Nehemiah 1:4-11
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.
And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:
Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned.
We have dealt very corruptly against thee and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.
Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:
But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.
Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.
O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king’s cupbearer.
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.
And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:
Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned.
We have dealt very corruptly against thee and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.
Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:
But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.
Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.
O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king’s cupbearer.
It is time to rebuild the wall! Rebuild the wall of faith, righteousness and prayer. The wall of right and wrong and of taking a stand and fighting for what is ours! What does that mean? It means we are going to have to get to work. Some of us are called to be prayer warriors, but some of us are called to fight. We are all soldiers in this army. That means action is required of all of us.
The book of Nehemiah is about a man who had a vision and took a stand. A man who heard from God and he stood firmly on what God had called him to do. Nothing stood in his way. He faced conspiracies, poverty, famine and false rumors. Not once did he give up. He was determined to rebuild the wall. How determined are we to stand for what is rightfully ours?
Nehemiah was known as an organizer, a man of God that did not act without prayer and did not pray without acting. He recognized God’s role and always gave God the credit. He was outspoken, not easily intimidated and trusted God. The list could go on and on. Where are the Nehemiah’s in this day? Who will be willing to take a stand?
Our founding fathers fought for our freedom and we are sitting back quietly, allowing these freedoms to be taken. There are martyr’s who have gone on and we are allowing those deaths to be in vain. We have taken God out of our homes, schools, and government. They are working on taking Him off our money now. Tell me how many quarters you have seen that after a couple months use still have the ridges along the outside edge? We are reaping the product of a generation that has pushed God to the side. The divorce rate is over 60%, drugs are taking our children. Our children are not safe at school and we are not safe anywhere we go. It is time the church takes a stand. What is it going to take for us to open our eyes? It is time the church fights back. Take back what we have allowed the enemy to have.
They say it was one woman who took a stand. She was offended by prayer. That one woman taking a stand made a difference . . . not a good difference, but she accomplished what she set out to do. Prayer is out of our schools. What would happen if we just took a stand? If we just didn’t sit back and allow these things to happen.
We hear all the answers in the media, crack down on the 'bullies', stricter gun laws, tighter security and so on. None of these things will fix the problem we have. The bad guys will always find a way to get what they want and do what they want. Someone will find a way around what ever rule is made. We need to get our eyes on Jesus. He is the answer. We took him off the scene and we have made a mess.
The tragedy happened at VA Tech and I heard our President state that there is power in prayer. Our Governor referred to the story of Job and then to how Jesus said while hanging on the cross . . . “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” The news showed the students praying. I hope that the realness of the prayer and hope that they are hearing from some of the ministers will stick with them. My question is, if we had been praying before the tragedy happened, what could have been prevented?
The same thing happened with the attack of the Twin Towers. There was a cry for people to pray. If we had been praying before hand, what could have been prevented? We treat God like a band-aid and as soon as the wound starts healing, we rip him off. He doesn’t just want to be the band-aid. He wants to be our shield.
We say we want revival, but when will we be willing to fight? Not one revival or great thing has ever happened without those who are willing to take a stand. We have sit back too long. We have gone with the flow too long. We say all we can do is pray. Well, we do need to pray . . . for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of STRONG HOLDS (2 Corinthians 10:4). We also need to fight . . . FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD. We have children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, etc that are growing up in scary times. Are you willing to just sit back and see what happens? Our marriages are failing, mothers don’t want to care for their children, men who don’t know how to be men . . . .it is time to take a stand. We have got to take a stand.
This world will not endure forever. The Bible plainly tells us of the end days. God also tells us in Galatians 6:9 “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” If it is something that could make us faint, that means we are putting forth some type of effort. God sent his only begotten son to us. The Bible tells us that Jesus’ own received him not. Jesus denied himself and hung on that cross for our sins. The ultimate sacrifice was given. What will you do with the opportunity you have been given? Will you take a stand?
James 2:17-24
Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
Thou believest that there is one God: thou doest well: The devils also believe and tremble.
But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
Was not Abraham out father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
And the scripture was fulfilled with saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God
Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
Thou believest that there is one God: thou doest well: The devils also believe and tremble.
But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
Was not Abraham out father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
And the scripture was fulfilled with saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God
No comments:
Post a Comment