The king could tell by looking at his servant's face that he was
troubled. At that time it was a death sentence to enter the king's courts in
that manner. Yet the king regarded his servant. After all, he was his cup-bearer and was willing to die so that the king could live. Many times Nehemiah drank
from the king's cup to ensure the king’s safety. The king would never be
poisoned because Nehemiah's job was to lay his life down for the king.
It is this quality that caused a humble layman to take action.
Laying his life down for others was his job, but now it would become his
calling. Nehemiah's distress and angst over the crumbling walls of his nation
became his mission. Not knowing what to do, he starts by being an intercessor.
He simply starts by repenting for the condition and sins of his nation; this is
the same quality we see in our intercessor Jesus. We see Christ knelt in the
garden praying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from
Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” (Matthew 26:39).
Before Jesus could ever become our sacrifice he had to be willing to drink of
the King's cup. God will never give us authority over any area we are not
willing to lay our lives down for. Like Esther, Nehemiah knew that favor came
from having an intimate relationship with the King.
The heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord! That's why Jesus
said, "The Kingdom of God is at hand!" The heart of God is always
extended towards us. God has always meant for us to rule and reign with him. He
has made us an extension of his authority and dominion through Christ. Just
like Jesus we are seated in heavenly places, and like Nehemiah we are able to
be intercessors before our King. God is looking for ordinary people to do
extraordinary things in this hour. We need to remember that Nehemiah wasn't a priest or prophet; he was a layman. He was what some
people would consider a blue-collar worker. Yet God used one man who dared to
believe God to bring revival to a nation. God will always use the one to
influence the many! In this hour, God is looking for the Martin Luther's,
Esther's, Nehemiah's, Daniel's, Deborah's and others who will take a stand for
their nation.
Recently in Germany, a woman found out that they were going to
invite an Imam to recite prayers in the church that was dedicated to the famous
Protestant founder Martin Luther. Not sure if she should go or what she would
do, she drove an hour and a half to the church where they were having a
concert. The whole purpose of the gathering was to get Christians to accept the
Muslim faith. As she stood in the balcony, Heidi Mund was stirred by holy anger
and exclaimed, "Jesus Christ alone is Lord of Germany," and shouted,
"I break this curse." It was her distress that the walls of her
nation were now being breached by an encroaching religion who is presently
responsible for killing Christians worldwide that moved her to action. It was
her brave efforts that have made the video go viral. In her interview with CBN
News, she was asked if she was worried about becoming a target for Muslims.
"Many people ask me, 'Are you afraid of the Muslims?' And I can only say,
'No, I'm not afraid of them,'" she told CBN News. "I know my God, the
living God of the Bible can protect for me for as long as he wants. When my
time is over, I will go to him." She was escorted out of the church.
There will always be opposition whenever we do something for God,
especially if we take on the task of rebuilding something the enemy has torn
down. The enemy becomes furious when we become serious; this is what happened
in Nehemiah's time.
"But it so happened, when Sanballat heard that we were
rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant, and mocked the
Jews. And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, “What
are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer
sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from
the heaps of rubbish—stones that are burned?” (Nehemiah 4:1-2)
The devil will always mock the idea of our task of rebuilding. He
will first attack our identity. Remember what he said to Jesus, "If you
are the Son of God..." He will also mock our ability, "Turn these
stones into bread!" However, if you really want to know what makes the
devil nervous it is the offer of sacrifice. Sanballat is a type of the devil.
He asked, "Will they offer sacrifices?" Why does this make the devil
mad and worried? Sacrifice restores relationship in the Old Testament. Jesus is
our sacrifice. In the New Testament, sacrifice is the ultimate act of love.
Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
John 15:13
This sacrificial love is what Nehemiah was walking in. He was
willing to gain favor with the king, to be mocked by others, and ridiculed for
rebuilding the walls to his nation. He, of course, could not do this alone; he
needed help. He needed people who were willing to have tools in one hand and
weaponry in the other hand. He needed people who would fight to rebuild the
walls and gates that had been burned down. Not only did Sanballat mock their
ability, but he also said this, "Will they revive the stones from the
heaps of rubbish—stones that are burned?” Here is a prophetic word that
came to me regarding this:
What made you burn in anger in the last season will make you burn
for God in this season. The devil has provoked God's people long enough, and
now he has pushed the envelope. Without knowing it, the devil has provoked us
unto love and good works. The fire of the last season will be used as fuel for
this season. See, when you burn something it ignites quicker. It is actually a
survival technique. You burn a char cloth and save it for later so that it can
be used for fire. God has saved what was burned in the last season to start a
fire! Be encouraged because God is going to use the ashes of what remained in
your life to light His fire! You are an ember that is ready to be sparked!
See, God is going to raise up Nehemiah's in this next season, and
they are going to revive the burned out stones and take up humanity from the
ash heaps of rubbish to build up the walls of America. The Lord can revive his
church in one day and undo the destruction of generations! Nehemiah's army of
workers rebuilt the walls in 52 days. Church, we need to stop looking for
pretty cut stones. All around us is the rubble of burnt up humanity, laying
around in piles, waiting to be picked up. Are you willing to dig into the piles
of burnt, charred, and broken humanity? Jesus was. Maybe you are one of these
burned out stones and have barely survived the last few seasons of testing. The
Bible calls us living stones!
1Peter 2:5 “You also, as living stones, are being built up a
spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable
to God through Jesus Christ.”
Burnt or not, God is going to use what the enemy has done to this
generation to ignite us and cause us to burn for Him! We may not realize this,
but we are standing before the water gate! If we just allow our worship and
prayers of repentance to go up before God, we will find ourselves standing
before the audience of the King. The walls of God's holy standards will once
again be erected in our nation, and the floodgates of revival will burst open
washing away the ashes we once stood in.
“To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for
ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of
heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the
Lord, that He may be glorified.” Isaiah 61:3
Let's look at Nehemiah 8:1-4
“Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open
square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the
scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded
Israel. 2 So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and
women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the
seventh month. 3 Then he read from it in the open square that was in front
of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those
who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to
the Book of the Law.”
Look at where they were standing; they were standing in front of
the water gate! Church, you are now in a season of rebuilding. God is looking
for Nehemiahs and skilled workers to rebuild the walls of nations. Just like
that German woman, he wants his people to declare, "Jesus is Lord over
this nation,” and “we break every curse that speaks contrary!" Though
people may mock our efforts, at what seems like a feeble attempt of a few
people, we have something in our hands, “We have letters from the
King and His favor to rebuild the walls of our nation once again!" May the
watergate break open in Jesus name! Amen!