Soteria Church, January 3, 2010 Mike Rydman

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Soteria Church, January 3, 2010 Mike Rydman Kneeling our way into the New Year How does the Gospel imprint my life and our church? Nehemiah 1:4-11 Nehemiah 1:1-3 the words of Nehemiah, the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the capital, that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me, ‘The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.’ Nehemiah acknowledges his connection with the Jews in Jerusalem And he cares enough to inquire as to their well-being November/December in the year 445 BC, 13 years after Ezra’s arrival in Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple 141 years after the Jews were taken into captivity Nehemiah had not ever lived in Jerusalem/Israel. Probably born in Persia Hanani and the others likely went with Ezra to Jerusalem and then returned Nehemiah is given a negative report The people are discouraged The city is “broken down” and its gates ‘are destroyed by fire” Nehemiah 1:4A as soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days Nehemiah personalizes the discouragement of the people and the sad state of the city Do we as Soteria Church know the need in our city, and do we also feel the need? Nehemiah 1:4B and I continued fasting and praying before God of heaven Nehemiah does what any God-fearing man does – he goes to God in prayer Especially when the need is great Especially when the need cannot be met by human ingenuity or effort alone I want and need to be more faithful in prayer this next year Nehemiah 1:5 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 Nehemiah’s prayer begins and ends with worship Acknowledging God’s sovereignty Acknowledging God’s covenant love and gracious dealings with His people This seems contrary for someone held in foreign captivity Nehemiah claims God’s character over his own circumstances Worshipping God when things are good is relatively easy for Christians But how do I do acknowledging God when things are not going so well?

Nehemiah 1:6A let your ear be attentive and you 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 Nehemiah’s statement of faith in God’s continuing covenant love Nehemiah believes God can, and thus asks God to hear and respond to his prayer Nehemiah acknowledges himself as a “servant of God” Nehemiah is continuous and dedicated to seeking God in prayer Nehemiah is praying not so much for the physical needs of the people, but for their hearts, for their spiritual need Nehemiah 1:6B confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father’s house have sinned Nehemiah takes the role of a priest, confessing the sins of the people But Nehemiah is not disassociated with this sin He confesses his own sin and the sin of his family But what sin/s is Nehemiah confessing? Being of the same lineage of those who had rebelled against God Nehemiah 1:7 we have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses. The problem is not that the walls of Jerusalem are broken down The walls are illustrative of broken lives Lives that have not honored their end of their covenant relationship with with God…for centuries If there is sin against God represented in our church, what could it be? Complacency? Content as long as our own relational needs are met? Hard-heartedness? Our interests and concerns are only internally focused?

Ezekiel 11:19-20 and I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God God is speaking through the prophet Ezekiel, saying two things here: That the people would have a united heart, and sense of unified purpose And that the people would be open to God, with pliable hearts Nehemiah 1:8-10 remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, 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. They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. Nehemiah gives a synopsis of the Covenant between God and the people of Israel God has been true to His word While the people have not been faithful to God Nehemiah then appeals to God’s promises, knowing that Israel must first repent Nehemiah 1:11 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 Nehemiah acknowledges that God will only listen to prayers of the people who seek Him with the humility of a servant And, Nehemiah is not afraid to ask God for the impossible Success in initiating his plan God’s mercy that will translate into mercy from Artaxerxes the Persian king The problem with asking God for the impossible is that it always involves risk – to us! We have to be willing to risk something, something beyond our ability to control Sometimes what appears to be impossible is really: A lack of vision for God’s greater glory Or the ongoing battle against our own desires for comfort and complacency The big battle for us as good old North American Western culture Christians is that we’re sometimes more interested in being committed church people than we are being God’s people A prayer, a blessing for Soteria Church? Psalm 67:1-3 may God be gracious to us and bless us, and make his face to shine upon us, that Your way may be known on earth, Your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you What do we, Soteria Church do now? We clean up the grounds around the school here and along Broadway Avenue a few times each year Weekend Food Program Everett Music Institute, still developing 10% going to church planting efforts through the Christian Evangelistic Association And the Acts 29 Church Planting Network Money going each month to: YD Adventures Oregon and to the Acts 29 efforts going on in our immediate Snohomish to Watcom County region Would God give us, Soteria Church greater influence and ability to make His way known? This speaks to God’s sovereignty In us as individuals and as a community of faith As servants of the Most High God, expressing His gracious love to our city and

our world In two weeks we will be introducing a new venture that will involve us supporting a mission work way outside of our immediate culture and context Would God give us a greater opportunity to proclaim His saving power among all nations? This speaks to God’s gracious gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ Are we content with the number of people coming to faith and being baptized in Jesus because of our prayers and efforts? Would God give us success that results in God being praised by people who would not otherwise praise Him?