Posted by: pastorapbell | April 26, 2010

As the Joy of the Lord of the Lord is restored to us

Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10NIV).

If one does not understand why they do something it makes it difficult to move forward so that you do not repeat previous mistakes. When the people heard the word being read and explained to them (8:8) they bowed their heads and with their faces to the ground they worshipped the Lord and repented.  They realised that that there were certain times in their history when God delivered them even though they did not deserve it.  And before fasting and praying, Nehemiah instructed them to go and eat and drink and share their food with those who could not afford to buy for the Joy of the Lord was their strength.

For the JOY of the Lord to become our strength we must exercise the spiritual discipline of fasting. However, before you go on a fast, it is imperative that you know what you are doing and why you are doing it for. There must be a reason for abstaining from food for a period of time. As we have learned, fasting and prayer gives us a deeper understanding of the word as God reveals his secrets to us. The spiritual disciplines of reading, fasting and prayer are the building blocks for a fruitful Christian life. Read the word with understanding, go to a place where you can hear it being explained [typically a church], apply the principles learned in context and receive blessings from the Lord. We cannot circumvent these; many of us want the blessings but do not want to make the sacrifices. 

The process of believing, repenting and confessing; being baptised in water and becoming a disciplined one is a must for everyone who follows Jesus (Matt 28:19&20).

Today, read the bible and ask the Lord for understanding as you read; worship with understanding also and allow the Joy of the Lord to become your strength.

Read Ezra’s prayer of confession for the sins of his ancestors in Nehemiah 9:6-37

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Posted by: pastorapbell | April 25, 2010

As we apply the spiritual discipline of fasting to aid the restorative process

On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and having dust on their heads (Nehemiah 9:1NIV).

The restorative process will not be maintained if the individual being restored is inactive. There must be a plan which needs to be executed. The people of Israel separated themselves from those who did not share their faith and came before the Lord with fasting, prayer and confession.

Fasting is a spiritual discipline which is easily abused. Many religious people recognise the need for fasting, prayer and a time to rejuvenate the spirit.  But sadly many neglect this discipline and others carry it out as a religious duty. Isaiah gives us an insight into the type of fast that we should embark on.

Fasting is setting aside a time when you refrain from eating your regular food and drinking your regular drinks. It is a time of separation to the Lord. There are many types of fasts: there is the Daniel fast, where you eat only fruit and vegetables for 21 days and pray for wisdom and revelation. Then there is the ‘Esther fast’ where you neither eat nor drink for three days to avert impending destruction, this is a dry fast and so on.

The purpose of any fast is to petition God so that his will be done. Many biblical characters fasted as a matter of course. Jesus would set aside regular times for fasting and prayer away from his disciples. Before he started his ministry, he fasted for 40 days and nights (Matt 4:1-2) so that he could resist temptation from the devil and perform the miraculous works of God.

Indeed Jesus told his disciples that certain kinds of demonic oppression and possession would not leave an individual unless there is prayer and fasting to dislodge them (Matt 17:21). This is an important tool in the armoury of the believer in Jesus and needs to be used as often as possible. John Wesley the founder of Methodism said that all his ministers should fast at least twice per week! He fasted every Wednesday and Friday. I wonder how many are still doing this.

Today pray and confess your faults, but plan a time for fasting so that God can reveal his secrets to you.

 Read Isaiah 58.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | April 24, 2010

As we celebrate new knowledge from the word of God and develop the restoration process

On the second day of the month, the heads of all the families, along with the priests and the Levites, gathered around Ezra the scribe to give attention to the words of the Law (Nehemiah 8:13 NIV).

The importance of reading and understanding the word is vital. Having heard the word, the people were passionate to hear more so that they can do what God had instructed them to do.  Having done things their own for a long time and gone into captivity, there was a genuine desire to come back to God and do things his way.

God says: love the Lord with all your heart soul and mind (Deut 6:5) and love your neighbour as yourself. And Jesus added, seek first the kingdom of God and all his righteousness and everything will be added to you (Matt 6:33).

The problems we face when we do our own ‘thing’ are often compounded by the distance we move away from what God intended for us in the first place. The process of restoration involves repentance, a change of mind, deliverance, breaking with the things of the past and healing, making those parts that are wounded well again.

This only occurs when we allow the word of God to occupy first place in our lives. The psalmist wrote this: ‘you (God) have exalted your name and your word above everything’ (Psalm 138:2b). So as we read and apply the word to our lives we will see great transformation in every area of our daily walk.

So today, like the repentant Israelites, develop a passion for God’s word, the Holy Bible and take it in copious amounts daily.

Read Nehemiah 8:13-18

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Posted by: pastorapbell | April 23, 2010

As we take stock to maintain and substantiate the restoration

So my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials and the common people for registration by families (Nehemiah 7:5a).

To determine the way forward all of us need to take stock. This involves stopping what you are currently doing and making an assessment of what is required to go to the next level. You have done the difficult part in building and securing the wall. The next step is to ensure that what is inside those walls are maintained.  This can only occur when there is an environment of honesty and openness.  Everyone knew what the plan was; they knew the vision and were aware of what was required to fulfil it.  So they agreed with stock taking effort, gave into the building fund (7:71) and wanted to hear what God had to say about what they were doing.

The lesson for us today is this. Don’t go on and on year in year out without taking stock. Take some time off on your own, get away from the hustle and bustle of life and go and spend time by yourself with God. We will never maintain the original building unless we plan to give it a regular M.O.T.  This is the same for our relationships, prayer life, finances, families and friends. We need to take stock regularly, at least once per year, and fix the areas that are not so good and maintain those which are working. This will allow us to operate in the right area according to our gifting.

So today make a list, write down everything on the list, everything, develop a routine, ask God about it, and stick with it. 

Read Nehemiah 7:66-8:3.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | April 22, 2010

As we secure the restoration

After the wall had been rebuilt and I had set the doors in place, the gatekeepers and the singers and the Levites were appointed (Nehemiah 7:1 NIV).

Once the walls are built it is imperative that they are guarded. They are guarded by three sets of people; the gatekeepers, the singers and the priests. The gatekeepers are responsible for who comes in and goes out. They are the watchmen of the city. If the gatekeeper is asleep or off duty then anyone or anything can come and go as they like. For us in the church, this is a vital position and if the Lord has called you to be a watch-person, then you are responsible to the leadership to be aware of who or what is allowed to come and go.

The singers are worship leaders; these are the people who usher in the presence of God. They are in the front line of the battle and are the primary target for the enemy. This is why there is always some sort of problem in worship teams, the enemy wants to cause confusion because he knows that when true worshipper are united then the presence of the Lord will flood the place.

Finally the Levites are those who bring the needs of the people to God. i.e. they bring the heart of the people to the heart of God. They are the intercessors of the fellowship and are a vital cog in the scheme of things.

Today find where you fit and occupy your position. As we build the walls around our families, our finances and our faith secure it by prayer, watchfulness and praise.

Read Nehemiah 7:1-6

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Posted by: pastorapbell | April 21, 2010

As we deal with opposition and oppression

Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!” (Nehemiah 4:19-20 NIV).

The unholy trinity of hate in disguise (Sanballat), rain (Gesham) and God is good (Tobiah) used all their influence and contacts to halt the building and restoration process. The problem that Nehemiah faced was this; people who were supposed to be working with him were feeding information to his enemies. Not only did they want to stop what God was doing they even employed some people to prophecy to him about a plot to kill him so he would leave the job at hand (6:10). I loved how he responded: I am doing a great work and I cannot come down! (6:3)

We must recognise that our enemies are out to stop us being restored, to steal our Joy and to kill us. Jesus reminded us that the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10), so we need to be on our guard. Once you are on the right road people will come in to tell you what you should and should not do and that the Lord told them this.  Be very careful of what you go along with. Before you submit to what you are being told, apply a few biblical principles to it, Viz.

Is there a biblical precedent to this? Has God confirmed to you that this will happen? The biblical principle is this: Before God does anything he reveals it to his prophet (Amos 3:7), so Nehemiah recognised that he was being set up and dismissed them. We must also recognise that there are people who try to get close to us to leak information to the enemy (6:17).

Today realise that once you take the first step towards restoration the enemy will be mad and will send people to you who talk the talk but do not walk the walk. That is, they will tell you what to do but they themselves are doing the very opposite of what they say. It is like someone telling you the benefits of marriage but they are on their second or third one.

Ask the Lord to reveal to you the heart of those who come into your circle and don’t be deceived by flattery and fine chat!

Read Nehemiah 5&6 in a different version. Read online at www.biblegateway.com

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Posted by: pastorapbell | April 20, 2010

As we make up our minds to build and be restored

So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work (Nehemiah 4:6 NKJV).

After the rebuilding process has started and you have made up your mind to do it, your enemies will rise up with greater fervour. Nehemiah’s enemies were constantly watching and waiting for an opportunity to stop the work or to get them to abort it. We must remember that these enemies were intelligent people who were officials in their countries. Sanballat was a Samaritan leader. The Samaritans were mixed heritage people from Arab and Jewish stock. Many worshipped Yahweh but others worshipped their traditional Gods. It was a descendant of Samaria who Jesus met at Jacob’s well in John 4 who declared that the Jews claimed that true worship could only occur in Jerusalem.  

Tobiah was an Ammonite official. These people are descendants of Lot, Abraham’s nephew, who because of disobedience ended up in Sodom and had to be rescued by Abraham before God destroyed the place. The name actually means God is good.

The final person of this unholy alliance is Geshem who was a probably an Ashdodite, although the bible calls him an Arab (Neh 6:1). His name means rain, while Sanballat’s means hate in disguise.

These three officials formed the bedrock of the opposition to what God was doing through Nehemiah. But however hard they tried, they could not succeed in stopping the restoration process because, ‘the people had a mind to biuld.’ Although Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem are people who are characterised by their spirit of rebellion, they could not thwart what God had planned.

Today, remember that it is God’s purposes that will prevail, men plan and plot but it is God’s will that will be done in the earth. So get your mind in gear to press through the opposition that tries to stop your restoration.

Read Nehemiah 6.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | April 19, 2010

As we continue the process of restoration with a purpose

So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. At that time I also said to the people, “Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and workmen by day.” Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water (Nehemiah 4:21-23).

If starting the work was not hard enough, continuing it is even more arduous. Because of the state of the brokenness of the walls and the surrounding audience who were adamant that the rebuilding process would not occur, drastic measures were needed to continue the process.  Nehemiah positioned each person in their place and gave them instructions on how to continue the process. To lay the first few courses of bricks, each person had to develop the dual role of builder and warrior.

To continue with the task ahead we need to learn to fight, which involves breaking down and at the same time build. These two contrasting tasks require balance.  Every person whose desire it is to be restored needs to develop the skills to negotiate when to fight and when to build. This is not an either or situation but both and.

Let us learn to work but be on our guard whilst working and as we build up the wall. Remember that the enemy will be plotting to see how they can stop the work and bring you back to ground zero.

The first course of the building we need to lay is relationship. Let us build up relationship with those who are on our side as we continue the work.

 Read Nehemiah 4:12-23

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Posted by: pastorapbell | April 18, 2010

As we get ready for spiritual restoration

It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-13 NIV).

As we fast forward to the New Testament period we will realise that what Nehemiah did in the physical, today we are called to do in the spiritual!  So in the New Testament, the apostle Paul tells us that for the body of Jesus Christ to be effective in these last days, we need to act in unity and rebuild the church of Jesus on biblical principles.  That is, we need to resurrect all the ministries given by Jesus and get them functioning again. 

In Ephesians 4, we are reminded that we are given the building blocks to build a successful ministry. But it must be in a way that all the parts are working together. This is a key ingredient in restoration.

 The church, that is the universal church, must be build with humility and discipline (v2) and we must bear with one another in love. Making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, and when we do this we operate in the grace that comes from Jesus and we activate the ability to receive the gifts that he has given.  These gifts will only be in operation when our fellowships are built on love, gentleness and faith and when we live for each other and not for ourselves.

So today find your place and occupy till Jesus comes.

Read Ephesians 4

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Posted by: pastorapbell | April 17, 2010

As we fight for the total restoration of our families

Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.” Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows. After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes” (Nehemiah 4:12-14 NIV).

Whenever you make a decision to be totally sold out for God, the enemy will try to thwart your rebuilding process. Having allocated each family a particular portion of the wall to rebuild and given them the necessary tools to do it, the enemy started to fight on all fronts. They mocked them and were very angry that they even attempted the reparation v.1. They taunted them and made all sorts of wise cracks v.2. And they ridiculed them and criticised the strength and fortitude of their building work, v.3.

But Nehemiah and people prayed and believed that God would bring them through it. Also Nehemiah reminded them that they would succeed if they worked together, focussed on the task ahead and allow God to confuse their enemies.

For us today there are certain principles we can take from this experience. We must realise that whenever we decide to work for the Lord we will face opposition and the opposition won’t just go away like that. For all the brokenness in our lives to be repaired we have to persevere.

Nehemiah told his people this; “don’t be afraid of them, remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your family, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your properties”, (v.14).

So today leave nothing to chance, let us do our part and ask God to do his as we fight the good fight of faith.

Read Nehemiah 4

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