The good hand of God is upon us. He orchestrates the circumstances in our lives so that we are drawn towards Him in prayer for the solution. As Nehemiah knew, when he came before the King, that was the crunch time. God delights in prompting us to pray and then being the answer to our prayers. God’s solution will be over and above what we could ever ask or think. He loves us, and He wants us to go forward in Him so that, through us, He can draw others to Himself.
Just a brief word concerning what we looked at previously, it was the first part of Nehemiah.
In chapter 1, Nehemiah thought that the building work in Jerusalem was continuing but when he heard about the state of the walls and that the work had ceased, it was not the news he had expected.
Nehemiah held a prominent position in that he was the cup-bearer to the King. It was as if by chance that someone brought back a report concerning the work. Jerusalem had been taken into captivity; it had become a laughing stock.
Nehemiah was shocked because he had thought that things were progressing. His initial reaction to this news was that he prayed.
What’s been going on in your life has been prompted by God for you to get on your knees before Him. It’s God’s delight for us, in humility, to come before Him and ask Him for the solution. Without that pressure or that problem we wouldn’t be on our knees.
Nehemiah 1:4
And then He prays. He reminds God of His mercy.
Nehemiah 1:11
At the beginning of chapter two it goes forward a few months.
Nehemiah 2:1
For four months Nehemiah could think of nothing else but Jerusalem. For some of you, in the situation you’re in, you’ve been thinking of nothing else. Each time you’ve thought about it there’s a sort of compression inside causing you to ask God for help. You know that you need God as the solution. That is not despair. That is the crystal clear reality of you realising who God is and what He wants to do for you. It says in James that we have not because we ask not, or we ask for things that are the wrong motive. But you need to ask.
For Nehemiah it was four months. It might be the shock you’ve had has been in your work situation or it might be in a relationship. That shock to your system is there because our God, who is our loving heavenly Father, wants you and me to be co-workers together with Him, as we witness the solution He is and He will be in your situation. It’s as if He knows just the right situation that, if you like, takes over our thinking, and causes us to say ‘Lord. You’ve got to work this out’.
Individually I can see that God is stirring in our hearts that we need to get hold of Him ourselves via His Word and prayer. There’s going to come a time when a characteristic of this group of people is that we are a people who know our God and who see Him answering prayer. He loves us.
For Nehemiah he was praying and he knew that God had to give him the answer. He was humble even though he had a high position in the land.
Nehemiah 2:2
It comes to that point where you’ve been praying and now it’s the crunch time. There was something in Nehemiah, because he knew that this was it. He knew that the King was going to ask about what had been bugging him all those months; Nehemiah didn’t know how the King was going to react. But he knew, by a God given urgency inside, it was now. Let’s translate that into your life. There comes a time in your life when you know that God has brought about a situation and now is the crunch time. You’ve been praying about it: now’s the time.
Nehemiah 2:3
I was trying to figure out the tone of his voice when he said that because he was letting the King know what he had been thinking about all those months.
Nehemiah 2:4
That was a surprise! He thought the King was going to be dismissive of what he was thinking about. The King had heard about the building of the wall but the King didn’t respond as Nehemiah thought he would. The answer that God gives you will be a surprise to you as well. Our God is a God who answers our prayers. Our God is a God who is strong; He’s the King of Kings. He knows what He is doing.
So Nehemiah prayed to the God of Heaven. Nehemiah was not thinking of himself, he was thinking of the people in Jerusalem. Here he had the King’s attention. It is God’s delight to answer our prayers, prompted by His Holy Spirit. The outworking of His purposes are sure. You can’t stop the mighty moving force of God, even though you might try.
We’ll see later in this chapter those who were mocking and scornful. But nothing can stop the mighty force of God. That force is a force of love who will outwork His purpose in your life. It’s important how you react to the pressures in life. You must pray.
Nehemiah 2:5 – 6
Are you ready for God’s answer? God will answer you. What God is doing in your life is developing that faith inside you, the faith that He’s given you. He’s making you more aware of who He is.
My foundation is Jesus Christ. My foundation is that, going forward, I want to do what God wants me to do. When God answers, the answer is clear and sure. I’ll tell you where I’m at. I am aware that God is going to build on the foundation that He’s laid in this place. It’s as if we’re going forward to outwork what He wants us to do. Now’s the time.
It’s interesting that Nehemiah set the King a length time that he’d be away for: he was ready with an answer. The expectation of Nehemiah is that God would answer. When you’re thinking about your future, God’s been speaking to you; you need to get on with it.
Nehemiah 2:7 – 8
The good hand of God is upon you. It’s a good hand. You may say that I don’t understand your situation, but I do know that it is a good hand. When Nehemiah walked out of that meeting he couldn’t believe what had happened. Nehemiah was giving up a lot to do this; he had been the cupbearer of the King. Sometimes God asks things of us, a change of direction. In his heart Nehemiah knew that he had to go. He was prepared to go even before the King had granted him his request. He had thought about it but hadn’t known how he would be able to go. He asked God to open up the way for him because he couldn’t see a solution. If we wait for God’s timing it is a good thing. God will bring the answer at the right time.
Nehemiah 2:9
Not only was the King allowing Nehemiah to go back to Jerusalem but he was providing the transport for him to get there. God answers our prayers over and above what we could ask or think.
Nehemiah 2:10
It grieved them because they thought they had got King Artaxerxes to end the work in Jerusalem.
Nehemiah 2:11
When he got there he surveyed the situation. It’s not a bad thing to stop and take stock of your life. We must evaluate what is the foundation of our lives and what is our ambition. People might say that we are weak because we have to rely on God. Anyone who speaks like that is breathing the air that God gives them. They have life from him. Often when someone speaks like that it’s out of frustration in their life. Nehemiah wasn’t a ‘goody-two-shoes’, but he knew his God. Deep down you know your God. Sanballat and Tobiah didn’t like the fact that Nehemiah came.
Nehemiah 2:12 – 16
When you take a survey of your life, you are checking on the progress and the motives of your life. Is it the case, as far as you are concerned, that as a Christian God has a freeway in your life so that you can share with others the life of Christ within you? We are to love one another so that others can see and be drawn to the One who has caused us to have that love: Jesus Christ. The great commission from Jesus is to share our faith, His faith that God has put inside us.
The older people in the church are of value to us because they are prepared to do what God wants them to do. ‘These walls must be rebuilt’, Nehemiah said. As he was riding to Jerusalem he was thinking how wonderfully God had worked everything out. He knew that now was the time, so he decided to survey the situation.
Nehemiah 2:16 – 18
God’s timing. It didn’t take much to convince the people in Jerusalem of the need. They knew that he had come. Nehemiah told them he had come because of the ‘hand of my God which was good upon me’. He said that to encourage them to realise that it was the time to rise up and build.
God has a work for us to do. The wonderful thing is that the work He has for us corporately is being mirrored in your individual lives. That’s why the circumstances in your life are as they are now. God is ensuring that you are aware of the foundation of God in your life. He’s ensuring that your focus is right. He’s ensuring that there is a resolve to get hold of God for the solution. God gave you that resolve.
What’s going to be the result of that? That you will fulfil what God wants to be in your life so that His life can flow through you and affect those around you for good. In your life, as you succeed in the circumstances you’re in, witnessing and testifying to the faithfulness of God in your life, so there will be that flow from you to others. You will know that there is someone that can help others. His name is Jesus Christ.
Sanballat and Tobiah, and now another fellow, heard what Nehemiah said.
Nehemiah 2:19
The resolve in Nehemiah had increased.
Nehemiah 2:20
No discussion. ‘What you’re saying is against our God. Our God is the God of heaven and He will sort things out. He is the One we trust. We are strong because of the resolve He has given us.’ Some people twist it as if we are weak because we need God in our life. It is the complete opposite. There is no one here, and I mean that, who is outside of this thought, that together you’re involved in what God is going to do in our midst.
In your individual life you will find over the next weeks a resolve that God has put into you to stand your ground. A resolve to be open to what God wants you to do, to be. You are here on this earth for a reason. God wants to outwork His purposes in you. The circumstances in your life will cause you to get closer to God through prayer. It’s to the end that we will fulfil what God wants us to do corporately, that is, to reach out to those who have no answer. Now if I were to say ‘Ok, I’m in’, is that me convincing you in some rally-type turn? No, it’s God through this account in Nehemiah. Today God has been asking you what it is going to be for you.
This credit crunch has brought an additional pressure. Did God know about that coming? Yes. Did He know about the affect it would have on you? Yes. The God of heaven will prosper us.
Philippians 3:13 – 14
Today, the middle of verse 13 is important for you and for me: “forgetting those things which are behind”. And then in verse 14: “pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
Today, in your situation in your life, the good hand of God is upon you. It’s not the devil: it’s the good hand of God. He knows what He’s doing. That God of love, in your situation, whether you're single, married, widowed, whatever situation you are in, it’s the good hand of God upon you. He loves you.
Showing posts with label resolve. Show all posts
Showing posts with label resolve. Show all posts
Sunday, 25 January 2009
Sunday, 25 May 2008
Make Your Stand for God
Are you in a situation where you know you need to make a stand for righteousness? Then do it, knowing that the God who was with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace is the same God who will be with you as you do.
We will be looking at a familiar story, but it is relevant to us here today. We’ve been skirting amongst the minor prophets. Daniel is a major prophet, who was active while they the children in Babylon.
Daniel 1:1-3
We’re in the time of Nebuchadnezzar in this extract.
Daniel 1:8
Daniel took a stand. He didn’t want to eat unclean meat. And he was with three companions.
Daniel 1:12-16
Daniel 1:19-22
There was a team of four people, and they made a stand. Instead of eating the unclean meat, they ate vegetables – and they thrived far more than the people who ate the king’s meat. And the king promoted them. They took a stand for what they believed to be right.
I’m talking to two types of people – the first, those who are facing a question as to whether they will take a stand for Jesus Christ; and the second, those who have taken a stand and find themselves in the thick of it.
Daniel 2:27-29
During this chapter, Daniel refers to what the dream is about. The image’s head was of fine gold, for instance. Daniel told him what the dream was and what it meant.
Daniel 2:47-50
We have a team of four who are standing for righteousness, who know their God. We have a prophet who leads them. Daniel was the only one who could reveal the dream and the interpretation.
But despite what Nebuchadnezzar said in chapter 2 we now see the events of Daniel 3.
Note that although Nebuchadnezzar recognised who God was, he didn’t say he was his God. You can be in a church, without knowing God.
Are you going to stand for truth or not? And if you are standing for truth, you aren’t on your own.
God has brought things to light, and He will bring us through. He is building His church in His way in His time.
Nebuchadnezzar’s image was made of gold and gold again, it was 90 feet tall:
Daniel 3:1-8
The Chaldeans were amongst those who had been unable to match Daniel’s ability. He knew his God and his God was the God.
Daniel 3:9-13
Nebuchadnezzar had identified who God was. He knew who Daniel’s God was. But He wasn’t Nebuchadnezzar’s God. And his reaction ...
Daniel 3:13-16
“You can’t kid me that you God will deliver you. I’m in control. I am a despot. There is nothing you can do against what I have commanded.”
Daniel 3:17-19
“We won’t try to make out something which isn’t true. We aren’t deceivers. You can throw us into the furnace, but our God will set us free. And even if He won’t, we will not bow down to the image you have set up.”
There was a resolve in those people to say no. They could have had excuses to act differently. “What’s the point of doing this? It’s only once, and we’re in a foreign country, so no one will see.” “We have to think of our lifestyle, of the gifts we’ve been given, of the fact that we have a position to maintain. Maybe it will affect our standing and the material benefits we’ve had.” “Everyone else is doing it, so who are we to be different? We only have to bow down once, and we can carry on as before.”
I know there is a situation that some of you are facing, where that backbone needs to be there. It might be at work, with your neighbour, with respect to someone else here, where you know you have to make a stand. What are the excuses going through your mind? You’ve tried the excuses, but now God is saying, “Come on. We’re at the situation where you have to make a stand.”
God is faithful, and you know inside through your conscience and the preaching of His word what’s right and wrong. It’s not right to sit here praising God if you have something against your brother or your sister. There are things you have to put right. You know it.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego knew they had to make a stand – not just for appearances, but in their heart they knew they had to make a stand, irrespective of the consequences.
“Our God can take us through the furnace, and even if He doesn’t, we will not bow down.” In the New Testament, it says Jesus set His face as a flint to go to Jerusalem for you and me – and that was the same resolve.
You say you’re a weak individual, but it doesn’t matter. God is inside you, and as I preach this, you’re setting it in the context of the situation you need to address, and inside you’re making that resolve and determining to stand.
Isaiah 43:1-7
As we’ll see in a minute, if God puts in you – as He does – that uncompromising, straight-down-the-line, not deceiving, resolve to make that stand, it doesn’t matter what the opposition might be doing, what they may be saying, what the situation is, make that stand. At your school, at your employment, whatever the situation, make that stand.
“But God does it all.” Yes – He does. He gives you the resolve to make that stand.
Daniel 3:18-24
You can’t get more hopeless than this. They were bound. They were dropped into a furnace heated seven times. Sometimes we get to the point where we think things can’t get worse. You’ve made your stand. You’re not better about your situation, but you can’t see a solution. You know you’ve been clear before God.
Daniel 3:24-26
John 16:33
We sing, “He is”, going through the books of the Bible. In Daniel, He is the fourth man in the fire. Heaven organises things so you have a revelation, in your situation in life, where you reach such a point that you literally cannot see a solution. In a sense you’re not even looking for a solution, because you’ve made your stand and know you are clear before God. Well, God delights to provide a solution when we aren’t even looking for it.
When Jesus hung on the Cross, He organised it for us when we didn’t know Him, and when He knew we would push Him away.
And for those of you who have made a stand and are at your wits’ end, God is saying, “I have a solution.” And even in the impossible circumstances of a fiery furnace, God is there in the middle.
Daniel 3:25-27
Coats speak of character. They were the same coming out as when they went in. There wasn’t even a smell of fire. When God saves an individual, He saves you clean. He divides your sins as far as the east is from the west. You come out clean. And when you make a stand for God, He knows. He’s been with you throughout the week and is with you now.
Daniel 3:28-31
You would have thought that Nebuchadnezzar would then have acknowledged in his heart who God was. But within a few days he was eating grass. It’s easy to say things. Words are cheap. It’s easy to say people are Pharisees. But what’s the reality of where you are in your heart? If you know you need to take a stand, be encouraged. You’re not being asked to do the impossible, to do something God hasn’t already prepared.
Philippians 2:12-14
You’re in the mainstream of God’s destiny for you life, in the centrality of His provision. It’s God working in you this morning. He works in us to will and to do of His good pleasure. This church is His. You’re His. And it’s God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.
I wonder what Daniel thought. He wasn’t in the furnace. He would have seen what was going on, would have seen them put into the fire. He probably thought that henceforth he would be on His own. Maybe he knew what God was going to do. But I know when he saw the three come out, He knew His God was capable of doing what He did, and we have acknowledged God for who He is.
This morning, make that stand. And realise that God is there right in the midst of your situation, and He loves you. You can’t figure out a solution. He’s already done that. He’s already figured out the way forward for this church. He knows what He’s doing. It’s His church. He has the resolution figured out because of who He is.
I wonder if they talked with the fourth man in the fire. They were dancing together. Did they speak? What did they say?
You know in your heart of hearts, when God comes inside, you know when He’s speaking to you and you know He loves you. It’s a tremendous privilege to declare that Holy Ghost is more than interested in your life. He in inside you, pulsating as the creator God, who redeemed you and wants you to fulfil His purposes for your life, which is the greatest thing for you.
We will be looking at a familiar story, but it is relevant to us here today. We’ve been skirting amongst the minor prophets. Daniel is a major prophet, who was active while they the children in Babylon.
Daniel 1:1-3
We’re in the time of Nebuchadnezzar in this extract.
Daniel 1:8
Daniel took a stand. He didn’t want to eat unclean meat. And he was with three companions.
Daniel 1:12-16
Daniel 1:19-22
There was a team of four people, and they made a stand. Instead of eating the unclean meat, they ate vegetables – and they thrived far more than the people who ate the king’s meat. And the king promoted them. They took a stand for what they believed to be right.
I’m talking to two types of people – the first, those who are facing a question as to whether they will take a stand for Jesus Christ; and the second, those who have taken a stand and find themselves in the thick of it.
Daniel 2:27-29
During this chapter, Daniel refers to what the dream is about. The image’s head was of fine gold, for instance. Daniel told him what the dream was and what it meant.
Daniel 2:47-50
We have a team of four who are standing for righteousness, who know their God. We have a prophet who leads them. Daniel was the only one who could reveal the dream and the interpretation.
But despite what Nebuchadnezzar said in chapter 2 we now see the events of Daniel 3.
Note that although Nebuchadnezzar recognised who God was, he didn’t say he was his God. You can be in a church, without knowing God.
Are you going to stand for truth or not? And if you are standing for truth, you aren’t on your own.
God has brought things to light, and He will bring us through. He is building His church in His way in His time.
Nebuchadnezzar’s image was made of gold and gold again, it was 90 feet tall:
Daniel 3:1-8
The Chaldeans were amongst those who had been unable to match Daniel’s ability. He knew his God and his God was the God.
Daniel 3:9-13
Nebuchadnezzar had identified who God was. He knew who Daniel’s God was. But He wasn’t Nebuchadnezzar’s God. And his reaction ...
Daniel 3:13-16
“You can’t kid me that you God will deliver you. I’m in control. I am a despot. There is nothing you can do against what I have commanded.”
Daniel 3:17-19
“We won’t try to make out something which isn’t true. We aren’t deceivers. You can throw us into the furnace, but our God will set us free. And even if He won’t, we will not bow down to the image you have set up.”
There was a resolve in those people to say no. They could have had excuses to act differently. “What’s the point of doing this? It’s only once, and we’re in a foreign country, so no one will see.” “We have to think of our lifestyle, of the gifts we’ve been given, of the fact that we have a position to maintain. Maybe it will affect our standing and the material benefits we’ve had.” “Everyone else is doing it, so who are we to be different? We only have to bow down once, and we can carry on as before.”
I know there is a situation that some of you are facing, where that backbone needs to be there. It might be at work, with your neighbour, with respect to someone else here, where you know you have to make a stand. What are the excuses going through your mind? You’ve tried the excuses, but now God is saying, “Come on. We’re at the situation where you have to make a stand.”
God is faithful, and you know inside through your conscience and the preaching of His word what’s right and wrong. It’s not right to sit here praising God if you have something against your brother or your sister. There are things you have to put right. You know it.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego knew they had to make a stand – not just for appearances, but in their heart they knew they had to make a stand, irrespective of the consequences.
“Our God can take us through the furnace, and even if He doesn’t, we will not bow down.” In the New Testament, it says Jesus set His face as a flint to go to Jerusalem for you and me – and that was the same resolve.
You say you’re a weak individual, but it doesn’t matter. God is inside you, and as I preach this, you’re setting it in the context of the situation you need to address, and inside you’re making that resolve and determining to stand.
Isaiah 43:1-7
As we’ll see in a minute, if God puts in you – as He does – that uncompromising, straight-down-the-line, not deceiving, resolve to make that stand, it doesn’t matter what the opposition might be doing, what they may be saying, what the situation is, make that stand. At your school, at your employment, whatever the situation, make that stand.
“But God does it all.” Yes – He does. He gives you the resolve to make that stand.
Daniel 3:18-24
You can’t get more hopeless than this. They were bound. They were dropped into a furnace heated seven times. Sometimes we get to the point where we think things can’t get worse. You’ve made your stand. You’re not better about your situation, but you can’t see a solution. You know you’ve been clear before God.
Daniel 3:24-26
John 16:33
We sing, “He is”, going through the books of the Bible. In Daniel, He is the fourth man in the fire. Heaven organises things so you have a revelation, in your situation in life, where you reach such a point that you literally cannot see a solution. In a sense you’re not even looking for a solution, because you’ve made your stand and know you are clear before God. Well, God delights to provide a solution when we aren’t even looking for it.
When Jesus hung on the Cross, He organised it for us when we didn’t know Him, and when He knew we would push Him away.
And for those of you who have made a stand and are at your wits’ end, God is saying, “I have a solution.” And even in the impossible circumstances of a fiery furnace, God is there in the middle.
Daniel 3:25-27
Coats speak of character. They were the same coming out as when they went in. There wasn’t even a smell of fire. When God saves an individual, He saves you clean. He divides your sins as far as the east is from the west. You come out clean. And when you make a stand for God, He knows. He’s been with you throughout the week and is with you now.
Daniel 3:28-31
You would have thought that Nebuchadnezzar would then have acknowledged in his heart who God was. But within a few days he was eating grass. It’s easy to say things. Words are cheap. It’s easy to say people are Pharisees. But what’s the reality of where you are in your heart? If you know you need to take a stand, be encouraged. You’re not being asked to do the impossible, to do something God hasn’t already prepared.
Philippians 2:12-14
You’re in the mainstream of God’s destiny for you life, in the centrality of His provision. It’s God working in you this morning. He works in us to will and to do of His good pleasure. This church is His. You’re His. And it’s God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.
I wonder what Daniel thought. He wasn’t in the furnace. He would have seen what was going on, would have seen them put into the fire. He probably thought that henceforth he would be on His own. Maybe he knew what God was going to do. But I know when he saw the three come out, He knew His God was capable of doing what He did, and we have acknowledged God for who He is.
This morning, make that stand. And realise that God is there right in the midst of your situation, and He loves you. You can’t figure out a solution. He’s already done that. He’s already figured out the way forward for this church. He knows what He’s doing. It’s His church. He has the resolution figured out because of who He is.
I wonder if they talked with the fourth man in the fire. They were dancing together. Did they speak? What did they say?
You know in your heart of hearts, when God comes inside, you know when He’s speaking to you and you know He loves you. It’s a tremendous privilege to declare that Holy Ghost is more than interested in your life. He in inside you, pulsating as the creator God, who redeemed you and wants you to fulfil His purposes for your life, which is the greatest thing for you.
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