Message of the Week

The Little White Community Church

Scripture: Nehemiah 2:1-8       May 25, 2025

Message:

"Ways We Communicate With Each Other!”

By Pastor George Gnade

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Introduction:

1. Last week we learned how Nehemiah received word from his brother that Jerusalem was in serious trouble with its walls broken down and its gates burned with fire. 

a. His brother was one of many Jews who felt led to return to Judah after Cyrus the Great gave them permission to do so.

b. This made the news personal as Nehemiah obviously was concerned about his brother as well as other faithful Jews who shared his faith with him.

2. If we applied this to us, we would say this would be both a family issue as well as a spiritual family issue. This caused Nehemiah to break down in tears, crying and praying and even fasting as he sought help from the Lord. 

a. As a result of his prayers, he felt led to try to go and help them. But Nehemiah had obstacles in his way. 

b. He felt he had the skills, but not the resources. But the biggest obstacle was his job.  He was the cupbearer of King Artaxerxes of Persia. He had no right to leave his job.

c. We can give our boss two weeks notice, and simply change jobs, but Nehemiah could not do that as a slave working for the king. 

A. So his prayer for help in Neh. 1:11 ended with the request that God would give him favor with the king. 

1. We do not know how much time separates chapter one from Chapter two. All we know is the king wanted to try some new wine and requested Nehemiah’s presence. 

a. S0 Neh. 2:1 says he took the wine and brought it to the king. His job was to taste it first to prove it was not poisoned.

b. But the king noticed something that surprised him.

2. Up until this time, Nehemiah had always been in a good mood. This time the king noticed something different, causing the king to ask him a question.

a. In vs. 2, the king asked him: “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”

b. I am not sure whether this was the day Nehemiah planned to tell the king his problem. But his face gave him away!

3. That is a very important way in which we communicate with each other. Our feelings often show all over our face. The king could tell Nehemiah was upset about something; maybe he could even see he had been crying. 

a. Whenever you meet someone, especially someone you know, you often can tell by their facial expressions when they are having a bad day.

b. As Christians, we should always be alert to situations like this. Often God will use a situation like that to give us a change to be kind.

4. Nehemiah had always done his job well. And part of his responsibility, I assume, would be to be cheerful. When the king saw the difference written all over his face, he felt led to ask Nehemiah what was wrong.

a. When I was a child, we would play “hide and seek” and whoever was “it” would count to ten and cry: “Ready or not, here I come!”

b. I’m not sure this was the day Nehemiah planned to talk to the king, but ready or not, now was the time he had to speak up.

5. This is how God opened the door for him to discuss his problem with the king.

a. Praise the Lord, the king’s question seems to come from a kind heart. He liked his cupbearer and spoke out of concern for him.

b. If we pray and ask God to give us a kind heart, we may discover opportunities in which we can be helpful too.

B. If the expression on our faces can often communicate a message, what we say next is even more important.

1. Starting in vs. 2, Nehemiah says: “I was very much afraid, but I said to the king: ‘May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins and its gates burned with fire?’”

a. While the expression on our faces can reveal a lot about how we are feeling, even better is to have a friend you can trust. Sometimes all we can do is share our problem. But all of us tend to feel better just having someone who will listen to us.

b. The cup bearer saw the king more than others because of his job. In this case, I sense the king liked him.

At least in this case, he was open to hear what Nehemiah had to say.

2. I am sure it was because of all the prayers that were offered to God in advance. But the king sensed he had a need and in vs 4 asked: “What do you want?”

a. Notice that silent prayers are often offered up on a moment’s notice.  Now that the time had come, Nehemiah still wasn’t sure what to say.

b. Before answering the king, that is exactly what Nehemiah did (Neh. 2:4). 

3. Please remember that if he didn’t know what to say to the king, how much more is it difficult at times to know what to say to the King of kings. 

a. I have often wanted to pray to the Lord, but many times I am not sure what to say to Him.

b. That is when I like to claim what it says in Rom. 8: 26-27, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.”

4. In Nehemiah’s case, as he silently prayed for the right words to say, the Lord put the right words on his lips.

a. In vs. 5, he asked the king, “If it pleases the king and if  your servant has found favor in your eyes, let him send me to the city where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it.”

b. In the presence of the queen, the king was pleased to do this.  

5. So far we were reminded today how we often com-municate a message through the expression on our faces.

And then we were reminded how we need to pray before we speak as we listen to another person’s problems or as we try to share our own problems.

C. And finally, an equally important way in which we com-municate with others is by what we do.  

1. I think Nehemiah had earned the right to speak by the way he helped the king before this emergency was made known to him.  And the king responded with kindness by the way he treated Nehemiah and even agreed to provide for the resources he would need to rebuild the walls (Neh. 2:7-9).

2. May the Lord use us as we seek to be kind to others, and may the Lord bless us as we do our best to help.. 

In Conclusion: Remember how we communicate with others. Be alert to facial expressions. Pray before you speak and be careful what you do next. You will be surprised how God may use you. Amen.