Hello Everyone,

Nehemiah Mobilized the Means.

Wishful thinking never achieves goals. You have to know in advance what it’s going to take to reach a goal and you have to ask God to give you direction.

Jesus taught in Luke 14, "What man builds a tower without counting the cost?" He went on to make the same point about a king planning to go to war...you have to do some planning first.

In every area of life we must count the cost, and mobilize the means. "People don't plan to fail...they fail to plan."

But Nehemiah spent 4 months praying and planning. He has thought through every detail, and now when he finally has the ear of the king he knows exactly what to ask for.

Look what Nehemiah asked for:

Permission. - vv. 5-6 and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it.”

⁶ Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?” It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.

This was government service. You don't just walk away. You'd be AWOL! Plus, he needed permission to build the walls.

So, why do we need permission to do what we know is God's will? Because the Bible teaches that God's people, above all people, should be subject to authority as good citizens.

As much as possible we ought to work within the framework of our society. We should have respect and obey the rules of human government. The exception of course is when man's law conflicts with God's law.

Then we ought to obey God rather than men as they did in Acts. Even Jesus paid His taxes and He was under a wicked Roman rule.

Nehemiah asked for:

· Passage.

v. 7 I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah?

Crossing the border is a tense moment, and the most difficult part of the journey. Can you see how Nehemiah has carefully considered all the details of this undertaking? He wasn't caught off guard. He was ready! He was a man with a plan.

And lastly Nehemiah asked for:

· Provision.

v. 8 And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests.

Nehemiah is so well researched that he already has the name of the guy who runs the king's forest, the lumber yard.

And spiritually, we need the provision of God if we're going do anything for Him. We need a heavenly fuel to get us all the way.

GREATER Things Are Yet To Come!

Pastor Phil