From His Heart

Dr. Jeff Schreve: We all know this to be true, although we don't like to think about it very often. But you know, life changes on a dime. You can get a phone call that shatters your whole tranquility. Some kind of report, something will happen. And so the question is, what do you do when that happens? When the news is devastating.

Larry Nobles: When circumstances feel overwhelming and devastating, prayer should not be our last resort, but our greatest resource. This is from his heart with pastor Jeff Shreve. Thank you for joining us today for the lesson, when the news is devastating. Pastor Jeff's going to explain how we can learn from the prayer life of Nehemiah. He responded to heartbreaking news not with despair, but with persistent faith-filled prayer. The message today is from pastor Jeff's new six-lesson series, Watch and Pray. It's also our gift of thanks to you for your support this month of any amount. Just go to promiseheart.org for details.

Today we're going to learn how steady prayer anchors the heart and opens the door for God's redemptive work. Open your Bible to the book of Nehemiah now. Here's pastor Jeff to explain how to respond when the news is devastating.

Dr. Jeff Schreve: Bad news. Nobody likes bad news. But bad news is a part of life. And sometimes the news is not just bad, it is devastating. And today we want to learn how to respond to the bad news. How to respond when the news is devastating. Now, we all know this to be true, although we don't like to think about it very often. But you know, life changes on a dime. There's bad bad news abounds. And we can read the news and we can read about this terrible tragedy that befell this person, that befell this family, that befell this marriage.

And we we feel bad for them, but you know, it's kind of like surgery. You know, it's major surgery. Minor surgery when it happens to somebody else. It's major surgery when it happens to you. Whatever happens to you is major. And life really does turn on a dime just like that. You can get a phone call that shatters your whole tranquility. Some kind of report, something will happen. And so the question is, what do you do when that happens? When the news is devastating. Well, Nehemiah in the book of Nehemiah, one of the great great men of the Old Testament, he gives us wisdom and insight into how to handle the devastating news.

Nehemiah's name means Yahweh comforts. He was working in government. He was cup bearer to the king 445-444 BC in Persia. And Nehemiah is the one that God is going to put into his heart to go to Jerusalem from Susa, the capital of Persia, to go to Jerusalem. That's about a thousand mile trip. And rally the people to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem, a huge undertaking. And one of the things that you note if you read the book of Nehemiah, 13 chapters, is Nehemiah was a man of prayer. The whole first chapter begins with prayer. And Nehemiah, he prays in chapter one.

He prays in chapter two. He prays in chapter four, in chapter five, in chapter six. Chapter nine is the longest recorded prayer in all of the Bible. And then in chapter 13, Nehemiah is praying again or referencing prayer. He's a man of prayer. That was the secret to his greatness, one of the greatest leaders who ever lived. And the secret to his greatness was his prayer life. So, what do we learn from the prayer life of Nehemiah? Nehemiah chapter one, if you'll turn there with me. If you have trouble finding Nehemiah, you're not alone. You go to Psalms and take a left, you'll run into it.

Says the words of Nehemiah, the son of Hacaliah. Now, it happened in the month Kislev. That's November, December on our calendar. In the 20th year, that's the 20th year of the king, king Artaxerxes, while I was in Susa, the capital, that Hanani, one of my brothers, and some men from Judah came. And I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped and had survived the captivity and about Jerusalem. They said to me, the remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach. And the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire.

When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days. And I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. What does Nehemiah teach us about prayer? Two imperatives for you and me today. Imperative number one, we need to care about what God cares about. We need to care about what God cares about. We need to walk with God in such a way that the things that are on his heart become things on our heart. Now, to understand the book of Nehemiah, you have to understand some history. So, God had his people.

They were one people, Israel. They came out of Egypt and they were supposed to go into the Promised Land after about a year once they went to Mount Sinai to get the Ten Commandments. But they didn't go in as you may recall because they said there are giants there, we can't go in. And so they ended up wandering around in the wilderness for 40 years. For every day they spied out the land and didn't believe God that God could bring them into the land of promise, they ended up wandering around in the wilderness till all the people, all those faithless people 20 years old and upward died off.

And then their children went into the land. And so Israel occupies the land. They take over the land of Canaan. That's the land that God promised them, the land of milk and honey. And their first king was Saul. Saul was a bust of a king, but then David became king. David was a great king. And the Lord said, I 'm going to have a son of David on the throne for perpetuity. And that is in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the son of David. Well, Israel's rocking along and they have a problem with idolatry.

And they keep going after false gods. David dies off and Solomon is king. And Solomon ends up giving himself over to idolatry. A good start, but a terrible finish. And then after Solomon, you have a Rehoboam. And the kingdom splits under Rehoboam. Two tribes stay with Jerusalem. Judah and Benjamin, they stay and they form with the capital there and the temple there in Jerusalem. The Ten tribes go. They're called the Northern Kingdom or the kingdom of Samaria because that was their capital city. And they rock along for year and year and year. The Northern tribes were they were always idolatrous.

They they never had a good king. And in 722 BC, God let them get wiped out by the Assyrians. Well, the Southern Kingdom with the capital in Jerusalem, they saw what happened to the Northern Kingdom. You would think that would get them to say, hey, we need to get serious about following God, but they didn't. And the Lord said, I'm going to bring destruction on you just like I brought it on Samaria if you don't follow me. But they didn't. And destruction came. 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar, who is the king of Babylon, he came into Jerusalem and he subjugated Jerusalem and he took back captives back to Babylon.

That's about a 900 mile trip to go back to Babylon. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, they were part of that group. And then Israel was under the thumb of Babylon. They revolted in 597. Nebuchadnezzar went back in there, slapped them around a little bit, showed them who was boss, took back more captives. And then in 586, they rebelled against him for the last time. And Nebuchadnezzar went in with his armies and he wiped them out. He took the temple of God, Solomon's temple, and he burned it to the ground. He destroyed it. And he took the wall of Jerusalem, that wall, two and a half miles of wall all around the city.

And he broke it down. And the city was just leveled. And it was awful. Jeremiah the prophet who lived during that time period, he writes the book of Lamentations. And he starts off and he says how lonely sits the city that was once inhabited with people. It's just been decimated. And he just cries buckets of tears over what happened in Jerusalem. Well, Babylon, the big king on the the big country on the block, the bad boys of the ancient Near East, then they get taken over in 539 BC by the Medo-Persian Empire led by king Cyrus.

And king Cyrus allows the Jews to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. And Zerubbabel leads about 50,000 in 538 BC, about 50,000 to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. Well, that took a long time to rebuild the temple because they got sidetracked. And so they didn't rebuild it until 515. But the wall was still broken down. And so when Nehemiah, who is 444-445 BC, when he gets news, how's it going in Jerusalem? They say it's not good. It's really bad. Uh the people are in calamity and there's reproach and the wall is broken down.

And he heard that and he sat down and wept and mourned and fasted and prayed. The news was devastating. Nehemiah cared about what God cared about. Do you care about what God cares about? You know, in the heart of a Jew, and you got to remember this about Nehemiah. Nehemiah had never been to Jerusalem. And Nehemiah was probably born either in Babylon or he's born in Susa. But he's a Jew. Nehemiah worked under king Artaxerxes. King Artaxerxes, his dad was king Xerxes. King Xerxes was married to Esther. Esther was Artaxerxes' stepmom. And Nehemiah, who's a Jew, he gets this position as cup bearer to the king.

It's a big time position. It's one of the most trusted positions in all of the kingdom to be cup bearer to the king. Don't think of a cup bearer as like a dishwasher. He's the guy that serves the king. He's the guy that eats the king's food before the king does to make sure that nobody's poisoning the king. He's got close proximity to the king. He's got a great position. I like what Skip Heitzig said. You know, being a cup bearer is a big deal back in the 400s BC. And it's a great job unless somebody's trying to kill the king and then the cup bearer needs a cup bearer.

That's kind of the difficulty of being a cup bearer. But if nobody's trying to kill the king, it's a great deal. Okay? So, Nehemiah, he hears the news. But here's the thing about Nehemiah. He's like all the other Jews. He has a heart for Jerusalem. Why? Because Jerusalem is the city of the great king. Jerusalem is a God's city. That's the city that God chose. And God promises a king to sit on the throne of David in Jerusalem. And that king is coming when the Lord Jesus returns. And so he's got all this in his mind.

And when he hears about the city being just broken down and the people in such disarray, it just breaks his heart. Hey, do you care about the things that God cares about? That's a question we all need to ask ourselves. Pastor Jeff will return in just a moment and continue our lesson called when the news is devastating. It's from his new series, Watch and Pray. And from his heart we hear from people every week who are carrying enormous burdens. And they don't know how to bring that to God. The first thing they think is why me God?

Why my child God? Why my job God? And on and on. Hey, is God listening? Absolutely. In Philippians chapter four, verse six, it tells us, do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. That is a verse that we need to hold dear to our hearts. Prayer works. And for your gift of any amount to promise heart this month, we'll send you the entire series from pastor Jeff called Watch and Pray.

And it's available in the format of your choice. Just call and make a gift of any amount. The number, 866-40 Bible. 866-40 Bible. Or go to promiseheart.org. God bless you for seeking to grow in your trust in God. Now, let's continue part one of the lesson, when the news is devastating. It says in Psalm 137, a psalm that was written by the captives in Babylon. Says by the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept. When we remembered Zion upon the willows in the midst of it, we hung our harps. For there our captors demanded of us songs and and our tormentors mirth saying, sing us one of the songs of Zion.

How can we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land? It if I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget her skill. May my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you. If I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy. That's in the heart of a Jew. That's in the heart of Nehemiah. He cares about God's city. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you. When we seek first the kingdom of God, that means we care about the things that God cares about.

We care about the kingdom. Now, the difficulty with that is we can easily get self-focused and distracted. Why do we not care about what God cares about as believers in the Lord Jesus? It seems natural that we would care about that. I mean, kids in a family, they care about what mom and dad care about. So, why would we not care about what God cares about it? Because we get so self-focused and we get so distracted. And here is here is Nehemiah. He's got this really great job. I mean, you're you're there with the king every day.

You're eating the king's food. You get to be a close confidant of the king. And so what does he care what happens in Jerusalem? Well, he cares because he cares about the things of God. So, here is Nehemiah. I am a thousand miles from what happens to Jerusalem and from being in Jerusalem. I have never been there before, but my heart is there. He's not distracted. He is not self-focused. He's God-focused. And he wants what God wants. You and I need to make sure that we're not distracted and self-focused and we say, well, it's just all about me and mine.

That's all I care about. But we can also get hardened to the things of God and the issues of God where they don't stir us and stir our hearts. And we hear about things going on in our nation and it's just like, well, what do I care? Well, you've heard me say before, you know, when you see things happening in the bigger cities and and some of the insanity that takes place in some of the public school districts and in some of our large cities, just remember this. It's coming to a theater near you. It doesn't just stay in in a big city.

Just doesn't stay in New York City or in Baltimore in in Los Angeles. It starts to spread out. And so the things, you know, we hear people say, well, you know, pastor, you don't need to be getting so political. Well, politics has come into the church. And and trying to push the church and push the church and say, you know, it's okay for us to abort babies. Well, that's not okay. And that's a that's a spiritual issue and that's a biblical issue. You know, it's okay to teach all this transgender insanity and tell these kids that you're really you know, you're a boy, yes, but you're really a a girl inside and so you need to live out your true self.

And and people are being taught this kind of baloney. And it's just devastating. It destroys lives right at the starting gate. And things related to law and order. You know, Christians ought to be people of law and order. You read Romans chapter 13. What's the purpose of government? To uphold law and order so that law-abiding citizens can live in this world. We have a world today, Isaiah 5:20, woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who substitute lights for darkness and darkness for light, who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. When you live in this upside down world, it's very very difficult to live.

The government is designed by God to make it not an upside down world. So that when somebody does evil, they are punished for the evil. We need to stand up for that. Because if we don't, what are we leaving to our children and to our grandchildren and to our great-grandchildren? I like what my friend E.W. Jackson said. You know, is it okay for Christians to get involved in politics? Is it okay for Christians to stand up for what is right or should we just keep to ourselves and not talk about those things? He said, hey, I live in America.

You know, in your house. How do you have things in your house? That's where you live. You want things a certain way where you live. Well, I live here. You and I live here. This is is the country. And I'm so grateful that I live in America. Well, we need to stand up for the things that God says are important. And we need to fight for those things, otherwise they go away. Nehemiah had a heart for what was on God's heart. And we need to care about what God cares about. Secondly, second imperative, we need to take our burdens to the Lord in prayer.

So Nehemiah, he is broken. He is mourning. He is crying. And he takes his burden to the Lord. And he says in verse five, I said, I beseech you, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who preserves the covenant and loving kindness for those who love him and keep his commandments. Let your ear now be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant, which I'm praying before you now day and night on behalf of the sons of Israel, your servants. He took that burden to the Lord. He took that morning to the Lord.

He took this great problem and this devastating news. He took it to the Lord. Now, Nehemiah, as you will see if you read the book of Nehemiah, I encourage you to go home and read it. It's a fascinating book. It's a fascinating thing what uh what God had this guy do. Well, he's a prayer person, a prayer warrior, a man devoted to prayer. And he's a man effective in prayer. The Bible says the effective prayer of a righteous man avails much. And here is a guy who's very effective in prayer. What makes a person effective in prayer?

Well, let me just mention six things that he did in his prayer. An effective prayer, what does it have? Number one, it has a proper perspective. It keeps things in proper perspective. So he comes before the Lord and he calls the Lord, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God. You're the God of heaven. You're the God who spoke the worlds into existence. You're the God who is great and awesome. Lord, I have this great big problem, but my great big problem compared to you is a pimple on a flea. Because you're the great and awesome God.

You're the God who can do anything. We need to keep proper perspective when we pray. Or we come before the Lord and we have this this big issue and we're like, oh, I don't know how this is going to ever work out. This this problem is so great. It's so big. It's like the the old joke that, you know, the the woman says to the other woman, they're talking about a friend and well, the doctor said they can't do anything. All that's left is to pray. O no, has it come to that? That that's all you have left is prayer.

Prayer is not to be your last resort. It's a first stop on the road to help and you're praying to the God who can do anything. And the God who can do anything is the God who loves you. So we keep a proper perspective. Do you remember in Mark chapter nine when Jesus is on the Mount of Transfiguration, the guy with the uh demon-possessed boy, he goes to the disciples, uh the the nine guys that were there and Jesus is up with Peter and James and John and they he said, cast out the demon. They couldn't cast it out.

And they come to Jesus. And Jesus asks questions and he said, how long has it been like that? Uh and he said, oh, since he was a young child. And he said, uh Jesus, if you can do anything, please help us. And Jesus said, if you can Well, what is this if stuff? All things are possible to him who believes. And the man said, I do believe, help my unbelief. Hey, when we come before the Lord, we're not saying, well, Lord, if you can do anything here, well, the Lord says, I can do anything in any situation.

I'm the God of all flesh. Behold the God of all flesh, is there anything too difficult for God? The answer is no.

Larry Nobles: Well, you've been listening to part one of the lesson, when the news is devastating. And boy, can we all relate to that sometimes? We're going to pause right there in our lesson for today, but we'll have part two of this important and always timely lesson on Thursday. Before we go, a sincere request that you pray about providing a gift of support this month to promise heart as we strive to reach the world for Christ. Pastor Jeff is a volunteer for this ministry, receives no income from it at all. There's so many terrible things we hear about happening all over the world.

And Jesus Christ is the answer. That's not a simplistic answer. It's simply profound. A life with Christ in our hearts is one of giving and healing and comfort and sharing others' burdens. It can squelch the power of sin and darkness. And the world needs that today so badly. To make a gift of any amount from his heart, go to promiseheart.org and make a gift online or call 866-40 Bible. 866-40 Bible. Again, our web address, promiseheart.org. Well, our time is gone for today. I'm Larry Nobles inviting you to be here tomorrow for part two of the lesson when the news is devastating.

Here's some of what's to come.

Dr. Jeff Schreve: I don't know what's going on in your life. I don't know what's going on in your family. You know and God knows and God cares. And maybe you've thrown in the towel on a specific prayer need in your life. The need is still there, but you say, well, God's not answering, so I just quit. The Lord values persistence. It's always too early to quit. Pick up the towel. Keep praying. Keep trusting. Keep preparing. Know that God is a God who answers prayer.

Larry Nobles: Join pastor Jeff Shreve who will then open up God's word and speak truth, love and hope to a lost and a hurting world. That's here on promise heart.