Preparing For The Vision:
The Second In The Vision Messages

Nehemiah 1:5-11 "And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: [6] Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned. [7] We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. [8] Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: [9] But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there. [10] Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. [11] O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer."
 

"Christianity without the living Christ is inevitably Christianity without discipleship, and Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ." (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

Last week we discussed Israel's plight, how she, as a nation, ignored the Sabbatical Years of our Lord Jesus for 490 years. How God punished her by placing her in Babylonian Captivity for 70 years. How God turned the heart of King Nebuchadnezzar to imprison the nation, and King Cyrus to release her.

Look at the last sentence of our text: "For I was the king's cupbearer". Nehemiah was both the highest esteemed and the lowest esteemed of all of the King's servants. The ancient Kings were often assasinated so that others, sometimes their own family members, could assume the Throne. One of the ways that Kings were often killed was by poison, and the most common way of poisoning a King was to put poison in his drink. In order to avoid little problems like poisoning Kings developed the practice of choosing a servant to be cupbearer, or the guardian of the King's cup. Those who guarded the cup from poisoned were highly esteemed by the King because of their function. Yet, in order the calm the King's mind, the cupbearer was also required to drink some of the beverage from the cup before giving it to the King. If the cupbearer died, then the King was saved. After all, he could always get another cupbearer. But if the cupbearer lived, the King knew the beverage was safe to drink.

Nehemiah as the King's cupbearer was, in fact, a living sacrafice for King Cyrus. His life was cheap, expendable, replacable insofar as Cyrus was concerned. If he was lax in guarding the cup, then there was always someone else to take his place. Poor, lowly Nehemiah, expendable Nehemiah.

How many of you feel "Well, I'm useless for God. I have a disability, I have a problem, God certainly can't use me." Yet you came to Church this morning because the Lord of all Creation led you here, and you are where you need to be, right at this moment, because He wills it. Physical infirmity doesn't make you useless to God, but sin does. Old age doesn't make you useless to God, but selfishness does. Nehemiah was made the King's cupbearer, and accepted this task willingly, knowing that God would ultimately use him even in this lowly position.

Yet Nehemiah did what all believers should do, all Christians should do. He knew he was the King's cupbearer, knew that he was a living sacrafice, knew that he was expendable, yet where was his focus? Nehemiah focused, not on his lowly position, but on his relationship with Jesus the Lord of all Creation. Look at that relationship, and learn, dear one.

Nehemiah 1:5 "And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments"

In our day, just as in Nehemiah's day, we have forgotten that our God desires a relationship with us, but we have also forgotten that He is, indeed, a just God. Nehemiah referred to God as both "great and terrible", and though we forget it, our God has always been both.

We emphasize the Love of God, and indeed, God is Love. Jesus has more love in His little finger than does all of the human race, and that love is longsuffering. Year after year He called Israel to repentance, and year after year she refused. For 490 long years He called, He entreated, He wooed, and year after year the nation refused. Yes, He is longsuffering, but He is also "great and terrible". Do not forget the scathing rebukes that Jesus offered the Scribes and Pharisees who tormented Him. Do not become content in your own conceit and forget it was He who ran into the Temple with a whip, and beat the blasphemous money changers. Do not forget that this One Jesus will come to a place called Armageddon riding a white horse, and He shall lead the armies of God to destroy those who follow after evil (Revelation 19) with the sword. Do not forget that this Jesus will one day sit on a Great White Throne and look for your name in the Lamb's Book of Life - and if you have not accepted Him as Savior while it is now, then when it then you will be cast into a Lake of Fire that burns forever.

Jesus is not a fairy tale, but reality. God is not an invention of man's mind, but the truth. He wants to build a relationship with you, but you cannot build it on your own works, but on fully trusting what He did for you on the Cross. Nehemiah understood his relationship to God, knew that God was "great and terrible", and this showed in his lifestyle.
 

"Suppose we saw an army sitting down before a granite walled fort, and they told us that they intended to batter it down, we might ask them, 'How?'. They point to a cannon ball. Well, there is no power in that; it is heavy, but not more than half a hundred or perhaps a hundred weight; if all the men in the army hurled it against the fort they would make no impression. They say, 'No, but look at the cannon'. Well, there is no power in that. A child may ride upon it, a bird may perch in its mouth. It is a machine, and nothing more. 'But look at the powder'. Well, there is no power in that; a child may spill it, a sparrow may peck at it. Yet this powerless powder and powerless ball are put into the powerless cannon; one spark of fire enters it, and then, in the twinkling of an eye, that powder is a flash of lightening, and that cannon ball is a thunderbolt which smites as if it had been sent from Heaven.  So it is with our Church of this day; we have the instruments necessary for pulling down strongholds, but oh, for the fire from Heaven". (Charles H. Spurgeon)

Nehemiah also understood that Jesus was He who "keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments". The Lord wants you to know, today, that He is a Covenant Keeping God. He loves each and every one of you so much that He spread out His hands and allowed Himself to be spiked to take your place of judgement. Yet He expects, no, demands, that each one of us keep our eyes fully focused on Him and not our own selfish ways. If you will share in God's vision as a Church, as an individual, then each one of us must fully commit our lives to the Christian calling. Look what Jesus said:

John 15:9-14 "As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. [10]  If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. [11] These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. [12]  This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. [13]  Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. [14]  Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you."

Do you know the Love of Christ? Has it touched your heart, as it has mine? Do you love one another, just as Jesus loved you? Oh Lord, what a hard saying to take! This, too, is a "great and terrible" saying from a "great and terrible". If I would walk in Christ and find that unlimited joy of the Christian walk, then there must be nothing that I won't do for you for righteousness sake. If you will walk in Christ and find that unlimited joy that Jesus, our Covenant Keeping God, promised, then you must also sacrafice self in order to fulfill all of His commandments. But herein is the mystery:

When you forget yourself, your conventions, your selfishness, and make your life a living sacrafice just as Nehemiah was, then you will find that place of joy. Only then will "your joy .. be full". Only when you are willing to sacrafice as Jesus sacraficed for one another, for mankind to spread the Gospel, only then will "your joy .. be full".

Nehemiah 1:6 "Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned."

But we need to go deeper, deeper still Beloved of God. To have a deep, abiding Love with Jesus you must acknowledge your accountability, your own responsibility before Him. If Judas Iscariot had went before the Lord after betraying Him and dropped to his knees, how different the outcome might have been. If Cain had humbly bowed before God after his murderous act and humbly asked forgiveness, confessing that atrocious sin, then how different the outcome might have been. Judas could have been a great Apostle, Cain could have been the father of a great nation, but both became outcast because they refused to bend their knee in repentance to the great and terrible God, our Lord Jesus.

This was not the case with Nehemiah, that lowly cupbearer. Nehemiah recognized his sinfulness, accepted responsibility for his part in the captivity, accepted that he had been selfish rather than selfless, and repented before the Lord. Be aware that the sins of each member of this flock are rocks in our road to growth, barriers that keep us from achieving the Vision God has for us. Be aware that your personal unconfessed sin has created a barrier in your life, a barrier you have erected that keeps you from the peace and joy of a relationship in Christ.

What are your reasons for refusing? When you wake up in the morning and reach out your hand, do you feel Jesus gently touch it? Are you happy and at peace with God, have you been surprised by joy in the midst of trial, knowing that He is there with you in the midst of it? Or do you feel burdens drawing you down, and does it feel like the weight of the whole world is on your shoulders?

Until you as an individual make up your mind to serve Him, to keep His commandments, to repent of your sins, then God cannot fulfill His vision through you and through this Body. The sin of pride must go, because we are all sinners saved equally by Grace. The sin of selfishness must go, for Jesus calls us to love our brothers and sisters without thought to self. Each of you are created in the image of God, the image of Jesus, and are precious. The sin of laziness must go, for we are called to work together to honor Jesus, not just to come to Church once in a while. In place of these sins Jesus calls us to service, to love, to evangelization, to proclaiming that He is the Way - then living our lives as if we truly believe it. Lastly, the sin of unbelief must go.

Nehemiah 1:9-10 "But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.  Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand."

Israel was cast out, dispersed, scattered to the four winds because of their sins. They were directionless, just as in the days when they wandered in the wilderness. Yet Jesus promised that, if their hearts returned to Him, He would lead them into the promised land.

Where is our promised land? Are we there?  Look in your heart this morning and honestly answer, are you in your promised land. Let me close by asking you these questions:

• Have you accepted Jesus Christ to be your personal Lord and Savior? If you answer is "yes", then I next ask you, do you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you will lift up your eyes in Heaven when you die? Or are you afraid of death, uncertain that you have an eternal home with Him.

• Are you growing in Christ? Have you discovered your spiritual Gift? When you stand before Him on judgement day do you believe He will be pleased with your progress, or will you be found wanting?
• Are you telling others about Jesus? Or do you keep your relationship with Him secret, ashamed that you don't live up to the lifestyle you profess on Sunday?

Return to the Main Menu/ Bible Studies!