Sermon Tone Analysis

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

Opening Scripture Reading

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.

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.

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.

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.