts completely and without reservation.

In the eyes of the people Nehemiah is an important man. He is very important in King Artaxerxes' eyes too, because it is not easy to find someone you're willing to trust with your life. And when you do, if you are a king, you never want to let him go. That was the big problem for Nehemiah. You see, Nehemiah is a very devout Jew who lives in Sousa, far from Jerusalem. His brother had just returned from there, telling him that Jerusalem is still in ruins, and the Jews there are in desperate straits.

As a devout Jew, Nehemiah is concerned about his homeland, and is so disturbed by the news that he mourns for days. He stops eating and starts praying to God for Jerusalem, asking, "What can I do about Jerusalem?" Somehow, some way, he must go to rebuild Jerusalem!

Now history tells us that King Artaxerxes, whom Nehemiah served, was a very autocratic ruler, stubborn, strong willed, and very difficult to deal with. Now either Nehemiah has to ask for leave or he has to give 30-day notice to resign his job, and he does not know what the king’s response would be. Now, the king’s will is beyond his control. What did Nehemiah do?

How to respond when things are beyond your control?

1. Focus on what you can control.

Remember we are not in the business of changing people’s mind or will. The more we try to do that the more trouble we cause. Now Nehemiah is in such a situation that he could not do anything about the broken walls, neither could he do anything about his King. But Nehemiah knew there is one and only one thing under his control, prayer. When things are beyond your control focus on what is in your control. We can pray and prayer can change any person’s heart.

Nehemiah’s Prayer

a. Praise God. Pray by praising God for who He is. Nehemiah 1:5-6 Then I said: “LORD, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel.

b. Confess Sin. Confess your own sin and acknowledge that our collective sins have caused the mess we are in. Nehemiah 1:6-7 6 I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. 7 We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.

As we look into our heart maybe the Holy Spirit will point something that we need to correct.

c. Claim your promises. Nehemiah 1:8-9 8 “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, 9 but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’

Nehemiah says that the people are obeying God once again so he asks God to let them go back and rebuild Jerusalem according to his promise. Claim promises from the word and pray.

d. Pray for the situation you are in. Now, pray for the person or the situation beyond your control. Nehemiah 1:11 Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.”
Nehemiah realizes that before he can go to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls that the king must approve of it. So he prays, "Change the king's mind and give me favor in his sight. God, I cannot do it myself. You must do it for me."

We all pray but must remember that God does not always answer us at the speed at which we would like him to respond. So what did Nehemiah do?

2. Wait for God’s time

What happened after Nehemiah prayed? Nothing really seemed to happen. Have you ever prayed, "God, please take care of these problems in my life just take them away!" We pray and we pray about them for months, but nothing seems to happen. So what do we do? We usually stop praying.

Well, Nehemiah learned a lesson. He learned that prayer and waiting go hand in hand. He started praying, "God, please change the heart of the king." And it took 5 months before Nehemiah saw any answer to his prayers.

In these 5 months Nehemiah did not let anyone know that he was sad. I like Nehemiah for that! Nehemiah was in mourning, but nobody knew it. Most of us are different in that respect, aren't we? When we're distressed about something we usually let everybody know. But not Nehemiah! He walked around with a smile on his face. He was the same old Nehemiah as far as the king was concerned. He did his job and he did it well! For 5 months that went on until finally suddenly everything changes.

The king and queen have just finished a sumptuous meal. The fragrant aroma is still in the air. Now it is time for them to partake of their favorite wine. Nehemiah tastes it to make sure that it is all right and then he serves them. The king asked Nehemiah, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”

Nehemiah 2:1-2 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.

Nehemiah had come to a point where he could not control his emotions any longer. He has prayed and borne the burden for so long. And as he comes into the presence of the king even though there is nothing physically wrong with him – Nehemiah’s appearance makes it obvious that something is weighing heavily on his heart.

And the king notices it and asks, "Why are you sad? Why are you remorseful? This is nothing but sadness in your heart." This concern for someone else was totally out of character for King Artaxerxes! Nehemiah tells us, "I was very much afraid." He had reason to be afraid. Persian history tells us that anyone who upset the king was subject to execution. If the king was displeased, he could execute Nehemiah just for bringing sadness into the king's life on that day.

But God was working on the heart of the king. Nehemiah 2:3-4 but I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” 4 The king said to me, “What is it you want?”

For 5 months Nehemiah has been praying for God to open the King’s heart. He had committed the whole situation to God and now the king asks the exact question that Nehemiah had been waiting so long to hear, "What is it you want?" If you are prayerful and careful God will bring you to such a position where your opponent will ask you the very same question that you wanted them to ask. If you are patient and trust you circumstances to God, he will work out your situations so beautifully that it would seem as if you are seeing a dream and everything is falling into place.

So how does Nehemiah respond? Nehemiah 2:4 The king said to me, “What is it you want?” Then I prayed to the God of heaven.
He didn’t just jump in with his answer, "King, I have been waiting for you to ask that question and here is what I want you to do." Before he opened his mouth and said the next word he prayed. "God, guide my words. Make sure I don't waste this opportunity, take care of my words."

So after silently praying see what he said to the king. Nehemiah 2:5 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 ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.”

This is the request that Nehemiah wanted to make for so long but he has patiently waited for God to bring it all together. How does the king respond? Nehemiah 2:6 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.

You see, the king was telling him, "You can go, but I want to know how long you'll be gone." That tells us that the king didn't want to lose him. Good cupbearers are hard to come by, and the king wanted to keep Nehemiah. "How long will you be gone?' Nehemiah said, "I gave him a definite time." Nehemiah had not only been praying about it, but he had been preparing his plans, too.

So he is prepared to answer the king and say, "Well, I can be ready to leave immediately and when I get to Jerusalem I hope to accomplish this the first week and then this and this. Then when it is all done I'll come back."

3. Organize your plans by faith

Even when things are beyond your control it is important that you organize your plans by faith. We need to see the changed circumstances in your spiritual eyes and start organizing. Faith and organization goes together. I really like that about Nehemiah. I have dealt with people who have come with pious looks on their faces, saying, "I walk by faith." “So brother what is your plan for your future?” “No I don’t have any plans, I’m just waiting in faith.” For some people waiting in faith is simple excuse for laziness and sloppy planning.

Can you imagine what the king would have said if Nehemiah had answered, "Well, King, I don't know when I'll be back, I'm just walking by faith. Whenever the Lord tells me to go, I'll go. When the Lord tells me to come back, I'll come back. I'm not really sure about it at all." If Nehemiah had said that the king definitely would not have sent him to Jerusalem. But because Nehemiah had a definite plan, that wasn't the case. You see, faith and organization go hand in hand and it is important that we realize that.

Nehemiah 2:7-8 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 royal park, 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 on me, the king granted my requests.

You see what Nehemiah was doing? He is making sure that all of the bases are covered. Before he leaves he is making sure that he has everything he needs to carry out the mission before him. He had prepared well in faith over the circumstances which were beyond his control!

Now, here is Nehemiah having absolute control over the situations which once he had no control of. He has the signed papers of the king now because he knew whom to depend upon when things are beyond his control.

Conclusion

Are you heavily burdened over things beyond your control in your life today. Are you foreseeing a problem which you think may get out of control? Nehemiah’s hope-filled visionary leadership is a powerful example for us. No matter what your position in life maybe, no matter what is broken down into pieces, no matter what circumstances are beyond your control there is still hope in the presence of our God. Let’s pray.