We Cannot Do It Alone

Nehemiah 1:1-4 1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, 2 That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. 3 And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. 4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,

Chapter 1 goes on to relate the prayer that Nehemiah prays. Chapter 2 opens with the account of a grief-stricken Nehemiah before the king and how the king granted his request for safe passage to Jerusalem and even provided the lumber that would be needed to complete the job that God had given him.

Nehemiah 2:11-20 11 So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days. 12 And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon. 13 And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire. 14 Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king's pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass. 15 Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and t. ed back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned. 16 And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work. 17 Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. 18 Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work. 19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king? 20 Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.

Nehemiah 3 now tells us about the men who built the wall.

Nehemiah 3:1-3 1 Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel. 2 And next unto him builded the men of Jericho. And next to them builded Zaccur the son of Imri. 3 But the fish gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.

In Nehemiah 3:

Next: 15 times

After Him: 16 times

References someone else building without "next or after him: 10 times

41 times in 32 verses, Nehemiah 3 tells us that,

WE CANNOT DO IT ALONE

I. The Measure Of The Task

The wall being built here is approximately 2.5 miles long, 40 feet high, and 8 ft wide.

This was not something that one man could do. Yes, God had put it in Nehemiah's heart to do this, but He knew that Nehemiah would need someone to come alongside him to complete the task!

Ecclesiastes 4:9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.

Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

Hebrews 10:24-25 24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Exhorting: Inciting to good deeds by words or arguments; encouraging; counseling. Webster 1828

One believer will encourage help, and stimulate another believer to evidence the fruit of a saved life. It is no part of the Christian life to willfully "go it alone." Christians need the help to be derived from each other's fellowship. Phillips Exploring Hebrews

1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.

The measure of the task that we have is greater than that of Nehemiah! We are tasked as Christians to …. Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. Mark 16:15

…. ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Acts 1:8

II. The Opposition To The Task

We are introduced to the opposition in chapter 2 verse 10 Nehemiah 2:10 When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.

In chapter 4, when they heard that wall was actually being built, they conceived a plan to stop the work that God had placed in the heart of Nehemiah. Nehemiah 4:1-3 1 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews. 2 And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned? 3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.

Nehemiah 4:7-8 7 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth, 8 And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.

III. The Devotion To The Task

In verse 12, we see that there were those who, while not involved in the work, still had a heart for the work. Nehemiah 4:12 And it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places whence ye shall return unto us they will be upon you.

I cannot fully explain why these Jews were not involved in the work of building the wall and why they were dwelling by the enemies of the work, but I want to make an application to those who just not "IN" the work but are instead in another place, IN another work, but still have an interest for the work we are doing.

Supporting churches

Friends

Family

Other Missionaries

These are people who, when they see something that could be detrimental to the work, take an interest and do what they can to see the work continue.

Going back to Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. 10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.

When we think about things like this, we often think about someone falling into sin, but what about when it is just discouragement.

I have been counseled many times by men in the Northwest, and specifically in Idaho, that the work God has called me to will be discouraging at times. They have told me that the biggest hindrance to "guys from the east" is that we have a reputation for coming out here and leaving when it doesn't go as planned. The thing that I appreciate about these each of the men that have told me that is that WITHOUT FAIL, they have in some way said, "BUT I DO NOT WANT THAT TO BE YOU! I WILL DO EVERYTHING I CAN TO HELP YOU THROUGH THE HARD TIMES!" That is what we need, it is not me against you, or you against me! It US fighting together, it is US working together, it is US carrying out what God has put in each of our hearts TOGETHER BECAUSE WE CANNOT DO IT ALONE!!!!

Nehemiah 4:13 Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. Every person had their part, and every person was willing to fight for what God had called them to do.

No longer is this just Nehemiah's work. No longer is it just Nehemiah that is invested. Every person here has devoted themselves to building and has devoted themselves to seeing the task completed.

Nehemiah 4:15 And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work.

The enemy's plan was brought to naught because of the people standing and working together. Had 41 individual groups been working, the enemy may have picked them off one by one, but with those same groups working together, there was nothing the enemy could do.

Nehemiah 4:16-17 16 And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah. 17 They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon.

Nehemiah 4:21 So we laboured in the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared.

Every man was ready to work and to fight, but no man worked alone. Every worker had someone behind or beside him who was charged with watching his back.

III. The Unity In The Task Nehemiah 4:18-20 18 For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me. 19 And I said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another. 20 In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall fight for us.

Nehemiah and the people have now seen that they have an adversary, 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: and because of this they have a plan in place to call upon one another, and to rally to the aid and defense of each other in time of need. Not only is there unity in building, but there is unity in fighting as well.

IV. The Completion Of The Task

Nehemiah 6:15-16 15 So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days. 16 And it came to pass, that when all our enemies heard thereof, and all the heathen that were about us saw these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God.

Nehemiah and the people never found, and I don't believe they ever looked for a place to stop until the task was finished! Our task is to be about our Lord's business, and there are stopping points along the way. We all have a task that is set before us; let us devote ourselves to finishing that task for His honor and His glory!

Acts 20:24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

WE CANNOT DO IT ALONE