Weeping Over Humpty Dumpty - Nehemiah 1:2-4

If you want the maximum attention of God, we must first have the maximum attention of you. You want him to be available.

You great. Are you available to him to move his heart rate and is can you move your brother. Look at what Nehemiah did, rather than who Nehemiah was in the burden that preceded the birth of his life, ministry, we didn't know that we would be uncomfortable. We didn't know that fellowship in his sufferings in the have his attention meant that we would also share his agony. So, you've likely discovered the true that for all of our wisdom. We can't fix the things that matter most. But God can. There are times when all we can do is cry out to God because our problems can't be solved by our own efforts today on wisdom for the heart. Stephen Devi returns to his series through Nehemiah. Nehemiah knew what it was like to have a broken heart but he also knew the God who can fix what is broken. Keep listening as Stephen opens God's word to look at Nehemiah's response to his broken heart. In this lesson Stevens calling weeping over Humpty Dumpty. I was at the library looking at a fascinating book called the annotated Mother Goose fascinating reading gives the stories behind the nursery rhymes that we saying in our children play with, but that we have forgotten their underlying story in I find it fascinating to discover what these songs were intended to convey sadism with me. Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall Humpty Dumpty had a great fall all the kings horses and all the kings men couldn't put Humpty together again. It first appeared in print, I read in 1803 Humpty Dumpty was cast as an egg and that explains why having fall off the wall and broken party could be put back together again.

But eggs don't sit on fences in the art men.

The original rhyme maker for this rhyme. Make of that little egg man was intended to be a symbol that represented the origin of life plus the world of humanity. In this rhyme maker's thinking.

The rhyme was designed to lament the fact that humanity as has fallen and is broken and even the most powerful man on planet Earth. The king's horses and all of his men cannot put Humpty back together again meaning was this lamenting with despair over a fallen and broken world. One contemporary author wrote. That's the world we live in. We live in a world that specializes in producing broken people and once broken. We all discover that no power on earth can put life together again. The book of Nehemiah is a story about broken people and broken things.

It will reveal behind the scenes deception and betrayal. It will expose an epidemic of moral compromise and sin and spiritual apathy, but it's more than a bedtime story about a broken wallet that gets fixed. It's a true life story about broken people who are restored by a man who happened to have a broken heart.

They Nehemiah. Frankly, I have been arrested by this deeply burdened man when most believers, including myself, have studied this in the past I've even taught through this book we and I tended to rush to the prayer of Nehemiah.

In fact, I preached one sermon on the first chapter of Nehemiah when right to the prayer you catalog it so neatly in its four components, which forms the acrostic acts, adoration, confession, Thanksgiving supplication, there go pray like that.

That's the model prayer bullet is a model of the prayer but it emanated from a deeply burdened man man who had to have God's maximum attention because it came out of his broken heart over this broken world. You can see his the evidence of burden and broken his verse six please listen to my prayer he pleads in verse 11, he says, oh Lord, I peg the listen to my prayer-thank you, please listen 11 times throughout this book. Nehemiah is imploring the attention of God three times in the closing chapter.

Nehemiah cries out, my God, remember me that the book ends with the phrase God remember me saying phrase in the Greek translation of the Old Testament that you find in the gospel by Luke that comes from the lips of the dying thief hanging on the cross beside Christ when he says, oh Lord, remember me.

Is this lamenting whale that basically says I want to be where you are. I want to go where you go I want to walk where you walk want to think after you and oh God, please think after me. Nehemiah was a man who desperately wanted the maximum attention of God. He, like all others like him are the living illustration of people. I think God was thinking about when he said he was probably Jeremiah you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. Jeremiah 2913 when the second. Are we all in the sovereign gaze of an omniscient God. Nothing on earth is escapes his attention was God talking about when he says that he will be discovered by those desperately search for him with her whole heart.

What did David mean when he said, blessed or happy is the one who seeks after God with his whole heart.

Someone 19 to our Paul cried all that I may know him and the arty know the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings will be in 310.

What are the writer of Hebrews me when he said that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek after him. He was 11, six who is the man today who is the woman today that has this intimate close rewarded pursuits. Discovery of God. How do we gain the maximum attention is intimacy with God where we back of him.

His close attention somehow is different from the attention we already have the answer is in chapter 1 of the memoirs of a man who one day stopped what he was doing and began to weep over the condition of Humpty Dumpty see before Nehemiah ever begin to rebuild. He first set on the cry over brokenness that just couldn't be fixed by any power on earth.

The Hebrew name Nehemiah means the consolation of God's wonderful name to live up to it. Nehemiah will bring to the people, the consolation of God the release of God.

The soul is the encouragement the condolence of God, he will be the instrument of restoration and rebuilding in their lives, not just wall in verse 11. If you look there.

Chapter 1.

Nehemiah tells us that his occupational title was cupbearer.

It is a much more we know from history that he would happen to then be the best person in the entire kingdom to get close enough to the king. The poison the enemies of the king knew that no doubt often bribed and were tempted to to overthrow the king and there could attempts assassination attempts were commonplace. In fact, you may remember the book of Esther that Mordechai overhears an assassination attempt on this man's father. Mordechai rescues her. Perhaps you remember the story of Joseph.

Joseph is languishing in prison, and Pharaoh throws in the prison, his maker and his cupbearer, and evidently an investigation takes place to discover which one of them was guilty.

Evidently trying to poison him through his food. It was the Baker who was found guilty and later executed by the cupbearer was exonerated. In Genesis 4021 says and he returned to his place and put the cup back into Pharaoh's hand. Nehemiah put the cup into Artaxerxes hand Zana Finn who happened to be a student of Socrates said this, giving us a little insight that's well. In fact, that the cupbearer when they offered the cup, drew off some of it and swallowed it down so that if they should put poison in it. They may not profit by it the way that's put in other words, long live the king but no more cupbearer. The cupbearer was the most trusted man, perhaps in the kingdom by the king. By the way the king that Nehemiah served knew full well the threat of death for his father, who Mordechai had rescued his father later died in an assassination attempt was successful.

The role involves more than handing a cup. The apocryphal book of Tobit is a little insight inside the man was the administrator of the accounts he was a trusted associate of the King close enough to kill the King put there closely by him to save his life. You notice if you go back to verse one that were given a chronological clue when these things are about to happen were also told where Nehemiah was that happened in the month of Kislev throughout December and the 20th year while I was in Susa. The capital, so here he is living with the king of the cabinet in in the palace of Sue, so this was the winter resort of the Kings. This was the playground of the king, the palace and grounds covered 5000 acres. Archaeologists have uncovered gems and gold built right into the architecture murals have been uncovered with balls bearing.

We glazed brick. Not exactly our choice of painting for our home but it must've been an absolutely stunning site. If you are in the king's palace in Susa for the winter time you are in the middle of power and influence and affluent all of that say he had it, so to speak. Made in the shade as a Jew in a foreign kingdom. He had the risen he had achieved an enviable life he had powerful frenzy of financial security. He was worlds away from a broken down city called Jerusalem 800 miles away and that little Jerusalem.

By the way, was four times smaller than this one palace.

Why would he ever care little broken Jerusalem first two and Hannah and I went to my brother's little brother. Blood brother. One of my brothers and some men from Judah came in.

I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped and had survived the captivity in about Jerusalem as this is polite as a going out there you guys doing as a weather snow what you know now. He says tell me about the people and tell me about the city and did they ever tell him verse three and they said to me, the remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach in the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire. Now this is not news.

Babylon did this years ago didn't know why ask because the walls were under construction during the return of a man named Ezra in Ezra and Nehemiah will later team up together, but Ezra has gone ahead of Nehemiah and he's attempted to rebuild in the building and started on the walls. Ultimately, getting high enough to perhaps hang a gate or two, but in Ezra chapter 4 the work was forced to stop and most believe that the enemies of the Jews came and broke down and burned everything they had done up to that point. So Nehemiah is basically asking hey how's it going under Ezra.

How is the work that's been started again after all these years. How are the walls coming on the been torn down.

Work is stopped. People are thrown in the towel in total discouragement and despair. Nehemiah later writes in his journal. In verse four came about when I heard these words, I set down and wept when in fact happens are several things I want to give you them there. We could call five responses of a broken hearted man are symptoms of a broken or burdened heart and soul have time for just to talk about is bird number one is the word contemplation I sat down was.

I stopped Nehemiah took time to think and contemplate the report he had just heard. He didn't just listen to their reports. He heard there's a difference between listening to someone and hearing them right. You fellas are how do I tell you that there's a difference between and you're going here and if you're right right but all okay. I didn't hear you now listening. I hear the difference he is is not only listening but he is hearing he felt the anguish of those who were talking he stopped his normal life of cut bearing to listen and hear the news. Number two compassion. He says I sat down and I wept.

Proof that he heard wept the world monitor reported some time ago. Quote preschool teachers, administrators, and child development leaders specialists say the most important thing for child to learn is quote self reliance, seven times more educator said the children should learn self-reliance and self-confidence than sympathy and concern for others. So the solution then of the average educator in our community today would be to go out on the street until Humpty Dumpty to get it together to just pull himself together. He fell off the wall even believe in yourself, have faith in you. The answers are in you now pull yourself up together, the rhyme would go something like this. Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall hunted on the had a great fall and all the humanist scholars of answers just told Humpty Dumpty to get it together. People are are broken. It's their fault. They didn't believe in themselves enough, don't develop sympathy or empathy get this man cried when is the last time you cried over a broken world. The third thing that Mark Tim was concerned. I sat down and wept and mourned for days. The word mourned is the Hebrew verb that literally means to mourn for the dead to D sorrowful morning.

It doesn't soon pass away lingers on. In fact, we know from the text that will spend the seminal April, he will mourn for about four months. He is weeping and he is indeed lamenting and deep morning when author writes how few the men in these days you can weed at the evils and abominations of our times.

How rare those who are sufficiently interested and concerned for the welfare of the church to mourn mourning and weeping over the decay of religion. The decline of revival, power, and the fearful inroads of worldliness into the church are almost an unknown quantity that was written by EM bounds 100 years ago. The other problem then can you imagine what it is today, and again I ask you and myself. When is the last time we have cried over a broken world. The fourth word is concentration. I sat down and wept and mourned for days and I was fasting.

This wasn't simply Nehemiah taking a little time off work and skipping his sandwich to go. Cry little bit. The word implies the fact that he had lost his appetite. He was fasting, not simply because he wanted to so focus on the burden of God given him and his lamenting before God for God's maximum attention. He was actually fasting because he couldn't eat that a burden before.

I'm sure like that where food is of no interest to you key for four months had lost his appetite.

This was the burden of this man's heart after all of that and during all of that. All of these things happening simultaneously there is for union.

I was praying before the God a number of different words are used in the Hebrew Bible for praying this one involves pleading. This one involves begging. It implies deep emotion.

It is a lamenting before God in desperation that you got to hear from God. God to know you have to decide. You must hear times like that in your own life, perhaps where you are broad in agony to your knees like Abraham Lincoln in a classic quote reset. I've often been driven to my knees knowing there was nowhere else to go and you lament before God and you cry out to him you must have his maximum attention. Can you imagine weeping and mourning and fasting and praying for or our four days for four weeks four months, we have trouble if we don't hear from God and get an answer for minute a man with a burden like Nehemiah's was named John Knox he was the Scottish reformer who happened to serve our Lord during the time of the reign of Mary, but he had the habit of praying in her garden outside her palace Windows she feared his prayers more than anything on earth and he would pray in her gardens loud enough for her to hear, O God, give me Scotland or I die.

Have you ever prayed, O God, to give me my children for you, lest I die.

Oh God gives me my family or I dial God, give me that coworker or I die. Oh I was so burden though God gives me this city or I die. Nehemiah had every reason not to care. He he'd been born in captivity he'd been reared outside of Jerusalem and never been there. You never worshiped in the temple.

He had a great career in Persia. He was the king's right hand, confident, and protector. Why would he ever prayed, God, give me Jerusalem or I die. Why would he ever go to a broken down city to a people he didn't know into a problem he didn't create. That's for somebody else. Why should I care.

He cared because he ultimately is a man was burden for the glory of God to shine in and through Jerusalem the holy city for the people of God to be restored in that city so that they could once again worship with freedom and great joy this one and only living God. If you want the maximum attention of God, he must first have the maximum attention of you that grammar, but you get the point you want him to be available to you. Great. Are you available to him to move his heart rate question is can he move your as he moved your if you want the maximum attention of God you must be willing to receive the maximum burden from God. I would define burden. This burden of Nehemiah in three different ways were three different aspects one and overwhelming concern with some aspect of human distress or sin and irresistible conviction that God has an available remedy and unreserved compliance that God is you to deliver the remedy. In other words you are convinced there is a problem and you are passionate before God that he uses you to provide the solution or to be a part of it and is easier and it just to say all Lord and I do this or do that.

Lord bless this Lord bless that Lord bless him, Lord, bless her. Lord help her help him in the Lord moving this way, Lord, Lord, come through for her in that way the Lord deliver him.

What about voice from heaven came in Saturday night on the 10 things you just pray about our your situation up to you.

Your responsibility. I'll wait for you. That's exactly the application of Paul's words to the Galatians when he said you there one another's burdens. Try that one. Nehemiah will bear the burden of a broken Jerusalem broken nation, one author wrote a burden God is at work in the world and is looking for burden believers, through whom he made work. Is it any wonder why we would rather – to the prayer and say her little a CTS.

No wonder we don't want God's maximum attention wonder we really don't want to be part of the solution. We really don't want to be the fixer of the restorer of the rebuilder. Is it any wonder why the church plays religious games for a couple of hours a week rather than restore and rebuild broken things we didn't know God would start with us. We didn't know God would so hammer away at our hearts before he ever asks us to hammer out the wall would rather look at what Nehemiah did, rather than who Nehemiah was in the burden that preceded the birth of his life, ministry, we didn't know that we would be uncomfortable. We didn't know that fellowship in his sufferings into have his attention meant that we would also share his agony did not mean that could we rewrite that again to say Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall Humpty Dumpty had a great fall into all the kings horses and to all the kings men we really care enough to put Humpty back together again anybody here willing to have a broken heart to feel the weight of what burdens God's heart. If you are in your prepared to begin the pray this prayer and you are in so praying prepared to gain the maximum attention of God. When you or someone you love is broken and hurting. The only thing you desire. Most is the attention of God you been listening to wisdom for the heart with Stephen, Davey, Stephen, is the founding pastor of colonial Baptist Church in Cary, North Carolina. The lesson you heard today is called weeping over Humpty Dumpty and is the second lesson in our current series through the book of Nehemiah. I want to make you aware of a couple resources we have that might interest you.

J Seth Davies newest book marvel at the mystery is our featured resource this month. This book would make a great gift for any family with young children.

It's a book designed for families to read together and it explores the meaning of the incarnation of Jesus Christ, our staff can give you information when you call us today at 86 648 Bible. In addition to Seth's book. You should know that Stephen wrote a book based on this current series of books simply called Nehemiah.

It's part of our wisdom commentary series. This is a hardback book that would make a great addition to your personal library of biblical resources people have used it for personal Bible study and small groups and Sunday school classes have used it as a guide to their Bible study you can use the same number to get information about Nehemiah.

It's 86 648 Bible or 866-482-4253.

You'll also find these resources on our website which is wisdom online.org in addition to being a pastor.

Stephen serves as the president of shepherd's theological seminary in Cary, North Carolina. Shepherd's is a fully accredited graduate seminary training pastors and Christian leaders who believe in servant leadership and biblical exposition.

If your church is searching for a pastor seminary provides a free placement service to churches seeking pastors and other ministry staff. Click on the shepherd's link on our wisdom website for more information. That's wisdom online.org. By the way, while you're at that website you'll see all of the many resources we have available and you'll learn more about our ministry that address once again is wisdom online.org when we come back tomorrow. Stephen will continue through his series on Nehemiah with the lesson called prayer path between now and then let us hear from you visit and like our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter or Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel and of course, please join us tomorrow. Right here on wisdom for the heart