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Speaker 1: You're listening to the chapter today Audio Bible. I'm John Stangi,
Speaker 1: and today we're in Nhemiah chapter one, and we'll be
Speaker 1: reading from the message the Memoirs of Nehemiah, son of Hakkalayah.
Speaker 1: It was the month of Kiss lev in the twentieth year.
Speaker 1: At the time, I was in the palace complex at
Speaker 1: Susa HANNONI. One of my brothers had just arrived from
Speaker 1: Judah with some fellow Jews. I asked them about the
Speaker 1: conditions among the Jews there who had survived the exile,
Speaker 1: and about Jerusalem. They told me the exile survivors who
Speaker 1: are left there in the province are in bad shape.
Speaker 1: Conditions are appalling. The wall of Jerusalem is still robbing,
Speaker 1: the city gates are still sinders. When I heard this,
Speaker 1: I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting
Speaker 1: and praying before the God of Heaven. I said, God,
Speaker 1: God of Heaven, the great and awesome God, loyal to
Speaker 1: his covenant and faithful to those who love him and
Speaker 1: obey his commands. Look at me, Listen to me, pay
Speaker 1: attention to this prayer of your servant that I'm praying
Speaker 1: day and night in intercession for your servants, the people
Speaker 1: of Israel, confessing the sins of the people of Israel.
Speaker 1: And I'm including myself, I and my ancestors among those
Speaker 1: who have sinned against you. We've treated you like dirt.
Speaker 1: We haven't done what you told us, haven't followed your commands,
Speaker 1: and haven't respected the decisions you gave to Moses, your servant.
Speaker 1: All the same, remember the warning you posted to your servant, Moses.
Speaker 1: If you betray me, I'll scatter you to the four winds.
Speaker 1: But if you come back to me and do what
Speaker 1: I tell you, I'll gather up all these scattered peoples
Speaker 1: from wherever they ended up and put them back in
Speaker 1: the place I chose to mark with my name. Well,
Speaker 1: there they are, your servants, your people, whom you so
Speaker 1: powerfully and impressively redeemed. Oh Master, listen to me, Listen
Speaker 1: to your servants prayer, and yes to all your servants
Speaker 1: who delight in honoring you, and make me successful today
Speaker 1: so that I get what I want from the King.
Speaker 1: I was cup bearer to the King. Let's pray, Lord,
Speaker 1: we thank you for your word, and we thank you
Speaker 1: for the start of this new book. As we begin
Speaker 1: looking at the book of Nehemiah, and we can see
Speaker 1: what you were impressing upon his heart to do. We
Speaker 1: could see that he had a great love for your people,
Speaker 1: and a great love for the city of Jerusalem, and
Speaker 1: a strong desire that you be worshiped sincerely and that
Speaker 1: your word be obeyed. Lord. He was asking you for
Speaker 1: favor because he was about to make a request of
Speaker 1: the king so that he could help the people of
Speaker 1: Judah and Jerusalem. And Lord, we're grateful to be able
Speaker 1: to watch what you did in his life and in
Speaker 1: the people's lives as we have the privilege to read
Speaker 1: the upcoming chapters. Lord, we're grateful that you raise up
Speaker 1: leadership that's even greater than Nehemiah. We see that in
Speaker 1: your son Jesus Christ, one with you for all eternity,
Speaker 1: who came to this earth and rescued and redeemed us.
Speaker 1: We were lost people, We were living apart from your will,
Speaker 1: We were ignoring your word. But in the midst of that,
Speaker 1: you sent your son Jesus Christ to rescue and redeem
Speaker 1: us and raise us up from the pit that we
Speaker 1: were in a pit that we didn't even realize fully
Speaker 1: that we were in. It's like new things were bad,
Speaker 1: but we just didn't know how bad. But we're grateful
Speaker 1: for what you've done. We're grateful Lord that through faith
Speaker 1: in your son, we have new life. We have eternal life,
Speaker 1: we have the promise of living forever in your presence
Speaker 1: for all eternity. And Lord, we pray that, by your
Speaker 1: grace you would encourage our hearts with that truth. Today. Lord,
Speaker 1: we love you, We thank you for your presence with
Speaker 1: us today, and we commit this day to your care.
Speaker 1: We pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen.