Rise Up and Build! Part 1
NEHEMIAH: How God Uses the Ordinary to Revitalize the Kingdom! • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 33:33
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Welcome
Welcome
Good Morning! I’m Pastor Wayne and I’d like to welcome you all to the gathering of Ephesus Baptist Church.
Why did you choose to gather today? We believe we are a called people! Called to worship and exalt our God among the nations in order that His glory may be spread over all the earth!
If you are visiting with us this morning, we want you to know that ...
We are all one family of faith: “giving our all to love God, love others, proclaim Jesus, and make disciples in our generation.”
We have a connect card in the pew in front of you. I invite you to take one and fill it out! If you have prayer needs, you can let us know about those as well.
I promise, our prayer team will lift you up soon. You can place those cards in the offering plate when it comes around.
Scripture Memory
Scripture Memory
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Opening Scripture Reading
Opening Scripture Reading
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.
34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Introduction
Introduction
On May 10, 1940, Winston Churchill was elected Prime Minister of England. It would be his responsibility to unite his divided country in the face of the fury of the Third Reich and the wrath of Adolph Hitler.
Listen to a few words from a couple of his speeches within his first couple of months on the job.
Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat.
May 13, 1940.
I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined this government: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”
We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I can say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy.
You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.
Let that be realized; no survival for the British Empire, no survival for all that the British Empire has stood for, no survival for the urge and impulse of the ages, that mankind will move forward towards its goal.
But I take up my task with buoyancy and hope. I feel sure that our cause will not be suffered to fail among men. At this time I feel entitled to claim the aid of all, and I say, “come then, let us go forward together with our united strength.”
Less than a month later after some devastating news concerning their Ally, France, Churchill declared.
We Shall Fight on the Beaches
June 4th, 1940
“Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail.
We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the Old.
Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour.’ ”
As we pick back up in our study on Nehemiah titled,
“NEHEMIAH: How God Uses the Ordinary to Revitalize the Kingdom!”;
we find Nehemiah approaching his finest hour as he courageously seeks to glorify God!
Nehemiah’s battle has been invisible up to this point. A few months ago we watched as has agonized with God for four months over the desolation of the walls of Jerusalem and the resulting suffering and reproach that brought.
Then, we witnessed a miracle as the king’s heart turned in Nehemiah’s favor according to the will of God. The King appointed Nehemiah to be the governor in charge of the rebuilding of Jerusalem with his full support and backing.
1 The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.
Now, however, the battle becomes visible—as real as German U-boats and Luftwaffe Fighter Planes.
It is a war that will no longer be waged in Nehemiah’s prayer closet. No, now it will be waged out in the open where everyone can see and hear.
Nehemiah’s message is similar to Churchill’s. He will refuse to surrender to the enemy; he will promise his people final victory … and in the days ahead, he will also ask from them their blood, toil, tears and sweat.
Like Churchill, Nehemiah will say, “come then, let us go forward together with our united strength. Let us rise up and build.”
Transition Point
Today, we are going to start working our way through a truly exceptional passage of God’s inspired Word.
I want us to have time to digest what God is teaching us through Nehemiah, so we will not finish this passage today.
Rather, we will continue our examination of it over the next few weeks. There is a lot of gold to mine in this passage we are going to take our time as we marinate in this gem of Scripture.
With that in mind, please join me in standing as we honor of the reading of God’s Sufficient and True Word.
9 Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen.
10 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.
11 So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days.
12 Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode.
13 I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire.
14 Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass.
15 Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall, and 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 was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work.
17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.”
18 And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.
19 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”
20 Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.”
As we study chapter 2, we are going to discover several principles and truths that will be true in the building up of your lives.
You have a family to build, and these principles will be true in the building of your family. We have a church to build, and these principles will be true in the building of our church family. These are great, eternal, vital truths that we need to hear.
We find our first truth in Nehemiah 2:9.
1. Like Nehemiah, we must be ready to give our all for the cause of Christ.
1. Like Nehemiah, we must be ready to give our all for the cause of Christ.
9 Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen.
There is a jump in time from verse 8 to verse 9; from King Artexerxes Court in Susa to the province beyond the river, also known as the trans-Euphrates or the area to the west of the Euphrates river.
Basically, Nehemiah is saying every province under Persian rule to the west of the Euphrates, areas such as Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and especially Israel.
He has made the long trip from Susa and is about to begin the work God has called him to do. Just making it to Jerusalem would have been a challenge. Many scholars agree it is very likely the trip took somewhere around three months to complete.
Nehemiah has left all the comforts, luxuries, and privileges of living as a member of the King’s Court. He was willing to give all those things up for the cause of restoring Jerusalem and bringing God glory. Even if it kills him, he is determined to go. Why?
He was following the leadership and direction of the Lord. God had burdened his heart for this great need and He had made a way for him to return to Jerusalem and begin the work of rebuilding the devastated city walls. God had a plan for this ordinary man!
Are you just putting yourself in neutral and letting life push you around? Or do you have a focus? Do you have a goal? Do you have an aim? Do you have a plan like Nehemiah had?
I want to tell you, God has a plan for your life. God has something that He wants you to do. You are special to Him. God made you just like He wanted you. And I guarantee you, that he has a job for you to do.
And the same God who has called you is the God who has equipped you. You can’t do what I do. I can’t do what you do. But together we can do a lot!
Yes, God has a job for everyone. God has a plan for every life. What are you doing? Have you fixed your focus on the purpose of God?
Nehemiah is going to basically say in verse 12, “God had laid something on my heart.” And if you’ll listen, God will lay something on your heart, too!
Do you really have a goal in life? If not, why not? God has a purpose for your life, and your goal ought to be that purpose. Some of you have a ministry inside of you that needs to be shared.
God has a purpose for your family.
Like Nehemiah, you must be ready to give your all too that purpose.
Ephesus, like Nehemiah, we must be ready to give our all for the cause of Christ. That is our collective purpose as His bride, His church!
2. Like Nehemiah, we must anticipate opposition and ridicule when we seek the welfare of God’s Kingdom.
2. Like Nehemiah, we must anticipate opposition and ridicule when we seek the welfare of God’s Kingdom.
10 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.
We aren’t going to spend much time here today, but these guys are going to be a major obstacle for Nehemiah to overcome.
Nehemiah was seeking the welfare of God’s Kingdom and these three stooges did not like it. We would do well to realize that many times opportunity comes with opposition.
Sanballat the Horonite.
This was Moe! He was the leader of these three stooges. He was probably from one of the Beth-horons about eighteen miles northwest of Jerusalem in the region of Samaria.
According to the ancient Elephantine Papyrus, Sanballat was governor of Samaria around the time of Nehemiah.
Tobiah the Ammonite Official
I’m not sure if he was Larry or Curly, but he was a stooge. He was likely the governor of Ammon, although he may have been an Ammonite servant under Sanballat’s authority.
The third stooge is not mentioned in our verse, but he joins in on the opposition and ridicule beginning in verse 19. He is...
Geshem the Arab
He was a powerful chieftain of Qedar in northwest Arabia. He was somewhat under the control of the Persians but had great freedom to govern over a confederation of Arab tribes that included Edom and the southern part of Judah.
Based on their names, most commentators believe that Sanballat and Tobiah were pagans who believed in Yahweh, but their belief was more like many nominal Christians in our own day.
Their faith was syncretistic. In other words, they held to a mixture of worship of Yahweh along with adherence to other gods and pagan customs. Just as in our day, they were spiritual, but pagan.
Earlier in the reign of Artaxerxes their complaints against Jerusalem had been accepted by the king, who decreed that the Jews stop building.
So now, seeing a Jew coming as the new governor, with authorization to build, greatly disturbed them.
Likewise, today some are disturbed when God blesses his work, but Nehemiah reminds us we should not fear that the work of God is dependent upon human approval.
Like Nehemiah, we are involved in a spiritual conflict of cosmic proportions, so remember Christian, as we discussed last week, God’s armor is available, and His victory is assured!
Like Nehemiah, we must anticipate opposition and ridicule when we seek the welfare of God’s Kingdom.
3. Like Nehemiah, we must be wise and rest as we seek to glorify God!
3. Like Nehemiah, we must be wise and rest as we seek to glorify God!
Before we can give our all for the cause, before we can battle the opposition and ridicule that will come our way as we seek the welfare of God’s Kingdom, we must be wise and rest!
11 So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days.
32 We came to Jerusalem, and there we remained three days.
The phrasing in Ezra emphasizes a time of rest.
Like Ezra, Nehemiah rested for three days after his lengthy journey.
Rest is an important part of the schedule of a servant of God. Jesus said to his disciples,
31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.
It is important to rest, because we can do our best work when we are well rested. Rest should be a part of our daily routine, our weekly routine, and occasionally, as is the case here, an added part of our routine after a period of intense exertion. Which is clearly the case here. It was a mini sabbatical of sorts.
Nehemiah has just traveled a long distance over a long period of time, remember it was a three month journey. He didn’t have a private jet or a fast car. He had a horse.
The reality is this: We would not have expected this! We would have expected him to hit the ground running. But Nehemiah was wiser than that. He rested for three days before he started doing anything.
Oh, I am sure he was inspecting the people, praying about the situation as he got to know the locals. Nehemiah was surely taking inventory of their spiritual condition, as well as the condition of the walls he could see.
But he did nothing, he said nothing, he allowed himself time to adjust to his new situation.
You and I must learn to be wise and rest on occasion. When the time comes, you will see Nehemiah roll up his sleeves and get to work. You will see his blood, toil, sweat and tears. But for now we rest in this passage until we gather together again.
We must trust God to do the work of restoration in us before we can join him in the work of restoring what is broken around us.
Conclusion:
Remember, Nehemiah has never seen Jerusalem until now. It has been over 150 years since the Jews were led away in bondage to Babylon.
He is in a land he’s never seen, facing an enormous task that he really has no details of, no true understanding of, and yet he is determined to rebuild the city wall and restore the devastation of Jerusalem.
Surely, we would agree that Nehemiah was not the average Jew, but he was an ordinary person like you and me.
Yes, he held a position of prominence in Susa and could have very likely lived out his days there with a life of relative ease.
Yet, Nehemiah sought to serve the Lord and he knew the significance of Jerusalem and the need for God’s people to inhabit the land and worship there for the glory of the God!
We need some Nehemiahs in our day. We live a much different life than he lived, but we need those who are willing to make the necessary sacrifices for the good of the church and the glory of God.
We need those who will lay aside personal preference and gain in order to restore that which has been lost in our generation.
Are you willing to give your all for the cause of Christ? Are you ready to do the work with blood, toil, sweat and tears? Are you ready to press on even when opposition comes, and it will come? Are you ready to trust God with the outcome?
Prayer
Invitation
Hymn No. 317
Only Trust Him