The Place Where I Live #1- Broken Nehemiah 1:1-11

Can a pizza get to your house faster than an ambulance Are there handicap parking places in front of a skating rink Do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front Do people order double cheese burgers, large fries, and a diet coke Do banks leave both doors open and then chain the pens to the counters Do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage Do we use answering machines to screen calls and then have call waiting so we won't miss a call from someone we didn't want to talk to in the first place Do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight Do we use the word 'politics' to describe the process so well = 'Poli' in Latin meaning 'many' and 'tics' meaning 'bloodsucking creatures' Dr. David Jeremiah wrote a book recently titled I NEVER THOUGHT I'D SEE THE DAY! He asks the question, Is Western civilization in an accelerating decline? In his book he details numerous signs of this cultural decay including: America held hostage by Iran Marriage becoming obsolete Creeping socialism The invisibility of culture's enemies Increase in "spiritual warfare" America turning its back on Israel Atheist attack on religion Can this downward spiral be reversed?

Ill.

Only In America:

And if it continues will it eventually weaken and cause us to come to the end of cultured civilization as we now know it?

manner of life, our dedication to genuine worship of God, in serving God by helping others, in our giving, and in prayer.

Yes, but only if one person at a time returns to God with our heart, our

I want to offer to you a series of messages entitled The Place Where I Live. If there is one thing that can be said about this land in which we live it is Broken.

Everyone has read the old nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty that is descriptive of the world in which we live; BUT is it too late to put Humpty Dumpty back together again OR a better question might be can Humpty Dumpty be put back together? If it aint broke ________ [Martin Jr. just turn the radio up that will only work for so long and then it stops running] That phrase; If it aint broke dont fix it has cost more: Worry Money spent to fix it later [Midas brake Commercial; Either pay me now or pay me a lot more later] It is interesting that No matter what dynasty of people it is whether: Egyptian Babylonian Persian Roman No matter how it started out as soon as the people become comfortable they all seem to look alike just like Sodom and Gomorrah each leader established what they thought was their version of a utopian environment HOWEVER after mankind has had a chance to affect it there is always: Broken dreams Broken moral laws - Romans 1 Gods law written on our hearts

Why is it like that? We live in a Broken world because of broken:

1)

Moral Compass verse 7

From verse 5-11 Nehemiah began praying about the news that he had received. What got them to where we find them in the first place is a lack of a strong moral compass. They had drifted away from God and His word. I am reminded of a story about a ship that capsized at sea, and the crew made their escape in the lifeboats. As the small boats sailed toward safety, 2 sailors suddenly huddled together in terse conversation. Without delay, they both suddenly sprang overboard and swam back to the sinking ship. They reappeared a moment later, one of them carrying a small object in his hands.

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At great risk, they had jumped back into the sea, swam to the sinking ship and then swam back to the lifeboats, which by this time had sailed a considerable distance away from the capsized vessel. The other rescued crew members wondered what could have possibly compelled their crew mates to make such a treacherous journey. When their companions finally made it back to the lifeboats, the object which prompted their trip was revealed it was the ship's compass. Our world today seems to have lost its compass. The only true compass, which can guide us into the new era in time, is God's Word. when:

What about us today; are we in the same sinking ship? We are Broken
a) We care more about our utopian environment than the unborn. 50+ Million killed January 21 Life March on the capital You cant save the planet anyway for: God designed it to wind down speed of light is slowing down Peter says 2Peter 3:10, But the day of the Lord will come as

a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

We are Broken when: b) We care more about debating about God than declaring His glory As if, if we disagree with God enough that He will take a consensus, come around to understanding what our objection is, and in changing His mind; come around to our way of thinking. c) Care more about success than service 1Corinthians 4:2, Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. NOT successful but that is what far too many consider to be important We live in a Broken world when our Moral Compass is broken. Israels world was Broken because of a:

2)

Mistaken Concern Prayer verse 8-9

The people who had returned from the captivity, in Ezra 2, tried to rebuild the walls of the city and those of the temple but because of opposition from the people of the countryside failed to complete it. They could not build the temple because there were no walls of the city. [When something breaks someone always says, Need to call someone when you have a water leak that you cant contain you call a plumber, when you have an electrical problem that you dont know how to address you call an electrician] If you read the book of Nehemiah from a shallow view it would seem that there is neither mention of nor suggestion that they did anything before traveling to Shushan to see Nehemiah; even though they had tried to rebuild. What they needed to do first is fall on their knees and address God who sees, hears and answers Knee mail. Instead of looking up Nehemiah they needed to look UP (in Gods direction) even though Nehemiah had influence with the king. Notice what Nehemiah did, though, he realigned their concern verse 4 This caused Nehemiah to do 3 things: a) Weep b) Fast c) Pray Verse 4 states that he mourned certain days - From the month Chislev to the month Nisan; about 4 months from the time he received the information, till the time that Artaxerxes noticed his grief, Ne 2:1. Verse 8-9 We need God to enter into this Broken world to bring revival Jesus entered in the past in numerous ways: Turned back time for Hezekiah Stopped time for Joshua held the sun in its place Opened the Red Sea and the Jordan river for Israel to cross Turned the rain off for 3 years for Elijah Calmed the wind for His disciples on the Sea of Galilee MOST notably in the form of a child

We need to beg God to once again intervene in our world; after all it is His world. [Song This is My Fathers World]

When did this world become broken? It was not in Genesis 3 with the fall of Adam and Eve, it began in Genesis 1:2 when the earth became without form and void; it was just multiplied when mankind fell into sin. How do we beg God for His intervention? Just as Nehemiah did; on his knees
We live in a Broken world when:

3)

Misaligned Commitment

Not to be too critical of Nehemiahs informers BUT they travel from Jerusalem to Babylon to get to God talk about taking the wrong long route [The bypass around the flooded interstate in Iowa] They come to Nehemiah BUT he takes it to God. We need to cut out the middle man and go to God first; if they had Israel might not have collapsed with their moral compass in the first place. BUT we must not be too critical of Israel for we are in the same shape for the same is true for the United States; we need to put our commitment on God and NOT on anything else NOR anything in addition to Him. Programs and practices are nice and good but if they do not direct us in Gods direction first then they are of no good; they are misaligned commitment and it is our way of taking the wrong long route to get something done.

4)

Conclusion

Notice that Israel started out so well in Gods plan and yet notice how far she fell just under Solomon without recovery and that fall continued until they collapsed under Jehoiachin who reigned for 3 months and 10 days (2Chronicles 36:9) The US is in similar situation; we live in a Broken world and the only hope for it is God. SO what is there to do?

Jesus said Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness dont take what He said too lightly for He offered it as a viable solution then and it still is relevant today. Paul says in Romans 8 that the whole creation groans and travails to be delivered from this brokenness; what about you? It is only in a prostrate position before the throne of God that this takes place.