Looking at the book of Nehemiah, we realize how Nehemiah was a fantastic leader. In this book, the people in Jerusalem were disobedient. God said, He will bless you if you walk in obedience and if you don’t, you will be driven out of your own land. Although Nehemiah was the King’s cupbearer it never caused him not to be focused. Nehemiah felt the burden of his Nation. He realised the walls and gates were broken down and he went first to the King of Kings and reminded Him of His covenant. We are responsible for praying for our Nation just like how Nehemiah did. Nehemiah took on the burden of prayer and intercession for his Nation.
Let Us Rise Up And Build Our Spiritual Lives
We should always be passionate about the God we serve and be in prayer. We are comfortable in where we are at with God, but God wants to ignite us with the fire of the Holy Spirit and this starts with our spiritual life. We need to start attending church often, reading the Word, evangelizing and praying. If we are driven by the love of God, we will want to serve Him and let him change our lives.
And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before. 2 Therefore the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.” So I became dreadfully afraid, 3 and said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?” 4 Then the king said to me, “What do you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.” Nehemiah 2:1-5 (NKJV)
During the time of Nehemiah, no one could go before the king in a disrespectful manner. In this same way, we must recognize that we can’t go before God in a disrespectful manner. This is seen in the Bible where Queen Vashti was turned away because of her attitude. The King saw the sadness on Nehemiah’s face and questioned him. Nehemiah wanted to return to the land of his fathers to restore it. He interceded for his nation. He went to the secret place, the place of prayer. If we pray, heaven will be opened to us.
The church has become complacent in their walk with God. We no longer have a strong desire for God but rather for the things of the world. We do not read the Word and spend time with God. When the Holy Spirit convicts us, we will not sin anymore. We need to read the Word to see how the Holy Spirit operates.
The enemy has the ability to shut us down because the walls of our spiritual life are being broken down. We have allowed the world to enter into our lives and therefore, we need to search our hearts. We run away from trials because we are not grounded in the Word of God. We are not allowing the Word of God to purify us and keep us. We give access to the enemy to put us to sleep because we are participating in things that are not of God and that do not feed the spirit man. We need the fire of the Holy Spirit to rebuild our spiritual lives.
Nehemiah investigated the walls and gates to find out what exactly needed to be done. He called upon the leaders of the city to rebuild the gates. The first gate he rebuilt was the sheep gate which was a sacrificial gate. He built the most important gate first which is the altar of worship. Our lives should be living sacrifices that are pleasing and acceptable to God. Let us ask God what areas in our lives needs to be rebuilt. What walls have been broken down? Order needs to be brought to our personal lives because we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. There should be a separation in our lives from the things of the world.
Nehemiah confessed before the King what was upon his heart. We are not victorious because we are not confessing our sins. We are carrying a lot of baggage. When David hid his sin, it caused his bones to grow old (Psalm 32). When we stay in a place of compromise, it gives the enemy control over our lives. God is calling us to a place to confess our sins. Find an accountability partner who you can share it and who will encourage and challenge you. When we isolate ourselves, we place to the enemy in our lives.
Let Us Rise Up And Build Our Family Life
We need to live in love and unity in this season. The body that is divided gives a gateway for the enemy to enter. We have to be watchful. Where there is fighting with the home and church, there is division and disunity. It is important for us to encourage and edify each other. God is calling us to rebuild the family of God. He is calling the men to arise in their position as head and priest of the home. God has called husbands to wash their wives with the Word and to teach their children. It’s time to take your rightful place.
