0:00 I am so moved by how the Lord never fails to be relevant through his word to us as a church. Over the years, there hasn't been a moment, there hasn't been a week where me, personally, failed to see how God has something for us in the very moment that we are in as an assembly. And that continues to be the case going through this book. I mean, I can't think of a greater text to go through as a church in the season that we are in as a church. And so with that, I invite you to Nehemiah chapter two as we seek to complete this section of scripture by God's help.
0:45 Nehemiah chapter two. In our study of Ezra and Nehemiah, we have been clearly shown by the Lord and hopefully convincingly that God has much use for praying men. Early in our examination of this book, we already see that Nehemiah's consistent, passionate praying has become evident in terms of its fruitfulness so soon in his story. But what we're about to be reminded of in the rest of this chapter is that God also uses practical men. And by practical, I mean those who are not just willing to seek the Lord about a matter, but actually do something about the burden.
1:33 To actually exercise and be involved in the very thing that they are seeking the Lord for. And that is precisely what we're going to learn about in Nehemiah's story here in the passage that is before us tonight. Listen, it's absolutely vital that if we want God to bless any work that we do for him, we have to ask. But there's no use in asking if we are not also willing to act. And in the same way that there is a more effective way to seek the Lord for guidance and grace, there is also a more profitable way to act for the Lord when he opens the door.
2:19 You showed up to Bible study tonight, which I am so blessed by. And I wanna let you know from the outset that you came to an intensely practical Bible study. Because from this, we are going to draw at least seven principles that we need to be mindful of If we wanna know success in our ministries, if we wanna know God's ultimate blessing upon our efforts for his kingdom, then we should imitate this man of God as we see here. And listen, Nehemiah's gifting centers on leadership. That's obvious, but the qualities he demonstrates here can be applicable to any of us and they will be beneficial to all of us if we are willing to hear what the spirit has to say.
3:05 So let us begin by looking at the starting verse of this new section, Nehemiah two verse nine, and establish from it the first principle for effectively walking in what God has called us to do, no matter what he has called you to do. Nehemiah chapter two verse nine reads, 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. Here we have Nehemiah who's finally making his way to Jerusalem. He was in the palace serving the king for many years and the Lord put a burden on his heart and he wanted to go back to the holy city to help fix the city.
3:51 That has been granted to him at this moment. He's now realizing the very thing that he's been believing God for. And in this verse, we have the first ingredient, the first principle of knowing how to walk successfully in the service that we've been called to. Here it is. Be led by your convictions.
4:16 Be led by your convictions. This is a subtle point but it is important nonetheless if we want to serve God with confidence. We remember in our study of Ezra that he too sought permission from the very same king to go back to Jerusalem to aid it in the way that he believed God called him to help. But Ezra did something very different than Nehemiah does here. Ezra, if you recall, rejected any military escort, whereas Nehemiah accepts it.
4:49 He tells us plainly in verse nine that with him, the king sent officers of the army and horsemen. Now some assume that because Ezra rejected this convoy, that he proves to be more spiritual than Nehemiah who was willing to receive this kind of governmental protection. But that would be very unfair because Nehemiah has already determined to show us in his memoirs that he was a man who had a walk with God. And if you remember from our study of Ezra, we already explored at least one reason why he needed to not accept what the king could have offered. But there is more to understand from it.
5:34 Here you have two men of God. Two men who had a passion for the Lord's people, men who knew how to intercede, men who loved the law, and men who were willing to walk away from comfort and ease in order to lead sacrificially, and yet, they arrived at two different conclusions about this one matter. And what we can draw from this is very wonderful. It's an illustration of how genuine men and women of God can feel very differently about certain permissions or practices. Not ones that are clearly defined by scripture, obviously, but non essential matters.
6:19 Here you have a man who is not less godly than another because he did something that was different. For Ezra, not accepting this kind of protection, this entourage was a sign of trust and faith in light of his public confession to the king. And then you have Nehemiah who saw this protection as evidence of God's hand upon him. So what do we learn from this in light of our own ministries? Well, there are a couple of things that we can learn.
6:55 Number one, you and I should never give into the pressure of fitting into a certain mold if it goes against what we believe God has called us to be or do. Now remember, I'm not speaking about clear matters in the scripture. I'm not talking about violating biblical principles. I'm talking again about things that are complex, things that are not so clear. Because to do so would violate your peace.
7:23 It would rob you of joy and ultimately, it will impact the way you serve the Lord. You know, I've learned many things in school, even in seminary, I'm grateful for that, but there are some things that didn't apply. And I believe even a godly seminary would admit that. And one of those experiences for me was the preaching class. Again, there were some things that I thought were indeed helpful.
7:43 And one time somebody asked me, how's your experience? And I admit it, well, for a lot of what's being proposed, I feel like David wearing Saul's armor. It it's just... It doesn't fit necessarily and that's totally okay. And that can apply in many other ways.
8:03 But another thing to consider is that how others choose to do certain things, even though they don't align with how you may do it, does not give you license to judge them. I'm talking about everything. How others choose to raise their children. Do you judge them because, no, I wouldn't do that with my son. I wouldn't do that with my daughter.
8:29 I wouldn't do that with my schedule. Well, maybe it works for them. May not work for you. That's okay. About how pastors conduct their church services.
8:40 Again, unless it undermines God's word. About how people celebrate their weddings, I can go on and on with examples. But Nehemiah shows here when we compare it with Ezra that you need to be led by your convictions. And if you're not careful and how there might be external pressures towards you or how you may perceive others, especially in that latter part, you you and I could be led into legalism and legalism kills. It is detrimental to the soul.
9:15 Instead, these two men of God show us that we must ultimately be governed by God's word, but also be sensitive to how the spirit leads our conscience and to walk in that direction, especially for matters that are not black and white in the Bible. Be led by your convictions and inform your convictions through the word of God in a prayerful heart. Ezra did a different leading Nehemiah. Nehemiah did a different leading Ezra. Both were equally servants of the Lord.
9:51 Let's read verse 10 to see the second point. 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're learning seven principles for successive and successful rather ministry. The first one is to be led by your convictions and the second one is to be prepared for people to stand against you. That isn't surprising to us, isn't it?
10:20 We've seen this pattern over and over in the word of God, but I want you to note something that can be easily missed. Opposition often becomes most evident when we begin to actually act and move in the will of God. You see, we do not find this pronounced attack, the presence of these enemies when Nehemiah felt a burden for Jerusalem. We didn't even see it while Nehemiah was praying for Jerusalem, though there is unique warfare and prayer. There is no record of this man expressing any challenge or difficulty when he was strategizing how he would rebuild the walls while in Babylonia.
11:07 Instead, things take a different turn. There is added drama to this whole story when Nehemiah began to take steps toward the holy city. It was Paul who said in first Corinthians 16 verse nine, for a wide door of effective work has opened to me and there are many adversaries. Open doors for ministry are often accompanied with opponents to that ministry. That's just part of the territory.
11:46 And that is not meant to instill fear in us or to cause us to hesitate to walk through these open doors, but this truth is resounding in our Bibles in order to equip us to do so, to do so well, to do so without surprise, to do so with a preparedness. Now who are these foes that Nehemiah names? One is named Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite is the other. And understanding their ethnic background actually gives us insight to the hostility they had toward Nehemiah and his arrival to the city. We know who the Ammonites are, do we not?
12:26 They are descendants of Lot. And they are those who have been indicted by God for refusing to help Moses and the generation that he led out of Egypt by refusing them from entering through their region in order to go into the promised land. And they became consistent enemies to the people throughout their history. And so it's no surprise that Tobiah being a descendant of these cruel people has great disdain for Nehemiah and the news that there is going to be help for the people of Israel. But what about Sanballat, the Horonite?
13:04 Who are the Horonites? It's difficult to say conclusively. But there is a clue in Nehemiah of who this Sanballat was. Go to chapter four of Nehemiah. And I want you to look here at verses one and two.
13:20 Now when Sanballat heard that they were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged and he jeered at the Jews and he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of where? Samaria. So the fact that Samaritans are mentioned in this story, especially with Sanballat, indicates that this man perhaps was a descendant of the mixed population that replaced the northern tribe of Israel when they were exiled by the Assyrians. And we learned in our study of Ezra that the relationship between the Samaritans and the Jews early on was not a good one. And it would rarely know any resolve until the times of Jesus, and more specifically the gospel era, when that wall of hostility and division, not just between Jews and Samaritans, but Gentiles altogether would be brought down.
14:16 And so we also understand where Sanballat is coming from. There is a cultural and historical background to this hatred that they have for the people of God that helps us explain the last part of verse 10. Look at the second part of verse 10. This is staggering commentary. It displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.
14:38 Let me say it plainly, this is sick and yet it reminds us of something some Christians struggle to grasp, that there are people in this world who hold an unjustified deep hatred for the people of God. You know, Sanballat and Tobiah weren't opposed to somebody seeking the welfare of others. It says that they were enraged that the welfare being sought belonged to Israel. And this kind of vehement hatred is not limited to the Jewish people. It's also expressed today toward the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
15:25 And why that's important to mention here is to prepare you servant of God, so remind myself even. Should you encounter such people because they are out there. Listen, throughout my time in ministry, I have met such people. And some of these people are even in positions of power. They sit on city boards.
15:47 They own organizations that have influence in the community. And they just hate righteousness. They hate the truth. They hate the church. It's difficult for us to understand but it is nonetheless the case.
16:05 And I remember even thinking first time experiencing this in my innocence wondering how can you have such opposition in your heart toward a community of people who are charged by their God to love their neighbor? What's wrong with you? And then I recall how people responded to Jesus' perfect ministry. And all the times, especially the Pharisees, when he would heal, especially on the Sabbath. Oh, you're healing on the Sabbath?
16:35 And Jesus reminded them more than once, you're willing to take your donkey out of a ditch. I'm willing to heal the lame and heal the sick and cast out demons. And you have a problem with that? Yes. There are people who are so depraved, who have so seared their conscience that even welfare, even miracles, even good in the community is something that they hate.
16:58 And so what do we do with that information? Well, one, we have to be careful that if we have any kind of encounter with such individuals to not allow our hearts to feel anything ungodly towards them. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood. That's the ABCs of spiritual warfare. If you think that your warfare is with people, you already lost the war.
17:19 It's not against flesh and blood. Yes. Does Satan use people? Absolutely. But your war is with an invisible realm and that will help you know how to fight it.
17:29 Moreover, knowing this information helps us to never be intimidated by such people because they will seek to intimidate you. They will threaten you. They will hurl insults at you. They will belittle you. And I love, I love what Nehemiah does in response to what he tells us in verse 10.
17:48 Look at that short verse in verse 11. So I went to Jerusalem. Isn't that wonderful? So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. This is in connection to what he told us about Sanballat and Tobiah.
18:05 They were greatly displeased when they heard that somebody has come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel. So what did Nehemiah do? Appease them? Cozy up to them and explain his intentions? No.
18:16 He ignores them and he marches on because I've been called by God. You like it or not, doesn't matter. And if he doesn't want me to come, then I won't go. And if he wants me to come, nobody can stop me. This is a holy confidence, holy boldness.
18:38 And we have to understand here that if you and I are not ready to withstand such people, such attacks, we will not survive long in what God's called us to do. If we wanna see great things done, you have to be aware that there will be people who will stand against you and the more work that's done, the more it grows, the more people involved, so will the attacks increase. Let's skip ahead. Look at verse 19 of the same text. Notice what happens in verse 19.
19:11 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?' What do you notice here? What? Okay. So you have addition here.
19:34 What else? Okay. We'll look at that later. What else? They jeered.
19:40 So here's the difference. One, they got more recruits. And by verse 19, what do you have? You have growth in Nehemiah's progress here in terms of recruiting his own men for the building of the walls. And secondly, when we were introduced to this group of scoundrels, we just learned about their attitude, how they felt about the people of God.
20:02 When you come to verse 19, now they're talking. Now they're actually slandering and they're intimidating and they're invoking fear in others. So, yes, be mindful that people will stand against you and I also be mindful that there will be growth in attacks as there is growth to your ministry. Number three verse 12. Then I arose in the night, eyeing a few men with me, and I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem.
20:41 There was no animal with me, but the one on which I rode. Seven principles for effective, successful, enduring ministry. One, be led by your convictions. Two, be prepared for those to stand against you. Number three, be careful in how you represent your ministry.
21:04 I'm afraid that there are serious minded believers who unintentionally invite unnecessary frustration to their ministries. And Nehemiah in this one verse, verse 12, shows us how he avoided one of these blunders. Interestingly, he tells us that he did not tell anyone what God had put into his heart. God really put it on his heart. And my question is, why not?
21:36 If God really put it in your heart, why wouldn't you want to tell others about it? And he gives us at least a couple of reasons. Number one, based on what we learned about Sanballat and Tobiah, we can safely say that Nehemiah did not want to share too much too soon, lest the information got to the wrong people. When you read later on in this in this book, you're gonna discover that these two are actually much more interconnected with the Jewish community. Moreover, they are influential men.
22:08 They're not just neighboring citizens. They seem to have some kind of authority in in the area as well. Nehemiah is very much aware of this and so he has to be careful this early in the ministry. And here's how that works for you and I. Being transparent is good.
22:28 Being too transparent is not good. Why? I really want to help you. I I want you to thrive in what you do for the Lord, whether it's here or elsewhere, wherever God calls you. So this is very hands on and I hope it blesses you.
22:49 One reason why what I'm saying is true is because not everyone is going to be excited for what God is doing in you or what he wants to do through you. And if you are not willing to believe that, then you may unintentionally invite discouragement and disparagement because you are too open with the wrong people. There are some individuals whom you can share personal testimonies with and they will celebrate you because they love God, they love his glory and they love you. And there are others who can learn about those testimonies when they come to fruition. I'm reminded of Samuel when he was so broken because God fired Saul.
23:40 You remember we studied this in first Samuel fifteen and sixteen? One of the scariest things about how God hires and fires is that when he hired Saul, he eventually fired him, and he still let him sit on the throne. That scares me. He can fire somebody and still let him go up in the pulpit. I'm not interested in that.
24:04 But but Samuel was so disturbed by this. Right? And eventually the Lord says, Samuel, how long are you gonna mourn? Go to Jesse, the Bethlehemite, and you will find among his sons the next king. And Samuel, though I'm sure pleasantly surprised, was also worried and scared.
24:28 And here's what he says in first Samuel 16 verse two, and Samuel said, how can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me. And he was right. Saul had lost his mind. If Saul hears that I'm going to actually find the next king, if word spreads, I'm a dead man, look at the Lord's advice.
24:48 And the Lord said, take a heifer with you and say, I've come to sacrifice to the Lord. Full stop. Is God asking Samuel to lie? No, because Samuel was actually going to perform a sacrifice with Jesse's family. Here's the principle.
25:05 Samuel, you don't have to be an open book. There are some people who don't know what to do with that information. There are some people who actually take that information and use it against you. Be wise. Not everybody on social media needs to know an update on what God is doing in your life.
25:27 Not everybody needs to hear what you believe God is calling you to do. Even if it's sincere, even if it's true. The enemy is very cunning. Protect your heart. But there's a second thing that we can see here why Nehemiah did not tell anyone about what was in his heart, and it was because he was not yet prepared.
25:51 What do I mean by that? Well, following verse 12, we're gonna see it in the next handful of verses. We're gonna see Nehemiah carefully investigating the site of the walls and the gates. Because up to this point, he had no firsthand knowledge of it. Everything that he knew about the ruins in Jerusalem was told from afar.
26:11 And it broke him. Yes, that was genuine genuine, but in order for him to be really prepared, he had to actually see it for himself. Now I want you to imagine with me what could have possibly happened if Nehemiah had just entered into the city and begun telling everybody what God told him to do. He could have easily been met with what? Questions, Doubts?
26:34 Even skepticism from those who had lived in Jerusalem for all this time and have even grown accustomed to life with it? And so Nehemiah is being preemptive here. He's preparing himself and he is getting all that he can in terms of information in order for him to have answers. You're never gonna have all the answers, but you need to have at least some kind of idea. And this would make his presentation of this vision much more compelling and convincing.
27:06 This is very important for leaders in any capacity. If you want to inspire people, you need some kind of direction. Can't just be enthusiasm. It can't just be passion. It has to actually be concrete.
27:20 Nehemiah is being very realistic here. And so he doesn't say anything just yet because he has to calculate. He has to think. And this is what it means to be spiritual. Some people have these strange ideas that being spiritual means to be spontaneous, to not think ahead, to use the excuse, we're just gonna trust God.
27:46 Trust God. Yes. Pray. Believe God. Wait on God.
27:49 Nehemiah did that. But God, listen, he uses those who are practical. He uses those who plan. Nehemiah had a word from God. Nehemiah had the favor of the king, and yet Nehemiah is also showing how we need to be careful.
28:06 Careful with our words, careful with what to share, when to share, who to share it with. This is this is very practical, is it not? But God knows we need it. Which brings us to the fourth principle. Be invested in the work you are doing.
28:26 Be invested in the work that you are doing. Let's read verses 13 down to verse 15. 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. 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.
28:52 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. Why this play by play, if you will? Why does the text tell us about Nehemiah's detailed movements around the site where he was planning to work? It's totally intentional. It seems as though the Holy Spirit is inviting us to consider the slow pace, the steady pace that this man put into his preparation.
29:32 And from this we can learn that as important as passion and vision are, efficiency in God's work can only come from investing our time and energy in our assignment. I'm not sure if you picked this up in our reading, but three times in this area of this chapter, we're told that Nehemiah was at the site while it was night. Look at verse 12. Then I rose in the night. Look at verse 13.
29:59 I went out by night. Skip down to verse 15. Then I went up in the night. He was probably doing this while everybody else was asleep. That's sacrifice.
30:15 That's devotion. That's dedication. And this is the kind of attitude and passionate commitment that is required if we're actually going to see genuine fruitfulness in what the Lord has asked of us. I'm reminded of what Paul told a young pastor who was left to shepherd one of the most influential and reputable churches, the church in Ephesus. And in first Timothy four fifteen, Paul told his spiritual son in the context of his preaching and teaching and reading publicly the scriptures, practice these things, immerse yourself in them so that all may see your progress.
31:05 I think the English translation of this verse dilutes the force and how profound it really is. When he says practice these things, it actually means to meditatively rehearse and regularly return to these disciplines. Don't just visit these things from time to time. Don't just go to these things when you feel like them. Practice these things and then he adds to it, immerse yourself in them.
31:34 To be immersed in something is to be completely consumed by it. In fact, the Greek is literally this, be in them. That's how that word would read in the original. Practice these things, though it would be rendered differently, but that middle part is not immerse yourself in them, though it's denoting that idea. The actual wording is be in them.
31:56 Be so invested in this that it is something you absorb to the point where it becomes inseparable from you. And only that level of investment based on that verse, this is the equation, only when you and I get to that kind of point will progress be available. And if not, then we will rarely see any growth in ourselves and by others. And unfortunately, there are too many who are comfortable remaining the same level year after year. There's some people who just want to do the bare minimum.
32:37 And here's my admonition to you, here's my exhortation to you, whatever you are doing for the Lord here or elsewhere, immerse yourself in it. In other words, have you ever asked the Lord what it looks like to immerse yourself in the area of service that you're in? What does it look like as a Sunday school teacher to be immersed in that? Again, for some people, it's just look, I'm just gonna come, do my lesson, get out. Half ready, not not sure what I'm gonna say.
33:08 They're little kids anyway. I'll be spontaneous. They're not gonna remember. That's not immersing yourself in that ministry. That's not immersing yourself in that ministry.
33:16 What does it look like to immerse yourself when you do the graphics of the church? What does it look like to immerse yourself when you play music for the church? What does it look like to immerse yourself when you're preaching or teaching in any circle in the church? What does it look like? Ask the Lord what it looks like.
33:30 And only when you dive in like that will there be genuine harvest, real impact. Nehemiah shows us here that as much as he prayed in solitude and he traveled far when he got to the site in the night, if I have to lose sleep for for this week, so be it. Let me see what needs to be done. Let me take notes. Let me see what areas need to be covered.
34:00 That's the kind of heart that God blesses. That's the kind of work that will see multiplication. That's the kind of ministry that becomes contagious. Be invested in the work. That might look different for everyone, but it's the call for everyone.
34:17 Don't do it half heartedly. Don't start something and then give up, Start something and then give up. Start something and give up. And on top of that, tell people, oh, God called me to this, and then you give up. Oh, God called me this, and then you give up.
34:26 Nobody's gonna take you seriously. It's not gonna work. You will lose respect in people's eyes. I'm not saying God can't call you to something else, but what I am saying is you should be so immersed that for you to get out of it should mean that God really called you out of it. Number five, verse 16.
34:54 Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back, this is verse 15, and entered by the valley gate and so returned. And here's verse 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 are to do the work. If you're taking notes in your mind or on paper or on your device, jot this down. The fifth principle for effective, successful, long standing ministry is to be patient in seeing God's work unfold.
35:29 Be patient in seeing God's work unfold. Nehemiah's concealment of his plans is repeated again in this verse and that is not just to emphasize his wisdom, that is also to highlight his patience. Nehemiah had been carrying this burden on his heart for months. Nehemiah had traveled so far and so long, but when the door was open, he did not pursue it in a frenzy. He did not, out of his enthusiasm, make hasty decisions.
36:02 He didn't rush. He was calm. He was composed. He was steady. It's not easy to wait on the Lord when something that has been on your heart looks like it will become a reality.
36:20 But without patience, you and I become vulnerable to birthing Ishmaels and creating more frustration for yourself and for others. The Holy Spirit brings up the fact that even after looking at everything he needed to look at, he did not speak up just yet. This is a man with discipline. This is a man who is careful and we have to also know that in order to avoid unnecessary difficulties, forbearance is required. You know, it's amazing.
36:56 I was thinking about this earlier today of how much patience is mentioned in the New Testament related to practical ministry. Patience. Not just prayer, not just Holy Spirit power, that's all wonderful and needed, but patience waiting. You can jot these verses down. I'll just read them to you.
37:18 Again, I'm going to revisit Paul's instructions to his spiritual son, Timothy. Listen to what he says in one book, in his last letter before he was executed. In second Timothy two twenty four, and the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome, but kind to everyone, able to teach patiently enduring evil. Timothy, if you're gonna be really a servant of the Lord, you gotta know how to patiently weather persecution. Hostility within and outside.
37:49 Patiently enduring evil. Second Timothy three ten. You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness. Isn't that amazing? Paul could confidently say about his spiritual son, I recognize that you've been imitating my patience.
38:19 You don't give up so easily. You don't run ahead of God. Second Timothy four two, preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, and exhort with complete patience and teaching. We see the picture.
38:40 Right? Patience. If you're in ministry... What's ministry? Ministry is ultimately serving people.
38:50 You're serving the Lord by serving his people, serving the lost. And if you don't know patience, you're gonna have a lot of problems with people. Even Timothy with his preaching had to be patient. It's a preacher's dream to preach one message and never have to revisit that topic again because everybody said, we got it. We got it.
39:12 You'll have to tell us twice, preacher. The Bible is more realistic than that. You need to be very patient in your preaching because some people will not get it. Some will, others won't. If you're not patient with people in preaching, in serving, in volunteering, in partnering, whatever the case may be, you'll be more willing to give up on them or they will be willing to give up on you.
39:38 You need, I need Holy Spirit empowered patience. Patience with others, patience with God, if I can say that. How many times do we see in the New Testament the principle of waiting on the Lord? You plant that seed, Mark tells us in that wonderful parable. You go to bed, you don't know how it's going to produce, but it's going to produce.
40:02 Over and over, we have example after example of this truth. We even see with this man in an obscure passage. He knew when to speak and when not to speak because he was patient. Number six verse 17 and verse 18. Then I said to them...
40:24 Okay, finally. 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. 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.
40:50 So they strengthened their hands for the good work. I mean, it just... It's getting better and better for Nehemiah. And you prayed, God answered that prayer, the king gave you even more than what you asked, you made it safely to Jerusalem, You didn't get too excited and explode and let the news break out, and maybe your enemies use that against you, or maybe look... Make yourself look foolish because you weren't prepared.
41:15 And now the time has come where you gave and you cast your vision, and everybody's like, sign me up. I'm ready. But it's the way Nehemiah did it. The sixth principle is to be a unifier and encourager. Be a unifier and encourager.
41:40 You want your ministry to be blessed by God? You want others to be blessed through your ministry? No matter what that ministry is? Be glue on that team. Be more known to encourage than to complain.
41:59 The time finally came for Nehemiah to do what he had come to do, and he knew how to carefully speak to the people that he would need to do it because he understood that if he was going to rebuild the walls, he needed to build up the people first. Now, you you know, Nehemiah could have approached them and used the guilt driven approach about the condition of the walls. He could have come and said, it took you this long to figure it out? Why why wasn't there... There wasn't one guy among you that could see the problem here and you couldn't fight for this cause?
42:39 You guys just went on with your lives? It had to take God to make me pray and weep and fast for four months and send somebody from nearly a thousand miles away to get things started here? Right? He doesn't use the guilt driven approach, nor does he come with an attitude of superiority. Notice, he doesn't say you are in distress.
43:06 He doesn't look at them and say, you know what? You you need to get up and get going here. He's a unifier. And so he chooses different wording. He says, we and us.
43:23 Isn't that what he says? Look at verse 17. You see the trouble we are in. Nehemiah, you just got here three days ago. How Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned.
43:39 Come let us, let us build the wall of Jerusalem that we may no longer suffer derision. For any ministry to flourish, listen, please. You and I need to reject the harmful mindset of me versus you. My ministry and your ministry. Listen, if you're part of the local church as a member, it's our ministry.
44:12 And we all have a common goal and we all need one another and we need to all do what our part is in order for Christ to be glorified. Ministry is not for you to feel better about yourself. Ministry is not a place for you to compete with others because you have low self esteem. Ministry is the combined effort of the body of Christ to accomplish the advancement of the gospel. And that's what we see here.
44:44 Nehemiah willing to work together toward one goal. And if you and I are not willing to adopt that attitude and be a unifier, I can say this with a great confidence, it won't be very long before you will have no ministry. That's not a threat. That's because by design, the Holy Spirit has created the local church to be multiple members working again in unison in order to move towards the goal that Christ has established for us. And for a member to fight against the body, that's cancer.
45:27 A member to intentionally turn against others or to elevate itself or to separate itself from others, that's problematic. That will not work. Make it more difficult for others to be willing to work with you. Again, can you just imagine EMI's just walking into the meeting, calling all the leaders and others, and being like, alright, listen. Yeah.
45:54 This is all your fault. You're gonna do it, and I'll just do what I need to do from a distance and, just, you know, it it wouldn't work. The guilt might have driven them for a few days, but that is not gonna provide the lasting fuel that a unifying voice provides. And one of the ways that we can contribute to that unification is to be an encourager. What does he say in verse 18?
46:22 And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also the words of the king had spoken to me. And they said, let us rise up and build. What's Nehemiah doing here? Well, earlier he says, you see that the distress that we're in. He's very, very realistic.
46:35 I love this man. He saw the sight, he saw the rubble. I mean, at one point, we read it earlier that he couldn't even allow his animal to to pass through it. It was so congested. This is a real problem, and yet, Nehemiah is able to point people in the direction of what God is doing in the midst of the distress.
46:59 Let me tell you what God... How God called me into this. Let me tell you how God confirmed this. Let me tell you on top of that, what the king, the same king who back in Ezra said, no way are we letting them build a wall in Jerusalem, is the same king who said, go ahead and build the wall. And you can just imagine, he's being an encourager.
47:18 And they can hardly keep it keep it to themselves. They said, okay, let's do it. Side note, for any person here who's a leader, any person here who's an aspiring leader, notice that in order for people to recognize your leadership, they should also be able to recognize God's hand on your life. Look at verse 18 again, and I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me. True followers of Jesus will not submit themselves under a leadership simply because of that leadership's charisma, or their personality, or how attractive they are.
48:12 True followers of Jesus Christ want to see God's blessing upon that leadership because they really want to be led to and led by the Lord. And the only way a leader can cultivate that is by doing what Nehemiah did in chapter one before what he said in chapter two. Nehemiah knew how to get along with God. Nehemiah knew how to sit at God's feet. Nehemiah knew what it meant to develop and cultivate a real relationship with the Lord.
48:48 Look again at verse 18, and I told him of the hand of my God. I have a personal, living, vibrant relationship with God. And he could back it up. He wasn't just saying it. People can tell.
49:03 Discerning people can tell at least. That's why I said that earlier about Saul. He had the throne but he didn't have God's presence. He had the palace but he didn't have God's anointing. How can I know that God's hand is on my life?
49:28 Well, let me remind you what Ezra said about it back in Ezra chapter five. Excuse me, Ezra chapter eight. Look at Ezra eight with me in verse 22. For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king the hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him. Ezra knew how to seek God.
50:06 Nehemiah knew how to seek God. And because they knew how to seek God in private, people can see God's hand on them in public. There are no shortcuts to this in the ministry. You can't get God's hand on your life by getting a seminary degree. And notice the order of Nehemiah's testimony and inspiration and encouragement.
50:30 Does he mention the king's support first or how God's hand was on his life first? Verse 18 tells us very clearly. He mentions God's hand on his life first and then the king. He has his priorities right. Because who cares if you have the support of all the world's kings and yet the king of the universe is not in the picture?
50:54 Who cares? Means nothing. Oh, you may have something. You may be able to put something together, but it will not have the fragrance of the Lord Jesus Christ. It will not have the impact that it can have.
51:10 And so if we want... I'm speaking specifically to leaders. If we want our leadership to actually have results, you need nothing else than God's hand on your life. So when people look at you, they say that's God's wisdom. And when they look at your love, they say that's God's love.
51:34 That's God's love in that that person's heart. And when they see how you interact with others, they say that's... That attracts me to Jesus. Nehemiah had that. Be a unifier, be an encourager, leader or not, if you want your ministry to be blessed.
52:01 We've come to our final point, verse nineteen and twenty. 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?' 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.' We looked at verse 19 earlier, but we did not look into Nehemiah's response to the words of his opponents. And these rebels moved from merely harboring feelings toward the Jews to actually speaking directly against them. And it's only gonna get more intense in the following chapters.
52:52 What's their goal in speaking this way? Well, again, they heard, they got news of what Nehemiah is proposing. They heard about it, so what are they going to attempt to do? Belittle them? Question their motives?
53:09 Instill fear in them so that they can second guess their ambition? And he specifically, as somebody said earlier, bring up the King. Are you rebelling against the King? Why would they do that? Because these Jews who have returned from exile have been traumatized by their exile.
53:33 They don't want to ruffle any feathers. They don't want to have to deal with the king who is in power over over the known world. I'm sure that the temptation would be, let's just go on with our lives and not step on anybody's toes. And so what they bring back to their mind is, you are potentially messing with the king. You realize that.
53:51 Right? Now here's what they don't understand perhaps, Nehemiah received permission from the king. But what so moves me about this man is that he doesn't even respond to them about his relationship with the king. That would seem like the right thing to do. Let me put you in your place.
54:15 You wanna threaten our people with the king? Oh, here's a letter from the king. He doesn't even do that. He just mentions God. Here's the final point for us to consider if we want to know successful enduring ministry.
54:36 Be absolutely convinced of God's call. Be absolutely persuaded that God has called you where he has called you. He appeals to God because he understands that with or without the king, if God is on my side, if God has really called me to this, I will prosper. We will prosper. As wonderful the support of the Persian government is and the Jewish people was, Nehemiah understood the only thing that can sustain him is if God was in favor of him.
55:16 Because here's the nature of ministry, you just have to be real about it. People can turn on you at any time. Even those who at once seem to be the strongest supporters. I'm not trying to make anybody here pessimistic or to be paranoid, but I want to be real. That's just the case.
55:37 It happened to the Lord Jesus with one of the 12. Don't think it can't happen to you. And in those moments, what you are going to need more than anything else is the assurance that what you're doing for the Lord is worth it because he called you to it. I know that I am here because God called me here. I know with absolute certainty that he's the one who opened this door for me.
56:07 I know that providence has sweetly led me to this post. I know that he gifted me to serve in this capacity. I know it. Will that be challenged from time to time? Sure.
56:17 But you need to still know it down deep inside. So even when those lies and those intimidations and those slanderous words come to you, when people question your motives and all that, it'd be very difficult for you to believe it. I know. And you see, one of the main reasons why this man was able to endure what we find in chapter two to the end of the book is because what he gained from God in chapter one. Do we find any hint of this kind of wisdom in the New Testament?
56:53 Again, I'm going to use Timothy. What did Paul tell this man who was ready to give up? Because he was ready to give up. He was ready to leave Ephesus. And that's why Paul tells him in those epistles to Timothy, remain at Ephesus.
57:08 You can't leave. Be patient. Endure. There's enough people who come in and out. Don't be like them.
57:19 And one of the things that he reminds Timothy of, and I invite you to turn there, is in first Timothy chapter one. This is a verse, I'm sure, that can cause much debate. I'm not here to bring up this verse to talk about how this looks or how this works in the church today. It's in your bible and mine, and every part of the bible is meant for our instruction. Look at first Timothy one verse 18.
57:51 Paul says, this charge I entrust to you, Timothy my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare. What's Paul telling Timothy? Timothy, I know that you want to abandon this ministry. I know it's getting very difficult. I know that as much as Ephesus began in a wonderful revival, it's getting messy, and there's so many things out of order, and there's false teachers within.
58:24 Timothy, I'm telling you, you can fight this fight. And some of the things that you need to recall in order for you to stay where you are is to remember what was said to you prophetically. How God used trusted voices in your life to, through the Spirit, confirm your calling. Remember that and use that to fight this fight. God called you to this ministry, Timothy.
58:53 And again, I'm not here to discuss how that looks today. Is that applicable today? Has that ceased? We'll talk about that, I'm sure, at some point. But look at the principle.
59:04 What is Paul asking of this young man? Remind yourself how God is the one who led you to this point. And that's why you need to have some kind of awareness and confidence. As soon as you can get it, the better. I'm here because the Lord...
59:29 This is not my idea. I didn't twist arms and kick through doors for me to get where I'm at. I never ever encourage anybody to force themselves into a ministry because you have no idea what you're signing up for. Let the Lord lead you. Let the Lord promote you.
59:48 Psalms tells us that promotion is from the Lord. Let the Lord do it because you're gonna need to know that when all hell breaks out over your life. And when you're beginning to get traction and things are beginning to move ahead and fruit and lives are being impacted and people are being encouraged and church is being built up through your life, Satan is not gonna sit idly by. And one of the things that he will do is make you question yourself. Where are you gonna go in that moment?
1:00:20 Oh, yes. Is there time times where we need to make a phone call to a mentor or a dear friend like Jonathan was to David and Jonathan told him, you are going to be king. We need that from time to time. But you need to know it for yourself. You can't just rely on what people are saying purely, you need your own relationship with the Lord in this matter.
1:00:41 You need to know something between you and him that this is something that's been entrusted to me from God himself. Be convinced of God's call, even if it's a seasonal thing. I know that for this period, I don't know how long this is gonna last, I know that I'm called to this. And especially if it's a lifelong thing, like being a pastor. We learned today seven principles for effective ministry that God has granted to us in this chapter.
1:01:17 And I believe these things have been approved and have been tested because when we continue Nehemiah's story, we're going to see that the foundational principles that we just learned actually work. We're still in Nehemiah chapter two. We have a few chapters to go, and you are going to be encouraged to see that these seven things indeed indeed help us in our call. I do have more things to say, but we'll leave it for another time. Let's pray and ask God's blessing.
1:02:02 Surely, Lord, with every single one of these things that we heard, with every single one of these principles, they can be expanded. They can be deepened. But, Lord, we trust that as we've just skimmed the surface, they will equip us. We have enough to work with, Lord, to to respond to these truths. Lord, we wanna thank you for every member of this church that takes service to God seriously.
1:02:31 Thank you that even in this new season as a church, we've seen so many give their hearts and their souls to the kingdom of God expressed through Maranatha Bible Church. It's been so moving to witness. And Lord, we believe that you are just speaking into that through this Bible study and we pray that we would receive it humbly from the leadership down. And Lord, we pray that in this season especially help us to be intentionally unifying and encouraging with all the demands and maybe even the stress and all the deadlines, Lord. Help us lift one another up.
1:03:11 Help us work together. For those who are experiencing the warfare that Nehemiah experienced, that as they seem to be seeing more results and more fruit, they're being bombarded by thoughts or maybe even circumstances that are discouraging them. Bring to mind, Lord, bring to mind how you've led them up to this point. The doors you close, the doors you open, the encouragement that they've heard from the past. Lord, may we know what to do, when to do it, what to say, when to say it.
1:03:49 May you give us discernment about even how the enemy works. So much, Lord, so much has been brought to our attention. But But we pray that we would not be overwhelmed. We pray that we would be able to take all of this and meditate throughout this week. Thank you, Lord, how your word is so precise, how it's so again relevant.
1:04:13 We praise you for it and we ask that you would help us be ministers, molded and shaped into the image of Jesus Christ. We love you and we honor you with all of our hearts. In Jesus name we pray, amen and amen. Let's stand. If you wanna sit and you wanna speak to the Lord, you can do that.
1:04:31 But if you wanna sing to the Lord at this time, let's rejoice in this word together.
