God Always Wins

Introduction

Folks, God always wins. I remember a time, as a 20 year old, thinking that I had everything and my entire future figured out and that I was destined for greatness and nothing or no one would get in my way. In that, I knew that for some reason (though I didn’t know why), God needed to be a bigger part of it (that I could exploit). I can remember that day, working by myself getting ready for a busy Friday at Paul’s Pizza Palace in my hometown of White Bluff, TN deciding on a plan of what to do next (and a little ways further in my life). First, I needed to make a good name for myself. I would do this by doubling down on my major at college and doing lots of good and hard outside work in it (which would lead to my brief career in politics). I planned on going so far and so hard, even to the point of getting rid of anyone in my life who would get in my way. Then, the next step, I would marry a good woman who would be in my corner so I could further my political career. Afterwards, I would get right with God on my own terms, which I decided at that time was to merely read my bible from time to time and attend a church (preferably a big one so that could help my political career). Man, did God have His way with me, I fought Him, and He won, and now, at the age of 33 my life looks nothing like what my stubborn 20 year old God useing self wanted. God always wins. All those plans came tumbling down, because I couldn’t win, your enemies can’t win, and you can’t win against God.

Prayer

Father God, we thank You for Who You are. A great Big God who sees each and every one of us here and cares deeply about us. We ask this day, as we are continuing in this time of worship to You, reading Your Word and hearing Your Word, that You refine us with it. Mold us, make us, shape us, rearrange us so that we can be more like You, and made more into the image of Christ. Help us be a people who love You and love others so much, that we are moved into action by whatever it is You are going to show us about Yourself today and what that means in our lives. Help us do this, because all too often our selfish and sinless flesh war against our will to follow Yours. As we are doing this, and as we are coming into Your Word today, we ask that You take away any distraction that we may have, and make it go as far away as it possibly can, because we want to see and we want to know You better. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.

Context

In our last sermon through the book of Nehemiah, we saw internal problems within the people start to have people’s lives and financial situations in the nation unravel. This is because the nobility and wealthy along with influence from outsiders at this point had a long standing habit of swindling the brother and sister Israelites for all their worth. In fact, the average person (who would have even been working on the wall rebuilding project) was in a dire situation. First of all, there was a famine in the area, so food was scarce. Secondly, almost everyone had been called away from their farms and homes to contribute to wall and town rebuilding, so they couldn’t provide well for themselves. Thirdly, past government pressure from excess taxes and extortion left them crippled. Fourth, the nobles and wealthy dealings with them, made them powerless to do anything about it, as at this point the people had even turned to selling their children into slavery to have some financial relief.

Now, this all came to heads, as the wealthy got richer, the poor got poorer, and had no prospect of coming out of it. All of this went on, while the nation tried to return other brother and sister Isralite from slavery out in the othernation, but the slave trade was sinfully strong in the region. These abusers of the people were made to return all that they had wrongly taken as the wronged cried to God and Nehemiah for intervention.

Now, with that internal situation taken care of, external problems came up again. That is, the outside enemies had given up on the all out attack and warfare against Israel, and instead turned their attention to their leader, Nehemiah, hoping to take the nation down by taking him down. Despite their efforts, despite their schemes, it’s clear in today’s text that Our God turns the impossible into victory. He certainly did this for the people of Israel and Nehemiah, and He certainly can do this for you as well. Our God turns the impossible into victory, because our God always wins, and no feat or problem is to big or to small for Him. Let’s see that unfold in our text today, and see our part in it as we jump into the text where I want you to see, understand, and do these actions because you know that God always wins.

Message

The first action to see, understand and do is to: Look to God for Strength 1-9

6 When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and that no gap was left in it—though at that time I had not installed the doors in the city gates— 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent me a message: “Come, let’s meet together in the villages of[a] the Ono Valley.” They were planning to harm me.3 So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing important work and cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?” 4 Four times they sent me the same proposal, and I gave them the same reply.5 Sanballat sent me this same message a fifth time by his aide, who had an open letter in his hand. 6 In it was written:It is reported among the nations—and Geshem[b] agrees—that you and the Jews plan to rebel. This is the reason you are building the wall. According to these reports, you are to become their king 7 and have even set up the prophets in Jerusalem to proclaim on your behalf, “There is a king in Judah.” These rumors will be heard by the king. So come, let’s confer together.8 Then I replied to him, “There is nothing to these rumors you are spreading; you are inventing them in your own mind.” 9 For they were all trying to intimidate us, saying, “They will drop their hands from[c] the work, and it will never be finished.”But now, my God, strengthen my hands.

So, the enemies of the past had not given up just yet. Only, now they heard that the wall had been completed (but the gates and doors were not up yet). With the new development, they decided to change their tactics from large scale operations, to focusing on Nehemiah alone. They began first by luring Nehemiah into a trap about a day's journey from Jerusalem. Nehemiah was wise to this, and responded simply with, “I’m very busy doing an important job right now, I cannot come to you.” For 4 times, they tried this tactic, each time with the same response. On the 5th time, they turned to more drastic lies, saying that Nehemiah planned on rebelling and naming himself king. So, let’s “plan/work” together to get rid of these rumors. Nehemiah's response was: “You are lying, you are the one spreading the rumors, you have made them up. Leave me alone.” This was all because they did not want the hard work of rebuilding the Holy city of Jerusalem completed. Nehemiah ends this section by turning to prayer, asking for his hands to be strengthened, instead of failing as the enemies wanted.

Did you know that superhuman strength, in whatever it may be, is something that is very much real and possible for you? Now, i’m not talking about that kind of strength that we imagine when we think of superheroes like superman. As a quick aside, he is the least interesting of all the superheroes to me, because the idea of a powerful man who is great at everything and has superpowers that help him do so, doesn’t seem very interesting and kind of boring to me. Need something heavy moved? Good thing he is stronger than anything…. Something or someone is spreading away, good thing superman is the fastest thing ever….. Yawn. Rather, I feel drawn more to heroes that have more real problems (other than a made rock called kryptonite) that always affect every inch and power they have. Like how batman (as the world's greatest detective) is made better by his need to find his parents murdered but is also weighed down by it at the same time. Batman is strong because in his weakness he is strong.

We can say a similar (but much greater) thing for you, believer. That is, when you are weak, when you are at your ropes and there is nothing left for you to do, your great and mighty God’s power works and can be seen by everyone. I didn’t do it, Jacob didn’t do it, ) ____ didn’t do it, God did that, and in no other way could the giant, the obstacle, the hurt, the pain, the sadness be overcome. What you/we/me have to be willing to do, is to give up control, give up what makes you comfortable, and put that sin aside; instead we are to look to God for strength, renewing, refreshing, because His might and power and ability is limitless; and ours is very very very much frail. Look to God for strength, not yourself, not anyone else. Our God turns the impossible into victory. And many times this victory comes up in a way that we don’t want or like, but is what is best for the kingdom of God. What you have to be willing to ask yourself is, is am I all in for God, and is God’s victory a victory for me, or do I see anything other than my want, my will, my way as the victory. As a child of you God, you know that the answer should be, your life isn’t even your own and is just a cloud of vapor that will be easily blown away, but the glory of the eternal God is forever. So, look deep in yourself, and look to God for strength.

The next action to see, understand, and do is to: Look to God to right the wrongs 10-14

10 I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was restricted to his house. He said:Let’s meet at the house of God, inside the temple. Let’s shut the temple doors because they’re coming to kill you. They’re coming to kill you tonight![d]11 But I said, “Should a man like me run away? How can someone like me enter the temple and live? I will not go.” 12 I realized that God had not sent him, because of the prophecy he spoke against me. Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 He was hired, so that I would be intimidated, do as he suggested, sin, and get a bad reputation, in order that they could discredit me. 14 My God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat for what they have done, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the other prophets who wanted to intimidate me.

One way or another, Nehemiah was asked to come to Shemaiah’s home, a man that many people believed to be a prophet (that is, someone that spoke for God). It should be known, that both in this time and our time, many false prophets exist, and here was one. This supposed prophet (with the help of the scheming enemies) hatched up a plan to have Nehemiah sin and be discredited. That is, they told him his life was in danger, so they were to go to a safe place “Oh, how about the temple!” and go their because they are coming tonight. Now, here is what is interesting, Shemaiah was supposed to be home bound (most likely by injury). But suddenly, he could go all the way to the temple, and what’s even more interesting is that a supposed prophet of God, would urge Nehemiah sin in a great big way! Only the priests were allowed in the temple! A true prophet of God would never ever ever do this!… Yet here we are. Nehemiah, being a wise man, didn’t fall for this, and realized that he was hired to this terrible deed. Nehemiah then finishes this situation out, by turning to God to remember this wicked situation, and right the wrongs that the many enemies he had were doing.

I’m sure many of you here are familiar with the famous Christian Author CS Lewis, and are probably even more familiar with his most famous books (some of which were made into movies almost 20 years ago, the Chronicles of Narnai). In the book and film “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” we see a scene where everyone in the magical land of Narnia had been wronged for many many years, this was the hand of the Witch (who is representation of Satan), who has the world under her control and power, and has made the world live in endless winter, always winter, but never Christmas, was the world the Narnian’s lived in. The people of Narnia, looked towards their great king, Aslan (a lion who was a representation of our Jesus) to save them and restore the world to it’s beauty. In Narnia, they had a little nursery rhyme that was both true and gave them hope it goes like this, “‘Wrong will be right when Aslan comes in sight, at the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more. When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death and when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again‘.”

They were looking to Aslan (Jesus, God the Son) to right their wrongs. Nehemiah was looking to God to right the wrongs, just as we do both now and the future. Indeed, it is in our, your, my, everyone you’ve ever met and will ever meet, sin nature to try to make large wrongs done to us right and have retribution and vengeance for and against those that have wronged us. But, our God does not call us to be a people that are looking for, seeking, and acting out retribution and vengeance. No, rather He desires that we live peaceably and sensibly among others, knowing that He (the almighty king of glory) will make things right, the vengeance will be His and He will deal with whomever or whatever it is in the way that is best. This is hard to accept, and seems impossible in our eyes that can only see shockingly small away. We need not worry about the battle, just that we are doing our part as children of God and ambassadors of Christ, because Our God turns the impossible into victory. So, look to God to right the wrongs. Do so yourself, and you will lose, instead let God, because God always wins.

Another Action to see, understand, and do is to: Look to God to accomplish His will. 15-19

15 The wall was completed in fifty-two days, on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul. 16 When all our enemies heard this, all the surrounding nations were intimidated and lost their confidence,[e] for they realized that this task had been accomplished by our God.17 During those days, the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them. 18 For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, since he was a son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah. 19 These nobles kept mentioning Tobiah’s good deeds to me, and they reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me.

We see here, a clear indication of how long it took to do this giant work, some 52 back breaking, hot, grueling, and hard days. Yet, it was done, and all the enemies that had been pestering and meddling before lost heart. They could see that there was indeed a God in Israel, and He had made the people to prosper in their mission to rebuild the walls. So, they backed off, everyone except at least one it seemed. Still, Tobiah, the ammonite, was working against Nehemiah. You see, he stood to lose a lot with Jerusalem’s protection and increase in prominence and power. And he refused to let that go. So, he used the leverage (by marriages, family lineages, and business dealings) he made over the years to his advantage. Everywhere around Nehemiah, people kept dropping hints about how great of a person Tobiah was (to make him have doubts in his decisions and soften his heart. Yet still, Tobiah proved his treachery by sending letters to intimidate the governor Nehemiah into acting more favorably to him. Nonetheless, with all the problems and attacks, the wall was completed.

Needless to say, the action of Israel rebuilding the temple and rebuilding the wall and city of Jerusalem was within His will. He was there all along the way, and worked for it’s success. Though the Israelites rebelled against Him and this led to the terrible situation the exiles and remnant in Israel was in, still it was God’s will that His chosen people be restored to Him, and here we see a major stepping stone to get there, with the path ending at Jesus’ death on the cross to pay for our sins, and your own confessing of Jesus as Savior and Lord. We can try and try and try to save ourselves and others. You can bail someone out time and time again, you can physically rescue someone from a burning house or wrecked car, you can provide the best to give them a good opportunity for success; But the truth is, you can’t save anyone. Now, you may be doing your part to share Jesus with another, but that’s not what saves someone. No, putting their faith in Jesus’ sacrifice does that. Instead of looking to your own powers and desires to save someone, look to God to accomplish His will. Yes, with nothing provided from you but some words about a savior and a dusty old bible may seem like far too little, but with God, it is more than enough.Our God turns the impossible into victory. Are you ready to win with God? Then let Him, and become less yourself.

Conclusion

Beloved, Jesus died for you, and for everyone in this church body so that you can have a great victory with Him. So, are you, are we seeing victory in your individual faith lives and the lives and health of our church body? I urge each of us to reflect deeply and do these things, Look to God for Strength, Look to God to right the wrongs, and Look to God to accomplish His will. Oftentimes this is done in and through the way we never would have expected, wanted, or thought of, yet our God can and still will do it if we are but ready to surrender to Him and His will. Our God turns the impossible to Victory. He must win, and He is very concerned about His glory, honor, and respect. Are you, am I, are we truly ready to let ourselves aside so that God can charge forward for His Kingdom and His glory?

With all of that being said, I would be remiss if I didn’t share the Gospel (or the Good News) of Jesus Christ with you today, for the benefit of both believer and non-believer in the room. This begins all the way back at the beginning, God created everything, and he created all things good. He gave His most treasured creation (us, mankind) the ability of free will, the ability to choose Him or rebellion. Man was deceived by Satan and desired to be like God and sinned (or rebelled against God). This brought the curse of sin and death into the world and it remains with us to this day; which separates us from God. God, though, loved His creation (mankind) so much that He worked through history to redeem all mankind that would turn to Him from sin so that we can experience a full and perfect relationship with Him again. This was through the perfect and final sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the pay for sins. Accepting this free gift from God, makes you new and forgiven. All you have to do is accept this free gift by repenting and believing in the Lord Jesus and you will get to experience the good side of God’s justice forever. So, now that you know this, you can no longer plead ignorance. I invite and urge you to respond today non-believer and apply this to every part of your life believers in the audience today.

Father God, we thank You for Who You are. A great Big God who sees each and every one of us here and cares deeply about us. We ask this day, as we are continuing in this time of worship to You, reading Your Word and hearing Your Word, that You refine us with it. Mold us, make us, shape us, rearrange us so that we can be more like You, and made more into the image of Christ. Help us be a people who love You and love others so much, that we are moved into action by whatever it is You are going to show us about Yourself today and what that means in our lives. Help us do this, because all too often our selfish and sinless flesh war against our will to follow Yours. As we are doing this, and as we are coming into Your Word today, we ask that You take away any distraction that we may have, and make it go as far away as it possibly can, because we want to see and we want to know You better. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.