There must have been many times in the history of Jerusalem that the Israelites must have felt that God was missing. Jerusalem was their sacred City. It was known as "The City of God " and had been known as that since 3000 BC when their forefather Abraham had responded to God's call. And yet it was to become a city which the Israelites would lose control of time and time again during their long history. There would be times when Jerusalem would rise to the place where she would be a formidable force, a conqueror of nations, and then, suddenly the tide would turn, and Jerusalem the victor would become Jerusalem the victim.

As one studies the history of Jerusalem, it is interesting to note that her fall always seemed to be accompanied by five particular circumstances. Whenever Jerusalem was conquered it was because:

1) Her people had allowed their weapons to become inferior (Jgs.1:19);

2) They had disobeyed God by making a covenant with her enemies (Jgs.2:1-3);

3) They had violated the covenant made between God and their forefathers (Jgs.2:20-21);

4) The defeat came during a time when God was testing Israel's faithfulness;

5) It was always a situation where God gave his army an opportunity to develop her skills in warfare.

In addition to these five, notice that whenever Jerusalem was in a crisis, God raised up a man to lead her back to her God ordained position. The first of these men was David, who established his kingdom there and as a result united Israel and Judah, making God the central focus by carrying the ark of the covenant there. The next man that God raised up was Solomon, who went even further and built a temple. The most beautiful temple ever built in history. It has to this day never been surpassed in it's beauty and it's splendor.
But somehow things began to go wrong - there began to be dissension in the ranks. Solomon that great wise King became a little too wise and began to follow his own heart and mind rather than the will of God. And as a result we see that for the next 500 years Jerusalem becomes the victim of plunder after plunder, until finally all her walls are broken down and the few remaining Israelites are carried into exile in Babylon. Jerusalem lies in waste - overtaken by ruin - Once the City of God, now an embarrassment to all who identify with her.

500 years have gone by since the decline began - and it would seem to all that God is missing - God has gone from the midst of His people. - But we see something begin to take place - we see one by one the hearts of that little remnant of God's people begin to stir and under the leadership of Ezra, they begin to move back to Jerusalem and begin to re-build the temple. Things do not go too well - they have the desire to begin again - they want to re-build the City of God, but so much hurt has taken place - so many walls have been destroyed that they just don't seem to have the will to go on. It is at that moment that discouragement seems to take a hold of them, that God raises up another man in their midst. - The man Nehemiah - The man for the hour.

The church of today is God's covenant people - and just as he did with his covenant people of old , when we have shown ourselves ready to move forward with God, He will raise up a man and things will begin to happen.

As we examine the life of this man Nehemiah, we will see that there are some valuable lessons which we can learn from him as a church today. Regarding the type of man or woman God needs to lead his people...
Firstly, we see that God needs:
I. A Commitment to Prayer 1:4-11

Neh 1:4-11 records for us the prayer of Nehemiah after he had been told of the discouragement of the people. - Nehemiah knew that there was a task to perform, but he also knew that whatever must be done must be preceded by fervent prayer.

Allow me to draw your attention to that prayer for a moment. We see that is was first of all a prayer of
1. Recognition of The Sovereignty Of God. 1:5
Nehemiah recognized the awesomeness and majesty of God - He recognized that God was a covenant keeping God. He prayed with conviction that God was indeed very much alive, and still in control.
As we pray for direction for our church we pray always with the understanding that God is in control. We do not regret the past because we recognize His sovereignty. We are where we are because of the sovereign providence of God. We will be where we will be because of the sovereign providence of God. We pray with that in mind so that we do not be overcome by our personal agenda. We trust in His guidance and we wait on His direction.
We see also that his was a prayer of :
2. Repentance From A Life Of Sin. 1:6-7
After giving God the recognition which was due to Him, he repents to God of his sins, and not only his own sins, but the sins of the people of Israel - He has a deep burden for them as sinners and pleads with God for their forgiveness. Repentance must always precede a clear vision from God. We cannot come before Him expecting a Word from Him if we harbor iniquity in our hearts. He will not hear. Isaiah 59:1-2 Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. 2But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
A prayer of recognition of Lordship of God... A prayer of repentance of a life of sin... And it was a prayer of:
3. Rememberance of The Father's Promises 1:8-10
Nehemiah brings to mind the instructions given by God to Moses - Because of disobedience they would be scattered but by faithfulness they would be brought together once again.
Oh what a powerful lesson there is to be learned through Nehemiah's prayer. How relevant for today, and even more so, for the church. - You who are here today - the faithful - the remnant of God's people in this portion of His vineyard - have prayed this prayer of Nehemiah - You have recognized as Nehemiah did, that God is still in control. Every promise in the book is mine, every chapter every verse every line. All the blessings of His love divine. Every promise in the book is mine.
Having come to that place of repentance. Having looked back and been reminded of God's faithfulness to His people - I believe that our time has come - to RISE UP AND BUILD.
There is a second lesson that we can learn from this passage. Following a commitment to prayer there must be:
II. Careful Preparation.
Ch 2:11-16 Nehemiah selected a few Godly men and went out into the city into the night, to inspect the damage. He made a careful assessment of all that had taken place - He left no stone unturned. As he examines the site he notices that the city walls are all in a heap - Those walls which were once designed to protect Jerusalem - to keep the enemy out - were just rubble on the ground. And I am sure that the first thought that entered Nehemiah's mind was that before those walls could be rebuilt - the rubble would have to be moved out of the way.

It is not enough to pray for forgiveness. It is not enough to simply say sorry. The prayer of repentance that we pray must be genuine in that it becomes answered through the removal of the rubble. True repentance is a complete change of mind about something. It is only then that one may be able to mover on and rebuild the walls. Look at the promise of Joel 2:12-13 "Even now," declares the Lord, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning." 13Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Joel 2:25-29 "I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten - the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm--my great army that I sent among you. 26You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. 27Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the Lord your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed. 28"And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. 29Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

Church, when this happens, then we will be able to rebuild those walls. In His strength, not our own. As we plan together to build this church, we will realize that there are many walls of protection which have fallen over the years. They will need to be re-built - but you cannot build on the rubble of the walls which have fallen down before. - That all needs to be cleared up so that you can build on a solid foundation.
God provides many different walls of protection for His people.
1. The Wall Of Friendship
When the wall of friendship falls it is a sad thing - there are so many hurts which seem to come back and haunt us. - Perhaps those walls have fallen because of some unkind word spoken in haste, which has caused a rift that has never been restored. That wall needs to be rebuilt. The rubble of broken relationships needs to be cleared away so that you may begin to build that wall on a sure foundation. Forgiveness needs to take place between one another and the friendship restored. It may be a relationship gone wrong with someone in this body, or it may be someone outside of the church, perhaps in the world. The same thing applies.
Jesus has some strong words to say about that through the Apostle John in his 1st epistle. If anyone says he love God, yet hates his brother his is a liar - says God ! Another wall is:
2. The Wall Of Faith
How difficult it must have been for those Israelites after having been through so much to put their faith in God again. - But they knew that the only way that they could succeed was to take their eyes off their own inability and renew their faith in God's ability. They never doubted God's ability - what they doubted was His ability to do it for them.
Little Johnny watched in awe as the great Mussolini, the worlds greatest balancing artist pushed a wheelbarrow along a tightrope spanned across the great Niagara Falls. The crowd roared with excitement and applause as he came back across again. When he got onto safe ground he walked up to little Johnny and said: "Son, do you believe that I could do it again?" - "Oh yes!" said Johnny. "Well then, climb into my wheelbarrow and let me push you to the other side". Well, you couldn't see little Johnny for dust. He believed Mussolini could do it, but he would not put his trust in Him.
For revival to take hold and for this church to be re-built for the Glory of God - your total trust will have to be placed in Him In Mark we read about a man who realized that belief was impossible without dependance on Jesus. Mark 9:22-24 "It (the demon) has often thrown (my son) into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." 23" 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." 24Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
Romans 4:18-21 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be." 19Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead--since he was about a hundred years old--and that Sarah's womb was also dead. 20Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.
The wall of faith will have to be re-built.
The walls of friendship... The walls of Faith.... but what of....
3. The Walls Of Faithful Witness
One of the first walls to go down when a church goes through a time of testing is the wall of a faithful witness. The willingness to witness seems to disappear. On, how difficult it is to talk to a lost world about a loving God when we ourselves are not sure about that love. - When our thoughts are centered so on our own problems that we don't even see what's going on around us. This problem has been with God's people since the very beginning. Many of you are familiar with the cry of the Israelites when they were in Captivity in Babylon - "How can we sing the Lords song in a strange land?" There might have been times when in your own hearts you too thought you were in a strange land. But you're back in your own territory again - and that wall of faithful witness has to be re-built.
Nehemiah had made a careful Investigation - and the final step that he had to take was...
III. Cooperative Involvement.
We see in ch 2:17 how after he had made the tour of investigation, he had decided what must take place - He calls the people together and see what he says. vs 18: And the people reply - "Let us arise and build" - "Let us arise and build" - and when the people agree to do this and revival begins in that city of God, the attack from the enemy begins as well.
Folks, you can be sure that when you mean business for God - The devil will attack from every side - and we had better be ready. He will attack in many ways. He attacked Nehemiah's people with:
1. Unfair Criticisms
ch 4:1-3. The criticisms will not only come from those who we would normally consider enemies of God, but sometimes even from those who are supposed to be God's people - Look at these two - Sanballat - his name means "Sin has given life" - we can understand him opposing the work, but look at the man Tobias whom vs 3 tells us is at Sanballat's side - His name means "The Lord is good"! and history tells us that he was a worshipper of Yahweh, almighty God - the God of the Israelites. Sometimes that will happen and you will need to turn a deaf ear and do what Nehemiah did in Ch 4:9 - We prayed to our God, and were on our guard both day and night. How do we stay on our Guard? Eph 6:14: with the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.
Not only will there be unfair criticisms, but there will be unfounded rumors...
2. Unfounded Rumors...
4:11 There will be rumors that things aren't as good as they seem. The devil loves rumors. He will use a rumor to destroy the strongest faith - if we allow him! And there is only one way to stand up to that tactic of the enemy. And that is to do it the way Nehemiah did it. In ch 4:16 - from that day on, while one half did the work, the other stood guard against the enemy. - They were the home guards - and they carried the full armor - all their weapons. Even those that worked carried the sword in one hand and a tool in the other.
As you go forward as a church. These things will come to test you - but if you are equipped with the armor of God, you will thwart the devils attack. God needs people who will stick with it, regardless of the odds....
Let us arise and build

He has no hands but your hands -