Serving the God of the Impossible!

Welcome

Good Morning! I’m Pastor Wayne and I’d like to welcome you all to the gathering of Ephesus Baptist Church.

As we gather this morning, it is imperative that we understand why we gather. We gather to worship and exalt the name of the one who has become our salvation. The right hand of the Father, our Lord Jesus Christ!

If you are visiting with us this morning, we want you to who we are...

We are all one family of faith: “giving our all to love God, love people, proclaim Jesus, and make disciples in our generation.”

That is our mission, our purpose, why we exist as a church.

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.

Who’s Your One?

Scripture Memory

Romans 8:34 ESV

34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

Opening Scripture Reading

Ephesians 3 ESV

1 For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— 2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. 4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. 8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. 13 So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. 14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Opening Prayer

Introduction

Today we are going to talk about “Serving the God of the Impossible!”

Join me in Nehemiah, Chapter 6! Please stand in honor of the reading of God’s word!

Do you know why I ask you to stand?

The reason we stand is because the Word of God deserves our respect. It is our authority as the people of God. It is the foundation on which we stand. It is what God reveals to us. It is right and good and true. We need to hear from the Word of the Lord today!

Nehemiah 6:15–7:5 ESV

15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. 17 Moreover, in 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, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah: and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah as his wife. 19 Also they spoke of his good deeds in my presence and reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to make me afraid. 1 Now when the wall had been built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, 2 I gave my brother Hanani and Hananiah the governor of the castle charge over Jerusalem, for he was a more faithful and God-fearing man than many. 3 And I said to them, “Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot. And while they are still standing guard, let them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, some at their guard posts and some in front of their own homes.” 4 The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few, and no houses had been rebuilt. 5 Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogy. And I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up at the first, and I found written in it:

Prayer for Illumination

In the beginning, the rebuilding of the wall must have seemed to be an impossible task to the Jewish people, especially in the face of intense opposition.

But nothing is impossible for God.

Luke 1:37 ESV

37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”

And nothing is impossible for God’s people if we will give God the credit and the glory as we are obedient to the commands of Christ.

Jesus said,

John 14:12 ESV

12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

Nehemiah’s Wall Restoration project is a good example of the power of God working through His servants to make the impossible possible.

Throughout all the opposition and persecution Nehemiah endured from his enemies, he never sought his own revenge. He handed his enemies over to the Lord, in prayer, to deal with according to His divine justice. And God honored Nehemiah’s faithfulness.

In the closing verses of Nehemiah 6, we see the outcome of the wall restoration project Nehemiah has led in obedience to God: Nehemiah and the people of Judah, working in obedience to God’s plan, completed this impossible project in just fifty-two days.

What was true in Nehemiah’s day is still true today. We serve the same God Nehemiah served. We face mounting challenges and stiffening opposition, just as Nehemiah did. If we stand firm in our faith. If we stand firm in God’s promises, we too, will see God make the impossible possible as He changes hearts and transforms lives.

In our passage, Nehemiah provides us with four Biblical truths that will help us to stand firm and serve the God of the Impossible in obedient faith!

There is a lot to discuss here, so today we will look at the first two truths and continue the sermon next week with the final two truths.

1. Celebrate all the work that God accomplishes through His people. (6:15-19)

a. The Wall is Finished!

Let the triumph of verse 15 sink in!

Nehemiah 6:15 ESV

15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days.

They started the work in August, and they finished it in October. Fifty-two days have passed, and in that time they have rebuilt the wall.

We are finally at the moment that Nehemiah and all the laborers had waited for. After significant opposition, internal conflict, and countless hours of labor, the last stone has been laid, the final gate has been hinged, the wall is finally complete. Surely there was an atmosphere of celebration here even though Nehemiah doesn’t mention it.

What they once thought was impossible, God has made possible before their very eyes?

Christian, never underestimate what God can accomplish through you when you are obedient to service he has called you to!

Church when you see what God does through you celebrate it while realizing that the world around you will see God’s hand in your work, even if they do not admit it right away.

We want to be people who do things that can only be done because God is helping us. We don’t want to be people who do things that can be explained away by ordinary human effort. We don’t want the world to look at what we have done and say, “Anybody with financial means, market savvy, and cultural sensitivity could pull that off.” We don’t want that.

We want to be people like Nehemiah whom God was able to work a miracle through. Consider all the opposition they faced and the wall was finished in record time. Guess what the nations recognized it as God’s miraculous hand!

b. The nations perceived God’s helping hand.

Check out verse 16! I love this!

Nehemiah 6:16 ESV

16 And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.

Opposition will come, but God is able to strengthen us to overcome whatever we face to accomplish His purposes.

Again, Nehemiah refers to those he would call, “our enemies.” Enemies represent all who are opposed to the Lord God and His work. He calls them the nations, some translations may say “the heathen, the pagans, or the gentiles.” These nations had a hatred for the Jewish God and His people.

Remember Sanballat and the three stooges had already been aligning the surrounding nations against Nehemiah and Jerusalem. They hated God and His people.

You have to admit that there is a great hatred for the work of King Jesus in our society. What we have to wrestle with is the fact that the people who hate us do not have a problem with religion or even religious people, but they hate those who are committed to serving the Lord Jesus Christ.

John 15:18 ESV

18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.

Sadly, we don’t have to leave our own communities to find them. We are surrounded by enemies of the cross who’s opposition is rooted in unbelief.

Look no further than the events that unfolded on the United Methodist campus of Duke University this past week when the Student Body Government was allowed by the administration to remove the charter of a Christian Club called “Young Life,” simply because they have taken a stand to say that sexually immoral people can not hold a volunteer position of leadership within their “Christian” club!

What do we do when people hate us? We look to the example of godly men like Nehemiah, the apostles, and even our Lord Jesus himself! We stay on course. We keep our focus. We continue our mission of proclaiming the excellencies of Jesus Christ.

We want people looking at our church, and saying, “Only God could bring those people together. I knew some of those people before they got converted; only God could make them as loving as they are now.”

We want people looking at us and being amazed that so many people from different backgrounds love one another the way we do.

Only God can do this. Only God can produce true faith conversion. Only God can convince people that the Bible is true in the face of the many lies and myths of our culture. Only God can make sinners love one another. Do you think that can bring God glory?

Remember that the more nations Sanballat managed to draw against Jerusalem (see on 4:7) in the end actually brought more recognition of God’s power.

This was Paul’s view of the fruits of his persecution!

Philippians 1:12 ESV

12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel,

What we need to realize here is that opposition comes from a place of unbelief that brings about fear and a lack of pride in the individuals themselves.

It is very hard to live a self-centered, prideful life when God’s people, who are genuinely striving to bring God glory rather than themselves, are living out a faithful holy humility right in front of you!

The nations saw the wall completed and marveled at the fact that the very God they hated had a hand in the completion of this great work.

c. The opposition continues to work through the sin of God’s people.

Nehemiah 6:17–19 ESV

17 Moreover, in 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, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah: and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah as his wife. 19 Also they spoke of his good deeds in my presence and reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to make me afraid.

The battle has been fought, the wall has been built, the victory is in hand, yet all is not right in Jerusalem.

The enemy never stops. His attacks are relentless. This time he uses the very people of God, the nobles even, to do a treasonous work in Jerusalem.

You would think that the majority would have rallied around Nehemiah and supported him and the work that God was so clearly blessing, but that is not the case here for many.

Nehemiah tells us that many of the nobles who were close to , even related to, the pagan Tobiah by marriage were remaining close and even helping Tobiah to generate fear and division among God’s people.

This represents a growing issue of sin Nehemiah would have to confront. The sin of God’s people’s intermarriage with the nations around them.

Are God’s people going to be holy, set apart to be a blessing to the world or not? (We will address this more next week).

These verses serve us a warning as they remind us that all are not what they appear. We live in a culture that would rather seem to be something than actually be something.

I fear that American churches are filled with those who appear to be loyal to the Lord and His church, but deep down they have no desire for the things of God or the prosperity of the church.

Many are even in places of leadership and authority and abuse their influence, becoming a hindrance instead of help.

We need to heed the counsel of Scottish minister Andrew A. Bonar, who said,

“Let us be as watchful after the victory as before the battle.”

Celebrate the victory, but remember that opposition still lurks so if we want to keep celebrating God’s work in and through His people we must....

Celebrate all the work that God accomplishes through His people.

And you must......No. 2

2. Conclude in your heart that God’s Kingdom work will be an unfinished task until Christ returns. (7:1-2)

So the wall was finished. The work God called Nehemiah to complete is accomplished........ or is it?

It has been said that “There is always more to be done, and the doing is not meant to stop until this life is over.”

Even when the state of our health limits our work to the work of prayer, evangelism, and discipleship, that saying remains true.

There is no doubt that these thoughts passed through Nehemiah’s mind when the last gate was set in place and the wall was finished that September day.

Nehemiah was only beginning to come to the conclusion that his real work had hardly started. He was realizing that this real work was going to require of him more effort than the work of revitalizing the wall.

What was that work? It was to bring into being, with God’s help, a truly godly, adult, mature Jewish community in “the holy city.”

Prior to the rebuilding of its walls, Jerusalem had been an open city, broken-down, economically depressed, low in morale, under-populated, and in no way glorious for God. Now that the walls were up, the human factors in this sad situation had to be attended to.

Now that Nehemiah has successfully rebuilt the wall, he has to turn his attention to the hearts of his people, which is a much, much more difficult revitalization project. This is truly a God-sized work that Nehemiah is incapable of doing in his own strength.

Conclude in your heart that God’s Kingdom work will be an unfinished task until Christ returns.

Conclusion:

Are you living each day in celebration of the work of God in and through your life, your family, and your church?

We have a lot of things on our to do list every day, but Christian remember that until Christ returns there is one big thing Jesus gave us to put on our to do list every day.

Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

It is not a suggestion! It is a commission to serve the mission of the God of the Impossible. Ephesus, that is a Great Commission! Do you want to see God make possible the impossible?

Have you concluded in your heart that our mission of making disciples trumps everything on our to do list?

Are you trusting God to work powerfully through you as you go through life?

Let God do something with your life and then shout to the world, “God did it!”

Let all the world know that we serve the Lord of the impossible.

Invitation: He proved He is the Lord of the Impossible when He defeated the grave!

Hymn of Invitation

The Nail-Scarred Hand

Hymn No. 318

3. Commit to living a holy life in service to King Jesus so that those who oppose the Gospel will see the Hand of God on your life. (7:3)

4. Christians serve God the best as a holy community united in purpose. (7:4-73)

a. Rebuilding a City for God’s Glory. (7:5-65)

b. The saddest commentary of all. (7:66-72)

c. Calling people to join the true people of God. (7:73)