Nehemiah was 'disposable', a person that if something happened to him-who cares, we
can get another. His job in captivity was to taste the King's wine; he was a cupbearer. His role
was to taste the King's drink and make sure it wasn't poisoned. The test was simple, he tasted
it and if he didn't die then the King could drink it.
   Many probably considered Nehemiah to be blessed. He drank of the best, he attended
the King's table, he dressed nicely (rags were unacceptable in the King's presence), and it
looked like he had it made. lt was true to a point. The point was his next drink could be his
last. ln those days it was a very tenuous and dangerous job. I have heard that soldiers in WW2
who carried flame-throwers had a very short life expectancy--that kind of dangerous. lf
someone had to die, don't let it be the King-let it be someone that doesn't count, you know,
Nehemiah.
   But, Nehemiah was not just a cupbearer, he was a child of God, an Israelite, living in
exile, but all the while his heart was else-where--home (Jerusalem, a place he never thought he
would see in his lifetime).
   One day one of his brothers returned with news from 'home', and it wasn't good. They
said to him, 'The remnant in the province who survived the exile, are in great trouble and
disgrace. Jerusalem's wall has been broken down, and its gates have been burned.'
Nehemiah immediately replied, "Well, that's too bad, but I am just a cupbearer, I can't
do anything about it." (Oops, wrong version)
   What Nehemiah DID say and do was this, "l sat down and wept. I mourned for a
number of days, fasting and praying before the God of the heavens. I said (read the prayer in
Nehemiah 1:5-11). ln otherwards, he responded. He acted like a child of the True King. He
wept, he prayed, he fasted, He called on God, and waited for the opportunity to 'Be The
Difference".
   ln that moment Nehemiah ceased to be 'disposable' and determined to be vital, to
matter, to count, to be the difference. He didn't have a title, he wasn't a priest or prophet, but
he knew what it meant to serve at a King's table. ln that moment, he determined to serve His
God. How? He prayed, wept, and fasted, and showed up to do his job-cup-bearing.
   When Nehemiah showed up for work his countenance had changed. The king asked of
him what was wrong, giving Nehemiah the opportunity to intercede for his brothers and
homeland, and more. Nehemiah's request was this, "Send me that I can rebuild Jerusalem",
and oh yeah, "could you also provide all that I need?" Artaxerxes did. Nehemiah reminds us:
EVERY MEMBER COUNTS. EVERY MEMBER SERVES. EVERY MEMBER PRAYS. & EVERY MEMBER GIVES. 
                                             And every member is blessed and Loved
                                                        Bro Tom & Sue