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Good morning, church. We are looking at a special topic this month: the life and leadership of Nehemiah, specifically chapters 1-6 of the book of Nehemiah. I encourage everyone to go home and read through those chapters, as we will be exploring the key themes from his life.
Let's begin by reading Nehemiah 1:1-4 together:
The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah. In the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, Hanani one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men. And I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile and also about Jerusalem. They said to me, "Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire." When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.
To understand Nehemiah's response, we need to know the backstory. The Israelites had been exiled because of their unfaithfulness to God. But by Nehemiah's time, he expected to hear of their restoration—just as the prophet Jeremiah had promised and as Daniel had also anticipated. Before Nehemiah's era, there had been some return: Zerubbabel had led the rebuilding of the temple, and Ezra had also gone back.
When Nehemiah asked for news about what was happening, he expected to hear great reports—that the cities were built and things were going well. Instead, he heard that there were still serious problems. The walls were broken down. The gates were burned. The city remained desolate. This is why he mourned and fasted.
Nehemiah then prayed, ending with these words from Nehemiah 1:11:
Oh Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man. I was cupbearer to the king.
Later, in Nehemiah 2:1-5, we see what happens next:
In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before; so the king asked me, "Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of the heart." I was very much afraid, but I said to the king, "May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?" The king said to me, "What is it you want?" Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, "If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it."
I want us to focus on who Nehemiah was and what we can learn from him. Nehemiah was not a king, priest, judge, or prophet. He was a cupbearer to the king—a serving position. But what set him apart was his passion for his people and for God's plans.
When Nehemiah heard about the condition of Jerusalem, it tore at his heart. He cared deeply. This is one of the most important lessons for us: we need to develop a heart for the things of God and for God's plans. To achieve what Nehemiah achieved, you must have that heart. You must have that mindset.
The situation was dire. There were three main problems:
When Nehemiah heard what had happened, his immediate response was to take it to God. We are taught well in this church to cry out to God when there is an issue, to seek His face because He is the one who can solve it.
But what was truly special about Nehemiah's response was the depth of his prayer. He did not simply pray. He mourned. He wept. He fasted. He prayed. This was not something manufactured—it came from the heart.
We are taught that when we pray and worship, we must do so from our hearts for it to be effective. The lesson for us is this: for what God has called us to do, we should set our hearts on it. We should reflect on it. It should take over us. It should consume us.
Nehemiah's goal was clear: to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. In parallel, our goal in this church is the revival of the United Kingdom, especially in this season.
God called Apostle before he was born. It was prophetic that he would come here and be part of the revival of this nation—to restore this nation back to God. The United Kingdom was once a nation that loved and served the Lord, a nation with men and women who died for the sake of the Lord and were blessed for it, becoming great.
But over time, this nation has turned its back against the Lord. God has called us to be co-partners in the restoration of the United Kingdom to God—to turn the heart of this nation back to Him. That is the parallel between us and Nehemiah.
When we have a goal like this, we must expect opposition. Nehemiah spoke to the king and asked permission to go back and rebuild his city. God granted him favor, and the king let him go.
But opposition came immediately. According to Nehemiah 2:10 and 2:19:
When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites... But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. "What is this you are doing?" they asked. "Are you rebelling against the king?"
We know that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers. I can imagine that the moment the prophecy was spoken that the United Kingdom will be restored, spiritual warfare was declared immediately.
Opposition comes in different forms:
Doubt and fear: Did God really speak to Apostle? Has God really called us to be part of this? Will the United Kingdom really be restored? Can I be big enough? Can I do enough to play a part?
Apathy: We hear the vision at a convention and are set on fire, but a few weeks later that fire is gone. The devil sows apathy in us.
Weariness and laziness: We may hear the call and desire to be part of it, but we cannot physically get ourselves up to do the activities that contribute to it—we struggle to pray, to read God's Word, to evangelize. Weariness and tiredness set in.
Deception: The truth can be twisted. Confusion can be sown. Distractions can pull us toward other things we think are important—pursuits in our personal lives instead of God's purpose.
The first thing Nehemiah did (Nehemiah 2:11-18) was to assess the situation himself. After arriving in Jerusalem, he did not immediately tell people what he had come to do. Instead, he looked around. He examined the walls. He examined the city. He assessed the challenge.
For us, this means: If we are told that the United Kingdom is to be restored and there will be revival, we must ask ourselves:
And critically, we must be engaging the Holy Spirit. We cannot do this in our own power. We need the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. When we speak to people and try to convince them that Jesus is the way and that they should return to the Lord, it is not by words alone. Even when we speak words, those words must be empowered by the Holy Spirit to have any real effect.
After analyzing the situation, Nehemiah began speaking to people, letting them know what God had said to him and what he had come to do.
Our immediate partners are ourselves. Once we understand that this is our goal as a church and what God has called us to do, we must have conversations with ourselves and with our brothers and sisters in our homes about what we think about this calling, what role we play in it, and how we can achieve it together.
But we must also engage external partners: our communities and those around us. When you speak to people and let them know what God is planning to do, they get excited about it. Then you won't have to tell them what they need to do—they will find where they fit in and do it gladly.
Engaging partners also means engaging yourself. You must ask yourself:
Be intentional in your walk. That is very important.
When those who opposed Nehemiah mocked him, they did more than just mock. They tried to distract him, turn people against each other, and use violence against them. So how did Nehemiah deal with opposition? What can we learn?
We have been taught well in this house how to deal with spiritual warfare: answering with the Word. Revelation 12:11 tells us:
They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.
It is our testimony that empowers us to overcome opposition.
Practically, this means: If we have doubts about this calling or doubts about whether this country can be revived, we must go back to what the Word says—both the prophetic word that was spoken and the Scripture itself.
Christ's goal is clear: the ends of the earth will be saved. We can stand on that. And we can stand on the prophetic word that this nation will be saved.
Secondly, Christ tells us that we are the light of the world. We cannot look down on ourselves. If God has said we are the light of the world, we must remember that and live that truth.
There are so many distractions and so many things that can make us forget this. Sometimes the darkness feels so terrible that we forget we are the light. But remember: you are in that darkness because you are the light. You are there to shed light to that place.
Finally, we respond with prayer and watchfulness. We do not pray aimlessly. We are focused and cognizant of what is happening around us and pray toward that—praying for the people around you, for your neighbors, for your church. Be watchful and prayerful in all things.
