Becoming God's A-Team!
NEHEMIAH: How God Uses the Ordinary to Revitalize the Kingdom! • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 36:53
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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.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever.
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
Why did you choose to gather today?
We believe we are a called and forgiven 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 people, 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
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?
Opening Scripture Reading
Opening Scripture Reading
6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,
7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,
10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.
11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,
12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.
13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,
14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
Introduction
Introduction
As a young boy growing up in the early 1980’s, I was privileged to grow up at a time with some of the greatest all time movies, music, and television shows.
One of my all time favorite television shows was the A-Team. It was a show that revolved around four main characters,
Colonel John “Hannibal” Smith, a master of disguise and his catchphrase was “I love it when a plan comes together!” He was the strategist and leader of the A-Team.
Lieutenant Templeton “Faceman” Peck, a master of the persuasive arts. He was the A-Team’s resource man. He could get them virtually anything they needed. He was a bit of a con man with integrity. One of his teammates once said that “He would rip the shirt off his back for you, and then scam one for himself.”
Captain H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock, an able pilot who could fly virtually any aircraft with considerable skill. However, due to a helicopter crash in Vietnam, Murdock apparently went insane.
Sergeant First Class Bosco "B.A.", or "Bad Attitude", Baracus. B.A. was the A-Team’s primary muscle and the team’s mechanic. He wore about 50 pounds of gold necklaces, rings on every finger, and a weightlifting belt, while sporting one mean Mohawk. His main weakness was flying, especially with Murdock at the helm.
These four characters made up the A-Team. The opening monologue of the show went like this!
“In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them....maybe you can hire The A-Team.”
The A-Team was essentially a bunch of do-gooders with guns and strategic know how. In every episode, Hannibal and crew risked everything to help the downtrodden and the oppressed.
Now, you would thank that a group of men doing what that were doing would be welcomed anywhere as heroes. But in every episode they were constantly under attack by their enemies or under pursuit by their government.
Every episode they were prepared for that reality. Every episode they were equipped for the task ahead of them. Every episode they had confidence in themselves to see the plan come together! Growing up these guys were my heroes! They were prepared, equipped, and confident!
Jesus Christ said,
18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.
Are you prepared for that?
He also warned His disciples,
51 Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.
52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three.
53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Are you equipped for that?
Matthew’s Gospel adds that, “tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word” (Matthew 13:21).
Will confidence comfort you in the midst of that?
Throughout His ministry on earth, our Lord was mocked by the so-called religious. When Jairus came to Jesus to seek healing for his dying daughter, Scripture says they laughed at Him!
38 They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.
39 And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.”
40 And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was.
The chief priests mocked Him, Herod mocked Him, and eventually the soldiers at Golgotha mocked Him.
The early Church was ridiculed at Pentecost, and Jerusalem despised the Apostles and accused them by saying, “They are full of sweet wine” (Acts 2:13). On the very day the Spirit descended, the Apostles were accused of being drunk.
As church history pressed on, Hebrews 11 tells us that many believers endured cruel mocking and even martyrdom.
Are you ready for that?
Paul wrote these words to Timothy,
12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
Later he personally admitted,
11 To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless,
12 and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure;
13 when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.
Can your faith withstand that?
For one hundred years, the Jews had grown accustomed to broken-down walls. They had chosen the comfort of mediocrity rather than brave storm of restoration and revitalization.
But now, a man has arrived with a plan of faith. He has counted the cost and knows exactly what to expect. He is prepared to turn this rag-tag bunch into a crack commando unit for God’s glory!
Remember that the city of Jerusalem was the seat of God’s glory, it was the center of God’s earthly purpose. If Nehemiah restores the city it would be a terrible blow to the enemies of God’s purpose and His people.
Likewise, when a church that is in decline and stagnation is revitalized for God’s glory it becomes a terrible blow to the enemy.
It hasn’t taken long since Nehemiah’s arrival in Jerusalem for the wolves of adversity to begin to howl. A battle is brewing; a war of great measure is about to begin. Behind every work of God there is opposition and behind that opposition is the chief opponent of God.
The enemy, the reviler, the slanderer, the hater of God has arrived. Whether or not Nehemiah knew it, the adversary had moved his primary base of operations just outside the city of Jerusalem.
The real theme of Nehemiah 4-6 is spiritual warfare. Nehemiah’s real opponent, lurking behind his human opponents, was Satan, whose name means adversary.
In describing his conflicts, Nehemiah focuses on three primary enemies: Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem, whom I have affectionately called “the three stooges.”
From his arrival in Jerusalem, these stooges of the evil one have been angered by his presence.
Remember what Nehemiah said about them in 2:10?
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.
When we get to chapter 4, Nehemiah and the Israelites are busy restoring the City of God’s walls. The people were ready to work hard for God.
Now the devil wants to stop any work for God. And when God’s people say, “Let us arise and build,” all the hosts of hell say, “Let us arise and stop them.” One of his chief tools in stopping God’s people is ridicule. Ridicule is one of the hardest things God’s people will ever face.
1. God’s A-Team will face ridicule.
1. God’s A-Team will face ridicule.
Adrian Rogers famously asked, “Did you know that there are men who can face a den of lions, who will fall and wither under ridicule?”
I’ve been laughed at, mocked, and ridiculed many times for being a Christian. When I was in college, I had professors and classmates that thought my faith was ridiculous in the face of science. They ragged me often about my faith.
That carried over in my early career as a Pharmaceutical Chemist. Coworkers would openly blaspheme God and say terrible things about the Bible just to get a rise out of me. All of these things were just ridicule. I want to tell you something folks: I love the Lord, but it was hard to take, day after day.
What a powerful weapon ridicule is! And I’m going to tell you something else: Any true Christian is going to face some ridicule. And if you’re not facing ridicule, don’t get too proud. The servant’s not better than his master. And if they ridiculed the Lord Jesus Christ, they’re going to ridicule you.
You may say, “Well, Pastor, nobody ever laughs at me.” Shhhhh.....keep it a secret, would you? You haven’t been counted worthy. There is not enough in your life to make any difference.
12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
Look at the line of attack!
1 Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews.
2 And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?”
3 Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Yes, what they are building—if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!”
A. Four ways the world ridicules God’s people.
A. Four ways the world ridicules God’s people.
Sanballat was furious! He was enraged with anger at the work of the Jewish people. His anger led to his mockery and ridicule as he belittled God’s people in four ways.
1. The world will ridicule the feebleness of God’s people.
1. The world will ridicule the feebleness of God’s people.
Sanballat asked, “What are these feeble Jews doing?
He saw them as feeble, frail, miserable, powerless, withered, and weak. Judah had been in captivity for 70 years. They were few in number in Jerusalem. They had no economic or military might. From all appearances these were a “ragtag” group with little hope of achieving anything. But wasn’t that how the enemies of the A-Team saw them.
The world judges everything by size, by news headlines, by imposing plans, by vast power; and it pours contempt upon the feeble little flock of the people of God.
When we measure things by numbers, by size, by prestige, by finances, and so forth, we really are a feeble people if you look at it according to the world’s standards. That is why we must rely on God!
26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
2. The world will ridicule the faith of God’s people.
2. The world will ridicule the faith of God’s people.
Then Sanballat asked, “Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice?” Do they really believe they can restore Jerusalem? Now he’s ridiculing their very faith!
Their taunt was, “Look how blind their faith has made them!” Derek Kidner suggested their questions went like this, “Do you think you are going to pray the wall up? It is your only hope that it will ever happen!” Imagine how the workers must have felt under this barrage of accusations.
3. The world will ridicule the difficulty of the task of God’s people.
3. The world will ridicule the difficulty of the task of God’s people.
The next line of attack out of Sanballat’s mouth was, “Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?”
Look they have a perfume maker trying to rebuild the wall - that man knows nothing about building a wall.
Do you remember how many times the A-Team was up against what looked like insurmountable odds, but they always took what they had and built what they need to win the day! But their enemies always ridiculed them until they were being taken off in handcuffs themselves.
4. The world will ridicule the lasting effects of the ministry of God’s people.
4. The world will ridicule the lasting effects of the ministry of God’s people.
Then Tobiah the Ammonite joined in by ridiculing the lasting effects of the wall, saying, “Yes, what they are building—if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!”
It was like saying, “Your plan will not last, so you better finish it up quickly.” That’s what the world says, you know: “They won’t stick it out. They won’t make it.”
Imagine serving God under such circumstances. The people of God were insulted, mocked, and ridiculed. The enemies of God had carefully, purposefully, and specifically attacked their strength, faith, organizational skill, and ability.
Meanwhile, the cunning serpent stands by watching and waiting. He does the same thing today you know. Have you heard his accusations and insults?
“You don’t have the strength to live for Christ.”
“You don’t have the intelligence to stand up to the wisdom of the world.”
“You don’t have the faith to finish anything for God.”
“You don’t have any ability! Who do you think you are anyway?”
God’s A-Team will face ridicule, the question is how will we respond? Will we be defeated by it or will we overcome the arrows of the evil one?
2. God’s A-Team will overcome by reacting rightly to ridicule.
2. God’s A-Team will overcome by reacting rightly to ridicule.
B. How should we respond to ridicule?
B. How should we respond to ridicule?
Oh Nehemiah could have bowed up and challenged them to come try to push the wall down. He could have fired back in retaliation with words himself, but he didn’t. Nehemiah understood that retaliation never builds walls.
Adrian Rogers once said, “A bulldog can whip a skunk - but it’s not worth it.
1. Be prepared for ridicule.
1. Be prepared for ridicule.
Nehemiah admits to God again in verse 4, that he knows the people of God are a despised people. In case you don’t know it yet, today, Christians are a despised people as well. Despised people are ridiculed.
They ridicule us because they can’t out reason us. They laugh at us because their logic is faulty and they know it. If we succumb to their mockery, we are indeed a weak minded people, but if we train ourselves in how to handle God’s word rightly, they know that we are a force that they cannot reckon with.
We have to be prepared for the ridicule. We have to become more mature in our handling of the Word.
15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
2. Understand that you are in good company.
2. Understand that you are in good company.
63 Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him.
35 And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!”
36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine
How they laughed. How they scorned Him.
Friend, if Jesus Christ was laughed at upon the cross, surely you’re going to be laughed at if you live for God. Don’t you let Satan laugh you out of a work for God: it’s one of his chief tools.
Rather understand that you are in good company. Not only that but you have a good promise given to you.
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
3. Put the problem in God’s hands through prayer.
3. Put the problem in God’s hands through prayer.
Nehemiah understood that it was God, not man or Satan, that will have the last laugh.
4 Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives.
5 Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders.
The prayer seems harsh, but it was an understanding that you don’t ridicule God and His people and walk away unpunished. God will fight for His name and for His people. That will be a theme we will see over and over again throughout Nehemiah’s memoir.
So when you are ridiculed, don’t retaliate, give the matter over to God in prayer!
4. Have the mind to keep working, no matter what.
4. Have the mind to keep working, no matter what.
6 So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
Nehemiah and the people of God had a mind to work and so they kept working even in the face of ridicule and threat.
I like that! They did not have a mind to cry woe is me, or a mind to criticize, or a mind to gossip, or a mind to retaliate—but they had a mind to work.
In spite of all of the threats of the enemy; in spite of all of the ridicule and all of the scorn, they just started to do what God had called them to do.
Conclusion
There’s no cheap way; there’s no easy way; there’s no lazy way to do a work for God. “The people had a mind to work.” (Nehemiah 4:6) The people were determined to finish what they started.
My heart almost jumps out of my throat as I look at all of you folks and say, “O God, what would happen if everyone had a mind to work and a heart to pray as old Nehemiah did?” “The people had a mind to work.”
We need that attitude today! There is too much at stake to succumb to the wiles of the Devil. Let us learn to abide in our Christ and trust Him to provide for us as we labor together to build His Kingdom.
Invitation
To Salvation
To Church Membership
To being a people who work.
Hymn of Invitation
Hymn No. 320
Turn your eyes upon Jesus!