Derek Grier - Biblical Prosperity
All right, Nehemiah 1:1. And Nehemiah begins, by the way, I'm gonna begin a series in the book of Nehemiah. So next week, we're gonna pick up chapter two. But it begins the words of Nehemiah, son of Hacaliah. The book of Nehemiah is really an inspired memoir, if you will. Otherwise, we would know very, very little about this man named Nehemiah. He was a cup bearer for the king, King Artaxerxes, by the way. And mostly, he was a man that decided enough was enough. And that's really what the book of Nehemiah is about.
Some changes in your life will not happen until you make them. You could pray about them all you want, but until you take a step of action that stands behind or in concert with your prayers, you're not gonna be able to move forward. And it says, "And it came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the 20th year". This date lets us know that it was roughly about 100 years since the first captives came back from exile. Now, the story here is a little bit complicated, but the children of God, since Moses had an on-again off-again relationship with God, it lasted about a thousand years.
So the children of Israel had a thousand years of God's patience. And over time, what happened is the kingdom got divided into two nations. One was the kingdom of Judah and the other the kingdom of Israel. And today, we would liken one to a blue state, if you will, and another to a red state. So the Israelite or the Jewish people better were deeply divided. And God finally got fed up with this off and on relationship folks had with him. And he finally allowed, he prophesied that it would happen. The Babylonians, he had them come and destroy Solomon's temple, and they also conquered Jerusalem.
And what's the use of a temple if people aren't really worshiping? And you don't wanna have so much form but really not have the substance in the heart of it that God really does. He's not impressed by all he sees and hears. So immediately, as soon as the Babylonians began to, well, actually, as soon as they defeated the Israelites and the Judeans, they immediately began to deport all of the people from that region of the world to Babylon. And the Israelites or the Jewish people were passed along a little bit like a soccer ball following about 70 years of captivity. So it was a process and discipline is a process just like God's blessing often can be a process.
So following 70 years of captivity, King Cyrus, who happened to be a Persian king, allowed a small remnant of Jewish people to return to Jerusalem. And those folks began to rebuild and settle the land. And as soon as they got back in, Ezra and those guys started to rebuild the temple. And as they did it though, their neighbors got jealous and they were offended and upset. People in that time, in that era saw everything in light of the gods. Meaning, if your tribe was successful, that meant your god was stronger. So when the Israelites began to prosper and build their temple, it caused the neighboring folks who worshiped a different god to feel threatened by that.
So opposition arose and a lot of hate went on and just a lot of bad stuff. And it got so intense that the Israelites actually quit. And for 17 years, they had basically given up. All they did was lay the foundation and build the altar for the temple. And by the way, this temple would be called the second temple. So in your Bible or as you study, the Temple of Solomon was the first temple, but it's in these days, in the days of Ezra as well as Nehemiah that they build the second temple. And let's pick up again at the verses here. "Now, we are in the month of Chislev, in the 20th year, as I was in Shushan the citadel".
So we see that Nehemiah not only lived in the capital, he actually lived in the palace of the king. But there are no coincidences with God. He was there for a reason. And you may not know why you're in the situation that you're in today, but God knows. And I like what Saint Augustine said. He said, "Trust the past to God's mercy, trust the present to God's love, but trust the future to God's plan". And that's what's happening here. Verse two, "That Hanani one of the brethren came with men from Judah". Nehemiah was about 800 miles away from the promised land in a strange land, speaking strange languages, eating strange foods. But even in this super difficult situation, God made him successful even in that place.
So successful that Nehemiah lived in the palace. And I've learned in my life, you have to learn to blossom wherever you're planted. And despite though, and this is where the book gets interesting. All of Nehemiah's amazing success, his heart stayed plugged into God enough to still care about where he came from and to care about God's people. So here he is. He's a prominent figure. If you're a cup barrier, you're an advisor to the king. You have access to resources. You're living in a palace. He's living this incredible existence. But he asked the question. He begins to inquire about something. He said, "And I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped".
Now, this is important. God will not always send a burning bush and flashing lights and angels will not always appear to get our attention. It's really important. If we really love someone, really, really love someone, we're gonna inquire daily about what it takes to bless them or what they would like in order to be blessed. And here, we have this man again who could have been preoccupied with a status and all the rest, he's concerned about God and God's people. And then he poses some question. He pokes in to try to find out how he could leverage what God had done for his life for God's people. "I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped".
So Nehemiah was concerned about those risk takers now. He didn't go to Palestine to return to the land, but he was concerned with those who did have the courage and the opportunity to do that. And I wish that I could say living by faith was easy. I mean, all you gotta do is read a few verses and pray in tongues in five minutes, and then everything for the rest of your life is a cake walk. But there's a time that it will take everything to hold on.
And this is what the remnant of those who had returned to the promised land, what we're going through, and I wanna encourage you wherever you are, hold on because God knows what he's doing. And just because you're dealing with some challenges and things might not be happening on your timeline, maybe you started and stopped and maybe you started and then there was opposition that you couldn't get past, a zillion things could have happened, but that doesn't mean that God is finished. He said, "I asked concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity".
Now, these men and women that returned to the land, these were scrappers. I mean, these are folks with a whole lot of grit. They kinda lived in survival mode for 70 years. But the problem is, we can get so preoccupied trying to survive in life we stop trying to really live our lives. Today, psychologists diagnosed something called post-traumatic stress disorder. PTSD is an overactive stress response, if you will, that comes from a real traumatic event or events, plural, but it extends beyond the real danger. And in large measure, this is really what these folks were going through.
So this is when you had a moment or a period that was unsafe. But after that moment, everything and everywhere is always unsafe. Your brain kinda goes into overdrive, thinking about, analyzing, and solving for the what ifs. And perhaps you were in the Middle East and you were fighting the Taliban, but now you're in a movie theater and you're like, "You know what? I gotta look for my exits, who's gonna come in the door". Your mind is on overdrive because you were in this intense situation and you're having a problem turning it off. And this is what was going on in the lives of God's people that were in the promise land and Nehemiah was concerned about.
Here he was in the palace. Of course there's palace intrigue, but it wasn't on the level of what his brothers and sisters were facing. So he's concerned about the people, but he also says here, "And concerning the City of Jerusalem". So after food, water, shelter, the basic biological needs that we have, after that, we need a safe place. For us, safety is vital. We need a safe place to worship, a safe place to live. And my hope, by the way, is that Grace Church becomes your Jerusalem, a safe place to grow and develop in a world that has gone absolutely mad.
So he prayed for the people, but he also prayed concerning Jerusalem, which was their location. He wanted them to be in a safe place so they can grow and develop and become everything that God wanted them to be. Verse three, "And they said to me," they've given this report to Nehemiah. "The survivors". Okay, this group is called survivors several times here. And the dictionary defines survivors as those who remain alive after others have died. And many of us are survivors. A matter of fact, all of us, if you're here today, on some level, you are a survivor.
I want you to think though, specifically about these people of the trauma that they had gone through. The government had burned down the temple, but they survived. They had lost their nation and they were sent as captives to a foreign land but they survived. They tried to rebuild the temple, but opposition arose from every corner. Literally, all hell broke loose. Been there, understand that a little bit. But they survived. They gave up on rebuilding the altar for about 17 years, but God didn't give up on them.
And finally, they completed it and they survived. But finally, once they finished the temple, they tried to build a wall around the temple because in that day and age, if you did not have a wall around your city, you're in a very dangerous situation, because at night, raiders would come in, et cetera. Walls were literally people's protections. That's why David would say things like you are my rock, my refuge, my shield. He saw God as his wall city and the place of protection. And walls were super, super important in the ancient world. And they tried to rebuild the walls, but they were unable to. And everything kept breaking out. Every time they tried to take one step forward, they got knocked six or seven steps backwards.
So here they are in the promised land, they do have the temple, but every day, they're trying to survive because at any moment, any group of marauders, they were better ones. There were all different types of people that traveled around and attacked. And they'd steal your wives and enslave your children, steal your crops and everything you own. It wasn't just a matter of, when I was young, someone might try to steal your sneakers. And that was the big thing. But, I mean, they would take everything including those you love.
So it was a very serious situation. And those in Israel were living on pins and needles, if you will. It says, "The survivors who are left from the captivity in the provinces are there in great", watch this, great what? "Great distress". Why were they in distress? Because they were constantly exposed to danger. And over time, when you have that adrenaline constantly flowing in your body, it impacts you in a lot of ways. So these folks were dealing with some post-traumatic stress. Actually, some of it wasn't post. It was current traumatic stress. But then it adds, "And reproach".
Why were they in reproach or, better, disgrace? Because it was embarrassing for people to say that we are the people of God, but we're living such a desperate life. We're living hand to mouth and we've been in this situation for so long. We're not safe. Our children aren't safe and it's frustrating. And again, I look up to heaven. I worship in the temple, but I don't see God's hand moving the way I'd like in my life. How many have been in the situation of these survivors here? And then it adds, "The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down".
So again, they worshiped but their protection wasn't complete. It was gone in some parts and in some level. Maybe you returned to the Lord. Maybe you've come back after string and all the rest. But when you came back, you didn't feel as safe and as confident as you once did. Your faith wasn't as innocent and wasn't as trusting as it once was. And you're so impacted by what you went through when God had to deal with your stubbornness and all the rest that the walls that were in your mind that once easily resisted feelings of inadequacy, once resisted fear and panic, now those walls are weak and you live in constant fear of where the enemy might strike next.
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Lord. And these folks had gone through it and they're dealing with all different types of stress on all different types of level, but they want the walls here mirror what they wanted to happen in their spiritual lives. They wanted God to be a wall around them and they didn't want any gaps in the hole. And that's what I wanted in my life. I want God to build a hedge of protection about me and my family, my church, and those I loved. And I don't want any gaps in that hole. And just as they were trying to build up this physical wall, again, spoke to what they were trying to accomplish spiritually.
And I think all of us on some level of trying to do that. And then it goes on and says, "And its gates are burned". So the walls of this city protected against those that might try to go into the woods and sneak and climb in through some area where it's just not highly populated. And I don't know if there was a whole lot of woods in Jerusalem, but the point is, the walls of the city are really for those that are sneaking and creeping and that type of thing. But gates, pay attention here, are usually connected to roads. Those are high traffic areas. And gates were used to protect against those who really didn't have a shame about entry. They weren't really trying to sneak in. They felt they had a right or they had the force and power just to come in.
And this is important. You can't force someone to respect you, but our gates are the lines that God draws in our lives of those, are there so we can refuse to be disrespected. So the gates were there to stop those that Jerusalem or the people Jerusalem didn't want in, but they didn't have that prerogative anymore. They didn't have the power to stop anyone. And this was a situation of their lives. "So it was, when I heard these words," when Nehemiah heard that the temple was in trouble and that God's faithful people, I mean, come on, they risked, traveled 800 miles to go back to Israel. And they're really living hand to mouth and just all types of dangers that they're facing.
When he heard about it, he sat down, and watch this, "He wept and mourned for many days". Now, here's my big question for you today. Does your heart still break for what breaks God's heart? This man was powerful and successful, and sometimes, we can get so successful, so provided for, so powerful we can reach our goals in life, that it's all about us, but does your heart break for what breaks God's heart? Nehemiah, this powerful man, was still impacted by the heart of God and a love for his people. He said, "I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven". Not for himself but for his church, before his temple, for his people.
By the way, the rest of this chapter outlines the prayer. And I'm not gonna dig into all that, but what we do find, and you could read this on your own. He prayed the scripture. He quoted God's promises, but most importantly, he was willing to give something up. It started with food. And by the way, when you want something so bad you stop eating, that means you're pretty serious about it. It's really important though to stop asking God to care about things that you don't care about and calling that prayer. If you don't really want it, you might formulaically check the box and think you prayed about it. But if it doesn't move your heart, it's not gonna move God's heart.
Jeremiah tells us in chapter 29, "You will seek me and find me, watch this, when you seek me with your whole heart". And I have, many times in my life, just checked the box to pray a prayer and got no results. And it wasn't until I slowed down and say, "You know what? I'm gonna really, really talk to the Lord about this. And I'm gonna pray with my whole heart, undivided attention". And every time I've done that, God has heard. He didn't always answer the way I wanted exactly, but I left knowing that God heard me.
Now, I want you to skip to the end of this prayer, 'cause I'm not gonna keep you too long this morning, and I'll pick up this chapter next week. In verse 11, he says, "Oh Lord, I pray. Please let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant". So he poured out his heart to the Lord. And the humility, he's saying, "Lord, may you hear what I just said". But he doesn't stop there. He says, "And to the prayer of your servants who desire to fear your name". Nehemiah realized that he was not the only one who loved God. He wasn't the only one who cared. And sometimes, you can start feeling like you're the only one that that's living faithfully, that cares about the things of God. But Nehemiah didn't have that type of mentality. He recognized that there were others.
There's always a remnant with God. There's always a remnant. There were others that cared about God's plan, cared about Jerusalem, cetera. And in that though, a lot of times, we say no one else cares. And because no one else cares, we feel that we don't have to do anything. They don't care, why should I care? But here he says, "You know what? I'm not the only one who cares". But he was willing to do whatever his part was. And that's really important. He said, "And let your servant prosper this day, I pray". And just a side note here, prosperity is a good Bible word. It has been misused and abused, but prosperity is something you can pray for as long as you're willing to use whatever God prospers you with for his cause and his kingdom.
So God had given Nehemiah status. He had given him a favor with the king. He had obviously given him some wealth and riches, et cetera, but he was willing to lay all that on the line for the cause of the kingdom. So again, God doesn't mind you having, as long as you're willing to invest what you have into what God might need it for. And then he says, "And grant him mercy in the sight of this man". And it seems a little strange here. He's talking real generic, but he starts then speaking about this specific man.
You see, Nehemiah knew that he had access to the answer. He was serving the most powerful king in that part of the world at that time. And he would not shy away from risking his life, his reputation to get his prayer answered. He knew that he had certain resources, and in this case, it was the king. And he was willing to leverage that resource. And we're gonna see this next week in order for God's purposes to come to pass.