Turning again this evening in the Old Testament to the book of Nehemiah and chapter 1, and taking as our text tonight Nehemiah chapter 1 and verse 4. Nehemiah chapter 1 and verse 4. And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven. Nehemiah, quite a man, quite a book, and quite a message. Set among the people of Israel in the 5th century BC. and yet brimful with lessons for us as the Church in our 21st century A.D. This book which narrates the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, and we remind ourselves straight away that Jerusalem in the Old Testament is very much a picture of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Let's just take a moment to get our bearings and to place Nehemiah in the Old Testament narrative. There are five books in the Old Testament that very much belong together. Ezra and Nehemiah, which we find here broadly in the middle of our Old Testaments, and then Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, which we find at the end of our Old Testaments. Remember that the books in the Old Testament are not arranged chronologically. And so the fact that we find Ezra and Nehemiah in the middle and Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi at the end doesn't mean that they are in different time settings. They very much belong together. Just to give you a little bit of background. God's people, the Israelites, had been in captivity in Babylon for some 70 years. Then in the year 537 BC, as a result of the decree of Cyrus, there was a first return of captives to Jerusalem, to the promised land. That's narrated for us by Ezra in the first half of his book. And at that time there was input from Haggai and Zechariah. They exercised their prophetic ministries at that time and were instrumental in the rebuilding of the temple. Some years later, in the year 458 BC, remember when we're thinking BC, we count downwards, so in the year 458 BC, there was a second return of captives to Jerusalem, as narrated by Ezra in the second half of his book. and they were disturbed to find that all was not well in Israel. For example, the Lord's people had been intermarrying with the nations around about, contrary to God's express command. And then a few years later, in the year 445 BC, there was a third return. And that was the one led by Nehemiah, who was a contemporary of Ezra, and that resulted in the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem, and Malachi came onto the scene at this point in time and exercised his prophetic ministry. So tonight we're in Nehemiah chapter 1 at the beginning of this book, and it's a chapter very much of two halves. If we wanted to divide this chapter under two headings, we could say Nehemiah hears from Jerusalem, verses 1 to 3, and he prays for Jerusalem, verses 4 to 11. What does he hear and what does he pray? Well, what does he hear? Verses 1 to 3, Nehemiah is introduced to us in the first verse of the chapter. We're then told that he hears from Hanani in verse 2, and the details of what Hanani shares with him are to be found in the third verse of the chapter. namely, that the people there in Jerusalem are in great affliction and reproach, that the wall of the city is broken down and the gates of the city burned down. It is a bleak report that Nehemiah hears from Hanani. And the result is that Nehemiah prays, verses 4 to 11. And what does he pray? We're not staying with his prayer this evening. You could preach a separate sermon on that, or even a series of sermons, but he prays on the basis of God's covenant, verses 4 to 6. He prays in the light of God's promise, verses 7 to 9, and not least, he prays with a view to God's glory, verses 10 and 11. I tried to emphasize this as I read the passage earlier, the number of thys in verses 10 and 11. Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power and by thy strong hand, and so on. reminding us that God has so committed Himself to His people that His glory was associated with them. And so Nehemiah, he prays on the basis of covenant in the light of promise and with a view to God's glory. But our focus this evening is to zoom in upon verse 4. because there's something here we could easily miss, but I'm persuaded that we would miss it at our peril. So, Nehemiah, he heard, and that's where verse 4 begins, and it came to pass when I heard these words, and Nehemiah, he prayed, and that's where verse 4 ends, he prayed before the God of heaven. But in the middle of verse 4 we are told that he wept and he mourned, and it came to pass when I heard these words that I sat down and wept and mourned certain days and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. And I put it to you tonight that this weeping is key. I put it to you that Nehemiah could have heard what he heard But he would never have prayed like he prayed unless he had been moved to tears. What he heard moved him to tears. And it was because what he heard moved him to tears that he was stimulated to pray and then in subsequent chapters to act. So our theme from God's Word for a few minutes this evening is Moved to Tears. This is where this book of Nehemiah starts. Arguably, if Nehemiah were not moved to tears in chapter 1, verse 4, then the rest of this book could never have been written. And just as it is where Nehemiah starts, so it is where we must begin. As we look around us at the cause of God and of truth in our own land and nation in the days in which we live, the situation is not unlike The situation with the walls of Jerusalem back there in the middle of the 5th century BC. The question is, are we moved to tears as Nehemiah was? Are we emotionally invested in the cause of Christ's church in the way that Nehemiah was in God's people Israel of old? Would it be a fair accusation that there are in our day too many dry-eyed Christians, too many dry-eyed churches, that we have forgotten how to weep, and that we need to be reminded from God's Word that revival starts in the tear ducts. Revival starts in the tear ducts. when we do not simply understand the situation around us, but we are moved by it, moved to tears. which then stimulates us to prayer and to action. Why was the situation there in Jerusalem so tragic in Nehemiah's day? And why is the situation so tragic for the church in our own land, in our time, and in our place? Well, let me suggest three things. First of all, availed glory. a veiled glory. Jerusalem was the city of God. It was the home of the temple. It was bound up with God's glory. It was a testimony to the glory of God in this world. And Jerusalem was a mess with its broken down walls and it's burnt down gates. Jerusalem was meant to be a visible representation and reminder of the glory of God. And Jerusalem in the state that it's in here in Nehemiah 1 means that that glory is a veiled glory. It doesn't mean that God is any less glorious, for He is all glorious all the time. But His glory was veiled. from those in that generation by the state of Jerusalem as it lay in ruin. And that veiled glory moved Nehemiah to tears. He wasn't unaffected by it. He didn't brush it off. His response to what he heard from Hanani was not to think, oh well, never mind. No, Nehemiah was moved. He felt it shouldn't be like this. Something must be done. I need to pray, Nehemiah thought. I need to act, Nehemiah thought. But only because he was moved. And I say again, Old Testament Jerusalem represents the New Testament church. And the church of Christ in any place and in any time is similarly bound up with God's glory. And when the church is in a mess, again, that glory is veiled. And that is largely so, certainly in the West, in our day and generation, and especially in Britain. It is not that God does not have His people. It is not that God is not still at work. But we are in days of spiritual low water. And the danger for us as Christians and churches in our land in these days is that we can forget that it was ever different. And we can become content with the status quo. And we can forget that the church is meant to be a visible representation and reminder of the glory of God. And yet, as God's people, we are so often half-hearted, careless, and indifferent. Like Nehemiah of old, we need to face the fact and not only face the facts but feel the pain, that the state of the church very often veils God's glory to our communities. And so the question is, are we moved to tears? Do we yearn for God's glory to be in full display? And will we pray? And will we act as Nehemiah went on to do? And it's my contention from Nehemiah chapter 1 that unless we're moved to tears, we'll never really pray and we'll never truly act. But when moved as Nehemiah was moved, how we begin to pray and how we begin to act and how the Lord might work. So that was one problem there then and one problem here now availed a glory. But a second aspect of what Nehemiah faced as he looked at Jerusalem and the people of God in his place and time was a weakened joy. A weakened joy among God's people. Because remember verse 3, we're not just told that the wall of Jerusalem was broken down, and that the gates had been burned with fire, but we're told expressly that the people, God's people there in Jerusalem, were in great affliction and reproach. Those words are variously translated. The word affliction could be troubled, could be distressed. The word reproach could be shame or disgrace. You put all those words together, affliction, trouble, distress, reproach, shame, disgrace, and you get the picture, don't you? It's not a happy picture. It's not a pleasant one. God's people in great affliction and reproach. And again, This wasn't how it was meant to be. There's a very different verse later on in the book of Nehemiah. It's one of those standout texts of Scripture, one of those verses many Christians know, even if they couldn't tell you, that it comes from the middle of the book of Nehemiah. It's Nehemiah chapter 8 and verse 10, which includes these words, the joy of the Lord is your strength. And so when we have joy in God, when we are rejoicing in Him, that strengthens us, and that empowers us as His people. The fuller verse, Nehemiah 8.10, doesn't just say, for the joy of the Lord is your strength, but immediately before that it says, neither be ye sorry. Don't grieve, is the sensei. For the joy of the Lord is your strength. And that's what's going to happen in a few chapters time. That would be then when the walls were rebuilt. When God's glory would no longer be veiled. When the people's joy would no longer be weakened. But this is now. The walls are in ruin. The people are in great affliction and reproach. They lack joy in their God. And that lack of joy weakens them in their living. Now, of course, we need balance. We know the Scriptures are clear that our joy should be in the Lord Himself, not simply a delight in what He does. And so there is a sense in which, as God's people, we should be able to rejoice in our God, whatever our situation and circumstances, whatever may be happening in our lives. But that said, as God's glory was meant to be displayed in Jerusalem, so its broken state weakened Israel's joy. And similarly, as His glory is meant to be displayed in the church. The weak state of Christ's church in our land and in these days can often affect Christians' joy. And it can mean that we do not have the joy in God and the spring in our steps that as God's people we ought to have. And this moved Nehemiah to tears. Again, the question is, does it move us to tears? Some of you may be familiar with these lines from Isaac Watts. In vain we tune our formal songs, in vain we strive to rise. Hosannas languish on our tongues, and our devotion dies. Next verse. And shall we then forever live at this poor dying rate? Our love so faint, so cold to you, and yours to us so great. Christ has come that we might have life and that we might have it more abundantly. And yet so often we have to say with Isaac Watts, and shall we then forever live at this poor dying rate? We look at the church very often. and it results in our joy being weakened and it should move us to tears. But I said three things from the context here in Jerusalem that are relevant for us in our place and in our time. Part of the problem in Nehemiah's day was the state of Jerusalem meant a veiled glory, part of the problem was that the state of Jerusalem meant a weakened joy, and thirdly, Part of the problem was that the state of Jerusalem meant a dimmed light. Jerusalem was to be the light for the nations. This great city was central to the prophecies of God in the Old Testament. It was to Jerusalem that Messiah would come, and Jerusalem was in a mess, with the gates burned down, the walls broken down, and the people in great affliction and reproach. And similarly, the church of Jesus Christ is to be the light for the nations, not that the church is the nation's Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the light of the world, He is the nation's Savior. But you remember, Jesus, who is the light of the world, also said to His disciples, you are the light of the world. As the church, we are to shine as lights in this world, not our own light, but the light of Christ, which He has shone into our hearts and which He shines through us into the lost world in which we live. And Jerusalem's state meant that light was dimmed. And the state of the church very often means that that light is dimmed. I was struck many years ago now by something that Paul writes to Timothy in his first letter. And I'm always struck by it again every time I read that passage. It's 1 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 15. 1 Timothy chapter 3 is a chapter we tend to associate with church offices and qualifications for elders and deacons, because that's what takes up the majority of the chapter. But towards the end, we find this in verse 15, the penultimate last but one verse of the chapter. Paul writes to Timothy, but if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, then this, the pillar and ground of the truth. It's a striking picture that Paul is using there. He talks about the church being the pillar and ground of the truth. We've got a couple of pillars, I can see, in the building here, holding up what I guess was once a gallery. And you could think, for example, of some old parish church, typical English parish church, where you go in and there's pillars everywhere, left, right and centre. Or lots of other buildings that have pillars for one reason or another. And you know what the pillars are there for, don't you? You know the pillars are there to hold up the building. And you know that if the pillars are sound, then the building is sound. But if there's anything unsound about the pillars, you probably don't want to hang around in that building too long, because if the pillars are dodgy, the whole edifice is shaky. And so Paul describes the church as the pillar and ground of the truth. It is the church's responsibility to hold up and to hold out the gospel, the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so if a church in a given community is healthy, the gospel in that community is healthy, and it can advance and it can progress. But if a church in a given community is unhealthy, then the gospel in that community is unhealthy and is shaky and wavering. In other words, what Paul is teaching us in that verse in 1 Timothy 3 is that the gospel's fortunes are very much linked in the way God works to the church's fortunes. And so we should desire the church's well-being, not simply for the sake of the church, but we should desire the church's well-being because we desire the gospel's success. and not simply for the sake of the gospel, but we should desire the church's well-being because we desire the gospel's success, because we desire the lost to be saved. And so we need healthy Christians comprising healthy churches who can hold up and hold out the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ so that His light may shine with ever-increasing brightness in our land and in our nation once again. So what we're not saying here is, that it's about the building. Obviously, Nehemiah's going to engage in a literal, physical building project, rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. We're not saying it's about buildings. We're thankful for our church buildings. We should take care of our church buildings. You have lovely premises here. But we know, don't we, that the building is not the church. The people who gather They are the church. So it's not about the building, but rather what we are saying is it's about the people. It's about our love for God and for others. It's about our devotion to God and to others, supremely, preeminently It's about our likeness to the Lord Jesus Christ. There were at least these three priorities, you see, for Jerusalem of old. It was to declare the glory of God. It was to strengthen the joy of His people. and it was to shine the light of His truth to the nations. And what was true of Jerusalem in the Old Testament under the Old Covenant is equally true of the church in the New Testament under the New Covenant. The church of Jesus Christ exists, among other things, for these three great reasons. that the glory of God may be displayed, that the joy of His people may be strengthened, and that the light of His gospel may be spread abroad. And we're learning tonight that all these things are vitally and intimately connected to the health of the church. Where the church of Christ is unhealthy, There is as a result a veiled glory, a weakened joy, and a dimmed light. But when the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is helped again anew and afresh to be more what it ought to be, the veil is removed from that glory. And that joy is strengthened. And the light shines more and more brightly, so that it is known that God is glorious, and that His people have every reason to rejoice, and that His gospel is the best news this world ever has, ever will, or ever could hear. And the story of Nehemiah is fascinating, as very quickly really, he and others get to work, he organizes a team, he leads that team, they set about rebuilding the walls, wherever the Lord is at work, the devil's at work too, so there are opponents and there's opposition, but very quickly, the walls are rebuilt and Jerusalem stands tall again. But we come back to where we began. The only reason the rest of the book of Nehemiah exists is because in chapter 1 and verse 4, Nehemiah, having heard what he heard, he wept, he mourned, he was moved to tears. And it was because he wept that he prayed. and because he wept that he acted, and because he was moved to tears that the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt." As we think about the state of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ in our place and in our time today, we cannot ignore the facts. We cannot ignore that Figuratively speaking, the gates are burned down, the walls are broken down. Very often God's people are in great affliction and reproach. There was a time when Christians were despised in our land. Very often it seems these days we're not even worth despising. We're just ignored as if we didn't exist. People don't care about God's glory, and they don't care about the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. What are we going to do? Are we going to be unaffected? Are we going to just brush it off? Are we going to batten down the hatches? Are we going to say, oh well, never mind? Or are we going to weep as Nehemiah wept, that we might pray as Nehemiah prayed, and act as Nehemiah acted, remembering that revival starts in the teardrops and believing that all by God's grace and all to his glory we can yet see better days. May the Lord help us and may the Lord bless us.