Nehemiah 1:3-11 CEV "They told me, “Those captives who have come back are having all kinds of troubles. They are terribly disgraced, Jerusalem’s walls are broken down, and its gates have been burned.” When I heard this, I sat down and cried. Then for several days, I mourned; I went without eating to show my sorrow, and I prayed: Lord God of heaven, you are great and fearsome. And you faithfully keep your promises to everyone who loves you and obeys your commands. I am your servant, so please have mercy on me and answer the prayer that I make day and night for these people of Israel who serve you. I, my family, and the rest of your people have sinned by choosing to disobey you and the laws and teachings you gave to your servant Moses. Please remember the promise you made to Moses. You told him that if we were unfaithful, you would scatter us among foreign nations. But you also said that no matter how far away we were, we could turn to you and start obeying your laws. Then you would bring us back to the place where you have chosen to be worshiped. Our Lord, I am praying for your servants-those you rescued by your great strength and mighty power. Please answer my prayer and the prayer of your other servants who gladly honor your name. When I serve the king his wine today, make him pleased with me and have him do what I ask."
Ezekiel 22:30 CEV “I looked for someone to defend the city and to protect it from my anger, as well as to stop me from destroying it. But I found no one.”
The church has been in exile in America
In Nehemiah 1 the prophet said he had heard of the plight of those who
had returned home from exile. Their walls of protection had been broken down
and they needed help. He also was a man who knew the Word of God which brings
victory. Pointing out in prayer God’s words to Moses, he said the unfaithful
will be scattered, but for those who obey God’s commands will be drawn together and bring them to a place
of gathering in His name.
We repent today for our nation and church and call
upon the Name of the Lord to redeem us. I believe He is drawing us together to restore the walls
of faith which have been broken down in our city, to see a life transforming
revolution begin starting with us and spreading out into the streets of our city.
Let the Revolution begin!
Nehemiah was informed the walls had been broken down.
Perhaps the walls of our faith have also been broken because we moved from the
Biblical example of Acts into what we perceived to be a better form of worship.
If it is better, then why do we find less genuine Christianity and more
pseudo-Christianity today? Have we neglected the principles, which caused the
church to grow 2,000 years ago by developing a new form of godliness, which is not seeing growth but is leading to decay?
Most of us want to be changed to become more like
Christ. But is it happening? According to a Gallup poll, nine of ten Americans
say they pray daily, and 84 million Americans, almost a third of the population,
say they have made a personal commitment to Christ as Savior. A wise man once wrote, "A pound of meat would surely be affected by a quarter
pound of salt. If this is real Christianity, the ’salt of the earth,’ where is
the effect of which Jesus spoke?" Because by and large we do not expect
people to experience ongoing transformation, we are not led to question whether
perhaps the standard prescriptions for spiritual growth being given in the church
are truly adequate to lead people into a transformed way of life.”
Let the revolution begin. Lets come to a place of
understanding of our call, venturing out to grasp hold of God’s hand through
the power of the Holy Spirit and see life transformation taking place within
us, through us, reaching out and touching others around us. It is time to get
back to the basic understanding of Biblical Christianity so we are not
wandering about aimlessly; so we are connecting with Christ and through that
connection connecting with a lost world in order to being hope into their hopeless
situations.
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