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Now, here's today's message from Pastor Skip Heitzig. You know, some prayers can't be long. You recall when Peter was walking on the water for that very short period of time after Jesus walked on the water and said, Come on, Peter. And it worked. Peter's walking on the water until he sees the storm and he starts sinking, right?
The Bible records That Peter said Here's his prayer. Lord. Save me. Three words. Three words.
He's sinking. You don't have time for all God of the universe, Heavenly Father. He'd be dead. All he could get out was, Lord, save me. Aren't you glad the Bible doesn't say the long-winded?
Prayer Of a righteous man avails much. It says the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. One commentator put it this way: silence would have been misinterpreted. Had he, Nehemiah, closed his eyes and lingered in devotion. The king immediately would have suspected Treason.
So it was a quick God. Help me. I do need to say this, however. Quick prayers only work if you have a prayer life. Quick prayers are only effective if longer prayers have been in place beforehand, and they were for Nehemiah.
He prayed day and night for four months. This little prayer at that moment, this popcorn prayer, was simply an act of trust. He'd always trusted. He trusted again when the king said, What would you like?
Now, I want you to notice something else. It just sort of stuck out to me this week. I'd never noticed it before. He says, verse 4, I prayed to the God. What does it say after that?
The God of heaven.
Now, that happens to be a Nehemiah description of God. It's very frequently found in this book. Nehemiah refers to God as the God of heaven. And we noted last week that When you realize who you're praying to and where the one you're praying to sits, heaven. He has the best vantage point in the universe.
that will fortify your faith. You're trusting.
So, no matter what's going on around you in your life, you are talking to the God. Of heaven. And so think of the perspective. Look around your world. Is evil abounding?
Yeah. Is Satan deceiving people? Yes. Is the city in shambles? Yes, but is God still on his eternal throne?
Yeah. He's the God of heaven. When you realize this, It fortifies your trust.
So this is trusting. By the way, this is why worship is so important. This is why we have worship songs before a sermon. We don't have 30 minutes of worship, so latecomers can come. and find a seat.
We have that to get your perspective rightly adjusted. As the songs remind you of who he is, what he has done, and what he can do. When you kneel before the king in heaven, you can stand before any king on earth. Here's Nehemiah standing before this king. He has been on his knees before the king of heaven.
He's about to ask.
Some pretty hefty requests. But he is confident God has called him to do this. While you are waiting for God's timing, you need to couple that with trust. And here's what I'm saying you need to trust God for: trust that God. is big enough.
and cares enough to reveal to you what he wants you to do, what his purpose for your life is. In fact, I would say God is more anxious to To reveal his will to you, than you are to have his will revealed to you. And God is God, and God is able to do that. Even though you can't see it at this moment. That's where the trust comes in.
Proverbs 3, trust in the Lord with all your heart. Don't lean to your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him, and maybe he'll direct your paths. And he will. Direct your pets.
Trust.
So timing followed by trusting, third step. Testing. Testing. Now, here's Nehemiah. He believes God has called him to go rebuild Jerusalem, but he doesn't want to presume, he wants to test that.
He wants to test what he has felt God has placed on his heart. Because he wants to know for sure.
So there's three tests here. Test number one, he is honest about the problem. Verse 3. He says, May the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad?
Now he just spits out the problem: when the city, the place of my father's tombs, lies waste. and its gates are burned with fire. Nehemiah knew This was the day it's time to put up or shut up. I got to just spit it out and be honest about the problem. If this is the purpose for which I was born, I'm going to find out soon enough by just saying.
Here's the issue.
Now I just want to point something out. Because it shows up twice in this text. He refers to his father's tombs, the place of my father's tombs. I think he did that for a very important reason. King Artaxerxes Langematis would not have cared that Jerusalem is broken down.
With fire, the walls are in jam. He wouldn't care. But what he would care about. is respecting the dead. And it was a core value in antiquity and in the Persian court to honor the tombs of your fathers.
So Nehemiah brought that up as well. Smart move. That's the first test. He's honest about the problem. Second test, He has a bold request.
To ask the king if he can quit. Leave his position as cupbearer. Verse 5: I said to the king, If it pleases the king, if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me To Judah To the city of my father's tombs that I may rebuild it. Then the king said to me, The queen also sitting beside him. How long will your journey be?
And when will you return?
Now this is quite a test. Let me explain why. If you are Bible students, you may recall the book right before Nehemiah is what book? Ezra. In Ezra chapter four, this king, Artaxerxes, had issued a decree previous to Nehemiah.
He had issued a decree that the building in Jerusalem must stop. See, the case So when Nehemiah comes and says, I want you to send me to Judah to build the city that you canceled. It's a bold request. I'm asking you to reverse your foreign policy regarding Jerusalem. You sent a letter to stop building.
I'd like to start that building up again.
So if being sad was bad enough, He just might push the king over the edge with this one. But there's something I want you to notice also in verse 6. It says, the king said to me, then you'll notice a parentheses. the queen also sitting beside him.
Now that queen could have been his wife. Mrs. Artaxerxes Langemanis. But some commentators believe this was not the queen, but the queen mother that it's referring to. If that is indeed the case, then the woman sitting next to him is Esther.
which was his stepmother as we looked at last week. And if that is Esther, we know that she is Jewish. And that would have emboldened Nehemiah to be. Asking. for this bold request.
Again, Proverbs 21: the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, and like the courses of water, he turns it wherever he wishes.
Something else. Did you notice in verse 5, I said to the king, I'm going whether you like it or not, king. No, I misquoted it on purpose. Because what he really said is, if it pleases the king. And if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah.
Notice The submission. Why do I bring this up? Because a lot of Christians get very cocky when it comes to government. And they'll often quote things like: Well, the Bible says you obey God rather than men. Yes, you do when you need to.
But I think you also need to respect authority.
so as to confirm the will of God. Because did you know the God can work through ungodly government leaders. He does it all the time. King Cyrus of Persia was the guy, ungodly leader. who let the Jews originally go back.
to their homeland. Caesar Augustus in the New Testament, ungodly. Ruler. Gave a decree for the world to be taxed that drove Joseph and Mary out of Nazareth to Bethlehem so that Jesus could be born in Bethlehem to fulfill. The prophecy.
King's heart is in the Lord's hand. The third test I want to draw your attention to. Is that Not only does he want to be honest about what he sees as the problem, not only does he want to be bold about. I got to quit and you reverse your foreign policy. But now he's going to get really bold and ask: not only can I go, but I would like the government, your government king, to pay for it.
I want you to subsidize this. Look at verse 7.
Furthermore, I said to the king, If it pleases the king, let letters. Be given to me for the governors of the region beyond the river, that's the Euphrates River. Remember, they're 900 miles away. that they must permit me to pass through until I come to Judah. It's like saying I want a passport.
and a visa and Business class tickets. This is Connect with Skip Heidzig. Your support helps reach people every day with biblical truth that speaks into real life, bringing clarity, strength, and lasting hope. And this month, we'd love to thank you with two resources designed to help you trust God in difficult seasons and move forward with confidence. When you give today, you'll receive the Expound Nehemiah Seven Message series with digital download, along with Pastor Skip's booklet, Overcoming an Anxious Mind.
These resources will help you see how God is at work even when life feels uncertain and how to experience His peace instead of anxiety as you follow Him. Your gift helps extend the reach of Connect with Skip Heitzig, connecting more people to God's Word. Request your resources when you give $50 or more at connectwithskip.com slash offer or by calling 800-922-1888.
Now, here's more from Pastor Skip. Verse 8. And A letter to Asaph. the keeper of the king's forest, that he must give me timber. To make beams for the gates of the citadel, which pertains to the temple, for the city wall, and For the house that I will occupy, my own digs.
And the king granted them to me. According, this is what he notices, according to the good hand of my God. Upon me. Here's what you need to notice. Not only does he pray for the opportunity to go back.
He has planned for the opportunity to go back. In advance. What was he doing four months?
Well, he was praying night and day, but he was doing more. He was researching and planning and figuring out what it's going to take to build, to travel. He needs protection. He needs documentation. He even researched and found the name of the keeper of the king's forest and mentions.
Asa.
So he has been preparing, not just praying. I bring that up because there's this. Mistaken idea that A Christian just needs to go out in faith. Which to some people means without a plan, half cocked, haphazard. I'm just believing God.
Well, believe God enough to pray and to have a plan. Because we're talking about your purpose in life, your calling. You don't want to get this wrong. Jesus said, Which of you intending to build a tower doesn't sit down first to count the cost? Whether he has enough to finish it.
When I Thought that my purpose in life was to be a pastor. I was in a UCLA program in radiology. But I really had this idea that my purpose in life was more than this. I wanted to be, I wanted to pastor a church.
So what did I do? I tested it. How did I test it? I taught home Bible studies. That was my Petri dish.
So I kind of figured this way, I'm going to start a home Bible study. We're going to see if it grows and see if people understand the Bible and grow in their faith. If they do, that's a good sign. If they don't. That's a bad sign.
It's a negative sign.
So, if the Bible study starts at 10 people and goes down to one, and that's just me, and I'm talking to the heir, good indication, not called to do this. If it grows and I give good feedback, it may be an indication that I should do this.
So I tested it. Let's say you think, well, I'm called to be an evangelist. How do you know? Go street witnessing. Go just tell your friends and family and people in your community about Jesus and see if anybody gets saved.
If nobody gets saved, That's a good thing to know before you buy a sign that says Joe Blow Evangelistic Association. and hit the road with it. You want to test it. Before you go. A calling that cannot be tested is a calling that cannot be trusted.
Now, I'm going to give you the last one in a moment, the fourth step. Before I do, I gotta just Put this out there. Especially for you Bible buffs, especially for you eschatology. Students Notice in verse 6. When The king says, How long will your journey be and when will you return?
So it pleased the king to send me. And look at that last little phrase, and I set him away. Time. Verse six marks the beginning of Daniel's 70-week prophecy. Let me remind you of that in Daniel chapter 9.
It says that 70 weeks of years are determined For your people, for the city of Jerusalem. From the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem. Until the Messiah Will be 483 years, 1,500 years. 173,880 days to be exact. That timetable begins here when Artaxerxes gives the command to restore and build Jerusalem.
Okay, back to our Theme. Timing, trusting, and testing. Let me give you the fourth step. Tension. You didn't expect that one.
One of the signs of your purpose and calling in life is having the right. tension, the right blowback, the right opposition. Verse 9 says, Then I went to the governors in the region beyond the river and gave them the king's letters. Showed him my passport, tickets.
Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me, so he's got an entourage, military protection. When Sanbalat the Horonite, Tobiad the Ammonite official, heard of it, they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel. As soon as Nehemiah comes to town with this imposing entourage. News got out. And the enemies of God got Riled up.
And they're named here. You will notice their name not only in verse 10, but throughout the book.
So, because they're going to be mentioned throughout the book, I need to explain them to you now so that later on I don't. First is San Ballet the Horonite. He originally came from the town of Honoraim. East of Judah in the country of Moab. Documentation from antiquity, the Elephantine papyri to be exact, identifies Sanbalat as the governor of Samaria, the rival.
power north of Judah. He was in charge of all this territory, but now Nehemiah comes with letters from the king saying the king has commissioned me to build Jerusalem, so I'm in charge, you're not in charge, which means Sanbalat the Horonite's territory just shrunk. which means his tax base is just shrunk as well. And he doesn't like that.
Next guy is Tobiah the Ammonite.
Now get this, Tobiah is a Jewish name, but Ammon... east of the country of Israel. If you've ever heard of Amman Jordan, That's the modern name for the ancient Ammonite territory.
So Tobiah, a Jewish man, moved. or was from the area of Ammon. And scholars have traced nine generations of his influential family in the nation of Ammon. Scholars tell us that Tobiah moved to Jerusalem and became sort of like the mafia boss. He's like the godfather of Jerusalem.
I'm going to make you an offer you can't refuse. You know, he's the mob boss.
So you've got two enemies. You've got Sandbalak, governor. of the northern rival power and you've got Tobiah the Ammonite. Uh Now back to the theme. The call of God carries with it a certain amount of tension.
We call it spiritual warfare. Calling brings conflict. And you should see opposition. The right kind of opposition. Not as a bad thing, but as a good thing.
It's actually a sign of your calling and confirmation of your calling. When you define that your purpose in life ticks off the enemies of God. It must mean you're on the right track. Charles Spurgeon said, To have Satan for your adversary is a comfortable omen. For it looks as if God were our friend, and so let us be comforted in this matter.
Charles Spurgeon said, I'd rather have Satan as my enemy than as my friend.
So Make sure you got the right enemies, the right tension, the right people are against you, and that is all the. Enemies of God.
So Think of it this way. If your life is displeasing To God's enemies. It's probably because it's pleasing to God. But if your life And your lifestyle is pleasing to the enemies of God. Then be worried.
Then be worried. If your life poses no threat to the enemy, Be worried. If it does pose a threat to the enemy, let it not bother you, but incentivize you. Great, I just ticked the devil off. Hallelujah.
Got to do that again and again and again.
So tension. Timing, trusting, testing. And then tension. Just a note, I was going through the text yesterday and something jumped out at me. Nehemiah.
Believed that God still had a plan. for national Israel. Literal Israel. Nehemiah knew that they were in captivity for their sin. But he also knew that though Israel sinned.
In the wilderness, In the land Went into captivity, that did not make God's promise to national literal Israel null and void, but that God would bring us eventually back to the land. You believe that. And then in verse 10, when he showed up. It says They were deeply disturbed. That a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel.
That verse has been repeated. since May fourteenth of nineteen forty eight when Israel got back in the land. All the neighborhood has been up in arms, and still is, that there is even a Jewish State in the region. And that if some have come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel.
So now let's go all the way back to where we started. Jesus said, I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly. Abundantly. The day you were born, that's your coming. What you were born for, that's your calling.
Find your calling. Find your purpose. That's where the joy kicks in. That's where you get turbocharged. To live another day.
You're fulfilling your calling, your purpose. your mission. It begins for some. By receiving Christ. I can talk to you all day long about God's best for your life.
But if you've never asked God to be in control of your life, You're never going to know what God's will is for your life because His will begins there, that Jesus become your Savior. Your master. You give your life to him. You let him control you. You intentionally ask him to save you.
You are willing to turn from the old life and follow him into a new life. We're so glad you joined us today on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before you go, here's a reminder. When you give $50 or more this month, we'll send you the Expound Nehemiah 7 Message C D series with digital download, along with Pastor Skip's booklet, Overcoming an Anxious Mind, as our thanks. These resources offer biblical insight and encouragement to help you trust God in challenging seasons and experience His peace as you follow Him.
Your support helps keep this Bible teaching ministry on the air, connecting more people to God's Word. Give today at connectwithskift.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888. See you next time. Make a connection. Should Oh.
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