Reflection on Nehemiah's Prayer

This past Sunday we studied the prayer of Nehemiah during his time of fasting as he begins to prepare for what God would have him do in as he is sent to Jerusalem. I felt that the verses were beautifully appropriate for the time our community and country faces. My heart is weighty and burdened for the families who have lost their loved ones over the course of last week's shootings in Louisiana, Minnesota, California, and Texas. I do not want to make this post long, rather I wish to encourage the church, that is the entire body of Christ, with a few quick thoughts I spoke on yesterday morning. 

HUMILITY

Nehemiah's prayer provides us with an example of humility as he reveals his dependence for God. In a time of great need, his immediate response isn't for the blessing of a great plan or some execution. Rather, he appeals to God's character and faithfulness (who God is and what He has done; not what Nehemiah needs or how "good" he's been). 

Humility begins with our need and dependence on God (Nehemiah 1:5-7). 

CHARACTER

Nehemiah's prayer is filled with scripture references which help us to see that he was firmly grounded in the Word of God; whether it's an appeal to God's faithfulness or a request, it's founded on scripture. If the church is going to stand in a time of confusion, anger, mourning, and grief then we must stand on the foundation of God's Word (Psalm 1:1-3). 

UNITY

As a nation, we are in disunity yet the church has been called to model unity and to carry one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2) and this includes the cries of our community and nation. Right now, there are many who are angry and scared yet the church has been called to be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:9). This is not a political or economic problem, but a moral problem. 

The church must model unity not because we have it all together, but because while we were still sinning, Christ died on a cross for us (Romans 5:8). We are called to be a bridge in our community not because we have all of the answers, but because the gospel reconciles us to one another and to God. 

FINAL WORDS

Church, in 3 months, when some of this has settled or become a little quieter, will you still be standing? The charge of the church cannot be sustained by simply changing your profile picture and with the use of clever hashtags. Church, the aim of our charge is love. A love that is only possible through a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith (1 Timothy 1:5). 

A Night of Prayer

This Thursday, we'll be hosting A Night of Prayer at Logos Community Church in light of the shootings that occurred last week. We will be spending time in song and in prayer as we cry out to God to confess our sin, pray over our community and those who protect us, and stand in unity because of the hope found in Jesus. 

Check out the FB Event. 

Further Reflection: For The City | Nehemiah

This past Sunday we began a new sermon series at Logos Community on Nehemiah titled "For The City" and it was great! In another post, I mentioned how Nehemiah is one of my favorite books in the Bible because it's a book that can teach us a lot about gospel-centered leadership. We unpacked the first 4 verses of the book and a lot of historical content in order to better understand not only Nehemiah's context, but the news he was receiving. 

In the initial verses of Nehemiah, we learn a little bit about his job and background and come to find out that he's a pretty faithful dude. He works in the capital city of Susa at the king's palace and has a high risk-high reward job. The encouragement that we discover is that many ask about God's will and what it is for their life. Here, we can look to Nehemiah as an example: be faithful and serve right where God has you. That's the answer and I know many reading this want it to be more specific and elaborate, but it doesn't work that way. I don't think Nehemiah knew that his life was about to change before hearing the news about Jerusalem, but he was faithful to where he was at and doing. 

Later, after the news his brother, Hanani, brings about the destruction of the walls and city of Jerusalem, we learn that these events actually happened 141 years prior to Nehemiah receiving this information. In other words, the destruction of the city was more than likely widely known, especially by Nehemiah. So, what caused him to fast and pray for days (1:4)? 

I believe that upon hearing the news about Jerusalem, God gave Nehemiah a new perspective. That is, He transformed Nehemiah's heart to where the news couldn't be accepted anymore. If there is news about something devastating that happened over 140 years ago and nothing has been done, I would safely assume that many believed "that's just how it is." But for Nehemiah. We see that his heart is utterly broken and his response to the news is not only emotional but biblical. Nehemiah's response is greatly connected to his relationship with the Lord. Because we see that he fasts and prays (and as we look further this week), we see that Nehemiah is a man whose trust is in God and His word. Nehemiah does not simply understand what has happened, but is moved to action. 

"One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also in much." (Luke 16:10)

Nehemiah was a faithful servant to the king, but more importantly to God. I think his work and response are evidence of that. And the hard truth that we should walk away with is that many would rather complain than get dirty. If you wish to know God's will then serve right where he has you. And if you wish to pursue humility, be ready to respond when He transforms you heart for the uncomfortable. 

Below are some quick resources if you're looking to dig a little more through our time in Nehemiah. Additionally, the video for this week's sermon is also attached. Thanks for the support! 

RECOMMENDED READING: 
• Exalting Jesus in Ezra-Nehemiah (Christ Centered Exposition Commentary) by James Hamilton
• Nehemiah (Expositional Commentary) by James Montgomery Boice 

For The City | The Book of Nehemiah (New Sermon Series)

This Sunday we begin a new sermon series at Logos Community Church. I'm pretty excited as it's one of my favorite books of the Bible. We will be walking through the book of Nehemiah beginning in July (which is tomorrow) through the Fall; finishing somewhere in November. The title of this series is "For The City." 

I am honored to be preaching through this series during the opening month and because it's one of my favorite books, I thought I'd add further thoughts on here in case you wanted to do a little more digging on Nehemiah. But essentially, this Sunday will be "setting scene" so to speak. Nehemiah was written about 400 years before the birth of Jesus Christ and about 15 years after the book of Ezra. In fact, in the Hebraic bible and up until the 15th century, scholars considered Ezra and Nehemiah as one book ("Ezra-Nehemiah"). The history is enormous and when you dig around you can uncover a lot of connection in not only Ezra and Nehemiah but also Esther. 

As we take a look at the opening verses of Nehemiah, we need to consider the amount of historical events that have happened before diving into our boy. Events such as the fall of the Northern and Southern kingdoms followed by the conquering of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (not to mentioned the capturing of the Jewish people for nearly 70 years). Later, the Jewish people were then released and allowed to go back to the Promised Land, but only about 2% (along with Ezra) returned. Here's some perspective: the Babylonians captured anywhere between 2-3 million people and only 2% of them (roughly 50,000) returned. The rest? They set up shop in Babylon. Nonetheless, Ezra goes back to Jerusalem and is tasked with the rebuilding of Solomon's temple but the city of Jerusalem is still in rubbles; it was a ghost town. 

I understand I'm giving you the cliff-notes version of all of this history, but it's impactful because the connection of these events to the response from Nehemiah upon hearing about Jerusalem's destruction is astounding. I won't give it away here because I'm still blown away by it. I know I've written a lot about everyone else except Nehemiah and the truth is that the bible doesn't tell us much about Nehemiah prior to the momentum of his calling and heart transformation. We do know, however, that he was working in the city of Susa which is the capital of the Persian empire. And here's where you come in as we prepare for Sunday: 

Nehemiah was just a dude working a job. He was faithful to his work and the Lord. Then one day, God radically changed his heart for Jerusalem (a city he'd never been to). As Christians, we either complain about where we're at in life or are utterly confused on what to do. But from Nehemiah, we see that God can choose anyone at any moment for an immense task. I believe one of the reasons God had favor on Nehemiah was because he was a faithful-bible believing-God fearing dude and his response is evidence of that. 

If I've given you enough ambiguous detail, then let me give you some specifics: join us this Sunday during our 9:00 a.m. or 11:00 a.m. service to learn about Nehemiah and how God impacted his life radically and what that means for you and me. The coffee is on us and the music is pretty rad. I'll see you then.