Sermon Tone Analysis

Our gracious God and loving Father, as we continue in Your presence, we pray that You will bless us now and that You will set us before You.

That You will give help as we turn to the Word of God.

We pray for a great sense of Your nearness.

We pray for that quickening influence of the Holy Spirit.

Come and breathe on us we pray, we ask for help now, we pray in Jesus name and for His sake!

Amen.

— 9 Then I went to the governors in the region beyond the River, and gave them the king’s letters.

Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me. 10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of it, they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel.

11 So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days.

12 Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me; I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem; nor was there any animal with me, except the one on which I rode.

13 And I went out by night through the Valley Gate to the Serpent Well and the Refuse Gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were burned with fire.

14 Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to pass.

15 So I went up in the night by the valley, and viewed the wall; then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned.

16 And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I had done; I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, or the others who did the work.

17 Then I said to them, “You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire.

Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.”

18 And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me.

So they said, “Let us rise up and build.”

Then they set their hands to this good work.

19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that you are doing?

Will you rebel against the king?” 20 So I answered them, and said to them, “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem.”

So from the palace in Susa, Nehemiah comes to Jerusalem and immediately the work of God is met with opposition.

We are introduced to three special enemies named

• Sanballat, from Beth Horan, about twelve miles from Jerusalem;

• Tobiah, an Ammonite; and

• Geshem, an Arabian ().

We’ll learn more about these sinister people next week.

The Persecutor’s.

But, Nehemiah would soon discover that his biggest problem was not the enemy on the outside

but the compromisers on the inside, a problem the church still faces today.

Then in v11-16 after a three day rest, Nehemiah takes some time to get the lay of the land.

So we can glean what good leaders do: they don’t rush into the work, but patiently gathers the facts firsthand and then plans his strategy

— He who answers a matter before he hears it, It is folly and shame to him.

But Nehemiah goes on an inspection tour to investigate the extent of the damage.

He wants no one to interfere or ask questions at this point and goes out on his own to become more clear about the necessary repairs.

Twice he states the lack of knowledge of his activities on the part of the community (vv.

12 and 16), and, finally, he is ready to reveal his plan.

So here’s a man (Nehemiah) who has a personal burden for the work of God and how God had been at work already in his life.

The Congregation

For others this morning.

I know you have a burden for God and His work and…

others it’s like trying to relight wood that’s been burned already…

but for those who have a burden in your heart for the cause of God,

we want to focus on vv17-20 this morning as we look at Performing the Great Commission.

Here is how grace and works go together.

The sovereign “God of heaven” graciously directs events for His redemptive purposes.

As he did for Joseph, Daniel, and Ester, He brings favor with these different kings.

So Nehemiah now knows God’s grace personally, he responds with wholehearted service:

• praying continually,

The Contenders

• preparing carefully,

• rousing himself for his nighttime inspection, and

• wisely articulating his plan of action

—even when surrounded by the threats and jeers of hostile enemies (, ).

Nehemiah’s summary: God makes us prosper, and we His servants arise and build (v.

20).

This is the pattern of the gospel: God delivers us from our sin; we gratefully respond.

God acts in marvelous mercy, and we respond accordingly out of hearts transformed by grace.

Let’s look first of all at:

The Obtaining for the Great Commission

Obtaining for the Commission.

— Then I said to them, “You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire.

Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.”

Here Nehemiah is Recruiting in the Obtaining people for the work.

Follow this very carefully.

Nehemiah’s call to the inhabitants of Jerusalem was: ‘Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace’ (2:17).

He associates himself fully with them in their distress: ‘You see the trouble we are in … let us rebuild … we will no longer be in disgrace.’

The caring attitude of Nehemiah was in stark contrast to the selfishness of previous governors (5:14–18).

His genuine concern for them inspires confidence in his leadership.

So Nehemiah identifies with their struggle, making it his own.

Then he presents spiritual perspectives.

He’s going to describe the spiritual trouble that they are all are in.

It’s not just the fact that Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire.

Far more serious than the physical desolation is the spiritual disgrace.

The motivation was in part, one of honor.

See the distress that we are in...

And in the hands of a God-fearing man whose sole ambition was God’s glory,

it was a belief that they—the Jews—were set apart by divine word and covenant.

The prospect of facing disgrace was the motivator that Nehemiah employed.

The rest of the world, in effect, was laughing at Israel.

With all their talk of

being the people of God and the

invincibility of Jerusalem,

invincibility of Jerusalem,

the Israelites had spent the past century and a half in servitude to foreign empires,

which had subjected them to much shame.

Oh beloved, how many spurious claims have been made from this podium about people promising to walk with Christ and with us together?

Only to turn away from this church body for any number of reasons.

Reasons that satan takes and twists them and makes them appear to be things that they are not.

Then, not only to God’s people believe them (which just confuses the sheep)

but causes the Church of Jesus Christ right here in this church to become a mockery and a disgrace!

Beloved, this is why it is crucial for us to be diligent in evaluating our purpose, our motives, and our aim.

(front and center in the bulletin)

Our purpose to Exalt Christ, Equip the saints, Extent the Kingdom of Christ to those with no hope!

And our motive for doing it; is because our hearts have been transformed by God through Christ in the gospel!

And out aim is FAITHFULNESS!

To be faithful in our

worship of Christ,

faithful in making disciples of Christ

faithful in making disciples of Christ

faithful in our presentation of Christ in the gospel!