“What My God Had Put In My Heart” – Nehemiah 2:9-20
None of us like to get blamed for things we did not do, but I think if you added it up, you would find that God gets blamed more than any other. It seems that when we are in crisis our first question is, “Why God?”
I. Nehemiah Had Patience To
Nehemiah 2:11-12 So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days. And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon.
Nehemiah 1:4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven.
Nehemiah 2:1a And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king.
Nisan is the first month on the Hebrew calendar. That means that Nehemiah spent 4 months in prayer awaiting direction from God.
Psalm 25:5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: For thou art the God of my salvation; On thee do I wait all the day.
Proverbs 2:1-5 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, And hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, And apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, And liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, And searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, And find the knowledge of God.
“When in doubt, don’t.” When it comes to making a move, it is always best to exercise patience and let God put on your heart what He has for you.
II. Nehemiah Had Passion For Nehemiah 2:13-16 Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king’s pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass. Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned. And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.
2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Luke 14:28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
Wisdom is being wise enough to know you are not wise enough. Wisdom is knowing how to use the knowledge you have.
Ephesians 5:17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
If you want to do something you have never done this year, you will need to learn something you have never known.
III. Nehemiah Had Purpose In Nehemiah 2:17-20 Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work. But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king? Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.
Colossians 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.
1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
Where we go in life and where we lead others is never to be about how it makes us feel or how it makes us look. It is to be about fulfilling God’s will in our lives.
A good leader leads people to the right decision so that the choice they make is their own.
James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.