Rise and Rebuild
Copyright: South Bay Community Church
Sermon Reflections:: Rise and Rebuild
Date: 21 April 2024
Speaker: Lead Pastor Tammy Long
Scripture Text: Nehemiah 1:1-11
Sermon Reflections:: Rise and Rebuild
Date: 21 April 2024
Speaker: Lead Pastor Tammy Long
Scripture Text: Nehemiah 1:1-11
Sermon Preamble Summary
This message begins a new series, Rise and Rebuild, based on applications to our life journey from the biblical book of Nehemiah. Pastor Tammy Long shared her recent spiritual pilgrimage through Spain. It was modeled on St. Ignatius’ journey when he developed spiritual exercises. These spiritual exercises include imaginative prayer, recognizing God in both the highs and lows of your day, and God’s grace is all you need. In the evening at the hotel, the breaking news on TV was Iran’s military attacks on Israel, and the US military assisted in shooting down missiles and drones. The Bible is clear that there will be wars and rumors of wars (See Matthew 24:6, Mark 13:7). We live in a fallen and broken world. In our world of media and round the clock reporting, we are inundated with brokenness, pain, and suffering. Our minds can struggle to take in distressing events and can lead to a decrease in empathy and sensitivity towards the pain and suffering of others. We can experience compassion fatigue in which continuous negative news can diminish our capacity to empathize. Also we may experience psychic numbing in which the scale of suffering is too much. We may experience a reduced sense of urgency to respond to crisis that we see because we are numb to it. We can also experience desensitization from prolonged exposure to violent media content. Desensitization decreases our emotional response to violence and lessens our perception of the severity of a problem. Faced with brokenness and injustice all around us, like Nehemiah, you and I can take it to God for help. Nehemiah deliberately sought and listened with the following four prayer movements in Nehemiah 1:1-11. First, Nehemiah recounts that God is great and awesome with unfailing covenant love (Verses 5-6a). Second, Nehemiah acknowledges in humility and confession that he has sinned, fallen short, contributed to the brokenness being experienced, and allowed God’s grace of forgiveness to cleanse him, you, and me (Verses 6b-7). Third, as Nehemiah recalls God’s promises, we align with God’s Word, we are reminded of our part for focus and commitment, and God’s promises are sure amidst brokenness, pain, and suffering because God can be trusted (Verses 8-10). Fourth, Nehemiah makes his request to God and responds to God’s leading. God positioned Nehemiah to respond to broken walls all around from people who are not doing well (Verse 11). Nehemiah’s prayer is a model for us today.
Bad news and heartbreaking news abounds with compassion fatigue, psychic numbing, and desensitization
There is an entire industry designed to keep bad news before us. It draws us in with scary headlines and graphic images that prey on our emotions and fears. Even with disclaimers, we can’t help but watch anyway, often in horror. Our world has round the clock media and reporting. We are inundated with so much brokenness, pain, and suffering that our minds often struggle to take it all in. Various studies have found that repeated exposure to media coverage of distressing events can lead to a decrease in empathy and decreased sensitivity towards the pain and suffering of others. A recent example is the man who set himself on fire a few days ago.
Compassion fatigue is a term used to describe the emotional exhaustion among people who work in caregiving or health professions. Compassion fatigue has also been found in the general public as we are bombarded with continuous streams of negative news. Our capacity to empathize can diminish over time.
Psychic numbing is a concept that explains how we can become numb to tragedy. As the scale of suffering increases, it becomes just too much. This can lead to a reduced sense of urgency to respond to large-scale humanitarian crises or natural disasters. We see it, but we are numb to it.
We can also experience desensitization. We become desensitized which can influence our perception of the severity or urgency of a problem. Studies show that prolonged exposure to violent media content can make us less emotionally responsive to violence. We are and will be surrounded by the ravages of sin, bad news, tragic news, devastating news, and brokenness all around us as long as we are on this earth.
Followers of Christ understand that tragedies are about people made in the image of God whom God loves
Whatever breaks God’s heart should also break our heart. Every tragedy, story of pain and suffering, natural disaster, bomb or military attack, hate crime, act of violence, and statistic of hunger, homelessness and incarceration are about people made in the image of God whom God loves. God sees and cares about all of it. God cares about the pain and suffering, the consequences of sin, and the brokenness it brings. Jesus came to address the brokenness that still breaks God’s heart today.
As followers of Jesus, we can experience compassion fatigue, psychic numbing and desensitization like anyone else. We can only hold so much; we must care for our mental health. Also, Jesus’ followers can experience something more. When what breaks God’s heart breaks our heart, we can feel the burden of the question, “What should I do, God?” We may grieve what we see and at the same time feel it is too much to carry, especially when we don’t know how to respond to the brokenness that breaks God’s heart and ours. However, as always, God’s Word, guides us.
As we begin our series Rise and Rebuild, we are learning from the book of Nehemiah Chapter 1
The biblical books of Nehemiah and Ezra are two separate books. Ezra is the book right before Nehemiah. But early on they were together as a single text. Together they narrate what happened after King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian Empire invaded Judah and destroyed Jerusalem and the temple. The Babylonian Empire took a large number of the Jewish people into exile. The exiles were released nearly 100 years later. They returned to Jerusalem and attempted to rebuild the city’s temple and walls.
Nehemiah Chapter 1 is Nehemiah’s story of the time after the exiles returned to Jerusalem. “1In late autumn, in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was at the fortress of Susa. 2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came to visit me with some other men who had just arrived from Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had returned there from captivity and about how things were going in Jerusalem. 3 They said to me, ‘Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.’ (Nehemiah 1:-3).
Nehemiah was a Jew, who served in the royal court of the King of Persia, who had conquered Babylon. Nehemiah stated in verse 1 that he was in Susa, which was the winter resort of the Persian kings. Nehemiah appeared to be living a relatively good and comfortable life in the King’s court. On the day of Nehemiah 1:2, Nehemiah was visited by his brother Hanani and some other men from Judah. Living a distance from his homeland, he asked how everything is going. The men said those who returned to Judah were in great trouble and disgrace with the wall torn down and the gates destroyed.
Why this was so devastating is not immediately apparent to us to day. We don’t live in walled cities. In ancient times, city walls were crucial for protection and security. The walls fortified inhabitants against invasions and raids. The gates were equally important as they controlled entry and exit from the city. The fact that Jerusalem's walls were torn down and its gates destroyed meant that the city was vulnerable to attack and the people were not safe. Particularly in a land under the rule of the Persian Empire, they were considered the other people not particularly wanted there.
As Nehemiah heard this bad news, he would have felt the impact emotionally and spiritually. Jerusalem was the center of religious and national identity for Nehemiah and the Jewish people. The city housed the Temple, their most sacred site. It represented God's presence among them. The ruined condition of Jerusalem diminished their identity and autonomy as the Jewish people, while they were struggling to re-establish their identity and autonomy under Persian Rule. The bad news in Jerusalem was their recent attempts to rebuild the walls and gates in the midst of hostile neighbors who would destroy their efforts.
They experienced the return to Judah from exile from Babylon, but they were still in bondage.
They lived in fear. They were vulnerable. With the bad news, they were disappointed, disillusioned, with even an apathetic attitude. Some may have even felt God had abandoned them. They were constrained from rebuilding the walls, and also constrained from rebuilding their lives due to the injustice of the ruling empire. They were disgraced as the people of God, and they were held back by a system that did not care. That scenario has been replayed over and over again in history of our fallen world. It breaks God’s heart every time. This is why Nehemiah wept. He was emotionally impacted with a profound sense of grief.
Take it to God, because God is always our starting place
“4 When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven” (Nehemiah 1:4). Nehemiah wept, mourned, fasted and prayed. This bad news literally knocked Nehemiah to his seat and sent him to his knees, gripped and deeply grieved by it. This not only shows the depths of his personal distress but also his response in the midst of his pain. He takes his pain to God for help. The lesson for us is to take it to God. God is always our starting place.
For every tragedy, every tear, every devastating news report, we literally have no other recourse but God. God can truly help us, comfort us, guide us, or show us what to do now. We already know that our minds and hearts can only take so much before our mental health suffers, or goes numb, or gives up caring all together. God says cast your cares on me. God says leave your burdens at the cross or the altar. In ourselves, we are limited. We were never meant to carry the weight of the fallen world on our shoulders. Only God can do that.
Nehemiah knew what to do with the burden of his grief. He knew what to do about the news about the suffering of Jewish people amid broken walls. Nehemiah went to God in prayer.
Nehemiah’s prayer in four movements is a model for our prayers, as well:
In the first prayer movement, Nehemiah recounts who God is – awesome and covenant love
“O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands, 6 listen to my prayer!” (Nehemiah 1:5-6a). He recounts God’s character and disposition. He states God is great and awesome. God is faithful to keep his covenant of unfailing love with those who love and obey his commands. The Hebrew word translated unfailing love here is hesed meaning God’s love is loyal, devoted, steadfast, and rock solid. God’s covenant love and lovingkindness towards us can give us confidence to bring our concerns to God because God is love.
In the second prayer movement Nehemiah remembers who Nehemiah is, in humility with confession
“Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel. I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned! 7 We have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, decrees, and regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses” (Nehemiah 1:6b-7). Nehemiah asks God to listen to his prayer, but there is humility in his request. He mentions the earnestness and fervor of his prayer, not to say God you better listen, look how much I’ve done. Rather the prayer is to emphasize the depth of his concern. Nehemiah is not making a demand, but a humble appeal before a holy and faithful God. This leads Nehemiah into confession both in intercession for the sins of Israel, as well as his personal sins and the sins of this family.
Confession is a powerful spiritual practice meaning to acknowledge our sins with God. Confession is not about making us feel bad or focusing on our failures. Actually, as God has designed it, confession is liberating, healing and freeing. The Greek word for confession is a compound term from “to speak” and “the same.” It simply means agreeing with God that we have sinned against God and others. Confession allows God’s grace of forgiveness to give us a fresh start. “We confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse us” (1 John 1:8-9). Confession realigns us with our loving and forgiving God. In Nehemiah’s prayer he is acknowledging that he, his family, and God’s people have fallen short. In some ways, they have contributed to the brokenness they are now experiencing. Confession in prayer is important because it makes room for God to act.
In a third movement of prayer, Nehemiah recalls God’s promises that aligns us with God’s Word, reminds us of our part, and gives confident hope to trust God
“8 please remember what you told your servant Moses: ‘If you are unfaithful to me, I will scatter you among the nations. 9 But if you return to me and obey my commands and live by them . . . , I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored.’” (Nehemiah 1:8-9). God’s promises are pure gold! They never fail, never expire, and never get used up. The manifestation and execution of God’s promises is not up to us. God may choose to deliver on a promise in the moment or in the future. We can be certain that in God’s divine timing, God will always make good on promises.
When we recall God’s promises in our prayers, we do at least three things. First, we align with God’s Word and we are reminded of God’s ways. Second, we are reminded of our part for focus and commitment. Since we are in a covenant love relationship with God, often God’s promises require actions by us. Sometimes we focus on God’s part and forget about our part. Third, recalling God’s promises gives hope amidst brokenness, pain and suffering. Hope in remembering trouble won’t last always. God’s promises are sure and God can be trusted.
In the fourth movement of prayer, Nehemiah makes his request and responds to God’s leading
“11 O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me.” (Nehemiah 1:11a). We can hear Nehemiah has an idea that he is bringing before the Lord. It’s likely this idea started forming during his many days of fasting and praying day and night planted in his thoughts as he spent time with God. In this fourth movement of prayer, he’s requesting that God grant him success before the King. In response to the suffering of his fellow Jews, he’s going to go before the King with his concern.
Recall that Nehemiah served in the court of the King. Nehemiah shares his pain at hearing what’s happening in Jerusalem and shares his prayer and plan before God. We learn more about Nehemiah on the very last line of Chapter 1, “In those days, I was the king’s cup-bearer.” The cup-bearer, among other responsibilities, was the King’s wine taster to test for poison. God had positioned Nehemiah for such a time as this to be a rebuilder of broken walls.
Today’s application to respond to broken walls
God has positioned you and me to respond to the torn down and broken walls. All around us are broken walls of pain and suffering where people are vulnerable, unsafe, hurting, and uncertain about what to do next. The question becomes, do we see or have we become numb, desensitized, or compassion fatigued. Do we see the brokenness from economic hardships, natural disasters, social and civil unrest, systemic injustices, and environmental breakdowns? Do our hearts break over the pain and suffering people are facing from health crises, housing crises, spiritual crises, mental health struggles, relationship breakdowns, or addictions? There are broken walls all around us and people who in this brokenness are not doing well. There are people in need of hope and someone to come along side to help rebuild the walls.
Over the next few messages in this “Rise and Rebuild” series, we are going to learn from Nehemiah about what it means to rebuild the broken walls around us. In this fallen world, what breaks God’s heart should also break our hearts. Like Nehemiah, we must respond because Jesus has no other body but on earth but our bodies.
Pastor Tammy Long shared that in her spiritual pilgrimage to Spain, there was a chapel called Chapel of the Risen Christ. Striking was art where the body of Jesus was missing but the eyes, hands, and feet remained. The art emphasizes the eyes, hands, and feet. The eyes see everything. We can’t do it all, but we can do something by seeing what God sees. We have to truly see as God sees to open our eyes, our ears, and our hearts to feel what God feels so that our actions can be what God would have us to respond. The hands and feet in the art represents that we are to respond in action as the hands and feet for God on earth.
Let us watch this video “Open My Eyes,” listen to the words, and notice which images most stir your heart.
You may be stirred by an area you already are working alongside God to rebuild walls. It may be God is inviting you to be a co-laborer with him and a builder of walls.
In our scripture text from Nehemiah Chapter 1, Nehemiah says that he mourned, fasted and prayed for days. Between the date that he first heard what was happening in Jerusalem until the date he went before the King, three to five months had passed. Nehemiah didn’t jump to fix it action right away. He spent time before God listening and waiting in prayer for how God would have him respond.
Congregational Prayer to Rebuild
As we conclude this message, this is our congregational prayer before the Lord.
Pastor: Father in Heaven, we come before You today, open eyes, ears and hearts, as we gaze upon the broken walls around and within us. Our world is afflicted by storms and fires, cities and lives uprooted in their wake. We lament the devastation - homes lost, futures uncertain, the Earth we love bearing scars of our neglect.
Congregation: Lord, we confess our part in these calamities. Too often, we have walked past the hurting without offering a hand, consumed by our own desires, ignoring Your call to steward Your creation and care for our neighbors. We acknowledge our silence and our complacency in the face of injustice, our hesitance when You have called us to act.
Pastor: In the throes of our communal suffering—pandemics that have stolen loved ones, conflicts that have displaced millions, economies that tremble and break—we see the magnitude of our need for You. We confess our fears and doubts, our failures to trust in Your providence.
Congregation: Yet, in this hour, we remember Your faithfulness. You are the God who rebuilt Jerusalem's walls, who restored its people. You are our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. We trust that, just as Nehemiah led with prayer and dependence on You, so too can we.
Pastor: Guide us, O Lord, to be builders of peace and restorers of streets to dwell in. Empower us to be Your hands and feet, to bring healing where there is hurt and hope where there is despair. Help us to reflect Your light in the darkest of places, to offer the love of Christ to all who feel forsaken.
All: We place all our trust in You, confident in Your unending love and mercy. Lead us forward, not to rebuild merely physical walls, but to fortify spiritual and communal bonds that unite us all as Your children. May we be builders of walls and instruments of Your peace! In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS INCLUDING FAMILY GROUPS
Sermon Preamble
-Even though humans were created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), what challenges do we face in living into how we were created because we live in the fallen world?
Bad news and heartbreaking news abounds with compassion fatigue, psychic numbing, and desensitization
-In what ways have your been inundated with bad news? When has the result been compassion fatigue, psychic numbing, or desensitization? Why or why not?
Followers of Christ understand that tragedies are about people made in the image of God whom God loves
-What are you to do when you see something that breaks God’s heart and also breaks your heart? How should you respond?
As we begin our series Rise and Rebuild, we are learning from the book of Nehemiah Chapter 1
-As you attempt to be the hands and feet of God on earth, why will you face opposition from the fallen world like the hostile neighbors in Jerusalem who destroyed the rebuilding efforts of the Jewish people?
They experienced the return to Judah from exile from Babylon, but they were still in bondage
-The word of God wants internal transformation from the deep inside of a person to experience real freedom from oppression. Even though the Israelites experienced some legal freedoms from returning to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon, why were they still in bondage?
Take it to God, because God is always our starting place
-What elements of our fallen world system have you seen trying to supplant prayer with God as the starting place for proper response to the burden of grief and tragedy?
In the first prayer movement, Nehemiah recounts who God is – awesome and covenant love
-What are the important elements in recounting who God is? Why is remembering these attributes important?
In the second prayer movement Nehemiah remembers who Nehemiah is, in humility with confession
-Why are humility and confession important elements in remembering who you are in prayer? Discuss the meaning of the Greek word translated as confession? If you fall short in the future after confession, does that mean that you did not meet the requirement of the Greek word translated confess?
In a third movement of prayer, Nehemiah recalls God’s promises that aligns us with God’s Word, reminds us of our part, and gives confident hope to trust God
-Why is it important to align with God’s Word, in action do our part, and then trust God for the ultimate results?
In the fourth movement of prayer, Nehemiah makes his request and responds to God’s leading
-Have you seen God lead you or another, even in the midst of difficult circumstances, in the proper position to respond with action in accordance with God’s Will?
Today’s application to respond to broken walls
-Metaphorically speaking, what broken walls do we see today that require our actions in response?
-Why is it important to spend time listening and waiting in prayer with God?
This message begins a new series, Rise and Rebuild, based on applications to our life journey from the biblical book of Nehemiah. Pastor Tammy Long shared her recent spiritual pilgrimage through Spain. It was modeled on St. Ignatius’ journey when he developed spiritual exercises. These spiritual exercises include imaginative prayer, recognizing God in both the highs and lows of your day, and God’s grace is all you need. In the evening at the hotel, the breaking news on TV was Iran’s military attacks on Israel, and the US military assisted in shooting down missiles and drones. The Bible is clear that there will be wars and rumors of wars (See Matthew 24:6, Mark 13:7). We live in a fallen and broken world. In our world of media and round the clock reporting, we are inundated with brokenness, pain, and suffering. Our minds can struggle to take in distressing events and can lead to a decrease in empathy and sensitivity towards the pain and suffering of others. We can experience compassion fatigue in which continuous negative news can diminish our capacity to empathize. Also we may experience psychic numbing in which the scale of suffering is too much. We may experience a reduced sense of urgency to respond to crisis that we see because we are numb to it. We can also experience desensitization from prolonged exposure to violent media content. Desensitization decreases our emotional response to violence and lessens our perception of the severity of a problem. Faced with brokenness and injustice all around us, like Nehemiah, you and I can take it to God for help. Nehemiah deliberately sought and listened with the following four prayer movements in Nehemiah 1:1-11. First, Nehemiah recounts that God is great and awesome with unfailing covenant love (Verses 5-6a). Second, Nehemiah acknowledges in humility and confession that he has sinned, fallen short, contributed to the brokenness being experienced, and allowed God’s grace of forgiveness to cleanse him, you, and me (Verses 6b-7). Third, as Nehemiah recalls God’s promises, we align with God’s Word, we are reminded of our part for focus and commitment, and God’s promises are sure amidst brokenness, pain, and suffering because God can be trusted (Verses 8-10). Fourth, Nehemiah makes his request to God and responds to God’s leading. God positioned Nehemiah to respond to broken walls all around from people who are not doing well (Verse 11). Nehemiah’s prayer is a model for us today.
Bad news and heartbreaking news abounds with compassion fatigue, psychic numbing, and desensitization
There is an entire industry designed to keep bad news before us. It draws us in with scary headlines and graphic images that prey on our emotions and fears. Even with disclaimers, we can’t help but watch anyway, often in horror. Our world has round the clock media and reporting. We are inundated with so much brokenness, pain, and suffering that our minds often struggle to take it all in. Various studies have found that repeated exposure to media coverage of distressing events can lead to a decrease in empathy and decreased sensitivity towards the pain and suffering of others. A recent example is the man who set himself on fire a few days ago.
Compassion fatigue is a term used to describe the emotional exhaustion among people who work in caregiving or health professions. Compassion fatigue has also been found in the general public as we are bombarded with continuous streams of negative news. Our capacity to empathize can diminish over time.
Psychic numbing is a concept that explains how we can become numb to tragedy. As the scale of suffering increases, it becomes just too much. This can lead to a reduced sense of urgency to respond to large-scale humanitarian crises or natural disasters. We see it, but we are numb to it.
We can also experience desensitization. We become desensitized which can influence our perception of the severity or urgency of a problem. Studies show that prolonged exposure to violent media content can make us less emotionally responsive to violence. We are and will be surrounded by the ravages of sin, bad news, tragic news, devastating news, and brokenness all around us as long as we are on this earth.
Followers of Christ understand that tragedies are about people made in the image of God whom God loves
Whatever breaks God’s heart should also break our heart. Every tragedy, story of pain and suffering, natural disaster, bomb or military attack, hate crime, act of violence, and statistic of hunger, homelessness and incarceration are about people made in the image of God whom God loves. God sees and cares about all of it. God cares about the pain and suffering, the consequences of sin, and the brokenness it brings. Jesus came to address the brokenness that still breaks God’s heart today.
As followers of Jesus, we can experience compassion fatigue, psychic numbing and desensitization like anyone else. We can only hold so much; we must care for our mental health. Also, Jesus’ followers can experience something more. When what breaks God’s heart breaks our heart, we can feel the burden of the question, “What should I do, God?” We may grieve what we see and at the same time feel it is too much to carry, especially when we don’t know how to respond to the brokenness that breaks God’s heart and ours. However, as always, God’s Word, guides us.
As we begin our series Rise and Rebuild, we are learning from the book of Nehemiah Chapter 1
The biblical books of Nehemiah and Ezra are two separate books. Ezra is the book right before Nehemiah. But early on they were together as a single text. Together they narrate what happened after King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian Empire invaded Judah and destroyed Jerusalem and the temple. The Babylonian Empire took a large number of the Jewish people into exile. The exiles were released nearly 100 years later. They returned to Jerusalem and attempted to rebuild the city’s temple and walls.
Nehemiah Chapter 1 is Nehemiah’s story of the time after the exiles returned to Jerusalem. “1In late autumn, in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was at the fortress of Susa. 2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came to visit me with some other men who had just arrived from Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had returned there from captivity and about how things were going in Jerusalem. 3 They said to me, ‘Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.’ (Nehemiah 1:-3).
Nehemiah was a Jew, who served in the royal court of the King of Persia, who had conquered Babylon. Nehemiah stated in verse 1 that he was in Susa, which was the winter resort of the Persian kings. Nehemiah appeared to be living a relatively good and comfortable life in the King’s court. On the day of Nehemiah 1:2, Nehemiah was visited by his brother Hanani and some other men from Judah. Living a distance from his homeland, he asked how everything is going. The men said those who returned to Judah were in great trouble and disgrace with the wall torn down and the gates destroyed.
Why this was so devastating is not immediately apparent to us to day. We don’t live in walled cities. In ancient times, city walls were crucial for protection and security. The walls fortified inhabitants against invasions and raids. The gates were equally important as they controlled entry and exit from the city. The fact that Jerusalem's walls were torn down and its gates destroyed meant that the city was vulnerable to attack and the people were not safe. Particularly in a land under the rule of the Persian Empire, they were considered the other people not particularly wanted there.
As Nehemiah heard this bad news, he would have felt the impact emotionally and spiritually. Jerusalem was the center of religious and national identity for Nehemiah and the Jewish people. The city housed the Temple, their most sacred site. It represented God's presence among them. The ruined condition of Jerusalem diminished their identity and autonomy as the Jewish people, while they were struggling to re-establish their identity and autonomy under Persian Rule. The bad news in Jerusalem was their recent attempts to rebuild the walls and gates in the midst of hostile neighbors who would destroy their efforts.
They experienced the return to Judah from exile from Babylon, but they were still in bondage.
They lived in fear. They were vulnerable. With the bad news, they were disappointed, disillusioned, with even an apathetic attitude. Some may have even felt God had abandoned them. They were constrained from rebuilding the walls, and also constrained from rebuilding their lives due to the injustice of the ruling empire. They were disgraced as the people of God, and they were held back by a system that did not care. That scenario has been replayed over and over again in history of our fallen world. It breaks God’s heart every time. This is why Nehemiah wept. He was emotionally impacted with a profound sense of grief.
Take it to God, because God is always our starting place
“4 When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven” (Nehemiah 1:4). Nehemiah wept, mourned, fasted and prayed. This bad news literally knocked Nehemiah to his seat and sent him to his knees, gripped and deeply grieved by it. This not only shows the depths of his personal distress but also his response in the midst of his pain. He takes his pain to God for help. The lesson for us is to take it to God. God is always our starting place.
For every tragedy, every tear, every devastating news report, we literally have no other recourse but God. God can truly help us, comfort us, guide us, or show us what to do now. We already know that our minds and hearts can only take so much before our mental health suffers, or goes numb, or gives up caring all together. God says cast your cares on me. God says leave your burdens at the cross or the altar. In ourselves, we are limited. We were never meant to carry the weight of the fallen world on our shoulders. Only God can do that.
Nehemiah knew what to do with the burden of his grief. He knew what to do about the news about the suffering of Jewish people amid broken walls. Nehemiah went to God in prayer.
Nehemiah’s prayer in four movements is a model for our prayers, as well:
In the first prayer movement, Nehemiah recounts who God is – awesome and covenant love
“O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands, 6 listen to my prayer!” (Nehemiah 1:5-6a). He recounts God’s character and disposition. He states God is great and awesome. God is faithful to keep his covenant of unfailing love with those who love and obey his commands. The Hebrew word translated unfailing love here is hesed meaning God’s love is loyal, devoted, steadfast, and rock solid. God’s covenant love and lovingkindness towards us can give us confidence to bring our concerns to God because God is love.
In the second prayer movement Nehemiah remembers who Nehemiah is, in humility with confession
“Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel. I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned! 7 We have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, decrees, and regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses” (Nehemiah 1:6b-7). Nehemiah asks God to listen to his prayer, but there is humility in his request. He mentions the earnestness and fervor of his prayer, not to say God you better listen, look how much I’ve done. Rather the prayer is to emphasize the depth of his concern. Nehemiah is not making a demand, but a humble appeal before a holy and faithful God. This leads Nehemiah into confession both in intercession for the sins of Israel, as well as his personal sins and the sins of this family.
Confession is a powerful spiritual practice meaning to acknowledge our sins with God. Confession is not about making us feel bad or focusing on our failures. Actually, as God has designed it, confession is liberating, healing and freeing. The Greek word for confession is a compound term from “to speak” and “the same.” It simply means agreeing with God that we have sinned against God and others. Confession allows God’s grace of forgiveness to give us a fresh start. “We confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse us” (1 John 1:8-9). Confession realigns us with our loving and forgiving God. In Nehemiah’s prayer he is acknowledging that he, his family, and God’s people have fallen short. In some ways, they have contributed to the brokenness they are now experiencing. Confession in prayer is important because it makes room for God to act.
In a third movement of prayer, Nehemiah recalls God’s promises that aligns us with God’s Word, reminds us of our part, and gives confident hope to trust God
“8 please remember what you told your servant Moses: ‘If you are unfaithful to me, I will scatter you among the nations. 9 But if you return to me and obey my commands and live by them . . . , I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored.’” (Nehemiah 1:8-9). God’s promises are pure gold! They never fail, never expire, and never get used up. The manifestation and execution of God’s promises is not up to us. God may choose to deliver on a promise in the moment or in the future. We can be certain that in God’s divine timing, God will always make good on promises.
When we recall God’s promises in our prayers, we do at least three things. First, we align with God’s Word and we are reminded of God’s ways. Second, we are reminded of our part for focus and commitment. Since we are in a covenant love relationship with God, often God’s promises require actions by us. Sometimes we focus on God’s part and forget about our part. Third, recalling God’s promises gives hope amidst brokenness, pain and suffering. Hope in remembering trouble won’t last always. God’s promises are sure and God can be trusted.
In the fourth movement of prayer, Nehemiah makes his request and responds to God’s leading
“11 O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me.” (Nehemiah 1:11a). We can hear Nehemiah has an idea that he is bringing before the Lord. It’s likely this idea started forming during his many days of fasting and praying day and night planted in his thoughts as he spent time with God. In this fourth movement of prayer, he’s requesting that God grant him success before the King. In response to the suffering of his fellow Jews, he’s going to go before the King with his concern.
Recall that Nehemiah served in the court of the King. Nehemiah shares his pain at hearing what’s happening in Jerusalem and shares his prayer and plan before God. We learn more about Nehemiah on the very last line of Chapter 1, “In those days, I was the king’s cup-bearer.” The cup-bearer, among other responsibilities, was the King’s wine taster to test for poison. God had positioned Nehemiah for such a time as this to be a rebuilder of broken walls.
Today’s application to respond to broken walls
God has positioned you and me to respond to the torn down and broken walls. All around us are broken walls of pain and suffering where people are vulnerable, unsafe, hurting, and uncertain about what to do next. The question becomes, do we see or have we become numb, desensitized, or compassion fatigued. Do we see the brokenness from economic hardships, natural disasters, social and civil unrest, systemic injustices, and environmental breakdowns? Do our hearts break over the pain and suffering people are facing from health crises, housing crises, spiritual crises, mental health struggles, relationship breakdowns, or addictions? There are broken walls all around us and people who in this brokenness are not doing well. There are people in need of hope and someone to come along side to help rebuild the walls.
Over the next few messages in this “Rise and Rebuild” series, we are going to learn from Nehemiah about what it means to rebuild the broken walls around us. In this fallen world, what breaks God’s heart should also break our hearts. Like Nehemiah, we must respond because Jesus has no other body but on earth but our bodies.
Pastor Tammy Long shared that in her spiritual pilgrimage to Spain, there was a chapel called Chapel of the Risen Christ. Striking was art where the body of Jesus was missing but the eyes, hands, and feet remained. The art emphasizes the eyes, hands, and feet. The eyes see everything. We can’t do it all, but we can do something by seeing what God sees. We have to truly see as God sees to open our eyes, our ears, and our hearts to feel what God feels so that our actions can be what God would have us to respond. The hands and feet in the art represents that we are to respond in action as the hands and feet for God on earth.
Let us watch this video “Open My Eyes,” listen to the words, and notice which images most stir your heart.
You may be stirred by an area you already are working alongside God to rebuild walls. It may be God is inviting you to be a co-laborer with him and a builder of walls.
In our scripture text from Nehemiah Chapter 1, Nehemiah says that he mourned, fasted and prayed for days. Between the date that he first heard what was happening in Jerusalem until the date he went before the King, three to five months had passed. Nehemiah didn’t jump to fix it action right away. He spent time before God listening and waiting in prayer for how God would have him respond.
Congregational Prayer to Rebuild
As we conclude this message, this is our congregational prayer before the Lord.
Pastor: Father in Heaven, we come before You today, open eyes, ears and hearts, as we gaze upon the broken walls around and within us. Our world is afflicted by storms and fires, cities and lives uprooted in their wake. We lament the devastation - homes lost, futures uncertain, the Earth we love bearing scars of our neglect.
Congregation: Lord, we confess our part in these calamities. Too often, we have walked past the hurting without offering a hand, consumed by our own desires, ignoring Your call to steward Your creation and care for our neighbors. We acknowledge our silence and our complacency in the face of injustice, our hesitance when You have called us to act.
Pastor: In the throes of our communal suffering—pandemics that have stolen loved ones, conflicts that have displaced millions, economies that tremble and break—we see the magnitude of our need for You. We confess our fears and doubts, our failures to trust in Your providence.
Congregation: Yet, in this hour, we remember Your faithfulness. You are the God who rebuilt Jerusalem's walls, who restored its people. You are our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. We trust that, just as Nehemiah led with prayer and dependence on You, so too can we.
Pastor: Guide us, O Lord, to be builders of peace and restorers of streets to dwell in. Empower us to be Your hands and feet, to bring healing where there is hurt and hope where there is despair. Help us to reflect Your light in the darkest of places, to offer the love of Christ to all who feel forsaken.
All: We place all our trust in You, confident in Your unending love and mercy. Lead us forward, not to rebuild merely physical walls, but to fortify spiritual and communal bonds that unite us all as Your children. May we be builders of walls and instruments of Your peace! In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS INCLUDING FAMILY GROUPS
Sermon Preamble
-Even though humans were created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), what challenges do we face in living into how we were created because we live in the fallen world?
Bad news and heartbreaking news abounds with compassion fatigue, psychic numbing, and desensitization
-In what ways have your been inundated with bad news? When has the result been compassion fatigue, psychic numbing, or desensitization? Why or why not?
Followers of Christ understand that tragedies are about people made in the image of God whom God loves
-What are you to do when you see something that breaks God’s heart and also breaks your heart? How should you respond?
As we begin our series Rise and Rebuild, we are learning from the book of Nehemiah Chapter 1
-As you attempt to be the hands and feet of God on earth, why will you face opposition from the fallen world like the hostile neighbors in Jerusalem who destroyed the rebuilding efforts of the Jewish people?
They experienced the return to Judah from exile from Babylon, but they were still in bondage
-The word of God wants internal transformation from the deep inside of a person to experience real freedom from oppression. Even though the Israelites experienced some legal freedoms from returning to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon, why were they still in bondage?
Take it to God, because God is always our starting place
-What elements of our fallen world system have you seen trying to supplant prayer with God as the starting place for proper response to the burden of grief and tragedy?
In the first prayer movement, Nehemiah recounts who God is – awesome and covenant love
-What are the important elements in recounting who God is? Why is remembering these attributes important?
In the second prayer movement Nehemiah remembers who Nehemiah is, in humility with confession
-Why are humility and confession important elements in remembering who you are in prayer? Discuss the meaning of the Greek word translated as confession? If you fall short in the future after confession, does that mean that you did not meet the requirement of the Greek word translated confess?
In a third movement of prayer, Nehemiah recalls God’s promises that aligns us with God’s Word, reminds us of our part, and gives confident hope to trust God
-Why is it important to align with God’s Word, in action do our part, and then trust God for the ultimate results?
In the fourth movement of prayer, Nehemiah makes his request and responds to God’s leading
-Have you seen God lead you or another, even in the midst of difficult circumstances, in the proper position to respond with action in accordance with God’s Will?
Today’s application to respond to broken walls
-Metaphorically speaking, what broken walls do we see today that require our actions in response?
-Why is it important to spend time listening and waiting in prayer with God?
Sermon Resources
Posted in Rise & Rebuild
Tagged with Nehemiah 1, St. Ignatius, Matthew 24:6, Mark 13:7, bad news, compassion fatigue, psychic numbing, desensitization, covenant, humility, confess, promise, trust, model prayer, exile, bondage
Tagged with Nehemiah 1, St. Ignatius, Matthew 24:6, Mark 13:7, bad news, compassion fatigue, psychic numbing, desensitization, covenant, humility, confess, promise, trust, model prayer, exile, bondage
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