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Nehemiah 2:2
so the king asked me,
“Why does your face look so sad
when you are not ill ? This can be
nothing but the sadness of heart.”
3. …..”Why should my face not
look sad when the city where my fathers
are buried lies in ruins, and its gates
have been destroyed by fires.”

Our emotions ( at times )can tell us
Where our heart is….
What bothers us…shows us
Where our passion is….
What burdens us can lead us
to where God wants us to minister….

Then the King asked Nehemiah :
“WHAT IS IT YOU WANT ?”

So, to us individually today:
“WHAT IS IT YOU WANT ?”

but watch what Nehemiah did next
vs. 4
“ then I prayed to the God of heaven,
5. and I answered the king….
Nehemiah didn’t answer until….He prayed to God.

What Nehemiah wanted aligned with God
Too many times we react instead of spiritually
responding. We need to pause and go to God first
before responding to our “ what do you want “…

5.“…..let him send me to the city in Judah
where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it.”

Nehemiah is showing us….
HOW TO GET TO THE WILL OF GOD…
that will always have spiritual impact…
that will be anointed by God to see it thru….
that may not always be easy, but will give us peace….

vs. 6 “…it pleased the king to send me “

Even in the secular ~ God will give us favor with
God and man….for his will to happen….
in this chapter
it is amazing to see the actual will of God for
Nehemiah….
and those that would be impacted by
Nehemiah’s seeking,
hearing
and obeying God.

vs. 7
“I also said to him, ( pushing the envelope more )
“ if it pleases the king, may I
have letters to the governors of Trans Euphrates,
so that THEY WILL PROVIDE ME SAFE CONDUCT
unti I arrive in Judah.”

Look at how God Himself is
*instructing Nehemiah in the questions to ask
*giving Nehemiah the boldness to ask the question
*the right question to the right person will pave the way
* not stopping until you have done all that God is saying to do

vs. 8
“ And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king’s
forest, so he will give me the timber to make the beams
for the gates of the citadel and for the city wall
and for the residence I will occupy.”

Provision for the will of God in our lives….
Seeking God, hearing God, obeying God.

** in this build, I have had to ask God MANY TIMES…
who to ask, when to ask, when to do each task…
and HE has told me…
Mike Hawkins, James and Bill, Briggs, Les,
Jonathan, supporters have heard from God, the
exact team that came, Randy Green, Meffley,
Mike Thompson, Mark Good…and so the build…

HERE IT IS :

vs. 8
“ and because the gracious hand of God was upon
me, the king granted my requests.”

You can feel the hand of God on you,
when you are in the will of God.
YOU KNOW, it is NOT YOU….
YOU KNOW….it is only God
that can do the things
that are happening around you.
YOU can see, it is not about you at all….
It is for the will of God
In the way of God
for the people that God alone wants to touch.

Reading this a.m. – Colossians 3:2
“ Set your minds on things above , not on earthly things….”

Today there is SO MUCH….pot stirring…mind stirring…
Things going literally on in our lives that
“could”…. DRIVE YOU CRAZY !

There are things that are factually HARD….
that YOU are going through…no denying !

2 Cor. 4: 18
“ Fix your eyes on not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary but what is seen is eternal.”

Set your heart on things above – a striving
set your minds on things above – intentional concentrating

** what is your mind consumed with right now ?
Is there PEACE in that ?
The things on this earth is real, it has turmoil,
strife, it can be exhausting…mentally, physically
and spiritually….

But we are to be literally “hidden in Christ “ vs. 3- 4
Concealed in JESUS
Safe in JESUS CHRIST
We ARE…secure and safe in JESUS

“IN CHRIST”…..our very lives should be literally
“ IN CHRIST”…..hidden …”IN CHRIST”…

If we hide in a bush, what is seen first ?
If we hide in a closet, can satan find us easily ?
Can the world get to us easily ? It would have to seek us hard.

In the midst ~ HIDE……be hidden in Christ
in the midst ~ strive for JESUS CHRIST
in the midst ~ set our minds first on JESUS…

“Where the Spirit of the LORD is…
There is freedom.”
in the bush = freedom
in the closet = freedom
in this world = in your life today…there is FREEDOM

In ….This world, satan can find us easily….
I want to HIDE…..
I want to HIDE myself IN CHRIST……