From Burden to Action: The Theology of Divine Concurrence

[00:23:21] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Thank you for watching!
[00:24:52] Let us pray.

[00:28:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Well, Happy New Year.
[00:28:50] Good morning to all of you.
[00:28:51] Glad you're here today.
[00:28:52] It is 2026.
[00:28:55] Anybody else kind of thrown off by that just a little bit?
[00:28:57] I know I am.
[00:28:59] And I had the first service I said 2026 and I double checked.
[00:29:03] Is that right?
[00:29:03] Because, you know, I'm always a little bit skittish for the first few weeks of the new year.
[00:29:07] Am I saying the right year?
[00:29:09] Today we're starting the book of Nehemiah and very excited about the book of Nehemiah.
[00:29:14] There's a lot in there.
[00:29:15] We all know that the book of Nehemiah, if you've read it before or you've learned about it, you know that it has to do with building a wall, but is also much, much more.
[00:29:23] And we're going to see that today just even in the first chapter as we kind of go through that.
[00:29:27] We have these Nehemiah journals.
[00:29:30] It has scripture on one side and a blank page on the other side for you to be able to take notes.
[00:29:34] Maybe you picked one up in your connect group because we're also going through the book of Nehemiah in our connect groups but maybe you came in today and you didn't get one is there anybody here that wished you would have gotten one and you you didn't get one here you go right down here coming at you be careful with God's Word there anybody else wish you had one now you just want me to throw it you're like you're hiding it behind you raising your hand so I can just throw it to you coming at you Elliot you ready okay I'm sorry about okay coming at you see how good we are look at that yes
[00:30:04] Yes, sign him up for the Panthers.
[00:30:08] Was that too soon?
[00:30:09] Sorry.
[00:30:10] But anyway, we're very excited about it.
[00:30:11] Another one over there?
[00:30:12] Okay, coming at you.
[00:30:13] David, you might have to help me with that one.
[00:30:15] Look at that.
[00:30:16] Look at that.
[00:30:16] All right.
[00:30:17] I've got two more that I'll walk by and give you as I go.
[00:30:20] We're getting further and further back in the room and, you know, the insurance doesn't quite cover that type of thing.
[00:30:27] And so I'm so excited that we can be here today to worship.
[00:30:30] I am excited about the book of Nehemiah as we move into that today, but I'm also excited about corporately singing with you to worship our King of Kings and our Lord of Lords as our worship team leads us today.
[00:30:42] Before we get started on that, let's all stand and we'll have prayer together.
[00:30:45] To move in this time of worship.
[00:30:48] Father, we thank you for an opportunity to be here today to worship you corporately, but also to worship you individually.
[00:30:56] I pray that you would help our hearts, Father, to be open to the moving of your Spirit as we think about the words we're singing, but we think more about who you are and what you've done for us.
[00:31:09] So move us today.
[00:31:11] Touch our hearts and allow us to have ears that hear.
[00:31:15] Open hearts to be led by your word.
[00:31:19] As we worship, be glorified.
[00:31:22] In Jesus' name we pray.

[00:31:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Amen.
[00:31:37] Well church, let's sing this morning, lifting our voices to the King of Kings.
[00:31:45] When all I see is a battle You see my victory When all I see is a mountain You see a mountain lift And as I walk through the shadow Your love surrounds me
[00:32:18] There's nothing to fear, for I am saved with you.

[00:32:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
So when I'll fight, I'll fight on my knees, with my head

[00:32:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Oh God, the battle belongs to You And every fear I lay at Your feet I'll sing through the night Oh God, the battle belongs to You And if You are for me Who can be against me?

[00:33:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
For Jesus there's nothing impossible for You When all I see are the ashes You see the beauty When all I see is the cross God You see the empty tomb
[00:33:53] Every fear I lay at Your feet I'll sing through the night Oh God, the battle belongs to You Almighty fortress You go before us Nothing can stand against the power
[00:34:21] You shine in the shadows You win every battle Nothing can stand against the power of our God Almighty fortress You go before us Nothing can stand against the power of our God You shine in the shadows You win every battle
[00:34:50] Nothing can stand against the power of God
[00:35:10] I'll sing through the night Oh God, the battle belongs to You

[00:35:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
They say this mountain can't be moved

[00:36:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
They say these chains will never break But they don't know you like we do There is power in your name We've heard that there is no way through
[00:36:34] There is power in your name So much power in your name

[00:37:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
We know that hope is never lost For there is still an end

[00:37:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
The power in your hands

[00:38:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
All may be thrown, all may be blown
[00:38:40] We trust in you, God, you have the final say Move the immovable, break the unbreakable God, we believe, God, we believe for it from the impossible

[00:39:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
I am an instrument of exultation And I was born to lift your name above all names You hear the melody of all creation But there's a song of praise that only I can bring Who else is worthy?
[00:40:05] Come on church, lift it up.

[00:40:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Who else is worthy?
[00:40:33] Who else is worthy?
[00:40:34] There is no one, only you, Jesus You are the infinite, God of the ages
[00:40:38] Yet You chose to make my heart a dwelling place You healed my brokenness, showed me Your glory So by the songs and things I believe I come to see Who else is worthy?
[00:41:04] Who else is worthy?
[00:41:25] Who else is worthy?
[00:41:30] Who else is worthy?
[00:41:33] There is no one, only Jesus Who else is worthy?
[00:41:44] Who else is worthy?
[00:41:47] There is no one, only Jesus
[00:42:00] Holy, holy, righteous one who shed his blood, who proved to us the Father's love, Jesus Christ we lift it up.
[00:42:21] Holy, holy, righteous one who shed his blood, who proved to us the Father's love, Jesus Christ we lift it up.
[00:42:26] In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
[00:42:44] Amen.
[00:42:54] Who else is worthy?
[00:43:09] There is no one, only you Jesus Who else is worthy?
[00:43:11] Who else is worthy?
[00:43:20] There is no one, only Jesus There is no one, only Jesus Who else is worthy?

[00:43:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Who else is worthy?
[00:43:41] There is no one, only Jesus Who else is worthy?
[00:43:51] Who else is worthy?
[00:43:55] There is no one.
[00:44:04] Father God, thank you for your presence.
[00:44:08] Father, thank you for guiding us this morning and leading us in your word as we're about to open it in Nehemiah.
[00:44:15] Challenge our hearts, Father, to look more like you, to keep our eyes of our hearts open to see.
[00:44:22] We pray this in Jesus' name.
[00:44:24] Amen.
[00:44:25] Would y'all be seated?

[00:44:37] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Let us pray.
[00:44:56] Let us pray.

[00:45:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
That's a nice new bumper video.
[00:45:06] How many of you missed the Book of Acts bumper video?
[00:45:08] Just curious.
[00:45:10] Only one.
[00:45:10] Okay, right.
[00:45:11] We're moving forward with good intentions then.
[00:45:14] That's nice that we're moving forward in that.
[00:45:17] We have scheduled the Book of Nehemiah out through the winter and spring.
[00:45:22] Probably finish it up right around about the time summer begins to start.
[00:45:26] And that's the plan right now, but we know if God
[00:45:29] We'll be more than happy to pump the brakes on anything, but that's the way it's scheduled right now.
[00:45:34] I want to also say that if you're not a part of a connect group, one thing that we're doing different now with our connect groups is we're actually studying the same thing that we're studying in here.
[00:45:44] We're studying in our connect groups, so you can dissect it a little bit further to get into the Word.
[00:45:50] and if you're a part of a connect group and you're coming in here and then you're going in your connect group and studying the same book and then you're reading it on your own doing your own homework come June you'll know the book of Nehemiah like you never knew you could and that's our goal is to get our word hidden in get his word hidden in our hearts and to be able to move forward with him in his word because remember his word is him and we learn about him as we get into it
[00:46:15] Before we dive into the book of Nehemiah, there is something that I want to do before we move forward.
[00:46:19] I feel it very necessary, actually.
[00:46:22] I want to correct something that I said last week.
[00:46:25] I stated that it was currently illegal to share your faith in London, and that was not an accurate statement, and I want to own that clearly.
[00:46:36] What I read was an article about a specific incident that happened to a pastor that was arrested for doing street evangelism in one London borough and the church challenged it and it has since been dropped.
[00:46:51] The article that I had read raised concerns about the direction
[00:46:57] specific policies could take in the future and not stating that evangelism was illegal today and I misread that distinction and I didn't further investigate it and that's on me accuracy matters especially from this stage and so I appreciate your grace as I correct that and get the information accurate for you
[00:47:24] Well, as we are starting out a new year in 2026, it's a new year, it's a new book for us to study, but it's also, I think, going to shock us that it's going to be a new burden.
[00:47:39] And you say, well, that doesn't sound happy.
[00:47:41] Actually, walking with God, burdens are actually a blessing.
[00:47:46] And we'll see a little bit about that.
[00:47:48] That doesn't mean it's easy.
[00:47:49] Burdens are not easy.
[00:47:51] But it is a blessing to feel the sense and burden that God brings us.
[00:47:56] But before we dive into the book of Nehemiah, it's only fitting that we start out 2026 with a pretty good preacher joke.
[00:48:07] Alright, you can't just dive right in.
[00:48:09] You have to kind of like warm the heart up with a good preacher joke.
[00:48:12] So most people, if I ask you who was the shortest person in the Bible, most people would say Zacchaeus.
[00:48:19] And the reason is because the Bible says he was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he.
[00:48:25] This part's not in the Bible per se, but he climbed up in a sycamore tree for the Savior he wanted to see, right?
[00:48:36] And when the Savior passed that way, he looked up in that tree, and he said, Zacchaeus, you come down, for I'm going to your house today.
[00:48:46] Finish it with me.
[00:48:47] For I'm going to your house today.
[00:48:50] Anybody already know that song?
[00:48:51] All right, Jeff, come back up with your guitar.
[00:48:53] No, I'm kidding.
[00:48:55] But I've got to tell you that there's actually someone that's a little bit shorter than Zacchaeus, and it's Nehemiah.
[00:49:02] Ne-hi-miah.
[00:49:06] I thought you said it was a pretty good preacher joke.
[00:49:08] It is, because there's actually someone shorter than Nehemiah, and you find it in Job chapter 8, and it's verse 1.
[00:49:16] Let's take a look at it.
[00:49:18] Then Bildad the Shuhite.
[00:49:24] So now you know that Nehemiah was the middle guy, you know, he wasn't the tallest, he wasn't shortest either, but he's somewhere in between Zacchaeus and the Shuhite.
[00:49:34] and so yeah okay thank you for that I don't know if I'm encouraged or saddened by your response on that one but Nehemiah chapter 1 verses 1 through 11 we're going to do first chapter today and it's going to set the stage for where we are in the book of Nehemiah as far as this and I want you to hear this anytime you get in any other chapters in the book of Nehemiah and you think wow that's interesting I want you to remember chapter 1
[00:50:04] Anytime something is said where you're like, wow, that's kind of cool or that's not so cool, I want you to remember chapter 1.
[00:50:12] Because it is in chapter 1 for a reason, because this is what established things, this is what moved things forward.
[00:50:19] And this is the big statement that I want us to lean into today.
[00:50:23] It says this, a Christ-like burden moves us from prayer to action.
[00:50:29] A Christ-like burden moves us from prayer to action.
[00:50:34] New Years are full of intentions, fresh calendars, fresh starts, reboots for people, which are good.
[00:50:42] But scripture often begins renewal not with resolutions, but with burdens.
[00:50:48] Burdened about the right thing is key.
[00:50:51] Not optimism, but honesty.
[00:50:54] Not a plan yet, but a heart awakened by what is broken.
[00:51:01] And it's not just what you think is broken, it's being honest in what is actually broken.
[00:51:07] Because a lot of times the things we think are broken is surface.
[00:51:13] I've heard I heard somebody say one time wisely that when you're dealing with someone that's struggling you got to remember that the issue is never the issue there's always something that's underlying more in depth of what's happening with that particular person you need to see what is truly broken being awakened to that so before we read scripture I want to talk about two different ways of looking at Nehemiah Nehemiah the man and Nehemiah the book so first let's talk about Nehemiah the man
[00:51:43] Nehemiah was not a priest.
[00:51:45] He was not a prophet.
[00:51:46] He was not a pastor.
[00:51:47] He was a government official.
[00:51:50] He was a cupbearer to the Persian king.
[00:51:53] In modern terms, he would have been very close to the king.
[00:51:57] He would have been like a chief of staff is the way we might look at it.
[00:52:01] His job required absolute trust.
[00:52:05] The cupbearer tasted the king's wine, among other things, before the king drank it.
[00:52:12] One mistake could mean death.
[00:52:14] That's what we read in the history books about the cupbearer.
[00:52:18] Nehemiah lived within the close proximity of power, but also within close proximity of risk.
[00:52:29] He had everything to lose, you'll see, nothing to gain, at least it seems like.
[00:52:36] He was comfortable in his position.
[00:52:38] He had influence.
[00:52:39] He had security.
[00:52:40] Yet he was willing to put all of that on the line for a city that he had not lived in for generations.
[00:52:50] Nehemiah never claims a miracle.
[00:52:53] He talks about plainly what is happening within his life and what he's doing.
[00:52:59] But the book is full of God's work.
[00:53:03] God moves through prayer, through planning, through courage, and leadership, but not by these amazing things that we go, wow.
[00:53:11] There are a couple things that we go wow about once we understand what's happening.
[00:53:16] But a lot of times readers of the book of Nehemiah are shocked, which brings us to Nehemiah the book.
[00:53:24] What are we to expect with Nehemiah the book?
[00:53:27] It reads like a leadership journal.
[00:53:30] It's not a sermon.
[00:53:32] Much of the book is written in first person.
[00:53:36] I prayed, I inspected, I confronted.
[00:53:39] We're kind of in a way hearing Nehemiah's thoughts as he is going through this.
[00:53:48] The wall was rebuilt in just 52 days.
[00:53:52] Not years, not decades, less than two months.
[00:53:57] Despite opposition, despite exhaustion, and despite internal conflict, that pace alone raises questions, and we understand that God was doing something in His people.
[00:54:12] The greatest threat wasn't external enemies.
[00:54:18] It was internal compromise to God's call.
[00:54:26] Fear, division, injustice, spiritual drift.
[00:54:30] The walls were easier to rebuild than the people.
[00:54:39] This is a book about rebuilding people, not just structures.
[00:54:45] Physical walls mattered, but spiritual renewal mattered more.
[00:54:52] The book doesn't end with building a project only.
[00:54:55] It ends with the heart.
[00:55:00] The intention of the heart is always what matters before God.
[00:55:07] Interesting things that jump out to me as I'm doing some homework on the book of Nehemiah.
[00:55:13] It's kind of like the timeline of things.
[00:55:16] First of all, Jerusalem walls had been broken somewhere between 90 and 140 years.
[00:55:22] That's generations living in rubble and shame until one man named Nehemiah felt it.
[00:55:34] Nehemiah wept before he worked.
[00:55:37] The book begins not with action but with grief and with fasting.
[00:55:43] and Prayer.
[00:55:46] The rebuilding starts only after months of waiting on God.
[00:55:53] This is not impulsive courage, it's disciplined obedience.
[00:55:58] How many of you like to be disciplined?
[00:56:02] Ooh, I love the honesty in here, because not a lot of whole people put, you know, you're kind of like, well, depends on what you mean by disciplined.
[00:56:11] Especially when it comes to things God's telling us to do that we may or may not want to do.
[00:56:17] Because we want God to move now on our behalf and what He's calling us to is just to be disciplined before Him.
[00:56:22] So we will find the book of Nehemiah to be challenging if we will allow God's Word to speak to us.
[00:56:30] So let's recap before we read Scripture.
[00:56:32] First of all, Nehemiah is not a prophet preaching from a pulpit.
[00:56:35] He's not a priest serving in a temple.
[00:56:38] He's a cupbearer, a trusted government official serving a pagan king hundreds of miles from Jerusalem.
[00:56:48] Comfortable, influential, secure, and yet God places a burden on his heart.
[00:56:58] And this book will show us how God rebuilds through people whose hearts break before their hands ever build.
[00:57:08] Our hearts have to break before He calls us to build.
[00:57:14] As a church stepping into a new year and continuing our pathway project, I think this is a very timely word for us to look at.
[00:57:23] God doesn't start with blueprints.
[00:57:27] He begins with burdens.
[00:57:28] He doesn't first ask what you can do.
[00:57:31] He asks what do you see and does it move you.
[00:57:39] So let the one who has ears to hear and eyes to see, hear and see today.
[00:57:48] So let's break down Nehemiah chapter 1.
[00:57:50] Let's start with number 1.
[00:57:55] Awakened to the need.
[00:57:58] Awakened to the need.
[00:58:00] You can put brackets around verses 1 through 3 because this is where this is happening.
[00:58:05] Verses 1 through 3, he's being awakened to the need of what's happening there.
[00:58:09] Let me ask you a question before we read this.
[00:58:11] How many of you, you were in your mind, you had built up, you thought something was going a certain way, but then when you got the news, it was the exact opposite of what you thought.
[00:58:24] Anybody ever experience that?
[00:58:26] This is what we're about to see happening with Nehemiah.
[00:58:29] Let's look at it.
[00:58:30] This is the part when you hear me say sometimes, if you see a need and are burdened by it, you're called.
[00:58:39] This is starting at verse 1.
[00:58:40] The words of Nehemiah, the son of Hakaliah.
[00:58:44] Now it happened in the month of Kislev, in the 20th year, as I was in Susa, the citadel, that Hanani, one of the brothers, came with certain men from Judah.
[00:58:58] And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem.
[00:59:06] And they said to me,
[00:59:08] The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame.
[00:59:18] The wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are destroyed by fire.
[00:59:26] Nehemiah asked a simple question.
[00:59:28] Hey, how's the remnant?
[00:59:30] How's Jerusalem?
[00:59:33] The answer he got was devastating.
[00:59:37] The wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are destroyed by fire.
[00:59:43] Walls in the ancient world weren't there for decoration.
[00:59:48] They were protective.
[00:59:50] No walls around your city meant no security, no dignity, no future.
[00:59:58] Jerusalem wasn't just a city though.
[01:00:00] It represented God's people and God's promises.
[01:00:04] And God's people and His promises were exposed in ruin.
[01:00:12] And what's striking to me about Nehemiah and how God was moving here is he's actually safe.
[01:00:19] He's employed.
[01:00:21] He's removed.
[01:00:22] He's not in Jerusalem.
[01:00:24] And yet, he leans in, not away.
[01:00:30] This is the first mark of a godly burden.
[01:00:33] A willingness to ask questions we're not required to ask.
[01:00:38] You see a need, you're burdened by it, you start asking questions.
[01:00:42] You start leaning into it.
[01:00:45] Nehemiah didn't have to know, but love always wants to know.
[01:00:53] This mirrors Jesus, by the way.
[01:00:56] Over and over in the Gospels, Jesus sees and is moved.
[01:01:01] He sees the crowds harassed and helpless, is what the Gospels say, like sheep without a shepherd.
[01:01:09] Before Christ healed, before He taught, before He went to the cross, He saw the truth.
[01:01:20] And as we begin a new year, the question is not, what are my goals?
[01:01:24] What are my hopeful outcomes?
[01:01:26] Our first question needs to be, what breaks my heart?
[01:01:35] And that leads to the second question, what needs have I learned to ignore because they feel too big or too far away?
[01:01:46] What needs have I learned to ignore because they feel too big or too far away?
[01:01:53] These are personal questions that only you can answer before God.
[01:01:58] When I talk about burdens on our heart from the stage where you're sitting, you probably start getting a sense of, could it possibly be this?
[01:02:10] Because we're human, we have things that burden us, sometimes greater, sometimes lesser, but we always walk with some sort of burden.
[01:02:22] For us as a church, corporately, the Pathway Project exists because God awakened a need among us.
[01:02:30] Not just for space, but for formation, for discipleship and mission to go forward, to send those he's preparing to go out.
[01:02:39] Awareness always precedes action.
[01:02:44] And if God's not giving you the action to take yet, it's because you're not fully aware of what's truly going on.
[01:02:53] Nehemiah was becoming very aware of what was truly going on, so awakened to the need.
[01:03:00] Number two, brokenness brings intercession.
[01:03:05] I want to read this verse actually twice because I want us to catch what's being said here.
[01:03:12] As soon as I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
[01:03:22] Let me read it again.
[01:03:23] As soon as I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
[01:03:33] Nehemiah's response is not an immediate strategy, but deep sorrow.
[01:03:42] Notice the progression.
[01:03:43] First, he sat.
[01:03:46] That means he stopped.
[01:03:49] Second, he wept.
[01:03:51] That means he felt.
[01:03:55] Then he fasted, meaning he emptied himself out before the Lord.
[01:04:03] And then he prayed.
[01:04:04] He turned Godward.
[01:04:07] This is before he started coming up with a plan of what needed to happen.
[01:04:11] This is him actually coming before God, a brokenness that's bringing intercession, a time of prayer before the Lord.
[01:04:21] This wasn't a moment.
[01:04:25] It was days.
[01:04:28] We often rush past the grief that we feel because we feel that grief can be unproductive.
[01:04:35] We just feel like it's not moving things.
[01:04:36] Grief is not moving things forward.
[01:04:39] But can I just encourage you in this?
[01:04:41] Biblically speaking, grief is often the birthplace of calling.
[01:04:49] There have been many ministries that have started because someone was burdened and grieved by something and said, we've got to change that.
[01:04:57] That's got to be different.
[01:05:00] And then God birthed a ministry out of it that he was able to be glorified through.
[01:05:07] Jesus often withdrew to lonely places to pray.
[01:05:13] Before the cross, he wept.
[01:05:15] Before redemption, there was anguish.
[01:05:20] Nehemiah shows us something deeply Christ-like.
[01:05:25] God's work begins in prayer long before it shows up in public action.
[01:05:36] Some of us want clarity when God just wants intercession.
[01:05:45] Some want direction
[01:05:48] When God is asking for dependence on Him, prayer is not a delay.
[01:06:00] It's alignment.
[01:06:04] You're burdened by something?
[01:06:08] Get aligned with God.
[01:06:16] So we have first He was awakened to the need.
[01:06:20] Then He has a brokenness that brings intercession.
[01:06:26] The prayer, the fasting, the sitting, the being still before the Lord.
[01:06:29] But then we have number three, confessing and confronting.
[01:06:36] This is where a lot of people who are going through things want to get up and walk out of the room.
[01:06:42] Because confessing can be difficult.
[01:06:46] Pride gets in the way of confessing almost every single time.
[01:06:52] But look at Nehemiah's response.
[01:06:54] Verse 5.
[01:06:55] And I said, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel, your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel.
[01:07:20] which we have sinned against you even I and my father's house have sinned we have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments the statutes and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses Nehemiah prays probably one of the most theological rich prayers you will find in scripture
[01:07:46] Why so?
[01:07:48] Well, first, He exalts God's greatness.
[01:07:53] By exalting God's greatness, we're also putting ourselves where we belong, beneath His authority.
[01:08:03] Secondly, He affirms God's covenant faithfulness, that God is faithful in what He says He's going to do.
[01:08:10] He's not telling God something he doesn't already know.
[01:08:12] He's affirming in his own heart, in his prayer to God, that he knows God is faithful.
[01:08:20] It's a posturing before God.
[01:08:23] You are the great God.
[01:08:25] You keep your promises.
[01:08:28] We have not.
[01:08:31] Then he confesses corporate sin, including his own.
[01:08:35] We have acted very corruptly against you, is what he says.
[01:08:40] Notice that Nehemiah doesn't distance himself.
[01:08:42] He doesn't say, they failed.
[01:08:47] He says, we failed.
[01:08:51] True spiritual leadership doesn't stand above or distance from people.
[01:08:59] It stands with them before God.
[01:09:05] This points us to Jesus, the true and better intercessor.
[01:09:09] who didn't have a need to confess sin but bore our sins on his own standing in our place.
[01:09:21] Nehemiah's prayer anticipates a Savior who would take responsibility for restoration.
[01:09:29] That's Christ-likeness when we choose to do the same for others.
[01:09:36] Renewal
[01:09:38] never comes without repentance.
[01:09:46] Renewal and revival never comes without honesty.
[01:09:58] As a church, this can be a reminder to us.
[01:10:01] We don't focus on new structures.
[01:10:03] We focus on renewed hearts.
[01:10:07] People first, product second.
[01:10:10] So Nehemiah had an awakening to the need.
[01:10:15] He had a brokenness that brought about intercession on his part to be still and know God and to pray and fast before Him.
[01:10:24] Then it brought about confessing and confronting his own sin before God.
[01:10:29] But number four, it brought courageously committed to action.
[01:10:35] Don't get these out of order.
[01:10:38] Know the order.
[01:10:42] Nehemiah 1.8 Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses saying?
[01:10:48] Look at this confession that he's saying before God as he actually goes back.
[01:10:53] To the very beginning, just like what he should do in his walk, what we should all do in our walk with the Lord, remember your first love.
[01:10:59] He goes back, If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen to make my name dwell there.
[01:11:20] They are your servants and your people whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand.
[01:11:27] O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name and give success to your servant today and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.
[01:11:43] Now I was cupbearer to the king.
[01:11:47] Nehemiah ends his prayer with boldness.
[01:11:51] Give access and success to your servant today.
[01:11:55] Grant him mercy in the sight of this man.
[01:11:57] Who was the man?
[01:11:58] It was the king.
[01:12:00] Nehemiah knows his next step is risk.
[01:12:07] Prayer leads to preparation.
[01:12:09] Intercession leads to initiative.
[01:12:16] But it's God's initiative, not our own, not our own agenda.
[01:12:21] This is where burden turns into calling.
[01:12:23] Jesus didn't just pray for us, He came for us.
[01:12:27] He didn't remain in heaven, He stepped into the brokenness to restore what was lost.
[01:12:37] Nehemiah points us to a Savior who acts.
[01:12:43] God doesn't burden hearts without inviting our hands to be engaged.
[01:12:55] For some, this year, action may look like stepping into some form of leadership.
[01:13:05] It may be calling you to invest in discipleship in someone's life that you know that needs a deeper understanding of the things of Christ.
[01:13:14] It might be giving generously.
[01:13:16] It may be saying yes to something uncomfortable.
[01:13:25] Burdens always put on us a calling and we need people willing to move from burden to obedience.
[01:13:37] I wonder how many of us, something's been gnawing at us for years.
[01:13:45] It's the same thing, the same thing, whatever it is, it's been gnawing at us for years and we've just never done anything about it.
[01:13:53] Because we keep thinking, well, I'll wait for God to move.
[01:13:58] I'll wait for God to do something.
[01:14:02] When I read Scripture, I learned that there were times when people waited on the Lord, but more often than not, God would call and He would move after the person took the first step into the water or raised the staff of God over the problem.
[01:14:22] He's asking us, when He burdens us, to end prayer before Him, to be reunited with Him in communion, to, in faith, step forward in that problem that we have so that He can be glorified.
[01:14:43] Nehemiah 1 ends with a prayer, but the story is, honestly, it's just beginning.
[01:14:52] God rebuilds cities, God renews people, God advances His mission, one burdened heart at a time.
[01:15:04] Let's declutter our lives.
[01:15:11] Let's ask God today, what is that burden that you've laid on my heart that I've been ignoring?
[01:15:19] What is that burden that seems to weigh all the time on us but we're just not doing anything about it?
[01:15:32] As we begin the new year and this new book, I pray that God will give us eyes to see what is broken.
[01:15:41] Hearts willing to be burdened.
[01:15:45] Knees that bend in prayer.
[01:15:48] and Feet Ready to Move in Faith.
[01:15:53] Because when God burdens a heart, He intends to build something through it for His glory and for the good of His people.
[01:16:07] It's a moving forward with God mindset.
[01:16:14] Getting out of the rut.
[01:16:17] Getting unstuck and walking in the sanctification process with God, allowing Him to minister to us and to glorify His name.
[01:16:32] Burdens are not meant to destroy us.
[01:16:38] They're meant to move us.
[01:16:42] In fact, it is a proven sociological study.
[01:16:46] That says that many people will not move forward until they're uncomfortable.
[01:16:54] That's just a human endeavor that we face.
[01:16:59] So, I circle back to the same question I asked.
[01:17:03] What is that thing that has burdened your heart?
[01:17:08] What is that thing that's burdened my heart?
[01:17:11] Over the last who knows how long that I've just never done anything about.
[01:17:20] Maybe today is the calling and the clarification.
[01:17:26] So here's what I intend to do.
[01:17:30] I intend to pause.
[01:17:34] I intend to sit and to listen to God.
[01:17:39] I intend to
[01:17:41] Empty out the clutter and the noise in my life before the Lord.
[01:17:46] And then I'm going to lift that burden up to Him.
[01:17:53] And say, here's a burden.
[01:17:56] What would you have me do with it?
[01:17:59] How would you have me proceed?
[01:18:04] Lord, give us hearts that are burdened.
[01:18:09] and lives that are ready to step forward.
[01:18:14] Let's pray.
[01:18:24] Father, I know and I'm very certain that the Bible is not written so that I can enjoy history.
[01:18:33] There's a lot of history in it that proves out.
[01:18:39] Father, I know Your Word is written to reveal You to us.
[01:18:49] We've been in it today.
[01:18:52] We've read about Your servant Nehemiah.
[01:18:58] We've learned what he did when he was burdened by something.
[01:19:07] Help us take accurate steps with you to move forward with you for the things that burden our hearts.
[01:19:21] Father, maybe there are some things that should be burdening our hearts that we've drawn cold to.
[01:19:29] Maybe, Father, the first place we need to start is understanding what you've called us to.
[01:19:38] A renewal of a burdened heart that moves us forward with you as we glorify your name.
[01:19:51] Thank you for being a God that meets us right where we are and refuses to leave us there.
[01:19:55] Help us to be obedient to your call to move forward.
[01:20:02] In Jesus' name we pray.
[01:20:03] Amen.

[01:20:07] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Just stand as we sing this final song, Build My Life.
[01:20:24] Worthy of every song we could ever sing Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring
[01:20:37] worthy of every breath we could ever breathe and we live for you Jesus the name above every other name Jesus the only one who could ever save
[01:21:04] Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe, and we live for You
[01:21:16] Holy, there is no one like you There is none beside you Open up my eyes in wonder Show me who you are and fill me With your heart and lead me In your love to those around me
[01:21:43] I will build my life upon your love it is a firm foundation I will put my trust in you alone and I will
[01:22:07] I will not be shaken sing that again I will build my life upon your love it is a firm foundation I will put my trust in you alone and I will not
[01:22:37] Holy, there is no one like you There is none beside you Open up my eyes in wonder And show me who you are And fill me with your heart And lead me in your love To those around me

[01:23:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Well we want to say we are thankful for the opportunity to worship together today and if you are a guest here with us at Peninsula we are honored that you chose to be with us today and we would love for you to stop by our Welcome Center on your way out and we'd love to greet you answer any questions you might have but just want to say thank you for being here with us today
[01:23:29] Also as you go, Pastor Daniel mentioned earlier, but we do have the Nehemiah Scripture Journals.
[01:23:35] We've given out hundreds and hundreds of these already as the one who counts and sees how many.
[01:23:40] You guys take a lot of these, okay?
[01:23:41] And so, but there are still more.
[01:23:43] So grab one of those.
[01:23:44] It's a great tool as we go through the book of Nehemiah together, not only as service, but in our connect groups as well.
[01:23:51] And so make sure you grab one of those.
[01:23:53] Last thing I want you to know, this week, as we're getting back into the new year, we start back our Sunday evening equip times next Sunday.
[01:24:02] So January 11th, we kick back off with our Sunday evening for our preschool all the way through our adults.
[01:24:07] And there are two new studies we'll be doing for our adults that we're asking you to register for those just for material sake.
[01:24:13] So if you see those in their weekly email online, we'd love for you to join us next Sunday evening as we start back with that.
[01:24:21] But as we go, we're going to read together from Psalm 127 verse 1 and be reminded of our trust and reliance on the Lord as we go into our week.
[01:24:32] So let's read together Psalm 27 verse 1 where it says,
[01:24:38] Those who build it labor in vain.
[01:24:41] Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
[01:24:47] Church, we know as we go into a new year, we've got great ideas, great initiatives, but we know all things we do, we need the Lord's presence and His guidance as we go.
[01:24:54] So we pray that as the Lord sends us into our week, we would go with Him and He would be with us as we carry the message and the hope of Christ with us into our community.
[01:25:03] Have a great week.