“The art of following Nehemiah is the art of being concerned about the house of God and the people of God. The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. 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, Nehemiah 1:1-4 “I once read a book that showed a vision of Jesus during His time on earth. I was sad as I read the discourse in which an angel said that most men were not interested in God. Are men interested in God? Quite frankly, my experience as a pastor leads me to think that people are not really interested in God. I find that most of the people who come to church on Sunday mornings are interested in themselves and in their own prosperity. They want to have good families, good cars, good homes and good futures. Most people are not concerned about the church and its welfare. Most people give tithes and offerings when they think or feel it will benefit them somehow. This is sad and it makes me feel helpless and depressed. But Nehemiah was different. Nehemiah was concerned about the church and people of God. He was concerned about Jerusalem and its welfare. He dwelt in the king’s palace and had a good job. He was a secure and blessed person needing nothing in that sense. And yet he was concerned about the house of God. One day, a rich man was questioned about why he was a faithful church attendee. “What do you need?” they asked him. “Why do you go to church? What problems do you have? What do you pray for and what makes you go to church?” As far as they were concerned, people only went to church when they had problems. Listen to me, dear friend, one of the master keys to becoming a successful person is to be concerned about the house of God and its welfare. Be concerned about the church building! Be concerned about the church’s finances! Be concerned about the church members! This is the key characteristic that marked out Nehemiah and made him different from all others we read about in the Bible. Excerpt From: Dag Heward-Mills. “The Art of Following.” Dag Heward-Mills.
Posted on: Fri, 30 May 2014 11:59:04 +0000
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