Day 6/15 – Promotion

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Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man by Walter A Henrichsen (“Walt”)
Promotion
Day One Hundred Sixty-six

“For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.” Psalm 75:6-7

As a young man I worked in the Billy Graham office during a crusade. One day the office manager invited me out for lunch and quoted this verse to me, explaining that he sensed it was an area of weakness in my life. My conscience condemned me, for I knew he was correct. I was competing with others for an enhanced position in the crusade.

Peter exhorts, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that in due time he may exalt you.”240 You must decide two things concerning this matter: First, do you believe that promotion comes from God rather than man? If you do, then you know that God puts those in authority to whom you are obligated to submit. To resist them is to resist God. Second, do you acknowledge that if promotion comes from God, then you can do nothing to manipulate, politic, or any other expression of self-promotion, to acquire the advancement you desire? If God wants you in the position, He will place you there. If He does not want you to have it, not only is there nothing you can do to obtain it, you are best served by not wanting to change His mind even if you could. As the apostle Peter counsels, the path to exaltation is humility. Know, however, that humbling yourself before God does not guarantee the promotion; He may even demote you. Don’t be tempted to try to manipulate God. He may wait until you are in heaven before fulfilling His promise.

240 I Peter 5:6

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Nehemiah 1-3 Acts 2:1-21 (New King James Version)

Nehemiah 1-3
Nehemiah Prays for His People
1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah.
It came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan[a] the [b]citadel, 2 that Hanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. 3 And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”
4 So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
5 And I said: “I pray, Lord God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love [c]You and observe [d]Your commandments, 6 please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father’s house and I have sinned. 7 We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. 8 Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you [e]are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations; 9 but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.’ 10 Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand. 11 O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”
For I was the king’s cupbearer.
Nehemiah Sent to Judah
2 And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King [f]Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before. 2 Therefore the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.”
So I became [g]dreadfully afraid, 3 and said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?”
4 Then the king said to me, “What do you request?”
So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.”
6 Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside him), “How long will your journey be? And when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.
7 Furthermore I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of the region beyond [h]the River, that they must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah, 8 and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the [i]citadel which pertains to the [j]temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy.” And the king granted them to me according to the good hand of my God upon me.
9 Then I went to the governors in the region beyond the River, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me. 10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite [k]official heard of it, they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel.
Nehemiah Views the Wall of Jerusalem
11 So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days. 12 Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me; I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem; nor was there any animal with me, except the one on which I rode. 13 And I went out by night through the Valley Gate to the Serpent Well and the [l]Refuse Gate, and [m]viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were burned with fire. 14 Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to pass. 15 So I went up in the night by the valley,[n] and [o]viewed the wall; then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. 16 And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I had done; I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, or the others who did the work.
17 Then I said to them, “You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies [p]waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.” 18 And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me.
So they said, “Let us rise up and build.” Then they set[q] their hands to this good work.
19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the king?”
20 So I answered them, and said to them, “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem.”
Rebuilding the Wall
3 Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests and built the Sheep Gate; they consecrated it and hung its doors. They built as far as the Tower of [r]the Hundred, and consecrated it, then as far as the Tower of Hananel. 2 [s]Next to Eliashib the men of Jericho built. And next to them Zaccur the son of Imri built.
3 Also the sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate; they laid its beams and hung its doors with its bolts and bars. 4 And next to them Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of [t]Koz, made repairs. Next to them Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabel, made repairs. Next to them Zadok the son of Baana made repairs. 5 Next to them the Tekoites made repairs; but their nobles did not put their [u]shoulders to the work of their Lord.
6 Moreover Jehoiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired the Old Gate; they laid its beams and hung its doors, with its bolts and bars. 7 And next to them Melatiah the Gibeonite, Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and Mizpah, repaired the residence[v] of the governor of the region [w]beyond the River. 8 Next to him Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs. Also next to him Hananiah, [x]one of the perfumers, made repairs; and they [y]fortified Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall. 9 And next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, leader of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs. 10 Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph made repairs in front of his house. And next to him Hattush the son of Hashabniah made repairs.
11 Malchijah the son of Harim and Hashub the son of Pahath-Moab repaired another section, as well as the Tower of the Ovens. 12 And next to him was Shallum the son of Hallohesh, leader of half the district of Jerusalem; he and his daughters made repairs.
13 Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They built it, hung its doors with its bolts and bars, and repaired a thousand cubits of the wall as far as the Refuse Gate.
14 Malchijah the son of Rechab, leader of the district of Beth Haccerem, repaired the Refuse Gate; he built it and hung its doors with its bolts and bars.
15 Shallun the son of Col-Hozeh, leader of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate; he built it, covered it, hung its doors with its bolts and bars, and repaired the wall of the Pool of Shelah[z] by the King’s Garden, as far as the stairs that go down from the City of David. 16 After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, leader of half the district of Beth Zur, made repairs as far as the place in front of the [aa]tombs of David, to the man-made pool, and as far as the House of the Mighty.
17 After him the Levites, under Rehum the son of Bani, made repairs. Next to him Hashabiah, leader of half the district of Keilah, made repairs for his district. 18 After him their brethren, under [ab]Bavai the son of Henadad, leader of the other half of the district of Keilah, made repairs. 19 And next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, the leader of Mizpah, repaired another section in front of the Ascent to the Armory at the buttress.[ac] 20 After him Baruch the son of [ad]Zabbai carefully repaired the other section, from the [ae]buttress to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest. 21 After him Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of [af]Koz, repaired another section, from the door of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house of Eliashib.
22 And after him the priests, the men of the plain, made repairs. 23 After him Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs opposite their house. After them Azariah the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, made repairs by his house. 24 After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah to the [ag]buttress, even as far as the corner. 25 Palal the son of Uzai made repairs opposite the [ah]buttress, and on the tower which projects from the king’s upper house that was by the court of the prison. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh made repairs.
26 Moreover the Nethinim who dwelt in Ophel made repairs as far as the place in front of the Water Gate toward the east, and on the projecting tower. 27 After them the Tekoites repaired another section, next to the great projecting tower, and as far as the wall of Ophel.
28 Beyond the Horse Gate the priests made repairs, each in front of his own house. 29 After them Zadok the son of Immer made repairs in front of his own house. After him Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, made repairs. 30 After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. After him Meshullam the son of Berechiah made repairs in front of his [ai]dwelling. 31 After him Malchijah, [aj]one of the goldsmiths, made repairs as far as the house of the Nethinim and of the merchants, in front of the [ak]Miphkad Gate, and as far as the upper room at the corner. 32 And between the upper room at the corner, as far as the Sheep Gate, the goldsmiths and the merchants made repairs.
Footnotes:
• Nehemiah 1:1 Or Susa
• Nehemiah 1:1 Or fortified palace, and so elsewhere in the book
• Nehemiah 1:5 Lit. Him
• Nehemiah 1:5 Lit. His
• Nehemiah 1:8 act treacherously
• Nehemiah 2:1 Artaxerxes Longimanus
• Nehemiah 2:2 Lit. very much
• Nehemiah 2:7 The Euphrates
• Nehemiah 2:8 palace
• Nehemiah 2:8 Lit. house
• Nehemiah 2:10 Lit. servant
• Nehemiah 2:13 Dung
• Nehemiah 2:13 examined
• Nehemiah 2:15 torrent valley, wadi
• Nehemiah 2:15 examined
• Nehemiah 2:17 desolate
• Nehemiah 2:18 Lit. strengthened
• Nehemiah 3:1 Heb. Hammeah
• Nehemiah 3:2 Lit. On his hand
• Nehemiah 3:4 Or Hakkoz
• Nehemiah 3:5 Lit. necks
• Nehemiah 3:7 Lit. throne
• Nehemiah 3:7 West of the Euphrates
• Nehemiah 3:8 Lit. the son
• Nehemiah 3:8 restored
• Nehemiah 3:15 Or Shiloah
• Nehemiah 3:16 LXX, Syr., Vg. tomb
• Nehemiah 3:18 So with MT, Vg.; some Heb. mss., LXX, Syr. Binnui (cf. v. 24)
• Nehemiah 3:19 Lit. turning
• Nehemiah 3:20 A few Heb. mss., Syr., Vg. Zaccai
• Nehemiah 3:20 Lit. turning
• Nehemiah 3:21 Or Hakkoz
• Nehemiah 3:24 Lit. turning
• Nehemiah 3:25 Lit. turning
• Nehemiah 3:30 Lit. room
• Nehemiah 3:31 Lit. a son of the goldsmiths
• Nehemiah 3:31 Lit. Inspection or Recruiting

Acts 2:1-21
Coming of the Holy Spirit
2 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all [a]with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them [b]divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
The Crowd’s Response
5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. 7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each in our own [c]language in which we were born? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and [d]Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” 12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?”
13 Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.”
Peter’s Sermon
14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only [e]the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.
18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
And they shall prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in heaven above
And signs in the earth beneath:
Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
20 The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
21 And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Shall be saved.’
Footnotes:
• Acts 2:1 NU together
• Acts 2:3 Or tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each
• Acts 2:8 dialect
• Acts 2:11 Arabians
• Acts 2:15 9 a.m.