Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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The Work Continues
Nehemiah has had a burden chapter 1
Nehemiah has prayed for direction and action
Nehemiah has confronted the king
Nehemiah has move to Jerusalem
Nehemiah has with stood criticism
Nehemiah has organized a building program chapter 3
Nehemiah has with stood criticism
It is unrelenting!
The opposition just does not give up ....
I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career.
I’ve lost almost 300 games.
26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed.
I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life.
And that is why I succeed.
—Michael Jordan
I The Progress
vs 6 - the people had a heart to work....
4:6.
After praying, Nehemiah and the Jews continued with the work.
Some Christians pray and then wait for things to happen, but not Nehemiah!
As in all his efforts, he blended the divine perspective with the human.
He faced Sanballat’s opposition with both prayer and hard work.
Once he committed the problem to the Lord, he trusted God to help them achieve their goal.
And while praying and trusting, they rebuilt the wall to half its height.
At this juncture their task was half completed.
Sanballat and Tobiah’s efforts at demoralizing the Jews failed.
The Jews rose above their enemies’ attempts at discouragement.
Because the people worked so diligently and enthusiastically (with all their heart), they were able to complete half the job in a surprisingly short period of time.
Nehemiah wrote later (6:15) that the entire task was completed in 52 days (about eight weeks of 6 days each), so possibly this halfway point took about four weeks.[1]
The progress may not seem obvious to us but it was toward the enemies of God ....
II The Prayer
They just kept going
Just kept pushing on .....
College - finish keep pushing
They also set up watch
They set up a round the clock guard.....,
Watch and pray
“Watch and pray.”
The word translated “watch” means “to have the alertness of a guard at night.”
A night watchman must be even more vigilant than a daytime guard.
In the daytime, danger can often be spotted from a distance.
But in the night everything is different.
A night watchman must use senses other than sight to detect danger.
He is often alone in the darkness and without the defenses he would otherwise employ.
There may be no indications of enemy attack until it happens, so he must be hyper-vigilant, suspecting it at any moment.
That is the type of watching Jesus spoke about.
III The Problem
vs 10 - However, the problem was not automatically solved.
In fact the builders faced some new problems.
They were physically and psychologically exhausted and the work seemed endless (v.
10).
Half way done .....
The strength of the burden bearer is drooping.
The rubbish heap so vast; And we are unable by ourselves To rebuild the wall.[1]
Furthermore they faced the threat of a secret attack (v.
11) which Nehemiah knew was not idle talk (v.12
We are surrounded
IV The Plan
vs 13 Nehemiah established a new strategy to meet the threat of enemy infiltration.
He positioned some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall with swords, spears, and bows.
This must have been a difficult decision for Nehemiah.
To place whole families together—including women and children—put tremendous pressure on fathers particularly.
In case of outright attack, they would have no choice but to stay and fight for and with their family members.
But Nehemiah knew it was the only decision he could make if they were to survive and succeed in rebuilding the walls.
vs 14 - Obviously fear gripped these people.
So Nehemiah gathered them together and charged them to face the situation courageously (don’t be afraid) and to remember the great and awesome Lord (cf.
1:5) who was on their side, and to fight to save their families.
When their enemies heard that their plot had been discovered, they did not attack and the people resumed their construction work.[1]
vs 15 - the work kept on going and was successful ....
read vs 16 ------
What will it take for you to quit?
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