Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries |
Nehemiah Part 24. Blood, sweat and tears part 2.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
What it all means on a weekly basis… Offerings ,300 per week Expenses ,200 per week Assuming nothing changes to offerings and expenses.
Nehemiah had agonized with God for a few months and had seen the miraculous influence of God persuading the king’s heart in his favor.
Nehemiah refused to surrender to the enemy and promised his people final victory.
Together they discovered the painful, yet deepening, maturing truth that there is no such thing as spiritual opportunity and victory without opposition.
But for three days, he has not told anyone in Jerusalem why he has even come.
They had grown so accustomed to their history of failure and defeat, and they could no longer even conceive of anyone trying to build their walls again.
But here he is – the man with the plan, the permission, and the power to make it happen, yet he’s not even announcing his arrival!
An announcement like that would have been a terrible mistake.
Because those who have wisdom have learned the importance of waiting.
It was three days of waiting, and, no doubt, three days of reading and meditating on the word of God which for the Old Testament saints was equivalent to praying.
I am quite sure that Nehemiah was also taking inventory of their spiritual condition, along with the condition of their walls.
Wisdom also takes the time to investigate.
JER 29:13 And you will seek Me and find {Me,} when you search for Me with all your heart.
ECC 7:25 I directed my mind to know, to investigate, and to seek wisdom and an explanation,
Even today, those who are involved in leadership are often awake while others are asleep.
I can assure you that the moment you dedicate and devote yourself to the PPOG and begin to serve others and the moment you accept the burden of rebuilding your broken world, you will have many sleepless nights.
Wisdom causes those who possess it to have an abnormal life.
Having gathered the people of Jerusalem – the priests, the nobles, and the officials – Nehemiah now announces his intentions. At first glance or even after two or three closer looks, verses 17 and 18 do not seem to include enough of a motivational speech from Nehemiah to make any person willing to risk his life.
Certainly not enough of a speech to motivate people to attempt something so terribly difficult that they have not been able to do it for many, many years.
1. An honest attitude.
NEH 2:17 Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates burned by fire.”
Pessimist = a person who is seasick during the entire voyage of life.
You could call Nehemiah a true, genuine, undeniable realist.