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A Leader—From the Knees Up · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: Sometimes in the unsophisticated but painfully honest world of children,
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Speaker 1: we find the best answers to weighty questions in life.
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Speaker 1: Have you noticed that? Such as, what is leadership? For example,
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Speaker 1: back to childhood, remember how you resolved leadership struggles when
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Speaker 1: you were just a kid? You tried to entice other
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Speaker 1: kids by saying, hey, come over and play at my house.
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Speaker 1: We have cake and ice cream. Then the wide-eyed bunch
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Speaker 1: spun around to hear a competing offer from one of
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Speaker 1: your friends. Oh yeah, he says. Well, my mom just
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Speaker 1: finished making some big chocolate chip cookies and you can
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Speaker 1: all ride my horse. End of leadership crisis. His horse
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Speaker 1: trumped your cake. Remember that? The barefoot electorate voted with
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Speaker 1: a unanimous whoop and stampeded for their new leader's hacienda.
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Speaker 1: You started to say something about your dad's jet about then,
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Speaker 1: but I was all too late. Childhood. What great memories.
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Speaker 1: When you and I apply the question, what is leadership,
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Speaker 1: to that scene, we as adults must admit that one
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Speaker 1: word comes to mind. Influence. We lead people according to
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Speaker 1: the degree that we influence them. and that would be
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Speaker 1: from neighborhood politics to world politics, this one-word definition of
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Speaker 1: leadership still holds true. Leaders from different realms, nations, and
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Speaker 1: neighborhoods agree, the stronger the influence, the greater the leadership.
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Speaker 1: Few Old Testament characters surpass Nehemiah in the potency of
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Speaker 1: their influence or leadership. God used him to motivate and
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Speaker 1: direct a relatively small group of people into building a
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Speaker 1: wall around the ancient city of Jerusalem, and then to
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Speaker 1: establish a godly government. In our message today, we're going
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Speaker 1: to focus our attention on the first chapter of the
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Speaker 1: book that bears his name, Nehemiah. And in this chapter,
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Speaker 1: Nehemiah discovers Jerusalem's desperate need and then brings it before
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Speaker 1: God in prayer. It is highly significant that the first
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Speaker 1: place we find this influential leader is on his knees.
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Speaker 1: How appropriate. So to do that, you've got to turn
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Speaker 1: with me in your Bible to the first chapter of Nehemiah,
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Speaker 1: where we will read verses 1 through 11. Let me
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Speaker 1: do that for you, may I? Nehemiah 1, verses 1
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Speaker 1: through 11. The words of Nehemiah, the son of Hakaliah.
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Speaker 1: Now it happened in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year,
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Speaker 1: while I was in Susa, the capital, that Hanani, one
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Speaker 1: of my brothers, and some men from Judah, came, and
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Speaker 1: I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped and
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Speaker 1: had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem. They said to me,
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Speaker 1: The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity
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Speaker 1: are in great distress and reproach. And the wall of
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Speaker 1: Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire. Now,
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Speaker 1: it came about when I heard those words, I sat
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Speaker 1: down and wept and mourned for days. And I was
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Speaker 1: fasting and praying before the God of heaven. I said,
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Speaker 1: I beseech you, O Lord God of heaven, the great
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Speaker 1: and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for
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Speaker 1: those who love him and keep his commandments, let your
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Speaker 1: ear now be attentive, and your eyes open to hear
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Speaker 1: the prayer of your servant, which I am praying before
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Speaker 1: you now, day and night, on behalf of the sons
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Speaker 1: of Israel, your servants, confessing the sins of the sons
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Speaker 1: of Israel, which we have sinned against you. I and
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Speaker 1: my father's house have sinned. We have acted very corruptly
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Speaker 1: against you and have not kept the commandments nor the
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Speaker 1: statutes nor the ordinances which you commanded your servant Moses.
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Speaker 1: Remember the word which you commanded your servant Moses, saying,
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Speaker 1: If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples.
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Speaker 1: But if you return to me, and keep my commandments,
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Speaker 1: and do them. Though those of you who have been
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Speaker 1: scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens,
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Speaker 1: I will gather them from there, and will bring them
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Speaker 1: to the place where I have chosen to cause my
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Speaker 1: name to dwell. They are your servants and your people,
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Speaker 1: whom you redeemed by your great power and by your
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Speaker 1: strong hand. O Lord, I beseech you, May your ear
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Speaker 1: be attentive to the prayer of your servant. And may
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Speaker 1: the prayer of your servants, who delight to revere your name,
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Speaker 1: and make your servant successful today, and grant him compassion
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Speaker 1: before this man. Now, I was the cupbearer to the king.
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Speaker 1: A study of the book of Nehemiah is essentially a
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Speaker 1: study of leadership. The main character of the book appears
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Speaker 1: and reappears throughout the pages of this book in various
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Speaker 1: stages in which a leader often finds himself. Because it
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Speaker 1: is the study of a leader and because the basics
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Speaker 1: of the book revolve around the principle of leadership, it
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Speaker 1: seems to me that the place to begin is not
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Speaker 1: with a detailed analysis of verse 1 followed by verse
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Speaker 1: 2 and following. But to begin with the question, what
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Speaker 1: is leadership? What do we mean when we talk about
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Speaker 1: Nehemiah as a leader? What essentially is leadership? If I
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Speaker 1: were asked to boil it down to one single word,
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Speaker 1: the word would be influence. You lead someone to the
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Speaker 1: measure that you influence them. The better you influence them,
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Speaker 1: the greater the leader. The more you influence them through
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Speaker 1: difficult times, the greater you emerge as a leader. Harry
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Speaker 1: Truman has said in his days that a leader is
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Speaker 1: a person who gets people to do what they don't
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Speaker 1: want to do and makes them like to do it.
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Speaker 1: That is a real leader. J. Oswald Sanders talks about
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Speaker 1: leadership in his book on that subject. He says this,
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Speaker 1: Since leadership is the ability to move and influence people,
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Speaker 1: the spiritual leader will be alert to discover the most
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Speaker 1: effective way of doing this. One of the most frequently
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Speaker 1: quoted of Hudson Taylor's statements is his expression of conviction,
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Speaker 1: which went like this, It is possible to move men
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Speaker 1: through God by prayer alone. Put that down, will you?
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Speaker 1: Write it on a place that is obvious to you
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Speaker 1: through the week. Put it at your desk at the office.
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Speaker 1: Put it on a card that appears on the visor
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Speaker 1: of your car. Make it obvious to you through the week.
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Speaker 1: It goes like this. It is possible to move men
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Speaker 1: through God by prayer alone. The reason I hit at
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Speaker 1: this to begin with is because we often think of
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Speaker 1: a leader as a person with the loudest voice or
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Speaker 1: the biggest club or the keenest mind or the most
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Speaker 1: influential in his person and reputation. But leadership has to
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Speaker 1: do with dealing with people. A person isn't a leader
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Speaker 1: with books or with buildings or with a product. He
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Speaker 1: is a leader with people. I would venture to say
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Speaker 1: that you men that are engaged in sales and others
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Speaker 1: of you that relate to other men working under you,
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Speaker 1: your problem today is not basically with the product that
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Speaker 1: you're selling or with the principles of your business. Your
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Speaker 1: problem is with people. And perhaps you could name them
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Speaker 1: this morning one by one. Maybe just this past week
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Speaker 1: you have had difficulty with people. And you wonder, how
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Speaker 1: can I get this person to do that when it
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Speaker 1: is so obvious that he doesn't want to? If you
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Speaker 1: don't watch it, you will turn to psychological manipulation. You
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Speaker 1: will worry. You will fill your basket with all sorts
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Speaker 1: of things to trick him or cleverly. methods of getting
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Speaker 1: him to do that and you will do only as
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Speaker 1: a last resort what God commands you to do all
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Speaker 1: through his word and that's pray you influence people that
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Speaker 1: are hard to move basically through prayer As a matter
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Speaker 1: of fact, when I hear someone criticize another person, I
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Speaker 1: know that the individual is not praying for him. You
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Speaker 1: cannot criticize a person that you're praying for. You just
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Speaker 1: can't do it. Now, this morning, I want you to
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Speaker 1: keep that in your head as we look at Nehemiah.
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Speaker 1: Because Nehemiah faced an impossible set of circumstances. You will
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Speaker 1: remember from last Sunday that he was 800 miles removed
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Speaker 1: from the concern on his heart. The concern was his people.
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Speaker 1: The concern was the wall in Jerusalem that was destroyed.
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Speaker 1: Way far away from the place where he lived, Nehemiah's
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Speaker 1: heart weighed heavily. Now he was in a responsible position.
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Speaker 1: He answered to an unbelieving king named Artaxerxes. And in
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Speaker 1: order for him to leave his responsible post and go
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Speaker 1: to Jerusalem to engage in the building of the wall,
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Speaker 1: something had to be done in the heart of Artaxerxes.
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Speaker 1: His heart had to be moved Nehemiah did not rush
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Speaker 1: into the presence of the king and give him three
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Speaker 1: alternatives or he would quit. He did not threaten the king.
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Speaker 1: He didn't bring to pass all sorts of individuals to
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Speaker 1: hint to the king that he wanted to leave. He
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Speaker 1: went before God in prayer. And if you please, he
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Speaker 1: left his case with God. for God to open the
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Speaker 1: door to move the heart of that first of many
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Speaker 1: barriers in the process of rebuilding the wall. Look at
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Speaker 1: the book, for example. Look here at verse 1. We
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Speaker 1: have in the first verse some orientation information. In the
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Speaker 1: second and third verses, we have the situation in which
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Speaker 1: he found himself. Beginning at verse 4, we have The
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Speaker 1: reaction to what he hears from his friends. Verse 1,
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Speaker 1: the orientation. The words of Nehemiah, the son of Hakaliah.
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Speaker 1: Who was the writer of the book? Most likely it
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Speaker 1: was Nehemiah. He is simply described as the son of
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Speaker 1: this man that doesn't appear elsewhere in Scripture for any
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Speaker 1: meaningful reason. He is also seen in verse 11, the
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Speaker 1: last sentence of the verse, I was the cupbearer to
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Speaker 1: the king. That's frankly about all we know about this individual.
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Speaker 1: He was the cupbearer to the king and he was
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Speaker 1: the son of Hakaliah. But what does it mean to
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Speaker 1: be a cupbearer? It means that he was the wine taster.
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Speaker 1: He was the food taster. He was the screen taster.
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Speaker 1: between the public and the king. He was in that tender,
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Speaker 1: important position of intimacy. He was the king's chief and
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Speaker 1: most trusted counselor. He couldn't just up and leave. God
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Speaker 1: had to do a work in the heart of that
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Speaker 1: king for Nehemiah to be relieved from his post to
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Speaker 1: go to the city of Jerusalem. He was the writer.
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Speaker 1: Look at the time in which it was written. It
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Speaker 1: happened in the month of December. That's the way we
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Speaker 1: could read it. In that calendar, Chislev was December. In
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Speaker 1: the 20th year, 20th year of what? 20th year of
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Speaker 1: the king. When you lived under a monarchy, new life
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Speaker 1: began when the new king started. If you lived in
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Speaker 1: the second year of the king, in the second year,
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Speaker 1: it was the second year of that king's reign. If
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Speaker 1: you lived in the 20th year, it was, as in
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Speaker 1: this case, the 20th year of the king's reign. It
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Speaker 1: was about 445, 444 B.C., about that time. And even
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Speaker 1: the place is given us. He was in Susa, the capital.
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Speaker 1: That's like saying he was in Washington, D.C., the capital.
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Speaker 1: In fact, it's greater than that because not only was
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Speaker 1: Susa the capital of the Persian kingdom, it was the
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Speaker 1: capital at this time of the world as the Jews
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Speaker 1: viewed it. It was at the apex of activity. It
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Speaker 1: was the place of ultimate decision. The buck stopped at Susa.
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Speaker 1: It came to King Artaxerxes' attention through the lips often
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Speaker 1: of the cupbearer. And the information was often given from
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Speaker 1: the king through the cupbearer to the people. He was
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Speaker 1: at the right hand of the king of the world
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Speaker 1: in this earth's type of term or language. That's where
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Speaker 1: he was. Now the situation. It says in verse 2
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Speaker 1: that Hanani... one of his brothers, and I take this
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Speaker 1: to be a blood brother, a member of his own family.
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Speaker 1: And some men from Judah came. And I asked them,
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Speaker 1: please notice, two questions were asked by this man and
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Speaker 1: they were given the answers in the next verse. I
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Speaker 1: asked them concerning, first of all, the Jews who had
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Speaker 1: escaped and had survived the captivity. And I asked about Jerusalem. First,
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Speaker 1: he wanted to know about the people. Second, he wanted
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Speaker 1: to know about the condition of the city where his
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Speaker 1: heart was. It has been said and it is true
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Speaker 1: that the real Jew never gets his heart out of Jerusalem.
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Speaker 1: That was true of Nehemiah. He was 800 miles away,
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Speaker 1: but his heart beat for the people and the city
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Speaker 1: that he loved. So he said to his friends, how
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Speaker 1: are things in Jerusalem? Now that you have gone back
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Speaker 1: and the temple has been built, how are things going
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Speaker 1: among my people? How are things going in the city
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Speaker 1: that I love? Verse three is the answer. First, they
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Speaker 1: answer the first question. The remnant, that is the people
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Speaker 1: there in the province who survived the captivity are in
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Speaker 1: great distress and reproach. The Hebrew word translated great distress
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Speaker 1: means misery, calamity. The people that are in that city
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Speaker 1: are in a calamitous situation, miserable, depressed. In fact, he adds,
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Speaker 1: they are under reproach. The Hebrew word means sharp, cutting, penetrating, piercing.
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Speaker 1: It has in mind the idea of being the brunt
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Speaker 1: of cutting words. They are being criticized and reproached by
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Speaker 1: people who are the enemies of the fake. Now, it's
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Speaker 1: a pitiful picture that's given to us in the third verse.
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Speaker 1: It's a scene of destruction, of sadness and sorrow. The
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Speaker 1: first three verses are played in a minor key in
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Speaker 1: this great concerto. If you please. The main melody hasn't
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Speaker 1: yet come to the surface. Only the minor beginning. Only
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Speaker 1: the sorrowful strains. As they are played in the heart
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Speaker 1: of Nehemiah. He's broken hearted. What does he do? Verse
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Speaker 1: 4 through verse 11. These verses are the reaction of Nehemiah.
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Speaker 1: I am deeply impressed with the fact that this individual,
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Speaker 1: though he was in a high-ranking position, had a heart
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Speaker 1: that was very tender toward God. You know that's a
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Speaker 1: hard thing to find. It's a hard thing to find
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Speaker 1: a person who is in a position of great responsibility
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Speaker 1: in the eyes of this world who is tender before God.
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Speaker 1: Some of you men, some of you ladies in career
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Speaker 1: work may be very near a position of tremendous importance.
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Speaker 1: You know that's a vulnerable place to live. You know
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Speaker 1: that every promotion that comes your way is another threat
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Speaker 1: on your walk with God. It doesn't have to be,
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Speaker 1: but it can be, and it often is. As a
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Speaker 1: matter of fact, all the way through Scripture, you find
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Speaker 1: men who do not suddenly become base, but as they
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Speaker 1: are promoted from one level to the next, from one
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Speaker 1: strata to the next, all of a sudden you find
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Speaker 1: them lost in In pride. God means very little to them.
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Speaker 1: Who are at the top. That isn't. A worldwide principle.
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Speaker 1: That is unanimous. But it is very frequently. The truth.
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Speaker 1: Nehemiah was touched. With this concern. And so in his reaction.
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Speaker 1: Verse four gives us some verbs. That are very vivid.
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Speaker 1: Look at the fourth verse. I sat down. I wept
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Speaker 1: and mourned, was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
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Speaker 1: I find in verses 4 through 11 four very significant
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Speaker 1: factors that are true in the lives of spiritual leaders.
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Speaker 1: I want you to remember them. And so I'll not
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Speaker 1: only give them, I will repeat them through this message.
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Speaker 1: Let's take them in order. Two of them are in
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Speaker 1: verse 4. And then a couple of them were left
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Speaker 1: to the later verses. First of all, I noticed this.
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Speaker 1: He had a clear recognition of the needs. He had
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Speaker 1: a clear recognition of the needs. I draw that from
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Speaker 1: the beginning of verse 4. It came about when I
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Speaker 1: heard these words. He was not preoccupied. Nehemiah did not
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Speaker 1: live in a dream world. He was not opposed to reality.
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Speaker 1: He wasn't turned off by the truth. He said, what's
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Speaker 1: the condition? They said, it's a miserable situation. He heard
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Speaker 1: what they said. Then he dealt with it. Why do
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Speaker 1: you make such a thing of this recognizing the need?
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Speaker 1: Because I find a number of people in responsible positions
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Speaker 1: that never see the problem. It is remarkable. I remember
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Speaker 1: taking a course under a very capable instructor during my
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Speaker 1: days in seminary. In fact, he was... Notorious all over
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Speaker 1: the world for his knowledge of the prophetic scriptures. He
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Speaker 1: was so well read in it, he didn't see the problems.
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Speaker 1: And I remember as we were struggling students, just trying
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Speaker 1: to get the facts, just give us the facts now.
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Speaker 1: We would raise our hand and ask for answers to
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Speaker 1: questions and he would blink his eyes and say, Problem? Problem?
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Speaker 1: What problem? And he would look and look with us
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Speaker 1: and not even see the problem. And I used to
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Speaker 1: think to myself, why is that true? I've come to
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Speaker 1: realize that there is a simple answer to it. The
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Speaker 1: simple answer is preoccupation. You ever been around a preoccupied professor?
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Speaker 1: Ever had one at school? Oh. Some of you live
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Speaker 1: with preoccupied husbands. It's amazing to try to get their attention,
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Speaker 1: isn't it? You're looking at them through the Wall Street Journal. Honey,
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Speaker 1: I want to talk to you about something that's happened.
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Speaker 1: It's leaking in the other room. It's running out on
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Speaker 1: the floor. He just broke his arm. Mm hmm. And
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Speaker 1: on and on it goes. Remarkable how individuals who have
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Speaker 1: another level of responsibility can't relate to the problem level.
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Speaker 1: Nehemiah was extremely realistic. I have a close friend who
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Speaker 1: is extremely successful in his business. He's in the building business.
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Speaker 1: Quite successful. In fact, the number one builder in that
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Speaker 1: particular city. But he hates reality. As a result, his
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Speaker 1: family just about was destroyed. As a result, his friendship
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Speaker 1: was so undiscerning and indiscreet that he was taken for
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Speaker 1: over a million dollars by a person that he trusted
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Speaker 1: in his preoccupied state. Creative, visionary, warm, loving, very tender
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Speaker 1: toward the things of God, but he doesn't see the problems.
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Speaker 1: He hates confrontations. Don't tell me the problems. Let's talk
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Speaker 1: about the good things. Now, I think you can be
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Speaker 1: so problem oriented. That's all that that is all you
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Speaker 1: can think about. And that's not good. But the person
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Speaker 1: who is indeed a leader with some objectivity has a
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Speaker 1: clear recognition of the needs. Are you aware of the
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Speaker 1: needs of Are you aware of the needs in your
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Speaker 1: own family? Maybe you live alone and your family's removed.
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Speaker 1: Do you know where your parents' heart is? Do they
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Speaker 1: know where you are? Are you aware of the needs
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Speaker 1: in the heart and lives of your kids? If you're
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Speaker 1: a teacher, are you aware of the pupils, the kids
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Speaker 1: under you? Are you in touch with more than just
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Speaker 1: that level of pleasurable activity we call the executive stratum?
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Speaker 1: Are you aware of that lesser area where problems fester?
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Speaker 1: The second thing I notice about this man is that
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Speaker 1: he was personally concerned with the need. He not only
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Speaker 1: heard these words, he sat down And identified with them.
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Speaker 1: He was concerned with the need. Not only. Did he
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Speaker 1: recognize that there was one. He was concerned with it.
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Speaker 1: Alan Redpath writes this in his book on Nehemiah. Let
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Speaker 1: us learn this lesson from Nehemiah. You never lighten the load.
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Speaker 1: Unless you have first felt the pressure in your own soul.
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Speaker 1: You are not used of God to bring blessing until
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Speaker 1: God has opened your eyes and made you see things
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Speaker 1: as they really are. There is no other preparation for
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Speaker 1: Christian service than that. Nehemiah was called to build the wall,
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Speaker 1: but first he wept over the ruins. The walls are down? Oh, God,
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Speaker 1: how can those walls be down and these people continue
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Speaker 1: in safety? Oh, the walls are down. Who fouled up
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Speaker 1: is the average response. Who blew it? They've been back
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Speaker 1: there all these years and nobody's built those walls. Send
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Speaker 1: me their names. I'll deal with them. He was personally
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Speaker 1: touched with the needs of Before I go any further,
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Speaker 1: I want to hammer this home by having you notice
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Speaker 1: something very practical about a family need that the father
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Speaker 1: refused to recognize. 1 Samuel 3. 1 Samuel 3. Verse 11.
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Speaker 1: Funny thing, all through my childhood, I remember in Sunday
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Speaker 1: school being told the story of Samuel who was asleep
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Speaker 1: on his cot. And somebody said, Samuel, Samuel. And he
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Speaker 1: and he ran over to Eli and he said, what
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Speaker 1: is it? And Eli says, go back to sleep. It
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Speaker 1: wasn't me. And again, the voice woke up, woke him up. Samuel, Samuel.
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Speaker 1: And he ran over to Eli. What's the matter? Eli says,
28:33
Speaker 1: go back to sleep. It wasn't me. Until finally, after
28:35
Speaker 1: a couple of three more times, Eli says, listen, because
28:40
Speaker 1: that's God. And then the story always ended. And I wondered,
28:44
Speaker 1: what in the world did God wake him up for?
28:46
Speaker 1: What was he trying to tell him? Let me show
28:50
Speaker 1: you what he was trying to tell him. Verse 11.
28:55
Speaker 1: And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I am about
28:59
Speaker 1: to do a thing in Israel at which both ears
29:01
Speaker 1: of everyone who hears it will tingle. In that day,
29:07
Speaker 1: I will carry out against Eli all that I have
29:09
Speaker 1: spoken concerning his house. From beginning to end. Don't tell
29:14
Speaker 1: me God isn't concerned about a leader's home. Here's Eli.
29:18
Speaker 1: The spiritual leader of the nation. And God's concerned about
29:21
Speaker 1: his home. For I have told him that I am
29:24
Speaker 1: about to judge his house. Forever. Notice. For the iniquity
29:31
Speaker 1: which he knew. Because his sons brought a curse on themselves.
29:39
Speaker 1: And he decided. not rebuke them. Will you underline in
29:43
Speaker 1: your Bibles. He knew. He did not rebuke. He knew.
29:49
Speaker 1: He did not rebuke. Is that true in your home today?
29:57
Speaker 1: Do you know that something is going on and you
30:00
Speaker 1: are refusing to be involved in correcting it? Remarkable, the
30:08
Speaker 1: pressures that people live under and pull the shades to reason, saying, well,
30:14
Speaker 1: somehow it's going to work out. It's not somehow going
30:16
Speaker 1: to work out. God has appointed the job of the father,
30:20
Speaker 1: one of the most difficult positions in all the world,
30:24
Speaker 1: and that's to lead his home. to motivate, to set
30:29
Speaker 1: the pace, to direct, to give guidance, to encourage, to
30:34
Speaker 1: lift up, to discipline, to rebuke, to plan. He knew
30:42
Speaker 1: this and he would not rebuke them. It's remarkable how
30:47
Speaker 1: many people leave that job for the church to do.
30:51
Speaker 1: And the church therefore lives under that Constant indictment. The
30:55
Speaker 1: worst kids in the world you ever bring to our
30:57
Speaker 1: place are the church kids. And who gets the blame?
31:02
Speaker 1: The church. Not a church problem, basically. It's a home problem.
31:09
Speaker 1: As we turn back to Nehemiah chapter 1, I hope
31:12
Speaker 1: as you turn, you will realize we're not talking about
31:16
Speaker 1: Nehemiah and some ancient city in Jerusalem. We're talking about today. Today.
31:23
Speaker 1: The higher you get in the echelon of what the
31:25
Speaker 1: world calls success, the easier it is to fade into
31:30
Speaker 1: preoccupation and leave the lesser things to someone else. Nehemiah
31:38
Speaker 1: was concerned to the point of mourning. Before I go
31:42
Speaker 1: any further on the next point, I want to have
31:44
Speaker 1: you notice a word in verse 4. It says that
31:47
Speaker 1: he was fasting and praying. What does it mean to fast?
31:55
Speaker 1: It means to miss a meal for the purpose of
31:59
Speaker 1: deepening your walk with God. Some people fast one day
32:06
Speaker 1: a week. Some people fast a day a month. Some
32:11
Speaker 1: never fast. Some don't believe in it. It is interesting
32:15
Speaker 1: to me that it is mentioned and it is mentioned
32:17
Speaker 1: rather frequently in Scripture. And when the motive is right,
32:22
Speaker 1: It is remarkable what you can do when you do
32:25
Speaker 1: not take up the time for fixing, eating, cleaning up
32:29
Speaker 1: after a meal and devote that time to time with God.
32:36
Speaker 1: Some of you suffer from certain diseases and you're not
32:38
Speaker 1: able to do that. That's another problem and I recognize that.
32:43
Speaker 1: But most of us do not have that problem. And
32:46
Speaker 1: it is a remarkable thing what is done when there
32:49
Speaker 1: is given opportunity. uninterrupted time to God. He fasted and
32:58
Speaker 1: he prayed for God to deal with this situation. Now then,
33:04
Speaker 1: let's notice in verse 5, we have right away the
33:10
Speaker 1: third principle. It says, I was fasting and praying before
33:15
Speaker 1: the God of heaven and I said, I beseech thee,
33:19
Speaker 1: O Lord God of heaven, The third factor in his
33:24
Speaker 1: response is he went first to God with the need.
33:30
Speaker 1: Says that he prayed, I beseech thee, O Lord. He's
33:33
Speaker 1: talking to God. He went first to God with the need.
33:42
Speaker 1: He not only recognized clearly the need, not only did
33:45
Speaker 1: he become involved in the problem itself for the purpose
33:49
Speaker 1: of bringing about a change, he brought it before God
33:55
Speaker 1: in prayer. What is your first response when a need
34:00
Speaker 1: comes to your attention? You want me to tell you
34:02
Speaker 1: what it is? It's my first response because it's part
34:06
Speaker 1: of human nature. How can I work this out? Or
34:14
Speaker 1: what did he do to make that happen? It's either
34:19
Speaker 1: what can I do or why did he do this
34:24
Speaker 1: to bring about this difficulty? Nehemiah did not second guess
34:29
Speaker 1: the situation. When he heard the problem, he fell to
34:33
Speaker 1: his knees and said, Lord, this is too big for
34:36
Speaker 1: anyone on this earth. I bring it before you. You
34:41
Speaker 1: want me to tell you that this morning, your people problem,
34:46
Speaker 1: whoever it may be, will not be completely solved until
34:53
Speaker 1: you take it to God in prayer. It absolutely won't
34:57
Speaker 1: be solved. You'll look back at those things you did
35:02
Speaker 1: rashly in the flesh, and you will hate the day
35:04
Speaker 1: that you did that. We'll talk about the benefits of
35:08
Speaker 1: prayer as the end of the message comes, but let
35:11
Speaker 1: me just have you notice the first thing he brought
35:13
Speaker 1: it to God. What did he do before God? First,
35:16
Speaker 1: he praised God. Verse 5. I beseech thee, O Lord
35:22
Speaker 1: God of heaven, the great and awesome God who preserves
35:28
Speaker 1: the covenant and loving kindness for those who love him
35:32
Speaker 1: and keep his commandments. O Lord, I'm not coming to
35:36
Speaker 1: just another man. I'm coming to the God of heaven.
35:41
Speaker 1: For whom did he work? The king. Was he great
35:45
Speaker 1: and mighty on this earth? He was the mightiest. But
35:48
Speaker 1: compared to God, he was nothing. So it stands to
35:53
Speaker 1: reason when you go to God in prayer, you put
35:56
Speaker 1: things in proper perspective. You have a difficulty with an individual,
36:01
Speaker 1: take him to God. Bother God with this individual. Don't
36:07
Speaker 1: you be bothered with him. Leave him at the throne. Say, Lord,
36:13
Speaker 1: here is this situation. I trust you to take care
36:19
Speaker 1: of this one that I cannot change. What's he doing?
36:23
Speaker 1: He's moving him through prayer. And he's reminding himself in
36:30
Speaker 1: the process, you are the mighty one, not this king.
36:36
Speaker 1: So he didn't hide in the shadow of the king.
36:38
Speaker 1: He was under the shadow of the almighty. Verse six. Next,
36:43
Speaker 1: he confessed himself. his part in the problem. He confessed,
36:50
Speaker 1: Let thine ear now be attentive and thine eyes open
36:53
Speaker 1: to the prayer of thy servant, which I am praying
36:56
Speaker 1: before thee now day and night. Not just a quick
37:00
Speaker 1: panic prayer, but day and night. I'm praying on behalf
37:04
Speaker 1: of the sons of Israel, thy servants, confessing the sins
37:09
Speaker 1: of the sons of Israel, which we have sinned against thee.
37:15
Speaker 1: I and my father's house have sinned. We have acted
37:20
Speaker 1: very corruptly against thee. And he goes on to describe
37:25
Speaker 1: his wrong. I want you to notice with your head
37:29
Speaker 1: in verses 6 and 7, the words we and I.
37:38
Speaker 1: The confession was not because someone else had failed. The
37:44
Speaker 1: confession had to do with Nehemiah's part in the problem.
37:51
Speaker 1: What do we do when we have a difficulty with
37:54
Speaker 1: another person? We usually blame the other person. We usually
38:01
Speaker 1: figure in our head six or seven reasons why the
38:04
Speaker 1: other person is so stubborn and so unwilling to change.
38:10
Speaker 1: And we seldom think of how we are part of
38:14
Speaker 1: the problem. You know, if it weren't for you, he
38:18
Speaker 1: wouldn't have a problem. We often think if it weren't
38:22
Speaker 1: for him, I wouldn't have a problem. It works both ways.
38:27
Speaker 1: So the very first thing Nehemiah does is, Lord, I
38:30
Speaker 1: am culpable. I am not only wanting to be part
38:34
Speaker 1: of the answer, I'm confessing myself to be part of
38:37
Speaker 1: the problem. There are husband-wife difficulties represented in this congregation today.
38:44
Speaker 1: There are pupil-teacher relationships that are at odds. There are
38:49
Speaker 1: children-mother or children-dad relationships that are strained and invariably, if
38:54
Speaker 1: you don't watch it, you will think of your mate
38:58
Speaker 1: or your child or your mom or your teacher or
39:00
Speaker 1: your pupil as being the problem. That is not necessarily
39:07
Speaker 1: the truth. I plead with you as you go before
39:12
Speaker 1: God in prayer concerning this relational hang-up that you say, Lord,
39:19
Speaker 1: I bring before you these areas where I have caused
39:26
Speaker 1: an irritation. This is my realm. of responsibility. I can't
39:31
Speaker 1: change him. But God, I can tell you this is
39:35
Speaker 1: my part in it. Forgive me. And he doesn't stop
39:40
Speaker 1: with confession. The next thing he does is he claims
39:44
Speaker 1: a promise. As he goes to God in prayer, he
39:48
Speaker 1: first praises the Father, then he confesses his part in
39:53
Speaker 1: the wrong, and third, he claims a promise God has given. Remember,
39:59
Speaker 1: verse 8 it says, remember the word which thou didst
40:03
Speaker 1: command thy servant Moses. What's he doing? He's quoting a
40:07
Speaker 1: verse of Scripture to God. He not only quotes from
40:12
Speaker 1: Leviticus 26, He quotes from Deuteronomy chapter 30. He knew
40:17
Speaker 1: the book and he said, Lord, if you please forgive
40:21
Speaker 1: me if this is wrong, but I throw the book
40:24
Speaker 1: at you. I bring before you the words that you
40:28
Speaker 1: have given to us. You've made us a promise and
40:32
Speaker 1: I'm saying, Lord, I'm claiming it right now. What was
40:35
Speaker 1: the promise? Well, there were two of them. The promise
40:39
Speaker 1: is when you disobey, you will go into a foreign
40:41
Speaker 1: land that's come to pass. The second part of it was,
40:46
Speaker 1: when that time of captivity has ended, I'll bring you
40:49
Speaker 1: back in the city and protect you. That part wasn't fulfilled.
40:54
Speaker 1: So Lord, I confess to you, the first part is true.
40:58
Speaker 1: We disobeyed and we've been in captivity. But Lord, you've
41:02
Speaker 1: made a promise to us that you'll bring us back
41:04
Speaker 1: into the city and you'll protect us. And that hasn't
41:07
Speaker 1: come to pass yet. So I'm claiming that it will.
41:12
Speaker 1: Before we go on, let me say to you something
41:15
Speaker 1: very practical. In our home, there are two words that
41:20
Speaker 1: are guarded very carefully. I promise. If you have little
41:27
Speaker 1: children in your home, you don't have to have that explained.
41:31
Speaker 1: Children have an indelible memory. For example, the other morning, yes,
41:43
Speaker 1: we're going to go to the beach. We're going to
41:47
Speaker 1: go to the beach? When are we going to go? Well,
41:51
Speaker 1: we'll probably go on Saturday. Probably? Or do you promise? Well,
41:57
Speaker 1: at that point, you've got to really think about that
42:00
Speaker 1: day on Saturday. You've got to figure it in your mind.
42:03
Speaker 1: Am I really going to do it? Because when you say,
42:07
Speaker 1: I promise, you've Better stand on it. You can have
42:14
Speaker 1: a broken leg and drag it on Saturday to the
42:18
Speaker 1: beach because you promise. And you know, through the week, Tuesday,
42:25
Speaker 1: don't forget, Dad, on Saturday we go to the beach. Right, honey.
42:29
Speaker 1: Wednesday afternoon, Daddy, remember? Yeah, honey, remember. You promised we're
42:32
Speaker 1: going to get to go Thursday, Friday, Saturday morning, four
42:36
Speaker 1: o'clock in the morning. Dad, Saturday morning, time to go
42:39
Speaker 1: to the beach. You promised. You know how many promises
42:45
Speaker 1: God gave us in his word? Some dear soul counted
42:48
Speaker 1: them and counted over 7,000 promises. And you haven't claimed
42:55
Speaker 1: one this week. Not one promise have you claimed. Some
43:00
Speaker 1: of you. You know, God says to you, I have
43:05
Speaker 1: certain things that are just between you and me. A promise.
43:11
Speaker 1: And when I tell you I promise you this, you
43:15
Speaker 1: can call it to my attention and I'll love it.
43:19
Speaker 1: But you know a prerequisite for claiming a promise? Knowing it.
43:26
Speaker 1: Could you name from memory three promises out of 7,000?
43:32
Speaker 1: No wonder we don't claim his promises. No wonder we
43:38
Speaker 1: walk in the flesh. No wonder we worry. No wonder
43:43
Speaker 1: we buffet the other fellow with all sorts of manipulative
43:46
Speaker 1: techniques and clever little schemes and worry ourselves into an
43:51
Speaker 1: ulcer trying to get that fellow straightened out. God says,
43:55
Speaker 1: I have these promises that have their arms open. Claim me.
44:03
Speaker 1: Romans 4.20 says... Abraham staggered not at the promise of
44:08
Speaker 1: God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory
44:14
Speaker 1: to God, being fully persuaded that what he had promised,
44:20
Speaker 1: he was able also to perform. God doesn't lightly give
44:25
Speaker 1: us promises. He says, I promise you that if you'll
44:30
Speaker 1: give me your burden, I'll bear it. If you will
44:34
Speaker 1: seek first my kingdom, I'll add all these other things
44:37
Speaker 1: to you. If you will make your heart right before me,
44:41
Speaker 1: I'll lead you into a path of success. Doesn't mean
44:46
Speaker 1: he'll fill your wallet. It means he'll relieve your conscience.
44:50
Speaker 1: He'll give you peace like the world never knows. I'll
44:55
Speaker 1: promote you to a place of my level of significance
44:59
Speaker 1: and you will be satisfied. Nehemiah said, Lord, you have
45:04
Speaker 1: promised your people will be protected in that city. I'm
45:08
Speaker 1: claiming it right now. And so forth. Look at verse 11.
45:16
Speaker 1: He brings his petition before God. Oh, I beseech you,
45:20
Speaker 1: O Lord, may your ear be attentive to the prayer
45:23
Speaker 1: of your servant and the prayer of your servants who
45:27
Speaker 1: delight to revere your name. Make your servants successful. Grant
45:34
Speaker 1: him compassion before this man. You ever pray that? Make
45:39
Speaker 1: you guilty to pray that prayer? It's a good verse. Lord,
45:44
Speaker 1: make me successful. Doesn't mean make me rich. Make me
45:53
Speaker 1: find that place in the center of your will where
45:57
Speaker 1: heavenly prosperity rests. And whatever level it may be, may
46:03
Speaker 1: I reach the maximum so that I am in your
46:08
Speaker 1: eyes prosperous. And Lord, grant me favor in the eyes
46:16
Speaker 1: of Artaxerxes. You face a difficult situation this week with someone.
46:22
Speaker 1: An individual left the early morning service and he said, man,
46:25
Speaker 1: I think you've been reading my mail. I said, no,
46:28
Speaker 1: I promise I haven't intercepted any of your letters. He said, wow,
46:32
Speaker 1: do I face a tough one this week? But he said,
46:34
Speaker 1: you know what? That tough situation is left right back
46:38
Speaker 1: in there. He pointed back into this building and he said,
46:40
Speaker 1: that's where I left it. I was worried sick about
46:43
Speaker 1: it all this past week. And now I hope the
46:47
Speaker 1: Lord can handle it because it's all on his shoulders.
46:49
Speaker 1: And I said, listen, God can handle it. There's no
46:51
Speaker 1: problem with God. Relieve that burden. What a marvelous therapy is, Lord,
46:59
Speaker 1: take over. It's impossible for me. And give me compassion
47:06
Speaker 1: in his eyes. Now that's the next chapter. But before
47:14
Speaker 1: we close, let me have you notice a fourth reaction.
47:17
Speaker 1: He was available to meet the need himself. He was available.
47:24
Speaker 1: To meet the need himself. Make me successful. Grant me
47:31
Speaker 1: in his eyes. Grant him compassion before me. He was
47:36
Speaker 1: available to meet the need. He recognized the need clearly.
47:39
Speaker 1: He got involved in it. He took it before God.
47:44
Speaker 1: And then he was available to meet the need. If
47:49
Speaker 1: that was God's desire. Now let me apply this business
47:54
Speaker 1: of prayer. May I do that? I don't know of
47:56
Speaker 1: anything more convicting to apply, but I want to say
47:59
Speaker 1: something on that line. There is a little book in
48:02
Speaker 1: the New Testament called the book of James, and it
48:05
Speaker 1: has only five chapters and a little over a hundred verses.
48:08
Speaker 1: The man who wrote the book is the most pragmatic
48:11
Speaker 1: of all the New Testament writers. You can't read James
48:14
Speaker 1: without being penetrated with the truth of God. Talks about
48:20
Speaker 1: the tongue. talks about attitude, talks about prejudice, talks about selfishness,
48:27
Speaker 1: talks about temptation and lust. He hits us where we live.
48:33
Speaker 1: You know what his nickname was in the first century?
48:38
Speaker 1: Camel Knees. That's right. James was known as Camel Knees.
48:47
Speaker 1: You know why? Well, He was like the carpet layer.
48:53
Speaker 1: He spent all his time on his knees, except he
48:56
Speaker 1: wasn't doing his work. He was doing God's work. He
49:02
Speaker 1: spent so much time on his knees that his knees
49:07
Speaker 1: got knobby and knotty and thick, and they literally would
49:12
Speaker 1: bag like an old camel's knee. What's your nickname? when
49:20
Speaker 1: it comes to prayer? Lazy? Too busy? Doubting? Well-meaning? Too capable? Self-sufficient? Proud?
49:49
Speaker 1: It would be so interesting to know how many could
49:52
Speaker 1: be termed by God camel knees in this assembly. You
50:01
Speaker 1: know why prayer is important? Let me tell you four
50:04
Speaker 1: quick reasons that come to my mind as I put
50:06
Speaker 1: this together. First of all, it makes me wait. I
50:11
Speaker 1: cannot pray and at the same time work it out.
50:16
Speaker 1: I have to wait till I finish praying. I have
50:19
Speaker 1: to leave that situation with God. So it makes me wait.
50:24
Speaker 1: The second thing it does, it clears my vision. We
50:28
Speaker 1: in the Southern California area have an overhanging weather problem
50:34
Speaker 1: often in the mornings because of our coastal location. And
50:38
Speaker 1: we talk about the sun often. Burning through, that's what
50:41
Speaker 1: prayer does. When you first face a situation, you wait
50:45
Speaker 1: and pray. Prayer makes it burn through. It clears your vision.
50:51
Speaker 1: So you can see so much better when you're looking
50:54
Speaker 1: at it through God's eyes. The third thing it does,
50:57
Speaker 1: it quietens my heart. I cannot worry and at the
51:03
Speaker 1: same time pray. Or I'm doing one or the other.
51:08
Speaker 1: It makes my heart quieten, and settle down. Fourth thing
51:13
Speaker 1: it does, it activates my faith. I pray and it's
51:18
Speaker 1: remarkable how positive I become. How petty and negative and
51:25
Speaker 1: critical I am when I haven't prayed. I was reading
51:30
Speaker 1: this past week of Charles Blondin, who was a 19th
51:34
Speaker 1: century tightrope walker. And he thrilled his audiences with all
51:38
Speaker 1: sorts of amazing feats. In fact, he would draw a
51:43
Speaker 1: tight wire across Niagara Falls. And he would tippy-toe across
51:48
Speaker 1: that wire from one side to the other. And to
51:50
Speaker 1: make things even more difficult, he would take a wheelbarrow.
51:54
Speaker 1: And he would put that thing on the wire and
51:56
Speaker 1: zing across the wire and back. He was getting ready
51:58
Speaker 1: for one of his performances one afternoon. And he looked
52:02
Speaker 1: over and he saw a little boy that was looking
52:04
Speaker 1: up at him. Just an absolute trust. And Blondin said, son,
52:11
Speaker 1: you think I can walk across that wire? I said, yes, sir,
52:14
Speaker 1: I sure do. He said, you think I can take
52:17
Speaker 1: this wheelbarrow and push it across the wire and make
52:19
Speaker 1: it all the way across? Yes, sir, I sure do. Really? Yes, sir.
52:26
Speaker 1: You think I can put somebody in this wheelbarrow and
52:29
Speaker 1: put it on the wire and walk across Niagara Falls?
52:32
Speaker 2: Yes.
52:34
Speaker 1: Yes, sir. I sure do. I really do. Get in,
52:39
Speaker 1: he said. And he couldn't find that little fellow anywhere.
52:43
Speaker 1: It was gone. That's what Nehemiah 1 is saying. Don't
52:49
Speaker 1: just fill your notes with words and think about prayer.
52:52
Speaker 1: It's a neat little deal, pastor. Great idea. It's good
52:55
Speaker 1: for those in the ministry. Get in, says God. Don't
53:03
Speaker 1: talk about it or figure a good time or develop
53:07
Speaker 1: your thoughts on your theology of prayer. That's for the birds.
53:12
Speaker 1: God says, get in. It's an impossible tightrope walk that
53:18
Speaker 1: you're facing. Get in and rest. Let me take you across.
53:26
Speaker 1: Let's bow together for prayer. Some of you have heard
53:32
Speaker 1: about prayer all your life and you have yet, honestly,
53:35
Speaker 1: before God to really practice it. Now, you can't spend
53:42
Speaker 1: hours every day. You've got to make a living. My,
53:46
Speaker 1: that attitude of prayer could permeate every waking moment. Just
53:51
Speaker 1: a quiet confidence. Time with God in the morning. Maybe
53:55
Speaker 1: all you have is ten minutes. Remarkable what God can
54:01
Speaker 1: do through ten minutes of uninterrupted prayer. Some of you
54:07
Speaker 1: have carried your burdens so long you resemble not camel knees,
54:14
Speaker 1: but a beast of burden. The lines on your face
54:19
Speaker 1: are drawn. Your heart is broken. You're disturbed. Some of you,
54:27
Speaker 1: because you're lost, You don't have a burden bearer. And worse,
54:37
Speaker 1: you don't want one. I plead with you today to
54:43
Speaker 1: ask Jesus Christ, God's single solution to the burdens and
54:50
Speaker 1: labors of man to come into your life. He will
54:55
Speaker 1: not let you down. He says, get in by faith
55:02
Speaker 1: and I'll carry you across. But an equal tragedy is
55:08
Speaker 1: those of you that have a burden bearer, but God
55:12
Speaker 1: never knows it. You become a past master at carrying
55:17
Speaker 1: your own load. You in prayer are foreigners. You've never
55:23
Speaker 1: met strangers in a wilderness. Don't just come and listen
55:31
Speaker 1: to a message. Make this morning's service a beginning point
55:40
Speaker 1: where you become consistent on your knees. The saint who
55:52
Speaker 1: advances on his knees never retreats. Never retreats. Father in heaven,
56:00
Speaker 1: the God of Nehemiah, the God of Nehemiah's fathers, and
56:05
Speaker 1: the people who served alongside Nehemiah, we call upon you today.
56:10
Speaker 1: We know that you're the same yesterday, today, and forever.
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Speaker 1: And we know that your heart is moved when your
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Speaker 1: people pray. So remind us today, our Father, as we
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Speaker 1: bow before you, that there is nothing more important we
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Speaker 1: can do in facing situations that are beyond us and
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Speaker 1: to pray. We remember from this message that it makes
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Speaker 1: us wait, and we must patiently wait for your timing.
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Speaker 1: It also clears our vision because we're muddled and confused
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Speaker 1: in the puzzles of this life. So clear our vision, Father,
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Speaker 1: as we think about our lives and where we're going
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Speaker 1: as we do your will. It also makes our hearts
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Speaker 1: quiet before you. The chaos has subsided and Life seems
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Speaker 1: to settle down around us as we pray. I pray
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Speaker 1: that that will happen today as well, Father. And we
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Speaker 1: do bring before you our needs. And may the result
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Speaker 1: of this prayer be a time of our faith being activated.
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Speaker 1: May we walk with you in such a way that
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Speaker 1: our obedience is characterized by activity that honors your name,
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Speaker 1: even doing the difficult things. that you ask us to do.
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Speaker 1: I pray for those that are in a difficult strait
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Speaker 1: right now, under pressure, up against it, facing a test
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Speaker 1: perhaps the greatest in their lives. I pray that you
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Speaker 1: will remind them that the saint who advances on his
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Speaker 1: knees never retreats, that you're still on your throne and
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Speaker 1: we're still on your footstool and there's only a knee's
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Speaker 1: distance between. May we become people who pray. And may
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Speaker 1: we also leave the burden there rather than pick it
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Speaker 1: up and carry it with us after saying in so
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Speaker 1: many words, we're leaving it with you. Right now, Lord,
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Speaker 1: take the burden. We cast it upon you knowing that
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Speaker 1: you're better able to handle it than we ever will be.
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Speaker 1: And refreshed and renewed by this time in God's word
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Speaker 1: and now in prayer, we pray that it might make
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Speaker 1: a difference. in the balance of the hours of this day,
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Speaker 1: which we commit to you now, in the name of Jesus,
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Speaker 1: our Savior.
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Speaker 2: Amen. The preceding message, A Leader from the Knees Up,
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Speaker 2: was copyrighted in 1974, 1983, 1990, 2006, and 2015, and
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Speaker 2: the sound recording was copyrighted in 2016 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc.
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Speaker 2: All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for
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Speaker 2: commercial use is strictly prohibited.