That should say Nehemiah one on the screen, not Nehemiah two. I guess the two key was close to the one key. So I hit the two key instead of the one. Alright. Nehemiah chapter one.

A new vision, an honest assessment, and a full full heart. Nehemiah chapter one. We're going to begin by reading verses one through four of chapter one this morning, But keep that passage open because we'll be back there again. Nehemiah one, 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 to the captivity concerning Jerusalem. They said unto me, the remnant that are left of the captivity there in 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. 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. Let's go to the God of heaven in prayer.

Lord, we thank you for your word today. We thank you for the privilege despite despite our frail humanness. Lord, that you give us the privilege, Lord, to preach your word, to read your word, to hear your word, and to learn from it today. And we thank you, Lord, for the spirit that you have given us to help us in this endeavor and for the privilege to know you, to love you, and to serve you this day. And we pray that you might be exalted today in this service, and in doing so, you might draw men unto yourself, that you might challenge us in your service.

And if there'd be one today that is here that doesn't know you as savior, that they might come to know you even this day. In Jesus' precious name, do pray. Amen. I thought with beginning a new year, it would be a good it would be good to gain some inspiration and encouragement from Nehemiah. The man who led a vastly outnumbered team of men and women under great duress to perform an incredible feat rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem in just fifty two days while also sparking a very real revival in his day.

Nehemiah was instrumental in both of these things. I don't know about you, but Rosary Road has been blocked off for how many months now? You know? It takes us forever to do anything. Fifty two days, Nehemiah and a bunch of other people who were not masons all by trade filled in all the breaches and fixed all the broken down parts of the wall in fifty two days.

We have much to do at Missouri Avenue Baptist Church in 2026 and beyond. We are a small group of people, but we have an immense and an almighty God. And little is much when God is in it. Our God who can supply all our needs according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus. Our God who has provided us all things necessary for life and godliness, second Peter one three.

Our God who has promised to supply the wisdom and power that his church needs to prosper and conquer if we would seek first the kingdom of God. If we will simply, as a congregation, seek his wisdom and guidance in prayer, and if we will believe with all our hearts, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Do you believe that this morning? I'm not much of a prayer leader, but this morning, can I get an amen? Amen.

Alright. This week I would like to look at the prayer of one burden for others, his people and their plight. A man named Nehemiah, an intercessor, a good beginning to a new start or a second win for us today. I want us, first of all, in verses one through four, to see that Nehemiah recognized a desperate situation when he saw it. He recognized a desperate situation.

A real genuine need. And so what did he do? Well, when other of his 10, Hebrews, came to the palace at Shushan in Persia where Nehemiah was serving as the king's cup bearer. Part of the captivity of Judah back under Nebuchadnezzar. They had conquered Babylon, had conquered Jerusalem, taken many of the people captive, and took them off to other lands.

Nehemiah was part of that group or probably more likely his parents were part of that group that were taken captive and were transplanted out of Israel into the cap the kingdoms of Babylon and Persia. He was visited by some of his brethren, kinsmen, Hebrews, that had been to Jerusalem under Zerubbabel and Joshua the high priest, just a few years previous, a group of Jews, Hebrews, had returned to Judea, had returned to Jerusalem to begin to rebuild. One of the first things they set out to rebuild was the temple. It was slow going. They didn't finish it in fifty two days.

It actually took a number of years. The people started and then they got discouraged stopped and they started and they stopped. Eventually, they did get the temple rebuilt, but the walls were still in shambles and much of the homes and and a lot of the rest of the city was still in shambles. It still was not a pretty sight and it was not good news that Nehemiah heard. It was it was bad news concerning his people, concerning his his homeland.

And immediately, he sat down. He sat he sat down to ponder to allow what he had heard to sink in. It's important to deal with reality and not to ignore it. I remember one evening at college when my best friend Robert got a call from his father and learned that his mother had overdosed and passed away. I remember more recently when my wife got a call that her dad had gone to be with the Lord.

Those are times that stop you in your tracks to sit down and allow things to sink in. On the flip side, I remember it sinking in that the rapture hadn't occurred yet and I was actually going to get married. As I hurried to clean up my bachelor pad before I headed off to Ohio to get my wife. I remember the day my first child was born. Those were also days to remember.

Those were also times to sit down and let some wonderful things sink in. We deal with both, the joyous events and the sad ones. Both are part of life. And things like these and other things. Sometimes we need to just what?

Sit down and not just ignore them and pass them over. Some things hit you like a ton of bricks and some things should, but we choose rather to ignore them, to get distracted when we should, like Nehemiah, sit down and allow the things we have heard to sink in. How many times has God pointed out something lacking in your life or burdens your heart about something or someone and you just kind of shrugged it off and just went about your merry way. You chose not to confess, not to deal with it, not to pray, not to to help, not to be there for someone or to sit and meditate upon what you should do, but instead to just move along as though nothing was amiss. It remained undealt with, and therefore so was the need.

Be it your need or the need of someone else. For it was soon off your mind as you went about your business, kinda like the priest and the Levite that walked by the man that the Samaritan helped later on the road between Jericho and Jerusalem. But not Nehemiah, he sat down. And then what did he do? He wept.

He wept. He sat down and wept. Verse four. He allowed it to what? He allowed it to affect who?

Himself. He allowed it to affect himself. We we don't like that oftentimes, and so we don't want to be affected. We we we would just rather it just bounce off and leave us alone. But Nehemiah didn't do that.

He sat down and he wept. Did he live in Jerusalem? No. He lived in Shushan. Was he poor?

No. He was not poor. He was probably quite well-to-do. He had a very highly exalted position in the administration of the king of Persia. But instead of just going about his business in his merry way and saying, oh, I'm okay, He sat down.

He allowed the news to affect him personally and emotionally, and he wept. Jesus did the same over Jerusalem in Luke chapter 19. In Luke chapter 19, it says, and when he was come near, he beheld the city and, what, wept over it. He wept over a city full of people who were largely rejecting him, who a few days later would cry out, crucify him. Of some who would stand around his cross and mock and scorn him.

For those, he cried and he wept over the city of Jerusalem. Because despite their taunts and despite their unbelief, he cared for them. He in days would die for them. And as he hung on the cross, he would say, father, what? Forgive them for they know not what they do.

Sometimes when others reject us, when others reject the savior, when others don't hear what we have to say, we are too quick to to knock the dust off of our feet and walk on and say, I don't care about it. I did my part. There comes a time to to move on to the next person, the next ministry. But we must not become callous and hardhearted to those for whom Christ died, to those who need a savior. Jesus wept over them.

He allowed their plight to touch his what? His heart. To invade his space. To mess with his day. And so did Nehemiah.

How concerned are we over the situation, the sickness of someone we love and care about? How affected are we, or are we more disengaged and disconnected to protect ourselves from feeling, from sharing in their hurt? How concerned are we about the financial needs of others or more importantly, sinful state of others, the unsaved and the lost that live on this side of me and that side of me and behind me or that work in the cubicle next to me? How concerned are we over the direction of our country, our homes, our schools, our churches? A lot of times we think, well, it's it's not my fault.

I voted for the right guy, so I really don't care. You should care. And sometimes, we might need to sit down and let it, what, affect us because we are part of that community. We are part of the that church. We're part of that home.

We are part of this country, and we're to be salt and light in it, and it does matter. And hopefully, we do care because they're souls. He was concerned over the situation, the state of his people, the name of his God, enough to swallow his pride and to let it get to his heart. And I think if we are to see revival in our homes, our churches, and in our communities, in our country, it's not gonna happen unless we become the Amaya and let it affect us and not just brush it off. What did he do?

Well, he sat and he wept and he prayed and he fasted. He prayed before the God of heaven. And then in verse five, it tells us when he prayed and said, I beseech thee, o Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments. Let thine ear now be attentive. Let thine eyes let thine eyes open that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now day and night for the children of Israel thy servants and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against thee.

Both I and my father's house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against thee. We have not kept the commandments nor the statutes nor the judgments which thou commandest thy servant Moses. Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandest thy servant Moses saying, if ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations. But if you turn onto me and keep my commandments and do them, though there were a few cast out onto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence and will bring them onto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.

Now these are thy servants, thy people whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power and by thy strong hand. Oh, Lord, I beseech thee. Let now thy near be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, to the prayer of thy servants who desire to fear thy name and prosper, I pray thee thy servant this day and grant him mercy in the sight of this man for I was the king's cup bearer. What did Nehemiah do? Well, first he sat down and he wept.

And number two, he fasted and he what? And he prayed. He fasted and he prayed. Fasting is something clearly practiced in the Old Testament and by some in the New Testament as well. Jesus was asked, why do your disciples not fast?

He said, well, why should they fast while the bridegroom is here? But one day the bridegroom is going away and then then there will be times for them to what? To fast. Now fast by definition means to stop eating food, to skip meals. But fasting in Scripture is more than just an exercise to help you lose weight or to reset your system.

In scripture, fasting and prayer often go together because that fasting has a different purpose than just losing weight. Nehemiah was so burdened that eating and other desires were sacrificed to spend time talking with who? God. In dealing with what was weighing heavily upon his heart. He felt the need to express his sadness of heart and restlessness of soul by morning fasting as though a great friend had died.

That's sort of how he's acting here. He sat down, he wept, and he fasted. It stopped him in his what? In his tracks. Just like if he had just got the news that his best friend had suddenly tragically died, that is sort of how Nehemiah is responding to this news.

It was not scheduled or agreed upon by others. It was not a ritual or a holiday observance. It was spontaneous and true fasting is. Only one time in under the law, the people of Israel were required to fast. One day a year.

The day of atonement was the only day that there was a nationwide fast. Fasting otherwise all throughout the Old Testament and even into the New is an expression of sorrow and mourning and loss and heaviness of what? Heaviness of heart and, yes, at times, repentance. It was spontaneous and that is how it should be. Does anything burden you so much that it would cause you to shut off your TV set, your radio, or to change your schedule, to stop you in your tracks, and for a time forget about your entertainment or your exercise regimen or your work or maybe even eating a meal or two.

We rarely allow anything, particularly the needs of others, particularly spiritual needs to weigh heavy enough on our heart, to stop us in our tracks, and cause us to forget to do those other things because we are focused on something far more important. That's what fasting is. And it hit Nehemiah like a ton of bricks. I remember I was a youth pastor in Georgia and there was a young lady, twenties. She was married, had a couple of kids in the church.

Her her parents went to our church as well. She got in her car, and she left the parking lot. Our parking lot in Georgia, you could either go out on the main road, which was still only a two lane road, but, you know, not all main roads are six lane, know, you forget. Main road, and then there was a side road, just more or less like a gravel road, but I I think it was paved. But but so she she went out on the main road, and then she went past the side road.

And as she was drove out and drove this way past the side road, someone who was entirely inebriated was driving down that side road at sixty, seventy miles an hour, did not see her car, just slammed into her and knocked her car. Both the cars went into the cotton field that was across the street. It happened to be the cotton grew really well that year. The the cars nearly disappeared in the cotton field as the cotton plants were that high. And a few minutes later, come out of the church and all this ruckus is going on.

I don't know what's going on. All I know is there's somebody people out in the field and don't do not know what happened and come to find out it was Tina. Fortunately, the guy did not hit her completely broadside. He hit at the hit the the trunk of the car. She was not terribly badly injured, but she was stuck in the car.

Her dad went out there, sat in the back of the car, and helped hold her head straight while they waited for paramedics to come to extricate her from the car. Car could have blown up because he hit it near the gas tank, but praise the Lord it didn't. Us that obviously not all of us could help with what was going on, what did we do? Well, we went back in the church and we began to what? We began to pray.

You know, whatever plans we had after church that day just went out the window. While we were going to have to eat or where we were going, went out the window because all that would matter was Tina trapped in the car in the field waiting for the paramedics to come. Praise the Lord. She was okay. But that's what we're talking about when we're talking about fasting and praying.

And I'm afraid we don't fast very much because, well, we don't allow things often to affect us like that, especially spiritual needs. We just kind of brush them off, say, well, I'm okay, and we move along. He fasted and he beseeched and he pled. He pled, pleaded. I don't know if it's pled or pleaded is the right word.

Anyway, you get the idea. He pled with God by name. He beseeched the God of heaven. He beseeched the Lord. In verse five, it says, and I and said, I beseech thee, o Lord God.

Lord is in all capitals. That's God's name. It's pronounced Yahweh. It's pronounced Yehovah. It's we're not exactly sure how it's pronounced, but we know it's his name.

There's only one of him. And Nehemiah beseeched him, cried out to him by name, the Lord God of heaven. Jeremiah thirty three three, God says, call unto me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not. If you need me, God says what? I'm here.

I'm here. Call call on me and I will what? And I will answer thee. Call on me by name because he has a name. He is a person.

He isn't some mysterious force. He isn't some anamorphous thing. He is a person who hears, a person who has emotions, and a person who cares, and a person who answers, and he has a name. So call unto him. That's what Nehemiah did.

Yes. There was proper ways of going to the temple or to the tabernacle and praying during the time of incense, but you know something? God also heard people's prayers at other times as well. And he hears our prayers today even more so in Christ our savior when we call on him in the name of Jesus Christ who has gone to the cross and taken our place and risen again from the dead. He hears our prayers whether we're praying them in church or whether we're sitting at home or whether we're driving down the road.

You might consider not closing your eyes when you pray driving down the road, but you don't have to close your eyes for God to hear you. That's just to focus, you know, get away from the distractions. You don't have to close your eyes to be heard from God. But what you have to do is feel burdened about something and go to him. First, you have to feel burdened about something, and then secondly, you have to what?

You have to call on him. Call on him by name. John fourteen thirteen, and whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do that the father may be glorified in the son. John fourteen fourteen, if you shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. John fifteen sixteen, you have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit and that your fruit should remain.

And whatsoever you shall ask the father in my name, he may give it you. John sixteen twenty three, and in that day, you shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall ask the father in my name, he will give it you. What is Jesus' example? Our father, which art in heaven.

Pray to the father and pray in the name of who? The son. Not a ritual, but an earnest solemn plea from the heart. From a heart eat up with sadness, but not without hope. For there is hope in the name of the Lord.

There is hope in the name of the Lord. So take your burden to the Lord and what? Leave it there. But you gotta take your burden. You gotta have a burden and then take your burden.

What did he do? Nehemiah confessed his sins and the sins of the people. That's what he did when he went to the Lord. He confessed their sins in verse six. For the children of Israel thy servants and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against thee.

We are in this together. Though it is most important that you confess your sins, we can also intercede in behalf of others. And it is important that we do confess our sins. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. David said, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear my prayer.

Second Chronicles seven fourteen, God says this, if my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now, we're not the nation of Israel, but we are the people of God. And sadly, sometimes we still do sin. And if we want God to hear and answer our prayers and bless us and intervene in behalf of those we intercede, we need to be willing first to confess whose sins? Our sins.

And then intercede in behalf of others who need him. Why expect God to answer our prayers when we ourselves are in rebellion, when we are unwilling to be honest with the Lord about our need or the needs of others? God is not a genie that owes you so many wishes. He is a father who cares and listens, but is affected also by the condition of our relationship and our obedience to him. It does matter.

It matters greatly. Say, well, I'm I'm saved. I accepted the gift. I'm going to heaven. If that is your attitude about salvation, then I would check with your salvation.

It is a free gift. Yes. You can't earn it. Only Christ can pay for it. But salvation isn't just about you getting out of trouble.

Salvation is about what God wants to do in your life today, tomorrow, and in all eternity and what the the allegiance that he is owed and the love that he deserves. We love him because he what? First loved us. He is not a genie. He is a father.

He loves us. He cares about us. He hears us. Our relationship with him matters. One of the first things we need to do when we get on our knees to pray often is to confess our what?

Confess our sins. Admit to God where we failed and where we need help. He said, ask me. Ask me and I'll I'll answer. Ask and it shall be given.

Seek and it shall find knock and it shall be opened to you. And the thing that we often need the most, ourselves, is victory over sin in our lives. And he's there to give it. We have victory in Jesus Christ. We are more than overcomers.

He overcame the world and so can we, but we must not rest on our laurels and be happy with the status quo and say, God, I'm alright. Leave me alone. Oh, by the way, I need this. That was not Nehemiah. He confessed his sins and the sins of his people.

He interceded for his people and he plead for God's mercy. James five sixteen says, confess your faults one to another and what? Pray for pray one for another that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Oftentimes, that passage of scripture is interpreted to mean being healed from the flu or the cold or some other sickness or illness.

Primarily in scripture, healing is not that of physical, but of what? A spiritual nature. Now does that mean God doesn't care about your physical needs or your financial needs? No. It doesn't.

He does hear and answer those prayers also, and we need to pray for those often that have financial needs and physical needs. But don't forget about their what? Their spiritual needs. Yes. Our prayers can affect their relationship with God.

So pray for them. Pray for our country. Oh, our country so desperately needs our prayers. Our leaders so desperately needs our prayers. Our community, even our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who are struggling in spiritual ways, in physical ways, in emotional ways, they need our prayers.

They need someone to intercede in their behalf. And, yes, it does matter to our father in heaven. So don't just brush it off. Don't just move to the other side of the road and walk on. When God puts something on your heart, sit down.

Allow it to affect you, to stop you, and then go to the Lord who has the answers and who will hear. We are commanded to pray for intercede in behalf of others to plead for them. Who are you praying for and interceding for? Who are you praying for? Who today comes to your mind?

Who did you pray for this morning? Who did you pray for last night? Who have you been praying for this week? Who in your your orbit, your your life has burdened you and you're praying for them? Who in your family?

Who in your neighborhood? Who who of your coworkers? Who in your church are you interceding for? No. You don't need to intercede for everybody.

Sometimes it's one particular individual. Sometimes particularly as a pastor, it's a church. It's a group. But who are you interceding for? Because you know someone or someone's.

So maybe a few minutes a day, let's let it stop us in our tracks and get on our knees. He confessed his sins. He interceded for the people, and he claimed the promises of God. Why does it matter that you get on your knees and pray? Because we have a God who is trustworthy, a God who keeps his promises, and a god who is able to do so.

The Lord always keeps his promises. Nehemiah in his prayer claimed those promises. Daniel in his prayer claimed those promises in Daniel nine. Again and again, the prayers of the Bible, we see the people of God claiming the promises of God. God, this is what you have said.

I trust you. I believe in you. For prayer is also worship, is exalting our Lord in heaven as we come to him and say, I believe in you. So I'm getting on my knees today to pray for my church, to pray for my neighbor, to pray for my friend because I believe in the promises and the care of my God in heaven. Nehemiah says in verse eight, remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandest thy servant Moses, saying if you transgress, I will scatter you.

But verse nine, but if you turn onto me and keep my commandments and do them, though there were of you cast out onto the uttermost part of heaven, yet will I gather them from thence and will bring them under the place that I have chosen to set my name there. Nehemiah claims the promise of God. He said, God, you said if we abandoned you and turned from you that you would scatter us, and you did. But there was also a promise in Deuteronomy chapter four where you said, not only will I scatter you, but if you turn back in faith to me, I will restore you. God always keeps his promises.

So when you pray, lean on the promises of God. Remind him of those promises not because he has forgotten, but because you're telling him that you remember and that you really do trust in him. Praying in his will Because praying with God right beside you, praying in his will, you can't go wrong. And you're praying with power. John first John five fourteen and fifteen, this is the confidence.

There's the word, confidence. Praying with confidence that we have in him that if we ask anything according to his will, he what? He hears us. And if you know that he hears hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desire of him. Know that he hears you.

Pray with confidence. Pray in faith because he hears you. That's how Nehemiah prayed. Do you get that from this? He prayed in faith.

He trusted God. Took his burden to the Lord. Nehemiah knew his prayers were efficacious. That means they were they were profitable. They were useful.

They were powerful because of the promises in the nature and the love of the one on the other end. And so he prayed with sadness in his part and yet with hope as well. Do you need Jesus? Of course, you do. Do you need to accept him today as your savior For only he can save you from your sins.

You need to stop and deal with him. When? Now. Now. Behold, today is the day of salvation.

Do you believe we need revival at Missouri Avenue Baptist Church? You say, oh, we're pretty good. You know, people that are pretty faithful and people that are pretty interested in learning the word of God and and and living like the Lord says. And you know something that is true more so I believe than a lot of other churches. But I'm here to tell you, yet still Missouri Avenue Baptist Church needs what?

Revival. We need revival. We need to be revived in our hearts from the word of God. We need to be burdened. We need to take that burden and take it to the Lord.

We need to take that burden and put feet to it and prayers to it. We need revival. Our community needs revival. Our families need revival. Tendency is going to be the temptation is going to be to think about that for a moment then kind of what?

Brush it off, go back to and we're really good at that as people. Sometimes we need to stop and we need to give it a little more thought, allow God to burden our hearts with our neighbors, our friends, and the way that we sometimes treat our God. If you need revival, then you need to get on your knees every day and begin praying for it. Revivals revivals always begin with prayer. They always do.

We associate the great awakening or these things with, you know, Jonathan Edwards or but those revivals, they didn't start with a preacher. They started with God's people praying. Do you have a friend in need, a relative? You need to get on your knees today and begin to plead in the name of Jesus for that friend in faith and in hope. Do it.

You can do it now. You can do it at home. You can do it again tomorrow. If you really mean it, you'll keep it up until you see God answer your prayer. Revival always begins with prayer and with a burden, a true and a real burden.

And this is the point of Friend Day in a month, to burden us to reach others for Jesus Christ. That's the point. Not to bring more money into the church, not to say, oh, look, we got more people sitting in the pews, but to bring people to the savior. To help Christians that are suffering and feel defeated to see that there is victory in Christ and to get back in a church and get back serving the Lord, to feel burdened. And if we're gonna see any of that happen, we gotta get out and invite them, but you also we need to get down on our knees and start what?

Praying for them. Let's pray. Dear God, we thank you, Lord, for your great love for us, for your son, Jesus Christ, for the opportunity to worship you here this day. And, I pray indeed that we would give us ourselves a chance to be stopped in our tracks, to be burdened with the lost around us, with other needs of our friends and neighbors and and family members, and our own relationship and walk with you. And Lord, that we would be broken.

The point of humbling ourselves and praying to you to fix that which we cannot fix, to move in the hearts of those in which only you can do, to bring souls to the savior and people into the kingdom, to strengthen our testimony and bring glory to our savior. We pray that for our families, for our church, for ourselves, for our community. And Lord, that we would not simply brush it off and go on our merry way, but we might be compelled today and tomorrow to spend more time on our knees with our Lord, to spend a little more time burdened with the needs of others around us and reaching out to you in faith to see God move in our midst our midst and to do great and mighty things which we might never have imagined. We pray, Lord, if there be one here today that is yet to receive Christ as savior who died for them, I pray, Lord, they would come as we sing this hymn of invitation. And we all might respond today to you.

Whatever manner you place upon our hearts in Jesus name we pray. Amen.