1. Frontier Life: Not Your Traditional Thanksgiving Fare
Nehemiah 2:10-20

3. Have you ever experienced a Thanksgiving where you were less than thankful?
Can God really expect thankfulness from us in the face of the disasters we sometimes face in life?
In a reaction to our cultural Christianity, we feign thankfulness, offering disingenuous thanks to God.
Today, we’ll explore Nehemiah 2:10-20 along with the question of how do we give thanks when the walls are falling down all around us.

4. Nehemiah 2:10-20
“When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites. I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days.  I set out during the night with a few others. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on.” 

5. “By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire.  Then I moved on toward the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was not enough room for my mount to get through; so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and re-entered through the Valley Gate. The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work.”

6. “Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.”  I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me. They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work. But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. “What is this you are doing?” they asked. “Are you rebelling against the king?” I answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.”

7. Shortly after Nehemiah requested permission to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, he made the trek from Susa to Jerusalem, where he decided to survey the damage to the walls.
Do you notice anything strange about the way in which Nehemiah surveys the walls?
He does so alone and at night! Why?
There are probably two reasons why Nehemiah inspects the walls at night:
To not prematurely tip off his opposition to the scope or plan for the rebuilding project.
To better formulate a plan for the building project before revealing it to his “workers”.

8. Nehemiah next began his recruitment of workers by explaining to the gathered Israelites what God had already been doing in their circumstance.
Nehemiah’s words are the overflow of a thankful heart for the both the historical and present work of God in the lives of His people.
Recall the three areas of awareness key to understanding God’s call upon one’s life: awareness of who God is and His promises, awareness of the world “out there” and a sober self-awareness.
These three areas of awareness not only help us understand our call, but they help us to remain firmly committed to it.

9. Just as the sin and disobedience of the people of Israel ultimately resulted in the broken walls and burned out gates of the city of Jerusalem, so too does our sin and disobedience result in broken walls in our lives.
Our text today then urges us to:
become aware of our own spiritual condition and the spiritual condition of the world around us
become ever more increasingly aware of who God is and the promises He has made to us as His people.

10. “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.” (Isaiah 58:9-12)
When all appeared bleak and hopeless, Nehemiah held firmly to the promises of God and gave thanks for what He was confident would eventually occur.

11. We overflow with thankfulness when our lives are rooted in Jesus, when we are convinced of His nature and His promises.
What do we do when the destruction seems too much, when the walls seem irreparable, when thanksgiving seems improbable?
The Importance of Prayer
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

12. Though we see the broken walls around us, may we be a people who have heard the good news of Jesus Christ, experienced the healing and freedom He promises and may we be those who rebuild ancient ruins and restore devastated cities by the power of the Spirit, doing so with thankful hearts.