Dear beloved: Nehemiah found favor with the Lord and with the king because he had cleansed his spirit, soul, and body before the Lord during his prayer and fasting time in Nehemiah chapter 1:4. The Lord is anxious to hear your prayer, beloved, if you are walking upright before Him. He tells us over and over in the scripture that He hears the prayers of the righteous. Proverbs 15:8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is His delight. And again in Proverbs 15:29 The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous. And so God is waiting and anxious to see His kingdom move forward on this earth, and He is pleased with us when we ask to activate His angelic army to bring about His kingdom here on the earth.
And so Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem with the officers of the army and horsemen, and when he arrived he was not exactly given a hero's welcome. Neh. 1:10 And when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about it, it was very displeasing to them that someone had come to seek the welfare of the sons of Israel. Beloved, you can be assured that when you set about to do kingdom building that the devil will not be pleased and will rise up against your work. The devil always wants to raise up his throne above the throne of God, he always wants to subvert, divide, and eventually destroy anyone who comes to look after the sons of Israel. The devil had a problem submitting to the will of God from the beginning. Isaiah 14:13 But you said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. v14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High.
Expect opposition when you set about to rebuild kingdom walls in your life, or even in praying for your family, your church, commmunity, or nation. The devil has a plan and it is to continue to tear the walls down, and he will do everything in his power to see that his plan succeeds.
Nehemiah did not share his vision with anyone, he kept it to himself and went out in the night and surveyed the situation without arousing a lot of discussion. Neh.2:12 So I went out at night, I and a few men with me. I did not tell anyone what my God was putting in my mind to do for Jerusalem and there was no animal with me except the animal on which I was riding. So he looked at the situation, which to his eyes it must have seemed to be a daunting task, but he knew that his God was with him. So he said in verse 18 And I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me, and also about the king's words which he had spoken to me. Then they said, "Let us arise and build." So they put their hands to the good work. And again in verse 20 he speaks to Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem, the mockers and despisers, "the God of heaven will give us success; therefore we his servants will arise and build, but you(mockers) have no portion, right, or memorial in Jerusalem.
Beloved, have faith to build even in the face of mockers and despisers, even when the task looks formidable. If it is too big for you then it must be of God. 2 Corinthians 5:7 for we walk by faith and not by sight. Believe that God is big enough to provide everything you need, and to give you the courage to do the job. Take up the cry of Nehemiah, let us arise and build! God bless you kingdom builders this day, in Christ, Jim
No comments:
Post a Comment