Welcome to Big Valley Grace Community Church. We’re really glad you’re here, and we hope today is an incredible day for you. If you’re brand new, my name is Joel. I’d love to meet you. I’ll be standing right down here after the gathering, and I’d love to put a name and a face together and personally welcome you. We believe it matters that you’re here, so on behalf of all of us, a warm welcome to everyone who is new.

We are in the book of Nehemiah. If you have a Bible, turn there with me. Nehemiah is about a third of the way through your Bible. If you’re new to the Bible or unfamiliar with where Nehemiah is, the table of contents can help you find it. If you need a Bible, come to the prayer room after the gathering. Our team will be there to pray with you about whatever you need prayer for, and we also have Bibles available at no cost.

The text we’re looking at today has to do with confronting human authority. As I spent time thinking about my own life in the area of confronting authority, I remembered many situations where I had to confront someone or approach a person in authority, and it did not go well. In fact, some of those situations went very poorly. I walked away feeling like a failure, and the other person probably thought I was one too.

Maybe some of you can relate. Confrontation, particularly confrontation with human authority, can expose us. It can reveal weaknesses and shortcomings. It can show us where there are cracks in our armor. Instead of spending the rest of our lives confronting authority poorly, why don’t we become better at it by seeing what God’s Word has to say?

The question is this: How do we prepare for confrontation with human authority in a way that honors God? If the way we handle it honors God, then even if the conversation is difficult, it probably went well. Even if we walk away feeling uncomfortable, it can still be a success if it honored the Lord.

God gives us an example of an extremely risky confrontation with human authority through Nehemiah. Nehemiah demonstrates great courage, bravery, and boldness, and there is a lot we can learn from the way he handles the situation.

In Nehemiah chapter 2, Nehemiah describes serving King Artaxerxes as cupbearer. While serving wine to the king, the king notices that Nehemiah looks sad. Nehemiah had never appeared sad in the king’s presence before, so the king asks what is wrong. Nehemiah becomes very afraid. Nevertheless, he tells the king that the city where his ancestors are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire.

The king asks Nehemiah what he wants. Nehemiah immediately prays to the God of heaven and then asks the king to send him to Judah so he can rebuild the city. The king asks how long he will be gone and when he will return. Nehemiah gives him a timeframe. He then asks for letters to the regional governors so he can travel safely, along with a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, so he can receive timber for the temple fortress, Jerusalem’s wall, and the house where he will stay.

The king grants Nehemiah’s requests because the gracious hand of God is upon him. Nehemiah then travels with the king’s letters, and the king even sends army officers and horsemen with him. When Sanballat and Tobiah hear that someone has come seeking the welfare of Israel, however, they are greatly displeased. Nehemiah eventually reaches Jerusalem and remains there for three days.

As we think about preparing for confrontation with human authority, we’re going to look at four principles through the lens of Nehemiah chapter 2. Along the way, these principles will also help us identify fears that may be preventing us from moving forward. Confrontation can make us afraid. Authority can make us afraid. Fear often prevents us from doing what we know we need to do.

The first principle is this: Changing hearts is God’s specialty.

You may immediately think of someone whose heart you would really like to change. Maybe you already have a plan for fixing that person. We can easily think, “I don’t like what is happening in this person. I want them to change, and I’m going to make it happen.” But changing hearts is God’s specialty.

One fear we may carry into confrontation is the fear of repeating a past failure. We remember a difficult conversation that went badly. We remember confronting someone in authority and failing. Those experiences can make us afraid to try again.

There is another word that often enters the conversation when we talk about confrontation: anger. Many people automatically connect confrontation with anger. We think we cannot confront someone unless we become angry enough first. But anger and confrontation are not the same thing. Anger is anger. Confrontation is confrontation. Confrontation does not have to happen in anger.

Nehemiah was an Israelite who had been exiled into a foreign nation and was serving as cupbearer to the Persian king. Persia was known for laws that could not easily be reversed. The book of Daniel describes the law of the Medes and Persians as something that could not be revoked. When the king made a decree, his decision had tremendous authority.

Yet Proverbs teaches us something even greater: the king’s heart is like a stream of water in the hand of the Lord. God can direct it wherever He desires.

Think about the canal system in our area. There are hundreds of miles of canals directing water to farms throughout the region. Those channels control where the water flows. Proverbs gives us a similar picture. The king’s heart is like water, and God’s hand is the channel. God can direct the heart of a king wherever He wants it to go.

God works with both water and wills whenever and wherever He desires.

At the end of Nehemiah chapter 1, Nehemiah had prayed and asked God to hear his prayer, give him success, and grant him mercy in the sight of the king. The king he was talking about was the ruler of Persia—the man whose decisions carried enormous authority.

Nehemiah was taking a tremendous risk. If there is someone in your life whom you believe will never change, or a situation you believe can never change, learn from Scripture and place that person or situation into the hand of God.

If you believe a person or situation will never change, place that person or situation in God’s hands.

Changing hearts is God’s specialty.

The second principle is this: Praying and waiting go hand in hand.

As citizens of the United States, we are not particularly good at waiting. We dislike waiting so much that companies build entire businesses around eliminating it. It can actually be entertaining to watch what people do when they have to wait.

One fear that waiting can expose is the fear that if we do not act immediately, we will become vulnerable. We may believe that if we wait, we will lose protection or control.

How is your patience? How would you answer that question? Better yet, how would the person sitting next to you answer it for you? What do you do when you have to wait?

There is an important timeline between Nehemiah chapters 1 and 2. Chapter 1 begins in the month of Kislev, roughly corresponding to December. Chapter 2 begins in the month of Nisan, roughly corresponding to April.

That means Nehemiah spent approximately four months praying and waiting.

Sometimes we imagine that great leaders must always know immediately what to do and act immediately. That simply is not true.

Think about Israel’s first king, Saul. God gave Saul specific instructions to wait, but Saul became impatient. Instead of continuing to wait on God, Saul rushed ahead and tried to do God’s job himself. His impatience brought devastating consequences.

Great leadership does not mean immediately knowing what to do and acting without delay.

For four months, Nehemiah practiced spiritual patience.

There is virtually nothing recorded about those four months. It is almost as though the pages are blank because Nehemiah is simply praying and waiting.

What do you do when your patience runs out? Do you rush? Do you binge? Do you zone out? Do you fight? What happens inside you when waiting becomes difficult?

Remember how Nehemiah began this period. When he first heard about Jerusalem, he sat down, wept, mourned, fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven.

Imagine four months of carrying that burden. Four months of sorrow. Four months of prayer. Four months of fasting and waiting for God’s help.

Some of you know exactly what that feels like because you have experienced prolonged seasons of suffering. You know what it means to suffer and wait for months. You know what it means to weep while waiting, mourn while waiting, fast while waiting, and continue praying through prolonged distress.

Nehemiah had apparently been able to keep his sadness hidden from the king for those four months. He continued showing up to work and fulfilling his responsibilities. The king did not know what was happening in Nehemiah’s heart.

But every great leader has a breaking point, and Nehemiah apparently reached his after about 120 days.

Eventually, he could no longer hide his sadness. The king saw it and asked why Nehemiah looked sad even though he was not sick. Nehemiah became very afraid.

Why? Remember what his job was. He was responsible for helping protect the king from poisoned food or wine. If the person responsible for the king’s safety suddenly showed up acting strangely, the king could have interpreted that as a threat.

But Nehemiah had earned the king’s trust.

Trust is built through truth, authenticity, and transparency.

The cupbearer occupied a dangerous position. If someone attempted to poison the king, the cupbearer could be the first person to consume the poisoned food or drink. Because of that responsibility, the king needed someone with a proven history of faithfulness and trustworthiness.

Nehemiah had already established that kind of trust. Instead of immediately treating him as a threat, the king asked what was wrong.

This was already an answer to Nehemiah’s prayer. He had asked God for mercy before the king, and mercy was exactly what he received.

Nehemiah respectfully tells the king that the city where his ancestors are buried is in ruins. I believe he is being strategically wise in how he explains the situation. He does not lead by emphasizing political or national divisions. Instead, he appeals to something the king deeply values: respect for ancestral burial places.

The king would understand the importance of honoring the graves of one’s ancestors because he expected his own burial place to be respected someday.

Nehemiah is strategic. He essentially says, “I have a serious problem concerning the city where my ancestors are buried.”

The king responds, “What are you requesting?”

Now we see another part of Nehemiah’s prayer being answered. God is being attentive to his prayer, and the king has opened the door for Nehemiah to make his request.

For four months, Nehemiah prayed and waited.

The third principle shows us something else he was doing during that season: Faith is not a synonym for disorder or a substitute for careful planning.

It makes no sense to say we do not need order because we have faith. It makes no sense to say we do not need careful planning because we trust God.

Faith means trusting and believing in realities we cannot yet see. Faith means believing that God is who He says He is and that He will keep the promises He has made, even when we have not yet seen their fulfillment.

Faith does not eliminate order, and faith does not eliminate planning.

Some people resist planning because they are afraid their plan will not be perfect. Because they cannot create the perfect plan, they never create one at all. They remain stuck because they are afraid their plan will not be good enough.

When the king asks Nehemiah what he wants, Nehemiah is ready.

He tells the king he wants to be sent to Judah so he can rebuild the city.

During those four months, Nehemiah had not only been praying. His faith had been active. He had been developing an orderly and careful plan.

The opportunity arrives, and Nehemiah knows the mission immediately: rebuild the city.

Then the king asks how long he will be gone and when he will return. Nehemiah already has an answer.

He has thought through the timeframe.

Four months of prayer. Four months of planning.

He waited actively and faithfully.

Proverbs tells us that people may plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. Nehemiah had spent months praying and planning, but he still needed God to open the opportunity for the conversation.

Now God is establishing his steps.

Nehemiah then asks for letters from the king. He will need official documentation allowing him to travel through different regions. He will need access to governors, relationships, places, and resources that he does not currently possess.

He also asks for a letter to Asaph, who oversees the king’s forest, because Nehemiah is going to need a tremendous amount of timber.

Notice how clear his priorities are.

Jerusalem has many problems, but Nehemiah is not trying to solve every one of them. He knows what God has called him to accomplish.

First, they need timber for the gates of the fortress connected with the temple.

Second, they need material for Jerusalem’s wall.

Third, Nehemiah will need somewhere to live.

His priorities are clear.

There is a powerful leadership lesson here:

You have to say no to almost everything so you can say yes to what is most important.

That may be shocking for some of us, so it is worth repeating.

You have to say no to almost everything so you can say yes to what is most important.

Nehemiah would encounter problems everywhere in Jerusalem, but he was not there to solve every problem. God had given him a specific mission. He had to say no to many things so that he could say yes to what mattered most.

The king grants Nehemiah everything he requests because the gracious hand of God is upon him.

This teaches us that the Holy Spirit can lead us in prayer and can also lead us in planning.

Nehemiah had prayed for God to hear him, give him success, and show him mercy. Now the king grants his requests.

God answered Nehemiah’s prayer.

We are seeing a man pray an enormous and bold prayer and then watching God provide an enormous answer.

Nehemiah begins his journey and presents the king’s letters to the governors. But then something else happens. The king sends army officers and horsemen with him.

Nehemiah never asked for that.

God gave him everything he requested—and then gave him more.

When we humble ourselves, align ourselves with God and His will, and pray enormous God-sized prayers to an enormous God, He is capable of doing more than we ask.

Ephesians tells us that God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.

Nehemiah prayed for four months. He planned for four months. Then God opened the door and answered his prayer powerfully.

God answers prayer.

We serve a great God who can do anything He desires. He can do far more than we can ask and far more than we can imagine.

Everything in the story seems to be going well—until the narrative changes.

That brings us to the fourth principle: Opposition is to be expected when God’s will is carried out.

If you are going to do God’s work, expect someone to try to stop you.

If you are going to pray big, God-sized prayers and expect God-sized answers, you should also expect opposition.

This confronts fears we may have of rejection, danger, or harm.

When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite hear that someone has come seeking the welfare of Israel, they are greatly displeased.

There is another leadership lesson here: there are Sanballats and Tobiahs everywhere.

There will be people who are critical. There will be people who are negative. There will be people who are discouraging.

When you encounter those voices, remember that opposition is not unusual when God’s work is moving forward.

At this point, we heard from one of our local ministry partners, Misty Severs from Love Hopes, who shared about confronting human authority in ministry. She explained several principles they follow: they pray before, during, and after difficult interactions; they respect legitimate offices of authority; they remain faithful to God’s mission without mocking or dishonoring those in authority; they speak truth in love with wisdom, courage, and preparation; and they ultimately trust God with the outcome.

Our calling is to be faithful.

Back in Nehemiah 2, the passage simply says that Nehemiah went to Jerusalem and stayed there for three days.

This represents a transition in his role. He is moving from cupbearer toward builder.

What do you think Nehemiah did during those three days?

Based on everything we already know about him, he was probably praying, planning, and observing.

He had spent four months praying and planning from another country. Now he could finally see Jerusalem for himself.

There is an interesting parallel in the life of Jesus. People often focus on the dramatic moment when Jesus enters the temple and drives out those who were misusing it. It is an action-filled scene that receives a lot of attention.

But look at what Jesus did the day before.

Mark tells us that Jesus entered Jerusalem, went into the temple courts, looked around at everything, and then left for Bethany because it was already late.

He observed.

Before the dramatic action came careful observation.

Nehemiah reaches Jerusalem and does something similar. He has been praying and planning for months, but now he spends several days seeing the situation firsthand.

These four principles give us a framework for preparation:

Changing hearts is God’s specialty.

Praying and waiting go hand in hand.

Faith is not a synonym for disorder or a substitute for careful planning.

Opposition is to be expected when God’s will is carried out.

So be like Nehemiah and pray.

Be like Nehemiah and plan.

Be like Nehemiah and press on toward the goal.

As we become people of prayer, the human authorities around us can be affected by God answering those prayers.

God answers prayer.

As you humble yourself before God, align your heart with His heart, and pray according to His will, you can pray enormous God-sized prayers and watch an enormous God answer them.

We need to encourage one another to become prayer warriors.

Maybe you are ready to confront some fears associated with authority or confrontation. Maybe you are recognizing your own limitations and realizing that God alone can truly change a human heart.

Perhaps it is time to stop trying to control another person or situation and surrender that person or situation into the hands of Almighty God.

He holds the hearts of kings in His hand and can direct them wherever He desires.

Maybe you see Nehemiah taking an enormous risk—one where his life was genuinely on the line—and you realize it is time for you to begin taking faithful risks too.

Take a risk in prayer.

Take a risk for God.

Pray, plan, and press on toward the goals God is calling you to accomplish.

We need to encourage each other to have courage. Encourage one another to be brave. Encourage one another to be bold.

During our response time, I want you to think of one name or one situation that feels risky to you. Maybe even writing it down would be difficult.

Name it.

Write down the person or situation you need to give to God.

Maybe it is a relationship. Maybe it is an authority figure. Maybe it is someone you believe will never change. Maybe it is a situation that appears impossible.

Put it into God’s hands.

If God can hold the heart of a king, He can hold the person you are worried about.

If God can hold the heart of a king, He can hold your impossible situation.

Take the risk of giving it to the Lord in prayer.

Nehemiah’s prayer is good enough to become our prayer: Lord, hear the prayers of Your servants. Give Your servant success and grant mercy in the situation before us.

God, we lift up every person and every difficult situation. Some of them appear impossible to us. There are people we believe could never change through human effort and situations we cannot change through our own strength.

But You are God.

You can do more than we ask and more than we imagine.

So we place these people and these situations into Your mighty hand—the same hand that directs the hearts of kings.

We also place ourselves into Your hands because we need You to direct us too.

Guide us where You want us to go.

May we serve the King of kings and Lord of lords, Almighty God.

We pray for our church family and for every situation represented here in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

Amen.

If you need further prayer, our team will be ready to pray with you. Church family, we love you, and we’ll see you again real soon.