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NEHEMIAH & THE POWER-BROKER!

Let’s begin by playing a word association game. I’ll give you a word and you tell me the first word, or phrase, that comes to your mind. For example, if I gave you the word “black” you might say “white.” Are you ready?
LOVE
THE OLYMPICS
ICE CREAM
CALIFORNIA
NEHEMIAH
Okay, how did you respond to the last one? Did you say cupbearer? I suspect that anyone who knows anything about the book of Nehemiah would have said, “cupbearer.” After all, that was his profession.
But, that is not how he saw himself. In fact, we don’t even learn that about him until the end of the first chapter. What we learn first and foremost is that he saw himself as one of God’s servants. Three times in chapter one, prior to referring to himself as a cupbearer, he referred to himself in prayer to the God of heaven as “your servant.” That was his self-perception; he saw himself not as a cupbearer but as a servant of the King of kings.
So it makes sense that the first person he turned to in his grief over the state of affairs in Jerusalem was the God of heaven. He went to God in prayer and poured out his heart. During that season of prayer, which was probably a four month period, God placed a vision for what Jerusalem could become in his heart and mind.
Note! He didn’t obtain a vision for Jerusalem by seeking a vision he obtained it by seeking God. So what we see in chapter one is simply this: In the closest of our lives lies the fullness of His riches. For it was in the prayer closest that Nehemiah saw what God had in mind for the sake of the remnant.
What God had in mind, of course, was a city wall and restored gates. This little Home Depot project may not sound like much to us but everyone in Nehemiah’s day knew what a wall with restored gates would do for the remnant and many of them, if they had known, would’ve torpedoed the idea. Wisely, Nehemiah kept the vision God had given him to himself!
We now pick up the story in chapter two, verses one through ten. We read:
In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes when wine was brought to 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, but I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”
The king said to me, “What is it you want?”
Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it.”
Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you be back?” It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.
I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates so that they will provide me safe conduct until I arrive in Judah? And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests. So I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates and gave them the king’s letters. The king also sent army officers and calvary with me.
When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites.
The management style of some is based on the belief that it is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. Given a good idea, or what they think is a good idea, they’ve learned that it is usually a real hassle to get other leaders on board. So they plunge ahead with their “good idea” thinking that they will ask for forgiveness some where down the road.
Nehemiah was not one of those people, he knew the value of waiting. For if you compare the first verse of chapter one with the first verse of chapter two you’ll see that about four months had passed since Nehemiah questioned those who had returned from Jerusalem. He questioned, he fasted, he prayed, he waited, and he waited.
Why? Because every organization has its power-brokers. In a church setting, such as Bethany, it may be those who have formal influence due to a title or a position. Or it may be those with a strong personality, past experience, or longevity.
The power-brokers at Any Church could be found in the following list:
Mr. Senior Pastor
Mr. Associate Pastor
Ms. Women's Ministry
Mrs. Charter Member
Mr. & Mrs. Been Here Forever
OR
Mr. and Mrs. Big Bucks
If you don’t know who the power-brokers are at Bethany than you need to wake up and smell the coffee! It is not that hard to figure out. All you need to do is try to remodel the kitchen, or make any other change, and you will soon have power-brokers climbing all over you.
For Nehemiah the reality of a power-broker was a good news bad news scenario. The good news was that he only had one power-broker. The bad news was that the power-broker was the king. To achieve the vision God had given him he had to secure the approval of the king.
This was a big problem, for the king, this king, had already decreed that Jerusalem would not be restored until further notice. For in Ezra 4, King Artaxerxes put in a stop-work order that brought every project in Jerusalem to a screeching halt. And he did it because the official records showed Jerusalem to be a rebellious city.
Now note how Nehemiah secured the king’s blessing. First, he waited for the king to initiate the conversation. Or rather, he waited for the God of heaven to prompt the king to initiate the conversation. That is, he trusted in God’s timing not his own timing. When the king was prompted, after four months of waiting and thinking, Nehemiah’s heart missed a beat! Indeed, the text literally reads “a terrible fear came over me.”
Why? Granted, some people are naturally rather skittish but Nehemiah, from what we see in the rest of the book, would not be counted among them. And yet at this moment in time he was panic-stricken. Why? Because this was the moment when the vision he had for the remnant hung in the balance. Yes, the praying season had prepared him for this moment but he was still terrified.
Second, when Nehemiah responded to the king he spoke of “the city” instead of Jerusalem. He also spoke of graves before he spoke of gates. In short, he spoke so as not to push any buttons that might set the king off in a rage. He spoke of desecrated burial grounds, the very thing that would touch a sensitive chord in anyone. In doing so, he gained a listening ear.
Third, when the king began asking a few questions he prayed. Right there in front of the king, Nehemiah prayed. The king, of course, didn’t know it but from that point on Nehemiah was on praying ground. This unpublished prayer-gram tells us a number of things about prayer.
It emphasizes the necessity of prayer. The destiny of thousands of fellow-Israelites depended on what Nehemiah would say in the next few minutes. So despite his preparation for this moment he turned to the God of heaven for help.
It describes the immediacy of prayer. One’s prayer life doesn’t require having a specific place and time to pray. At any moment, in any place, we can turn to God for help in the time of need.
It illustrates the naturalness of prayer. Instinctively, Nehemiah turned to the one whom he had a continuing conversation with day in and day out. He didn’t stop to think about it, he didn’t call time-out he just did it.
It portrays the intimacy of prayer. After all, he wasn’t praying to a distant God but to the one who stoops down and listens to us.
It demonstrates the confidence of prayer. Nehemiah knew that the God of heaven was no wimp. Hence, he did not hesitate to turn to him at this crucial moment in Israel’s history.
It proves the effectiveness of prayer. Whatever Nehemiah petitioned at that moment in time was undoubtedly answered in short order. Nehemiah was given the right words and the king’s heart was moved to extend to him all the help he needed. The king even threw in an army escort to protect Nehemiah as he traveled through enemy territory!
Fourth, we need to note that all of this didn’t just happen. Nehemiah believed in dependent praying and deliberate planning. He had done his homework. He had thought the project through and had a punch list in hand to be brought out at the right moment. Nevertheless, he testified to the fact that it all happened because “the gracious hand of God” was upon him.
Nehemiah wisely secured the support of the one and only power-broker. It made life a whole lot easier for him. Yes, life was going to get rough but at least he had the backing of the king as well as the King of kings!

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