God’s People in a Day of Crisis I - Part 2 of 3

Will he fly, and additional Sherry Bradley Junior welcoming you to another broadcast of the Baptist Bible will be continuing today with the message entitled God's people in a day of crisis. I have a little book that dovetails with this truth, entitled things can be better today. I'd like to send you a copy of it if you just right and requested not know that sounds like a tall order. How can things possibly be better today, but I think you'll see what we mean as you read and understand that by our trust in God things can be better for us. Even today just requested when writing the Baptist Bible. Auerbach, 17 old, 37, Cincinnati, OH 45217 people who were chosen of God favored by God blessed by God must be blessed of all the peoples of the earth. God had cared for them, deliver them from Egyptian bondage given them water to drink all the wilderness wanderings parting the waters of Jordan. So they came into the land down the walls of Jericho nations before they were they would move forward by faith trusting God and said I'm the lane going to be prospered in every category they finally reach this day.

Crisis.

I did find the happened that the enemies overrode them not down the walls left the city in such a desolate state well after Nehemiah had wept and mourned and fasted and prayed. We begin to see a confession was made Bessie some people once they see the plight they take the first step and quit.

They we may mourn. They will do anything else and there's a place for weeping and mourning, but there's a place to stop weeping and do something about the situation the way the morning fasted when he prayed, he prayed before the God of heaven and sad, I beseech the old Lord God of heaven. The great and terrible God with covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments left behind here not be attending that line, eyes open, that thou may us hear the prayer of my servant which I pray before the now day and night phrases of itself. No doubt would condemn most of us who we really pray day and night when they look at the situations I like to see a change here. I'd like to see an improvement from I say from time to time I like to see a revival in the church. I don't want to be satisfied just with the thought of surviving. I like to see a revival. I like to see a spiritual awakening.

I like to see the Lord blessing and maybe gathered yet even as you might start to pray such a prayer.

You see, maybe you better not bring to earnestly about that because of the Lord set a revival. I'm too busy to get involved. I would never fit one in my schedule. This would be convenient for me at all and so we don't really earnestly pray day and night. I was concerned enough about the situation. He was more attorneys had anyone ignored you want to spend the rest of his days just weeping and mourning about he was going to call upon God and his ear be attentive and is open to hear the prayer for the children of Israel by servants and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against the evil eye and my father's house have seen in the get to this desolate state they had sin. Nehemiah confesses his own sin, and confess of the sins of his people I see in my people of sin. We failed. We have not honored the we have not respected thy word with sin, we have dealt very corruptly against Lee and have not kept the commandments nor the statutes nor the judgments which the how commanders thy servant Moses immediately address the problem.

He knew what the issue really was. When this place not because God is weak because God was unable to protect the city and unable to defend us, not because God is unable to restore it, but because we have seen in somebody might say there goes that's why preachers always are a got this simplistic view that they think the CN is at the heart of every problem in the just talk about something more positive. It is positive when we deal with things in an honest way and CN is at the heart of all of our problems but the wonderful news of the gospel is there is a solution far when sin is confess there is forgiveness. When sinners acknowledge there is grace supplied that we can overcome it and live righteously, and godly in this present evil world. We have dealt correctly against Lee because we have not Died, commandments of the high status of thy judgments. Remember, I beseech the word the document is not servant Moses, saying, if you transgress I will scatter you brought among the nations, to the be surprised at their scatter diseases when you transgress.

I will scatter you when you look at maybe a crisis that comes in your own life is really a surprise.

Oh, it may be when abruptly some break trouble sets in human soul, oblivious to it all. You've had your head in the clouds you been so enamored with whatever your project at the moment is whatever is of greatest interest to work about when you really come to grips with the reality of the situation. Can you expect anything else but a crisis when God's word is neglected and his commandments are ignored. When you dig your heels in with the attitude I want to do what I want to do. I set my goals on what I want to do with my life unaware I want to be in these things are important to me. I've got my list of priorities and while you wouldn't write it down in this order in your heart. God is first that some I would ask you, you know what you're supposed to say. They say what about your priorities all yes the Lord is first but can you go to the Lord right now and say to him, Lord, your first and all things in every part of my life.

I recognize thy lordship. I want to be totally submitted to the every decision. Everything I do. The use of my time, my abilities, my resources whatever I want to be totally committed to the can you say that the truth Nehemiah's all of the problems it was seen they had neglected the word of God.

They had not even his commandments God and told his people that they were to have the word perpetually before they they were to write Scripture on the door facing so that as they moved about the house. It was possibly in front of them and they were reminded the news.

This is what God says is what God's solace is thy word about he had in my heart that I might not sin against the you can expect to come to a service on Sunday and hear the word of God preached and leave that meeting and never think about the word of God again never read it again. Never meditate on it and expect to have spiritual strength to overcome the battle against the world the flesh and the devil came to impossible. God has provided many spiritual benefits forests one of them is office of the public worship service where we come and exhort one another and we hear the word of God preached and we sing praises to him.

We worship our heavenly father, but he also gives us the benefit of his word that we personally and individually can be involved in it and reading it and growing it and applying it in our lives, we neglect that we want to be spiritually in the going to be.

We we can't stand up against the many storms and trials that come our way.

Just as these people had neglect of the word of God is that not really the cause of the crisis that comes our way down. I recognize that in God's providence. There are difficulties there are afflictions that touch our lives, that he suffered to come our way as a means of chasing us and teaching us in making something out of the side. I recognize that I'm not saying that every heartache. I'm not saying that every sickness. I'm not saying that it retried as a direct result of some specific sin and disobedience on our part but I'm talking about when we reach this place of real devastation when the walls and gates are barred things falling apart.

My life is why this way because there has been a neglect of applying his word we doing things our way and our way proves not to be nearly so wise as we assume it is when we start out on the course thing like I've lived while now and you get very old. To get to that attitude. Somebody asked me about 14 while a few things I like make some decisions here and we go along with that attitude in life and I can I can I can handle my own decisions. I really need the word of God to influence me and I don't have to be studying the book all the time to know what to do. Make a mess of things.

Failure to use his word. Failure to put God first have our priorities as they should be failure comes because we gotta think like the world and as we think, like the world become influenced by the world what the world says sounds good to us. We continue to move in that direction now many people might agree that the pattern set by Nehemiah here is tremendously important that in the day of crisis.

We need to pray and I hope that all of us would agree that that is an appropriate approach and that prayer is essential, but I wanted to see connected with that praying. It wasn't just a prayer for help. It wasn't just a prayer for deliverance. It was a prayer of section and if CN and the neglect of God's word has been the basis of our trouble. We can't expect to go to the Lord in prayer and say Lord deliver me, lift me up. Give me Joe Strahl same spiritual revival or bonus to the place of trouble in devastation. Start with the sin has to be confronted. The sin has to be acknowledged. It has to become faster has to be true repentance as it will wait a minute here I thought. Repentance is an experience that occurred way back there in your life when you first committed yourself to the lower limit that is that repentance is an ongoing lifetime experience. You never graduate from the school where you can say I don't need to repent anymore and not a person here today, but what means you repent about something calls for change. Constant change, turning from evil turning from error turning from the flash turning to God, which is like just committing ourselves to easy to fall into that snare, relying on our own emotions our own feeling our own thought patterns rather than to go to the word of God.

So unless when we come to ask God's help, we are willing to get rid of the sea brought us to the trouble. Our prayers will be emptied and the psalmist said if I regard iniquity in my heart. The Lord will not hear the wonderful promises that if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So we see the crisis we see the close of the crisis. What about the pure lot of people can talk about problems. Many of them seem to be lost when it comes to the solution heard it psychologist on the radio last night as I drove home and she said the know in my profession. We all like to claim to have the answer.

She says when you go to a convention of psychologist everybody there feels like he's got the answer and none of them agree on what it is and she said probably in most cases you would get along just as well sit in the waiting room and never see in the psychologist as if you came in to talk to one of us. Now that was a psychologist that one little Baptist preacher say in my friends that the world has a lot of different opinions but it doesn't have the answer God's word's not just speculating here when we go to God who is the creator of heaven and earth and God, who is the author of this book, which is the only book that is totally reliable and absolutely true which we can depend upon, we can find an answer and know-how will respond in the day of crisis. What was the solution. First thing we would deserve years prayer and connect with prayer was confession saying Nehemiah was a man that praying as he said day and night, and he prayed about every situation in every circumstance that you can understand that in this very special position of cupbearer that if he walks into the king's throne room someday in the looks depressed is going to be a little disturbing to the king if my cupbearer is depressed. There must be a reason. Is there something going on. He had told me about has even paid off and he's about to give me a cups.submitted I shouldn't break I mean is this going to cause a lot of suspicion and anxiety, so no doubt Nehemiah was very careful to have a pleasant countenance but one day this burden got to be so heavy that the king looked at him and said what's the problem. Chapter 2 verse two wherefore, the king said undelete why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick with anyway not sick why you look sick. Why Weiser countenance sad. This is nothing else but sorrow of heart then was very sore for that was what happened. King's questioning why I got this sad countenance, and said unto the king, let the king live forever. Why should not my countenance be sad when the city, the place of my father's applicant's lifeways and the gates thereof are consumed with fire. Then the king said on the me for what dost thou make request.

That's what's because you have said so, that's what's on your heart request do you have and you know what most of us would've done, we would've blurted out two or three things real quick but you know what Nehemiah did. So I prayed to the God of heaven. What a lesson to learn in the moment of crisis. We generally are trying to figure out our own solution. Whatever we feel we think were entitled to say� Trouble and see if I can find somebody to blame. Let me go tell them all and when we speak in the flash we only increase our troubles. We don't resolve when Nehemiah felt the pressure of the moment. The king is questioning him his wondering why do you have a sad countenance before Nehemiah answered he prayed. Then I said in the king if it please the king, and if I serve in a found favor in thy sight that I would to send me to Judah under the city of my father sepulchers, that I may build. Now he sees that God's hand is appalling God opening a door of opportunity is as if it's pleasing to you. I will leave of absence.

I'd like to go. I like to travel back to Jerusalem that I may build the city to how many other people knew about the condition of the people Grieved over the fact that the city was desolate, but when Nehemiah heard he took the matter to the Lord and he was willing to become involved. He was willing to do what was required and he was praying for God's direction and so he says king.

If you are given the permission to go sign the letter so that anybody I meet is going to know that I got your approval, not to try and undermine you. You know what's going on will be glad sign that would you sign a second letter, I will need some timber to build the gates out of but let me cut to bratty your forest and this was your house on that is nothing wrong with advanced planning something will have the idea that if there praying they got a quick planning. It's all right to plan as long as you praying that as long as you're planning is in harmony with the word of God teaches that you're not in violation of his word. You make your own plans and your own schemes and you may company the matter, but you plan biblically according to God's truth and praying all the more just continues to open the way unfold.

So when we talk about the cure for the crisis. What is its prey. Well, that's as far some people want to go � from about a problem is a lie just really distressed of this one be done about what I prayed about this great what else to be done that all the Bible teaches that the only thing the Lord represented wordplay about our basic crisis in somebody else's life and that say you not really concerned about that will what are you done about it when I praying for is that all know that some work to be done. It was a crisis in our own life.

There's some things we need to do in addition to prayer.

If it's a crisis in somebody else in life there something to need to be done. In addition to praying for them once more restrained, go to that one and seek to restore them in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself less thou also be tempted. If there's a crisis in your life. Somebody may say I got financial problems and I'm praying about it now. If you're praying about it, but you're still adding charges to your visa that you can't pay.

You might as well quit Brighton but you praying hypocritical prior you praying Lord intervene in the problem that you're continuing to create as you go on if you pray Lord in this situation and cut up your credit cards and if you sent it on 20 new phone saying, Lord, send me something. Get a job as a little work on my feet occasionally talks about sodium I met a job running the how long I seal beside runtime help wanted well and don't play enough.

Well, a little bit of pain is better known in and so not only do we need to price. We need to work need to work so the resolve of spiritual matters. I'm not saying that just any kind of work will need to be the right kind needs to be gotten to work need to be good works, according to biblical principle. But when Nehemiah ultimately made that trip came there to the city of Jerusalem and began to explore the situation and see for himself the devastation that was there says in the second chapter verse 17, then set around them. He see the distress that we are in how the Jerusalem life waste on the gates thereof are burned with fire call and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem that we mean no more report we got a problem.

Walls down. What we need to do need to put a backup need to build a wall at ins I got there lay hands on the wall and prayed that God will raise it to build a wall built it. Then I told them the hand of God, which was agreed upon me as also the king's words that he had spoken on the me and they said mail actually strengthen their hands for my prayed and one week, yes, but I can do all things through Christ which strength of me their particular things the Lord has designated will to be doing so I just got too much on my schedule limits on the things you are doing need to be removed to your schedule that you're spending your time and efforts in the work you need to be doing is that which is focused on matter that brings honor and glory to God working to strengthen your marriage work. Working to strengthen your family relationships working to minister to other people when you came to me yesterday that already just want to share this with you said several years ago I had been really struggling a lot with being depressed and I heard you preach a sermon in which you said one of the ways in which we can deal with depression is to quit focusing on ourselves and start trying to minister to other people and she said that just hit me as being really much of my problem.

I was so caught up with myself and my own problems. I was constantly thinking about me and she said from that day forward I began to pray everyday Lord give me the opportunity to minister to somebody else and she says I can tell you it's made a dramatic difference in my life so that I have really come out.

Of that pit of depression that I was in for a long period of time.

Now I recognize that there are variety of reasons as to why people may be depressed and there are many biblical solutions as to how to approach the problem but I certainly believe that's one of we spent all their time thinking about ourselves and how miserable we are, how bad we feel how we been mistreated how nobody pays enough attention to us about something to get you miserable just be down for the count. The more you focus on yourself, but you start try to reach out to other people minister to them. Help difference it makes me so I have to plan.

I hope the message today has been a blessing to you. If so, tell others about this broadcasts where they can tune in each day your message from God's word and if you can help us with the support that we need to stay on the air, will be grateful for her dress is the Baptist Bible. Our top 17 old, 37, Cincinnati, OH 45217 down to we greet you next time. This is Michelle Bradley Junior bidding you goodbye and may God bless you all day and all and all, and all will be in all and all