The Power of Positive Purpose

TEXT: Nehemiah 4:6

TOPIC: The Power of Positive Purpose

Pastor Bobby Earls, Northgate Baptist Church, Florence, SC

Sunday Morning, June 12, 2022

So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height,

for the people had a mind to work.

Nehemiah 4:6 (NKJV)

We are going back to the Book of Nehemiah this morning for just a few moments of inspiration. Remember that Nehemiah lived at a time in Israel’s history, or more exactly Judah’s history, following the destruction of the city of Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar.

Remember also that Nehemiah had received a report from Jerusalem while in exile and while he served as King Artaxerxes’ cupbearer. Nehemiah 1:3 tells us a part of the message Nehemiah received concerning Jerusalem. Nehemiah 1:3 (ESV) And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.”

The very next thing Nehemiah did is something we all should do when faced with extremely difficult and challenging circumstances. He prayed.

Nehemiah 1:4 (ESV) As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

When we come to chapter 4, Nehemiah has received permission and assistance from King Artaxerxes to return to Jerusalem with the sole purpose of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. He also instituted religious reform and confronted wrong moral and cultural practices.

First, see the Miracle God did through Nehemiah and the people of Jerusalem who had a mind to work.

I. The Miracle,

A. Consider what was accomplished out of seeming useless material. Nehemiah 2:13 (NKJV) 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.

B. Consider what was accomplished out of seeming unsurmountable circumstances. Nehemiah 2:19 (NKJV) 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?”

Nehemiah 4:1 (NKJV), But it so happened, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Jews.

C. Consider what was accomplished in spite of problems with labor force. Nehemiah 4:10–11 (NKJV), 10 Then Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall.” 11 And our adversaries said, “They will neither know nor see anything, till we come into their midst and kill them and cause the work to cease.”

II. The Method

A. Unity of effort,Nehemiah 3

B. Vision of accomplishment, Nehemiah 6:15 (NKJV) So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days.

C. Overcoming barriers through good leadership,

Nehemiah 5:14 (NKJV) Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the governor’s provisions.

Nehemiah 6:3 (NKJV) So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?”

III. The Mind

A. Guided by divine will,

Nehemiah 6:15–16 (NKJV) 15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God.

B. Marshaled by common intelligent plans and decisions, Nehemiah 2:17–18 (NKJV)

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.

C. Realization of success by use of resources at hand[1] Nehemiah 3

I find it interesting that in this third chapter alone, Nehemiah describes the response of the people of Jerusalem with the verbs, “repaired,” or “made repairs,” 40 different times in 32 verses. 26 times in 18 verses he uses the words, “made repairs” and 14 times in 12 verses he used the word, “repaired.”

The people were able to rebuild the broken and burned down walls of Jerusalem in 52 days because they all shared the same vision and the same goal. And because they “had a mind to work.”

We can do the same thing here at Northgate. We can rebuild our church. We can make repairs. We can restore our ministry. As we share together in common sacrifice of service and support and most importantly, with God’s help, we can reach each one of our church’s Strategy Goals!

CONCLUSION

Prayer: Almighty God, the God of Nehemiah and the people of Jerusalem, grant that we your people here at Northgate Baptist Church will also have the mind to work so we can indeed reach each of our goals and our Strategy Plans for the days ahead. For your Glory alone, O God, we pray in the Mighty Name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen!!!

[1] William H. Smitty, William H. Smitty Sermon Outlines: 300 Sermon Outlines from the Old Testament(Broadman Press, 1982), 45.