God's Work, God's Way
The New Exodus • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 2 viewsWe will not reach a day, this side of glory, when we have done all there is to do. We see in Nehemiah 6–7 that though they finished the wall, there was more work to do.
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INTRODUCTION
The Work that God has Called us To is God’s Work
Other Pastors directed people who were considering on planting a Church in Killeen to come talk to pastor Mark first.
If they are doing God’s work it can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life.
f it is not God’s work it will be one of the most trying and frustrating times of your life.
Doing God’s work is not always the easiest road to travel. God’s work sometimes requires more than we are willing to give.
The reason many people never find joy in their work here on this earth is that they see it as man’s work and not God’s.
Man’s work is looking for the next better thing, and wanting pats on the back and the right kind of affirmation. God’s work is desiring to bring glory to God even if no one notices your work, and very few affirmations come your way.
DO YOU HAVE SWEAT EQUITY IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD?
Do you see your work as God's work? If not, why not?
The Call to Endure
We read through nearly every page of scripture about the perseverance and endurance of God’s people.
We remember Jesus words in John 6:33 that Jesus reminds us that in him we may have peace, but in the world you will have tribulation. But, take heart; I have overcome the world.
After Paul finished writing possibly one of the greatest letters in scripture to the church at Rome. You would have though he could sit back and bask in the glow of such an achievement.
It was soon after that there was a plot on Paul’s life and he had to flee the city. Paul did the next thing. He persevered.
Shortly after that he indicated that he did not count his life as of any value but sought only to finish the race and course that God has called him to finish. Consider Paul’s words toward the end of his life.
2 Timothy 4:6 “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have Kept the faith.....
We will not reach a day this side of the kingdom of God where we are finished with the work that God has called us to do.
We will now see in Nehemiah 6-7 that though the wall is now finished, there will always be more work to do.
Perseverance is the ability to look at our situation, keep our hand to the plow and finish work that He has called us to finish.
22 and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
1 Now when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it (although up to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates), 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of Ono.” But they intended to do me harm. 3 And I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?”
Big Idea: God’s work, done God’s way gets the job done!
Big Idea: God’s work, done God’s way gets the job done!
Our Work is never done. We should always be about the next thing that God has called us to complete.
Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem see a closing window of opportunity. The wall is getting close to being completed.
Once the walls are rebuilt and the gates are put in place, the only way to regain control of the city might be through a siege or a direct attack.
1. What Makes our Work Great?
1. What Makes our Work Great?
THE GENESIS EFFECT
We know that from the very beginning of creation almost as the breath that brought man to life was given, the next breath in Genesis 2:15, he put man into the garden to work.
In Ephesians 2:8-9 we read about the grace of that saves and in the next breath Paul writes, “for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, that God prepared before hand that we should walk in them.”
Your Work Matters
(Every Man a Warrior)
Positive Realities
Eccl. - 2:24 There is nothing better then to find enjoyment in our work.
Eccl. - 3:13 “Enjoy our work.”
Eccl. - 9:10 “Take pride in your work, do it with all your might.”
Negative Realities
Eccl. - 2:17-19 “Work is unsatisfying because of our vanity.”
Eccl. - 4:4 “When our work comes from envy of our neighbor.”
Eccl. - 4:8 “When we push all relationships aside for wealth and are still never satisfied.”
Eccl. - 5:15 “Nothing to show for all your work because you cannot take it with you.”
Notice: Sanballat and Tobiah, and Gesham are needling Nehemiah trying to distract him from work that God has called him to complete.
Nehemiah does not reply in an arrogant way but states the fact that work God has called him to complete is great work.
Nehemiah understood how great the work was that God had called him to. It was so significant that he had not time for petty distractions.
Compare Nehemiah’s job now and the one he had back in Persia,
He now was joined by maybe one to three thousand Jews living in the city at this point.
Notice: the work that Nehemiah was doing was not great because the world thought it was great and significant. The world would have called what he was doing back in Persia far more significant and greater a work. The world would have told him that he left a great thing for something far less significant. Who cared if the walls of Jerusalem were built? What difference did it make.
*Great Work is God's Work.
*Great Work is God's Work.
Work was great because God’s name was at stake in Jerusalem. The walls were going to protect God’s people.
What work are you doing? Would you describe your Work as Great?
If you are doing what God has called you to do in the task of making disciples, you are not doing things that the world thinks of as significant
You are not even doing something that can be measured like building walls - but God’s name is at stake in your life now just as it was at stake in what Nehemiah was doing.
A Few Good Men
“Jack Nicholson plays a hard nosed no nonsense Col. Nathan R. Jessep.”
“You Want me on that wall, you need me on that wall.”
Learning when to say No
Nehemiah did not decline the request because he somehow felt the work could not be completed without him there.
When do we say no to certain things in order to say yes to God things.
Next to the word “mine” what is the first words our kids hear coming our of our mouths constantly? You got it the word “No.”
Principle we need to learn how and when to say No.
Nehemiah was living out God’s glory by trusting that the work he had called him to do was far more important than some meeting with these goofballs who were trying to throw what Nehemiah was doing off course.
If you are trusting God, by walking in His ways, and thank God for what He gives, you are doing great work.
So, whether you are a school teacher, technician, baby nose wiper, or whatever, if you are fulfilling God’s purpose for your life you are doing God's work.
We show we Trust Him by having a...
Dedication to God’s Name.
Dedication to God’s Promises.
Dedication to God’s People
The Persistence of the Enemy is Constant
The enemy will try to draw us away and get us to think that what they are doing is far more significant than what God has currently called you to do.
Are there constant distractions in your life that distract you from what God has called you to do?
If you are a student, God has called you to honor Him in your academic studies. If you are an employee God has called you to honor Him in whatever vocation you are currently doing. If you are a spouse God has called you to honor Him in your marriage. If you are single, God has called you to honor Him in your singleness. If you are a child, God has called you to honor Him by obeying and honoring your parents.
The Enemy Uses Distractions to keep you from the Great Work
Maybe you need to respond like this: “I am doing great work and cannot come down today. Why should work cease while I leave it to go down to you?
5 In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand. 6 In it was written, “It is reported among the nations, and Geshem also says it, that you and the Jews intend to rebel; that is why you are building the wall. And according to these reports you wish to become their king. 7 And you have also set up prophets to proclaim concerning you in Jerusalem, ‘There is a king in Judah.’ And now the king will hear of these reports. So now come and let us take counsel together.” 8 Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.” 9 For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands.
Nehemiah has now been called down four times and rejected the offer four times.
The Fifth challenge now ups the ante a bit, this time the letter is not a letter intended for Nehemiah alone. Sanballat intended for the letter to be read to the public. This letter issued a challenge by spreading a false rumor, as we see in verses 6-7
Now by putting a rumor in this open letter they try to bully and intimidate Nehemiah in order to manipulate the situation in their favor.
The rumors offered a believable alternative to why Nehemiah had returned and sought to rebuild the wall. The rumors had the appearance of truth.
Should we leave the work we are doing to go and defend ourselves against rumors?
*Great Work is God’s Truth
*Great Work is God’s Truth
Note: notice that in verse 5 they are now bringing an open letter of false accusations against Nehemiah that was not even signed.
The first Church I served at we started getting notes put into the offering plate to the pastors that were anonymous.
My pastor Chris Craig made it known that we would not even entertain messages that someone did not have the you know what to put their name on it.
Most of the time the notes were super critical and much of the time spreading false things against the leadership. You know the kind of people who are always negative.
NOTE: Those who have put their hand to the plow never look back are far and few between.
Those on the side of truth should respond as Nehemiah responded.
Keep doing what you are called to do. Nehemiah did not revise his agenda, stop work on the wall, or stop talking about God’s promises because wrong-headed people with a perverted view of the world were using what he said and did against him.
The people of God are sometimes tempted to tone down, soften, or back away. We can be tempted to speak softly, if at all.
That is not how Nehemiah responded to this crisis. Being persistent in truth will always shine light on falsehood and deceits.
God’s enemies will always attempt to discourage God’s people. So when the enemy of God comes knocking on the door of your life with a distortion of reality, don’t react too quickly.
Our call is not to argue with people who come against us or try to defend outlandish accusations. Our call is to proclaim the life saving message of the gospel of Jesus Christ till the day we die and they put us in the ground.
*Great Work Stands Firm and Prays.
*Great Work Stands Firm and Prays.
The Formula for How to Stand Firm
We stand firm by rejecting the enemies accusations.
We stand firm by persisting in what God has called us to do.
We stand firm by praying for strengthened hands.
10 Now when I went into the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his home, he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple. Let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. They are coming to kill you by night.” 11 But I said, “Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live? I will not go in.” 12 And I understood and saw that God had not sent him, but he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me. 14 Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid.
The Call to Sin against God
Shemaiah is regarded in the community as being able to declare the will of God.
Now he tells Nehemiah that there is a threat against his life and he should take refuge in the temple.
How will Nehemiah respond to this man who has a reputation as a prophet? Look at Nehemiah’s response. How did Nehemiah know this prophet was not sent by God?
Notice that Shemaiah wanted Nehemiah to come to him instead of his going to Nehemiah; for such an important visitor would be noticed, and his visit construed as a search for guidance and a sign of uncertainty.
The very fact that Shemaiah would propose that they meet in the Temple shows that his disability, if it existed at all, was only temporary, hardly a sufficient reason to bring Nehemiah to his house. Shemaiah then dressed up his proposal a bit by throwing the fear of someone coming to kill Nehemiah.
The Proper Humility Shown
Throughout the whole process of building the wall Nehemiah has shown great humility before God.
The quality of proper humility speaks out here in a big way.
“And what man such as I could go into the temple and live.” Nehemiah was no priest, and had no right of access to the temple itself. Nehemiah had he tried to save himself in such a way, would have lost, possibly, his life, certainly his honor; and would have jeopardized the very cause he had at heart.
*Great Work does the Right thing.
*Great Work does the Right thing.
The right decision had been made swiftly, on principles that were stronger than the apparent situation and fear of death.
It was an easy call for Nehemiah knowing that a priest would never put someones life at risk by asking them to meet in the inner place of the temple where only the high priest would go once a year.
Someone who truly speaks for God will never call you to do something that goes against the authority of the word of God.
To be humble is to be face down in the dirt, submitting to the authority of another without personal pride. The Bible describes true humility as the absence of self.
WHAT BIBLICAL HUMILITY IS NOT:
1. Insecurity
Nehemiah was not in any way insecure. People often mistake personal insecurity for biblical humility. According to the Bible, it is no sin to know who you are and what you are called to.
1 Cor. 15:10 “But by the grace of God I am what I am....” Paul knew who he was and when he had to, he could assert his authority.
2. Indecisiveness
Nehemiah was not in any way indecisive. Jesus called men of character and conviction. He pointed to John, the Baptist as a prime example. “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? Had a reed shaken by the wind?
3. Inactivity
Nehemiah certainly was not a man of inactivity. Remember the Apostle Paul lived his life and executed his ministry almost like a man possessed.
He said “ I worked harder than any of them...”
1 Cor. 15:10. “I press on toward the goal for the prize...”
1 Cor. 15:10.
WHAT BIBLICAL HUMILITY IS:
1. Utter Dependence on God’s Mercy.
Story of the Pharisee and tax collector.
Luke 18:10-14
“Luke writes of the Pharisee and the tax collector that went up to the temple to pray” The Pharisee boasting that he was not like all these other men even the tax collector, the tax collector stood far off and could not even lift his head to heaven, he cried out to God, “Have mercy on me a sinner.”
People who are poor in spirit are aware of their dependence on God. Nehemiah was painfully aware of who God is and who he is, so, if he had shown disregard for God’s holy temple, what would that say about his true humility.
2. Unconcern for power, prestige, and position
To be humble in a biblical sense is to disregard all concern for rank or privilege and to live one’s life in service to the least of these.
Jesus gave the perfect example of this “he became nothing by dying on the cross for our sins.” To live in service of the king is to be the least of his disciples.
3. Unquestioning Acceptance of God’s Word
Jesus is the perfect example of biblical humility, “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of man, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (
Philippians 2:6-8)
Note: There is no biblical humility that does not include absolute, unquestionable obedience to the Word of God.
Isaiah 66:2 ESV
2 All these things my hand has made,
and so all these things came to be,
declares the Lord.
But this is the one to whom I will look:
he who is humble and contrite in spirit
and trembles at my word.
15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. 17 Moreover, in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them. 18 For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah: and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah as his wife. 19 Also they spoke of his good deeds in my presence and reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to make me afraid.
2. When do we expect God to do Great Things?
2. When do we expect God to do Great Things?
They started work in August and finished it in October. Fifty-two days passed, and in that time they rebuilt the wall. We should never underestimate what we can accomplish if God has called us to do work.
God uses the seemingly ordinary to do Great Things!
*Great Work Frustrates the Plans of our Enemies
*Great Work Frustrates the Plans of our Enemies
God had put in Nehemiah’s heart to do this for Jerusalem, and he told the people in 2:20 that the God of heaven would make them prosper.
You should want to be the kind of people who can only get things done because God is helping you?
You should not want to be people who do things that can be explained away by ordinary human effort.
You want people looking at your church and your life and saying that could only be God.
Only God could do that......When people see the church they should see a group of people from all different walks of life with different likes and dislikes, messed up, different people and wonder how can we all live in such love and harmony for one another.
Cultural Problem: The People of God try to do God’s work their way.
David and Goliath
(God used the seemingly ordinary to do the extraordinary, so we could say God did that).
Elijah and the Prophets of Bale (1 Kings 18, Sacrifice, whose God can make their sacrifice burn, Elijah against the 450.)
There was nothing left to explain the unexplainable but God.
Only God can convince people that the Bible is true in the face of the lies and myths of the culture. Only God can make sinners love one another.
We could revile in all of the victory languages and miss that there is more work to be done. It is on to the next thing that God has called us to tackle.
LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD WORKERS
Nehemiah now needed to establish who the Jews were so he could know who would be repopulating the city.
This is the first set of returnees, the same group of people that we read about back in Ezra 2.
So what Nehemiah is doing is going back to the starting point, that first set of returnees, and this list in Nehemiah 7 ends the same way that Ezra 2 did. We read in Nehemiah 7:73,“All Israel settled in their towns
Nehemiah wants to know who He can count on. In Church life today we need to know who is on the team. Who can we count on to guard the gate, to be the gatekeepers.
You Should want to be among the Workers
*Church has workers and consumers.
*Nehemiah was looking for gate keepers, those who could be trusted to protect the flock from the enemy, these had to be people who were ready to work.
CONCLUSION
Purpose of the Church Today?
What are we doing today as a Church?
We are calling people out of the world to be grafted into the kingdom of God. Calling people to join the true people of God by repenting of your sins and trusting in Jesus Christ alone to save you. In Nehemiah’s day you would have to separate yourselves from all other nations and become a Jew.
Today you must separate yourselves from the world and become a part of the vine Jesus speaks of in John 15, Jesus is the true vine and you are the branches.
If you want to be a part of the people of God today you must recognize that God is your creator, He is holy, and you have transgressed against Him.
For that you deserve to pay the penalty for your sin with your life. The good news is because of what Jesus did at the cross - and his resurrection from the dead - if you will just believe - and turn from your sins into the life giving hands of Christ you will be saved.
Don’t let the enemy distract you from the Great Work you have all been called to do in Christ Jesus.
Turn from your sin. Turn from the alternative explanations of the world and of your problems. Believe the Bible, and join us in this great cause, this great work that is better and bigger than building a wall around a city that lies in ruins.
This is a great work: building up the body of Christ until everyone attains the full stature of the image of the Lord Jesus Himself.
12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
That is what we are here for to be conformed to the image of Christ Himself; join us in this Great work He has Planned.
Where is the wall that God has called you to build today?
God’s work, done God’s way will always get the job done on time.