QUESTIONSHave you ever found yourself feeling powerless to change your situation? What did you do? Let’s look at Nehemiah 5:6-13 to get an idea of where Nehemiah found himself.

1) When confronted with the injustice against the people, Nehemiah responds initially with anger. There are two kinds of anger, righteous anger and sel�sh anger. Righteous anger comes from being concerned about what grieves God’s heart. Sel�sh anger generally comes from something that has inconvenienced, frustrated or embarrassed us. What kinds of things make us angry? Are they righteous or sel�sh? a. Answers will vary2) How can we be sure we are acting in righteous anger? a. Speak to God; listen to what He tells us. Abide with Him so that we give Him time to work on our hearts. b. We need to seek clarity, understanding, truth and accuracy so we don’t just react but help. Reaction usually occurs with little forethought. Help, in most instances, comes with premeditation. c. Ponder (I like this word, I use it a lot) on what we think we hear when we abide with Him in prayer. Speak to God concerning the problem and our motivation. Think about why this grieves us. d. We often do not see things clearly. We need to learn to step back and take a deep breath before we react. e. We must insure that we are not acting out of some old wound. Our actions must be pure, only focusing on what will make the situation better. f. Look deeply for unintended consequences. When we do not look at all many possible , we end up trying to do the right thing but it turns out wrong.3) After Nehemiah spoke to God and pondered what was to be done, he called a meeting of the nobles. How did he confront the nobles? What can we learn from Nehemiah’s approach? a. Nehemiah had done his homework. He was the representative, not only of the government but of God. He held the power to take the steps required so he laid out the facts and accused the nobles. b. With the wise rendering of the facts, he convicted the nobles. 1. He listed the things they were doing were wrong. 2. He challenged them to walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of the Gentiles. c. Nehemiah set out the terms to set the Nobles on the road to righteousness 1. He demanded they stop charging interest. 2. He instructed them to give the people back their property as well as the interest they had collected from them. d. Nehemiah convinced them to admit to the accusations and take an oath to do what they promised. e. He set out the consequences for not upholding the oath. 1. May God shake of their house and possessions anyone who does not keep this promise? So may such a person be shaken out and emptied.4) Even though we often think our anger is righteous, often it leads us in the wrong direction. Why? a. Most often, we use a knee jerk reaction. We jump in without any forethought. b. We do not stop to assess the situation. Not just he said she said, but what is really at the heart of the matter. What is the base cause of the situation? Pastor Flood mentioned the riots in Baltimore. I do not want to get political here, but stop to think, was the spark that caused the riot an excuse or was it the bottom line reason? Or, more likely, was it some of both? Is there injustice here? Of course there is. Was the dead young man innocent, did his action have any e�ect on his death? We do not know. But those answers would go a long way toward deciding what our action should be.

Our sermon this past weekend focused on the troubles Nehemiah found among the people. Their situation has left them feeling trapped, hopeless and powerless to change their situation. The old cliché, “when it rains, it pours,” covers the situation in Jerusalem quite well.

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c. We fail to stop and sit a while with the Father. We do not go to Him, as Nehemiah did and �nd out what He would have us do. d. We often do not ponder on what God has said, or what our actions should be in view of what our pleadings with God has brought us.5) We are often afraid of confrontation. We seek to avoid it. Why? a. We do not prepare for the confrontation as Nehemiah did. We go into it with angry or hurt feelings and blurt it all out, letting the chips fall where they may. b. We do not approach it logically. We do not present the facts or keep it from running o� track into territory that has nothing to do with the problem. c. We allow our emotions to get in the way. We are hurt and we want the perpetrator to hurt also. This does not lead to a sound negotiation. It leads to yelling and more hurtful confrontation and anger. d. Nehemiah had a concise list of the o�enses. He did not try to �x everything at once. He used his leverage. We all have some kind of leverage that will help to gain the desired end. e. He knew where he wanted to go and he guided the discussion that way. f. We generally do not prepare as Nehemiah did and it shows in the out of control discussions we have.6) Read Nehemiah 5:14-17, what changes does Nehemiah make so that his life becomes an example to others? a. Nehemiah nor his brothers ate the food allotted to the governor. b. Nehemiah and his men worked on the wall. He was not a watcher. c. They did not acquire any land. d. He invited the Jewish people to sit with him at his table along with his brothers. NEXT STEPS / CHALLENGEWhat can I do where I am?

What is going on around me?Is my neighborhood safe?Are kids hungry in my community or school?Are my neighbors struggling?Are my company’s employees or my fellow students being treated fairly?Are the policies in my community, work place or school getting the attention they need to be enacted or removed?Are people better or worse o� due to my success?

What is the situation and what is the in�uence or resource God has given me to be an agent of change that expels injustice and/or establishes justice?

DAILY BIBLE READINGS AND PRAYER TIMERead the following scriptures this week:Day 1: Isaiah 5:7-10Day 2: Leviticus 25:35-43Day 3: Deuteronomy 15Day 4: Isaiah 58; particularly verses 6&7Day 5: Micah 8:8Day 6: James 1:19-21Day 7: 1 Samuel 8:6-22

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