“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” (Nehemiah 1:4).
TEXT — Nehemiah 1:1-4
Message
Andrew Stephen Grove, a Hungarian-American businessman and third CEO of Intel Corporation said, “How well we communicate is not determined by how well we say things but by how well we are understood.”
Hanani, the brother of Nehemiah, informed him about the despicable and deplorable state of the holy city and the condition of the remnant escapee Israelites. The news made him sad and heavy-hearted. He was devastated, and as someone said, he “was thrown into a paroxysm of grief.” What got Nehemiah who was occupying a powerful position in the Persian court so distressed? Why did he mourn, fast, and pray to the God of heaven? The effective communication about the fate of the remnant Jews and the deplorable state of Jerusalem!
Nehemiah did not forget his nativity, and his royal privileges did not make him indifferent to the plight of his people, especially when he got wind of the pathetic situation in Israel. But above these, his unique burden for the condition of the holy city of his God and his disposition and proactive plan to assist in the circumstance remain a challenge and an inspiration to modern-day believers.
How do we respond when we see the lamentable spiritual state of the Church or the embarrassing and deplorable socio-economic conditions of the people of God? Are we really concerned about how some assemblies have become too permissive and our solemn meetings have turned sensual? Modesty and sobriety are fast disappearing. Today, self-projecting worldly characters, and weird attires adorn the bodies of those handling sacred musical instruments, and we applaud them. Unfortunately, unlike Nehemiah, we hear of or see these abnormalities, and many believers remain undisturbed. We need passionate men and women with Nehemiah’s burden and passion on our altars and pews today!
Thought for the day
You cannot act with passion on any information that doesn’t first act on you.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
