Nehemiah - Sermon #1

The Ordinary Man

Text: Nehemiah 1:1

Introduction

*Remember, Nehemiah’s life was not about you worshiping him, but rather worshiping His God; the God of heaven and earth; the one who made Nehemiah who we know him to be.

Nehemiah Chapter One: Introducing an Ordinary Man (Nehemiah 1:1)

Sixteenth-century reformer Martin Luther once commented, “God created the world out of nothing. When I realize that I am nothing, perhaps God can create something out of me, too!”

I want to begin by asking you a few questions:

Do you consider yourself ordinary?

Is there something in your life in need of repair?

Is there something in your life in need of being rebuilt?

I want to encourage us all to take the time and make a list of areas of your life that are broken, torn down and needing restored or rebuilt. I am talking about things that God , the MASTER BUILDER, needs to restore.

You may perhaps identify more with the broken walls in this historical account rather than the man Nehemiah.

Let yourself be comforted today with this eternal truth: The God you worship is the God who CAN and DOES restore the ruins of your life. The book of Nehemiah is truly a wonderful testimony to that fact.

You might respond by saying, “Well, I don’t have anything special to offer God.” Listen dear friend and be encouraged, God simply wants you the way you are. Remember, God is the God of transformation!!!

1) Getting To Know The Times

The Jewish people had undergone captivity for many generations.

King Cyrus had declared them free to return to Jerusalem. However, after two different attempts to leave had failed.

Turn to: Psalm 137:1-6 “1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, When we remembered Zion. 2 We hanged our harps Upon the willows in the midst thereof. 3 For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; And they that wasted us required of us mirth, Saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. 4 How shall we sing the Lord’s song In a strange land? 5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget her cunning. 6 If I do not remember thee, Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; If I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.”

There is absolutely no singing, music or joy in Babylon.

Talk about mournful lyrics! “In Babylon, we did not sing, but sobbed with grief. We had disobeyed our Lord, and we had ignored His Word, so we hung our harps on the willow trees. There is no singing, no music, no joy in Babylon. For how can we sing in a foreign land? How can we sing when the walls of Jerusalem are fallen? Even now that we are allowed to return and rebuild, our enemies are numerous. The task is impossible.” Stephen Davey, Nehemiah, ed. Lalanne Barber, Wisdom Commentary Series (Apex, NC: Charity House Publishers, 2012), 8.

By and only by the empowering ability of God, an ORDINARY man named Nehemiah steps out and sings a different song, IT CAN BE DONE!!!

2) Getting To Know Nehemiah

VERSE 1

For those who think since God has extraordinary work to be done, He must be looking for those extraordinary qualification in a person.

If that is the case, then God made a HUGE MISTAKE selecting Nehemiah for the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem.

Nehemiah was really not much different than you an me:

Maintained a good job

Had a steady income

Like most stories, the light of Nehemiah’s life shines the way it does due to the dark backdrop of the time he lived.

(v1) The way Nehemiah in introduced, is another way of saying that he is an ordinary and average person.

You have to remember what God looks at when he sees.

1 Samuel 16:7 “7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.”

3) Getting To Know The Value

Here are several benefits of studying and meditating on this book:

Nehemiah The Value of the Book of Nehemiah

• It gives us a timeless example of how God can make a somebody out of a nobody.

• It reveals what God can do with a person who yields his life to the will of His Father and doesn’t have to receive the credit but gives any and all glory to Him.

• It removes any excuses that we may offer regarding our own inadequacies or inabilities.

The rich history of this ordinary man and his extraordinary God should bring us to this conclusion: If Nehemiah can do, SO CAN I!

The Apostle Paul understood this: 1 Cor. 1:26-29 “26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.”

What the people of Jerusalem needed was a brave reformer who followed and trusted the Lord.

Let us be hones, that is exactly who we need today!

Someone who understands that CHARACTER is essential for the ordinary to do the extraordinary.

Listen, there are people all around us who live with demolished lives wounded spirits, values lie shattered and morals watered down.

Every generation needs ORDINARY PEOPLE! A people who are willing to be used by God to restore and rebuild a broken people!!!

From this point forward, KNOW THIS.....you are called to seek out the broken and wounded.

Conclusion

So, let me end the same way we began:

I want to begin by asking you a few questions:

Do you consider yourself ordinary? — YOU ARE EXACTLY WHO GOD IS LOOKING FOR.

Is there something in your life in need of repair? — TURN TO GOD AND HE WILL COMPLETE YOU.

Is there someone in your life in need of being rebuilt? — SEEK THEM OUT AND BE A NEHEMIAH.

When you begin to tell yourself that you have nothing special to offer God, take comfort in knowing that God delights in using ordinary people.