I Was the King’s CupBearer

 

Neh 1:1 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,

2 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 of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

3 And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there 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.

4 And it 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,

5 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:

6 Let thine ear now be attentive, and 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.

7 We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.

8 Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:

9 But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence,and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.

10 Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.

11 O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and 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 cupbearer.

Let others exist is abject apathy, let others live within the constricting confines of  complacency, let others ruin in shallow religiosity there are those among us tonight who will not with hold our praise

-hand claps   – dance      -shout     -testimony    -our voice

For something got a hold of us and changed us we are different because of his doings and works in our life

The experiences we have had with God are real enough that we know we must lift our voice we must arise from our seat of security our couch of carelessness and our lounge of laziness

For forty years a carnal and corrupted and calloused king never concerned himself with the presence of God, but no sooner had David been coronated until he’s trading in his scepter for a sword shouting, “Where is the ark of God?”

A calling from god will change a sheep herder into a king of a nation

 

I see Mordecai anxiously pacing the floor before the young and beautiful queen saying, “Don’t think you’ll escape Esther when Hamaan unsheaths the sword of slaughter. It’s time for you to do something. And who knows if you have not been brought to the kingdom for such a time as this.”

No Esther not because of your talents or traits but because of gods call.

The call of god will change a common young teenage girl into a queen

Whether it was by casual conversation or an expedited dispatch, the message came to Nehemiah that walls and the city of Jerusalem laid in ruins.

When the king noticed the distress of his heart and inquired, Nehemiah had no other prerogative but to answer-

Neh 2:3

…why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?

Despite the very real possibility of young Nehemiah at least losing his notable position  and at worst losing his life he made known unto the king his burden

Is there anyone here tonight…

…whose countenance is saddened when the baptismal waters are untroubled?

…whose heart becomes heavy when the altars are barren?

…whose spirit is troubled when they see the spiritual decay in your city?

…whose soul is smitten when you witness the reproach of sin that has imprisoned today’s society.

….who are absolutely eaten up with concern when services are dead dullo and boring…

if that is you then you are the warrior that god wants to use to bring the ark of his presence back into the sanctuary

 

God’s Kingdom was in affliction and reproach!

·        Jerusalem was in reproach because the walls were down. It was the walls that caused Israel to retain their distinctiveness.

·        It was the walls that protected God’s people from pagan practices and lewd and promiscuous culture.

REPROACH (Hebrew) Charaph (Khaw-raf)     means, “to be disgraced by betrothal”.

·        Too many see the existence of walls as unnecessary restriction, as constricting bondage. But it is the walls that God has put around us that causes us to retain our distinction and our Godly identity.

·        Once Israel lost it’s walls they were disgraced by unholy yokes and unsanctified marriages until they lost their identity.

In this generation there is

a restoration of righteousness.

a restoration of the fear of God.

a restoration of Apostolic ministry.

a restoration of Apostolic authority.

a restoration of Apostolic power.

a restoration of Apostolic hunger.

Tonight is the time for somebody to leave this service and testify that I use to be just the kings cupbearer

I used to be….

Lazy      depressed     in and out of church          up and down       a bad saint     a bad husband /wife

I used to be just the kings cupbearer but now I am a wall builder ….

Eight Steps to Restoration

1.        A Dissatisfaction with the present.

Neh 1:3-4

3 And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there 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.

4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept,…

Rachel, where are you tonight? When’s the last time you cried, “Give me children, or else I die…” Or have you just accepted the circumstances Rachel and resigned to an empty womb.

I believe in this building tonight there are those like Rachel of old have begged god for some babies When’s the last time you got so disgusted with yourself in prayer, that you prayed, “God, whatever you’ve got to do to change me…”

“I haven’t won a soul in a long time, and I hate it.”

“I should be doing more than I am, and I can’t stand it.

The same spirit that Laodocea had , is a constant threat and reality   rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing,

Charlie Peace, a criminal in England, on the day he was being taken to his execution, listened to a minister reading from the Word. And when he found out he was reading about heaven and hell, he looked at the preacher and said, “Sir, if I believed what you and the church of God say, and even if England were covered with broken glass from coast to coast, I would walk over it on hands and knees and think it worthwhile living just to save one soul from an eternal hell like that.”

2.        A Hunger to Pray and Fast.

Neh 1:4

4 And it 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,

2 Chron 7:14

14 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, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

We have had instruction until we are hardened; it is now time for us to pray. said– Charles Grandison Finney

And pray Charles Finney did. History records that the shops closed down in Rochester, New York when it was time for service to begin every evening, and that the taverns of Rochester closed down altogether.

For seven days, Jonathon Edwards prayed and fasted in the cellar of his home, crying out to God, “Lord, give me New England.”

Early Sunday morning, when Mr. Edwards came up the stairs of the cellar, he came with a word from the Lord that he called, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”.

History records that sinners held on to the pews until their knuckles were white for fear that they would fall into the pits of hell that very moment.

Jonathon Edwards, through prayer, did turn New England upside down.

It is not ability and talent or even finance that is going to turn this city upside down, but it’s going to happen when somebody gets so desperate as to pray as did George Whitefield, “Give me souls or take my life.”

O you are here tonight right now you are just a king’s cupbearer you are just a factory worker you are just a student you are just a house wife you are just a construction worker    you are just involved in ministry but not impacting but I feel tonight some folks are going to testify that I am now a wall builder

There is an evil adversary who is attempting to lay to shambles the kingdom of God right here …

…If somebody could be moved to prayer, then God would shut the mouths of our opponents and our critics like he shut the mouths of lions.

…If somebody could be moved to prayer then God would set embattlements against the

spirits of oppression and fear just like he did for Israel.

“…the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much…”

3.        A Willingness to Repent!

Neh 1:6

6 Let thine ear now be attentive, and 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.

“…he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches…”

What did the Spirit say to the churches?

REPENT!

To 5 of the 7 churches, Jesus called for them to repent.

·        To Ephesus- Repent!

·        To Pergamos- Repent!

·        To Thyatira- Repent!

·        To Sardis- Repent!

·        To Laodicea- Repent!

4.        Return to the Word!

Neh 1:9 But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.

The Lord tells Nehemiah, “If you’ll return to the word of God, even if the sheep have been scattered to the uttermost part of the heavens, I will bring then unto a place that I have chosen TO SET MY NAME THERE.”

God will gather men to a church that has withheld the sanctity of His Name.

5.        Return to a Fear of the Lord

Neh 1:11 O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper…

 

Nehemiah said that those that would fear the Lord would prosper.

The word “prosper” comes from a Hebrew word Tsaleach (tsaw-lakh) which means, “to break out, to go over.”

6.        A Desire to Separate Yourself from the Life You Now Live.

Neh 1:11 For I WAS the king’s cupbearer.

My position in life the money I make the accolades the achievements ascribed to me any prestige I have is no longer the reason why I live now I want to walk in the purpose that god has for me.

Nehemiah, upon the completion of these 6 steps, begins to witness the sovereign move of God’s Spirit.

·        The Lord causes Artaxerxes to give letters of authority to Nehemiah.

·        God uses pagan, sinful kings to provide necessary supplies and material to Nehemiah.

Eccl 8:4

4 Where the word of a king is, there is power:

Not only did the king send his word, and give Nehemiah letters, but he provided him with his captains and horsemen.

God is going to speak it. God will declare His Word, and then He will dispatch the captains and the horsemen of the angelic hosts to carry it through.

7.        The Church Must Discover the Strength in Unity.

Neh 2:18

18 Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.

“Strengthened” from the Hebrew- Chazaq, which means “to fasten upon, to seize.”

8.        They Re-opened the Gates of Sacrifice.

Neh 3:1 Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it;

The sheep gate was the gate the worshipper came through when he brought sacrifice to be placed upon the altar.

If we are to have Apostolic revival then someone’s going to have to rebuild the sheep gate, or the gates to sacrifice.

Simon Peter said, “We’ve forsaken ALL to follow thee.

Mary broke open her alabaster, and poured ALL of it over the Master.

Jesus told a young aspiring rich lawyer one time, “Go and sell ALL that you have and give it to the poor and follow me.”

The book of Acts Church sold all their possessions and gave it to the work of God, and there are folks in the modern church who cannot even consistently pay their tithes and offerings.

·        No sooner had Israel restored the “sheep gate” in Jerusalem, then the next thing that materialized was the “fish gate”.

·        Jesus told us that we would be fishers of men.

·        I believe that a clear message comes through from the Lord here in Nehemiah chapter 3.

-If the church will prepare the way to sacrifice, then God says, “I’ll fill the nets so abundantly, you’ll have to have a huge and a mammoth gate just take them all in

Neh 4:1-2

4:1 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.

2 And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said,

What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? (The people that do know their God will be strong and do exploits. You bet we’re going to fortify ourselves!)

will they sacrifice? (More than we ever have before!)

will they make an end in a day? (This was the enemy asking, “Will they ever quit?”)

will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?

Nehemiah, as he rebuilt the walls, did not use new stones, but they reached into the rubble and pulled out the burned-over, and broken-down blocks and stones of the past.

As God restores revival to the church of the end-time generation, He’s not going to use those who have espoused new doctrines and new gospels, but he’s going to reach down and pick up some stones that have been scorched at times by the fires of opposition and adversity.

The soot of weariness and the ash of yesterday’s unfulfilled dreams may stain the stones of today’s work of restoration and People who feel that their usefulness has expired, and their value to the kingdom diminished, God is going to use them in the thrust of revival for the last days.

And like Sanballat, Satan will issue the challenge…

“Will God revive the burnt stones?”

My answer is YES! YES! YES!

In 52 days, 42 different working parties, restored a 50 foot high wall with a circumference of 4 miles at a rate of 504 feet per day.

How?

Neh 4:6 So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.