At this 20th Anniversary, we must be reminded that the church is not just a building but its people.  To build the church, we must focus on people.

God is building His church and He occasionally gives us 'wake-up' calls.  As Christians, we can be sleepy and begin to take things for granted.  God wants us to pay attention to the things of God and so he gives us 'wake-up' calls.

Example of a friend's testimony on 'wake-up' calls:
Eg. 1.  Father's salvation.  Too busy to do anything until discovered that his father had cancer.
Eg. 2.  Relationship with son.  Too busy until he realised that his son had to write a letter to him.

Nehemiah was at the time safe, secure and confortable as the King's cup-bearer.  He received such a 'wake-up' call in the form of news of the suffering of his people.  When things are in ruins, not going right, we need 'wake-up' calls from God.
    If you have been a Christian for 20 years and are fruitless,
    If you are the only Christian in your family and there is still no change,
    If you have relationship problems in your family or church,
    YOU need a wake-up call from God.

We must be ready and willing to respond when we receive God's 'wake-up' call.  It is dangerous to ignore this wake-up call.  Nehemiah responded with repentence.  Verses 6-7: he confessed personal, family and national sins.  There was a change of heart.  We cannot move forward if our hearts are hard.  We need to seek God for his grace and forgiveness and to ask for tender hearts.  When we hear God's 'wake-up' call, it is time to bring our hearts to God.

Nehemiah's repentence involved a change of heart.  When he heard about the troubles of his people, he STOPPED doing what he was doing.  He sat down and wept.  Perhaps we ought to do the same.  If life is fruitless, it is not the will of God.  God wants us to grow from strength to strength, glory to glory.  God's grace comes to us like the ocean waves: 'blessing after blessing'.  We need to be open, want to learn and ready to receive.

Nehemiah's repentence also involved turning back to the Word of God.  His solved his physical problem by looking for the spiritual root.  What caused the troubles:  sin, disobedience:  personal, family and community.  As a people of God, we sin if we take God's Word lightly.  We need to train our hearts for obedience.

The answer to ruins : problems in our lives, is repentence.  God has covenanted: verse 9 : "If you return and obey... I will gather..."  Nehemiah tells us that there is no problem which God cannot solve.  Whatever situation we are in, God is telling us, "No problem".  The problem Nehemiah had to face was the royal permission from the king.  In the light of Ezra 4, this seemed an impossibility.  The answer is God's grace and God's favour.  When God begins to answer, his grace and favour moves with us.  Our God is the God of the 'open doors'.  He caused the king to have a change of heart.

The way forward is often the way of repentence.  Repentence for sins, for hard heartedness.  But repentence also means reorientation.  We must be willing to get up from our comfort zone.  In involves not just our heart but the direction of our lives: the way we spend our time.  Nehemiah was prepared to leave the comfort of the palace and to move out of his comfort zone.  It is a change that involves RISK.  He couldn't do the job alone.  He had to depend on God to move others to do the work.

Let us seek God to do great things for us: personally, in the family, in the church...  Let us take a step in God's direction.  Is God giving you a 'wake-up' call today?  Let us repent, return and then request of God.
 
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