NEHEMIAH,S RADICAL FAITH! Our model for RADICAL FAITH is Nehemiah.Lets see how God used one man to change the history of His world.We pick up the events at the end of the first chapter of the book of Nehemiah. Oh Lord, Nehemiah prays: let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man. I was cupbearer to the king.-(NEHEMIAH 1:11) As we have seen before,the Bible captures volumes in a single sentence.What is the significance of ending this passage with the sentence of I was a cupbearer fo the King. Much like the Biblical queen Esther.Nehemiah realized that the place where God had placed him indicated a certain responsibilty. At a time of crisis for the Jewish people,Mordecai ,Queen Esthers uncle,told her: Do not think that because you are in the kings house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your fathers family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?- (ESTHER 4:13-14) What we learn here is God can put you in a position,so that you can use your influence to make a difference for God.Therefore do not be comfortable and enjoy your position and become unsensitive towards Gods voice! Nehemiah was a cupbearer. To the King,so this presented him an opportunity to make a difference for God! Esther was a Queen,and through her position she was able to make a difference for God. When Nehemiah asked God for favor before the King,he was stepping out in a RADICAL FAITH that gave God lots of space to operate.Nehemia h wasnt sure what God would do,but he made clear that he was relying on Him to put his plan to action. Four months had passed since the heartbreaking news had reached Nehemiah that Jerusalem was still in ruins. What could have delayed Nehemiah to act on the news about Jerusalem. We get the answer on the second chapter of the book of Nehemiah: In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before, so the king asked me, Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart. I was very much afraid,-(NEHEMIAH 2:1-2) Yes that is the reason why it took some time for Nehemiah to take action.He was afraid... (- to be continued)
Posted on: Thu, 28 Aug 2014 04:46:13 +0000
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