What a wonderful day this is. There are a number of reasons why it's wonderful. First of all, we have the assurance of heaven, those of us who belong to Christ. So every day is actually a wonderful day, even on the bad days, right? Okay, a couple of people saying. Today is also a special day because we get to honor a few people here in our congregation for a couple of things. First and foremost, how do you guys, everybody that can see what's going on right here, like that? Well, a few months ago, a member of our congregation called me and said, that just won't do for the preaching of God's Word. Talking about, well, it's over there now, the old podium. He says, for the preaching of God's Word, we need to have a new pulpit podium. So I'd like to invite Russ and Myrna Da down. Come on, I'll wait for you. Russ said, that just won't do. And so on his own, he chose to build this podium for the preaching of God's word. Isn't it beautiful? And the cross, he took it from there. So I don't know if you guys can see the resemblance, and it was intentional to make that match up. And the person who did this is our own David Booth, the cross that's in there. Hi. Took them a while to come down. They didn't want to come. Russ, Myrna, I am so grateful for you as a gift to this church. And we are grateful for the gift that you have given for the preaching of God's word. And so we as a church want to say thank you. Thank you so much for your gift. And we hope you enjoy your wonderful dinner that's inside of there. Thank you guys. God bless you so much. Thanks a lot. It needs to slide over? Okay. Also, the year 2021 was an incredible year for a number of people in our congregation. One of them is away with her family right now, camping with bears. Bears and I don't like each other. But I made a mistake last week in our insert honoring the 2021 graduates, where I had Kylie Fogel graduating from Buchanan High School. She comes running up to me, and her dad says, what? These are our rival bitter enemies. How dare you put me in there as that? So this week, I corrected it. In your bulletins, you will see that Kylie graduated from Bullard High School as a valedictorian, and she is going to be attending Point Loma University in the fall. I'm looking around the congregation, and I'm looking for the Murphy family, and I don't see them here, but knowing them, they're probably watching us online. So, I get to say, Jenna Murphy graduated from Kansas University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, and we have a gift for her. Also, my daughter, Cambria, graduated from University of Arkansas Pine Bluff with a bachelor's in fine arts, and I'd like to invite my wife up here to receive a gift for Cambria. Thank you. Also, Michaela Parker graduated from Gonzaga University with a master's in sports administration. She is here, and I'd like to invite her up to receive a gift from the church. Congratulations. This is awesome. God has done so many wonderful things here in our church, and this accomplishment of graduating from anything in education these days is an accomplishment. Amen? Amen. Well, we are continuing today in our series Ezra Nehemiah, entitled A People Assembled by God. So if you have your Bibles with you, I invite you to stand and turn in them with me to Nehemiah chapter 2. If you don't have a Bible with you, the red Bibles that are under the chairs, you will find it on page 469. Nehemiah chapter 2. I'll be reading verses 9 through 20. we find recorded. Then I came to the governors of the province beyond the river and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen, but when Samballot the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel. So I went to Jerusalem and I was there three days. Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me, and I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode. I went out by sight by the valley gate to the dragon spring and to the dung gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. Then I went on to the fountain gate and to the king's pool, but there is no room for the animal that was under me to pass. Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall. And I turned back and entered by the valley gate and so returned. And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work. Then I said to them, you see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem that we may no longer suffer derision. And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good and also of the words that the keen had spoken to me. And they said, let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for the good work. But when Samballot the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, what is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king? Then I replied to them, the God of heaven will make us prosper and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem. Let's pray. Father, we thank You for Your Word, and we pray that You'd grant us great clarity of thought, of speech, that we may both hear and both speak Your Word, so we may understand it, so that we can go out and obey it, bringing You glory and building up Your church. We pray these things in Jesus' name, amen. You may be seated. The title of this message, as you see in your bulletin or in the notes that were sent to you during the week, is God Prepares His People to Work. The points that are derived from this text for this message, the first is God designates the work in verses nine and 10. Then God prepares his leaders to work in verses 11 through 16. And finally, God's leaders equip his people to work in verses 17 through 20. The key point of this text is God is always working and he works in his people to accomplish what he desires. God is always working and he works in his people to accomplish what he desires. Back in the early 90s, a book and a workbook by the same title took the Christian world by storm. They were written primarily by Henry Blackaby and were entitled Experiencing God. In this work, Blackaby's foundational premises, God is always at work around you. And then he asserts that our job is to see where God is working and join him in his work. Our text today. And even this entire series in Ezra Nehemiah shows that God's sovereign hand is indeed active in the affairs of human history. And the Bible teaches us that such activity is designed by God to glorify himself, to make himself known to those he created. Blackabee's premise simply affirms this truth. To be clear, to say that God is working within the affairs of human history or mankind is not to say that God is subject to the affairs of mankind. It's quite the opposite. For it is not accurate to say that mankind is working within the affairs of God. But it is accurate to say that the affairs of mankind are subject to the affairs of God. The reason is this. He's infinite and we are finite. He alone is the creator, and we are his creation. This is a thoroughly biblical truth, for Ephesians 1.11 says, in him, in Christ Jesus, we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will. Philippians 2.13 says, for it is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Romans 9, 14 through 26 is, what shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means. For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy. for the scripture says to pharaoh for this very purpose i have raised you up that i might show my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth so then he has mercy on whomever he wills and he hardens whomever he wills you will say to me then Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will? But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, Why have you made me like this? Has the potter no right over the clay to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only, but also from the Gentiles? As indeed he says in Hosea, Those who were not my people, I will call my people. And her who was not beloved, I will call beloved. And in the very place where it was said to them, you are not my people, there they shall be called sons of the living God. Again, God desires to glorify himself, to make himself known to every man, woman, boy, and girl that he has created for himself. Nehemiah knew this, and he also knew that God wants his people to join him in this work. For God is always working, and he works in his people to accomplish what he desires. This brings us to our first point. God designates the work. It's right there in verses nine and 10. Then I came to the governors of the province beyond the river and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. But when Samballot the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel. This point, God designates the work, it begs the question, what is the work God designates? What is the work he designates for his people to do? And at first glance in this text, that work may or may not be seen right away. What is obvious though is the truth that God is at work within the affairs of mankind in order to glorify himself. We see this truth in Nehemiah's actions and the inactions of the governors of the province beyond the river. For at the end of verse 8, we see that the king granted Nehemiah what he asked for, for the good hand of his God was upon him. In verse 7, Nehemiah had asked for letters from the king to the governors to grant him safe passage until he arrived in Judah. The king gave Nehemiah the letters. He in turn gave them to the governors and they in turn granted Nehemiah safe passage. All because God was working within the affairs of mankind. And because it is his practice to go big, God also moved the king to go above and beyond in providing Nehemiah safe passage by sending a military escort with him to Judah. But when Samballot the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel. So naturally we ask, who is Samballot and Tobiah? And why did it greatly displease them that someone came to seek the welfare of the people of Israel? Why did Samballot and Tobiah clearly hate the people of Israel? Well, it's helpful to understand that Samballot's hatred towards Israel by knowing that he's from Horeneum, which is a city in Moab. This means Samballot was a Moabite who happened to be the governor of Samaria. also the hatred of Tobiah, who was Samballot's chief advisor, his hatred toward Israel was equally understandable as he was an Ammonite. You see, not only were these men distinct cousins, they were also descendants of Lot, according to Genesis 19.38, but the Ammonites had occupied the land long before the Israelites arrived on the scene, and thereby, they looked upon Israel's occupation as wrongly acquired. As for the Moabites, Israel's slaughter of them as recorded in 2 Kings 3, which led to their king sacrificing his oldest son who was deranged in his place by burning him alive on top of the city wall, it brought about intense bitterness between the Moabites and the Israelites. Moreover, having a Jew. who was the new governor of Judah with clear permission to rebuild the defenses of Jerusalem, didn't sit well with Samballot and Tobiah, for it took power and authority in the region away from them. So yeah, anyone who would seek the good of the people of Israel automatically became their enemy. It seems like. There will always be someone who gets greatly displeased when someone seeks the welfare of God's people. But the question still remains, what is the work God designates for his people? It's right there at the end of verse 12 or verse 10. The work is someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel, which teaches us that God's work of glorifying himself is seen most vividly in the care he demonstrates towards his people. God's sovereign hand in the affairs of mankind for the benefit of his people is always to glorify himself, to make himself known to the children of man. In Psalms 145 beginning with verse 5, David writes this, On the glorious splendor of your majesty and on your wondrous works I will meditate. They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds and I will declare your greatness. They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all and his mercy is over all that he has made. All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you. They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and your dominion endures throughout all generations. The Lord is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works. The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 5.8, but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us, which brings the question up, why did Christ die for us? Well, the Bible tells us that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to many. Moreover, the Bible teaches us that our right response to this message is to repent and to believe the gospel. To turn from trusting in our own futile efforts to make ourselves right with God and to trust in Jesus' work on our behalf alone in order to be saved. For by grace you, I, have been saved through faith. And this is not our own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of work, so that no one may boast. God's own work on behalf of his people always determines the work of his people. This is why it is absurdly arrogant for people who claim to be God's people to make anything other than Jesus and the gospel the main thing in both their personal and corporate lives together. We heard in today's scripture reading in 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 9, but you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession. Why? That you, that I, may proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. God designates the work his people are to engage in, not the people. Whenever the people of God seek to assume the authority of God in this area, it is the most flagrant example of the tail wagging the dog in all the universe created by God. And it's the worst kind of bondage outside of the bondage of sin. for elevating ourselves to the place of designating the work God saved us to do, enslaves us to our pride. And the scripture says that pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. Paul writes, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. The simplicity of making our lives about Jesus and the gospel is absolutely liberating. As Jesus himself says in Mark 8 35, for whoever would save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospels will save it. If we want to know why we're on planet earth, then we need look no further than these words of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you and behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. God designates the work and God is always working. And he works in his people to accomplish what he desires. This leads us to our next point, that God prepares his leaders to work. It's found right here in verses 11 through 16. So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me, and I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There's no animal with me but the one on which I rode. I went out by night by the valley gate to the dragon spring and to the dung gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. Then I went on to the fountain gate and to the King's pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass. Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the valley gate and so returned. And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work. Family, it is God's practice to first prepare his leaders prior to sending them to his people. We certainly see this truth in the life of Moses, as God took him through various life circumstances before meeting with him on the backside of a mountain through a burning bush. We also see it in the life of Joshua, as he was Moses' attendant for years before assuming the mantle of leading the people of Israel into the promised land. Even our Lord God himself followed his own practice as Jesus first prepared the apostles prior to sending them to his church. And in our text today, we see God continuing his preparation of Nehemiah prior to installing the man in practice as the leader of the people of Israel. We see this in the phrase, so I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. You will remember that our view into God's preparation in Nehemiah began in chapter one, when he asked about the condition of God's people in the land in which they were living. He asked about these things because God had been working in his life, keeping these things on his mind. And then when Nehemiah heard of the terrible conditions of God's people and their homeland, it lit a fuse in the man concerning the negative impact these conditions could have on God being glorified through his people. We saw this in chapter one, verses eight through 10. And now we see that Nehemiah went to Jerusalem and was there three days. You will also remember from Ezra chapter eight, verse 32, that when Ezra and company came to Jerusalem 13 years earlier, they too remained there for three days prior to engaging in the work God sent them to accomplish. So the natural question then is, what is this practice about waiting three days all about? And specific to our text, why did Nehemiah just sit for three days in Jerusalem? I'm glad you guys asked that question. Well, the obvious thing is that Nehemiah and his contingent simply rested after the long, hard journey from Susa. But remember, Nehemiah said back in chapter 2 verse 8 that the good hand of my God was upon me. And in verse 12, he reveals that God had put a plan of action for Jerusalem in his heart. Looking then at Nehemiah's practice in chapter 1 and the words that he has spoken thus far in chapter 2 I believe during these three days of rest that this man of God sat before his God to get clear direction from him. In other words, Nehemiah prayed. This is perhaps the primary way God prepares his leaders to work and continues to work in them. Having them sit, having us sit before him to receive clear direction for how to care for his people. We certainly saw this last week from the apostles in Acts chapter six, verse four. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word. We know Nehemiah was a man of prayer and of God's word because of his prayer in chapter one, verses four through 11. God's leaders need God to rightly illuminate the scriptures because he is the author of the Bible, right? Right? Okay, just make sure I'm in the right place. Yes, God did use human agency, right? But it remains true that all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness that the man and woman of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. You see, apart from the Holy Spirit granting us right understanding of the scriptures, we would mislead God's people because what we hear and see in the Bible would be of our own design, which does not glorify God. So to properly lead God's people, God prepares his leaders through prayer. Notice also that Nehemiah went to Jerusalem. Prior to this, this newly appointed governor of Judah had not mentioned Jerusalem by name. However, I don't think this was a bait and switch situation on Nehemiah's part before King Artaxerxes. For even though he had been living in Susa, Nehemiah was still a devout Jew. And everyone knew that for Jews, Jerusalem was central to their faith because that's where the temple was. It was the dwelling place of their God with his people. And I believe this is why Nehemiah mentions it at this point. He wanted to make sure people saw in his actions that he was primarily doing the work of God by drawing attention to God himself. Three days sitting still before God in prayer certainly sends that message. This speaks to the lifestyle of God's leaders. While not perfect, the overall tenor of our lives should show that we have an accurate view of ourselves and that we are fully dependent upon God. We should be like John the Baptist who regularly pointed to Jesus declaring, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. We should actively and intentionally point people away from primarily depending upon us, declaring like John, I am not the Christ, but I have been sent by him to point you to him. He must increase, but I must decrease. In preparing Timothy for pastoral ministry, Paul says in 1 Timothy chapter four, beginning in verse six, if you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. In other words, don't get caught up in secondary agendas. Rather, train yourself for godliness And just so you know, 1 Timothy 3, verse 16 teaches us that Jesus is the definition of godliness, which means the command, train yourself for godliness, means to intentionally know, to intentionally be like Jesus, to intentionally rely on Jesus, point people to Jesus. We should train ourselves for that purpose. If you're a leader in God's church, you're not here to make your own following. Amen? Our job is to point to Jesus. How many of us are willing to die for anybody in this room outside of your own family? Any hands? Oh, we got one. But here's the deal. You got to be sinless for it to matter. You have to be eternal for it to matter for all of eternity. I think there's only one person who meets that qualification, right? It's Jesus, and that's who we point to. Paul continues talking to Timothy. For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, for to this end we toil and strive because we have our hopes set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. Command and teach these things. Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Back in our passage today, the next thing we see is the action Nehemiah took after sitting before God was without question directed by God. For he says in verse 12, then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me, and I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode. See, Nehemiah had been sent by God to lead God's people in rebuilding the walls and the gates surrounding the city of Jerusalem. So it made perfect sense for him to inspect the devastation and determine the scope of the project, which we see in verses 13 through 15. But a question arises, why keep it a secret? Why did Nehemiah not reveal God's plan to others, going so far as to do his inspection under the cover of night? Well, I think this practice shows us how wise Nehemiah was, for a daytime inspection surely would have prematurely caught the attention of their enemies. But I also think Nehemiah kept his plans secret at first to rightly present God's work to God's people at the right time. You see, some people aren't ready for what God plans on doing among them. If they knew, then they'd either complain lose faith or trust in themselves and their resources and look away from God. They wouldn't move forward in obedience to God's plan. The psalmist's words in Psalms 146 beginning in verse 3 are fitting. Put not your trust in princes and a son of man in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the earth. on that very day his plans perish. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever. Finally, Nehemiah did not intend on doing this work by himself. We clearly see this fact at the end of verse 16. And I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work. Last week, I talked about breaking news. Well, guess what? Here's some more breaking news. You ready? Yes, okay, just make it. God's work, or doing God's work, it's not a one-man operation. Right? Right? Y'all don't expect me to evangelize Clovis, right? Okay, thank you. This leads us to our final point, family. God's leaders equip his people to work. When God's leaders are primarily concerned with God's glory, according to our texts, there are at least five things that happen when such leaders equip God's people to work for Him. The first is this, God's leaders clearly identify problems and solutions together. God's leaders don't simply notice and point out problems. We saw last week that problems exist in healthy churches. But we also noticed in the book of Acts that Luke was inspired by God to focus primarily on solutions when mentioning the various problems that existed in the early church. Here in our text today, Nehemiah says in verse 17, you see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned, Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem that we may no longer suffer derision. The solution to the clear problem of the broken down wall and the burned gates was for the entire community of Israel to come together and rebuild the wall. You'll notice that Nehemiah included himself in participating in bringing the solution into reality. For he understood that God's leaders don't sit on the sideline when doing God's work, but they join in the work according to their proper God-given role. Certainly Paul understood this truth when he told the Ephesians in chapter 4 beginning of verse 11. And he, Jesus, gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry. for building up the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness and deceitful schemes, rather, speaking the truth in love. We are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. Listen, leader's job is to equip the saints for the work of ministry. I can't go where you live. I can't go where you work. I can't go where you play and have the same type of influence that God has given you in those circles of influence. You have those relationships. Include you up there too. You have that influence. God gave that to you. So tell the world the message. Take it everywhere. To every tribe and nation, right? That's our job. It's an easy job, actually. It's not our message, right? Whose message is it? It's God's message, right? Has he told us what that message is? Yeah, it's right there in the Bible. Point people to Jesus as the only solution to their sin problem. For us today, the various problems that plague us personally, in our families, on our jobs, in our churches, can ultimately be traced to the root of sin, self-centered rebellion against God. For some, this may sound like a trite description of the cause of our human problems. However, if it took the death and resurrection of God's only son, Jesus Christ, to solve this problem, then in no shape or fashion is identifying sin as our main problem. Try it. The problem of sin, however, has been solved, right? Once for all in the personal work of Jesus Christ. This is what God's leaders point out to God's people as we together work for him. Next in equipping God's people to work for him, from our text we find that God's leaders identify their source of authority and solution. It's right there at the beginning of verse 18. And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. Notice first the order of authority, God, and then the king. This shows us that Nehemiah viewed God as the ultimate source of his authority and the source behind the provision for doing the work they were called to do. Nehemiah knew that God was at work in the events of human history to bring himself glory. Remember he said back in verse 8, So when Nehemiah talks about the words that the king had spoken to him in verse 18, He's recognizing that God caused the king to do three things. First, to okay a 12-year long-term commitment to the people of God in Jerusalem. Two, to provide safe passage to Judah. And then three, to provide resources to do the work of rebuilding the city and its walls. Ultimately, Nehemiah recognized the sovereign hand of God on him personally in using him to help his people make his name known in the land. And he communicated this clearly to God's people. Because seeing God's sovereignty in the lives of his leaders strengthens God's people to do what he has called them all to do. In short, God's sovereignty provides stability of heart and of purpose. This is the perspective God's leaders challenge God's people to embrace. This is one of the reasons why you regularly hear me talk about my interaction with the pastoral search team and the elders before I came here. You see, they asked me a question. It was a three-point question. They asked about my goals, what are my top three goals for ministry. And one of my answers was to retire from at least a 20-year ministry. I know that the average time for the pastors here at this church is 4.17 years. I calculated before they asked me the question. I intend on surpassing them all. And the reason is, is I don't look at ministry as an industry. I don't look at this as a stepping stone to a different ministry. This is God's church. It's an organism. We are alive. And God moves us into places where he wants us to bring himself glory. It's about Jesus. It's not about me. I regularly talk about, I'm not here to build some monument to Melvin. Trust me, it would be ugly. I just want to glorify God. by pointing us all to Jesus and depending on Him. And when God's people embrace for themselves the perspective that God is sovereign over all things, persons, and circumstances, this third thing we see in this text is God's people resolve to work. It's right here. The next thing we see here in verse 18b, you see it? And they said, let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for the good work. This phrase, let us rise up and build, shows that the people of Israel as a group owned the truth that God was behind the challenge of Nehemiah to rebuild the wall and gates of Jerusalem. They embraced the perspective that God is sovereignly at work in the affairs of mankind to bring himself glory, and they said, count us in. Let me ask you a question, family. Are you ready to say, count us in? sure the nation of israel didn't just say let us rise up and do our own thing according to what we think is best no they said let us rise up and build Their count us in declaration said that they were going to do the work assigned to them to do by Nehemiah. They trusted Nehemiah to get his directions from the Lord God of Israel and to communicate those directions clearly to them. This is what they resolved to do. We clearly see this resolve right there at the end of verse 18. So they strengthened their hands for the good work. God's leaders challenge God's people to resolve to do the work God has given us to do. All together now let's look right over here at our mission. Love God, love people, make disciples. That's in the Bible in case you didn't know. The scripture verses are right there underneath it. My job is to point you to say in all things Christ Supreme from the Bible, Colossians 118, and then to tell you that it comes out in our mission that we love God, Matthew 22, 37. We love people, Matthew 22, 39. We make disciples, Matthew 28, 19 through 20. That's the definition of my job. Everything else is superfluous. I think that's the right word. It's pretty simple. God gave me that job. And that's what I'm committed to. You know, as I reflected on this truth, Familiar passage of scripture came to my mind, John chapter 13, verses 34 through 35. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. Oftentimes we only focus on the commandment to love one another in these verses, and rightfully so. But I think we more often skip over the statement of Christ, by this all people will know that you are my disciples. I don't think we regularly consider the outward focus of Christ in the giving of this command. And when I say we, I'm talking about the big C church. You see, God is ultimately and rightfully concerned with glorifying himself because he's God. Life is and will always be about glorifying God. Our love for one another and his care for us is about making God known to the believing and unbelieving world. and our July 3rd event is a perfect opportunity for all of us to show Jesus off to our community as we lovingly enjoy the festivities together. Who's coming to July 3rd event? Elders, we need to make some phone calls today. But doing the work of God is not without conflict. For God's leaders also equip his people by warning them to expect opposition to the work. It's right there in verse 19. But when Samballot, the Hornite, and Tobiah, the Ammonite servant, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, what is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king? We already know about Samballot and Tobiah, but now this Geshem character is added to the bunch. This edition shows that hostility towards God's people was widespread. For according to extra-biblical sources, Geshem was considered to be the king of Qadar. Basically, he was the chief of the Arabs who had settled in Samaria. But a question arises from this verse, how did Israel's enemies hear about what God's people were about to do? There's some speculation that there was a traitor among the people of God. This is because Israel's enemies were well informed about the plans and the activities of God's people. It reminds me of, on the previous churches that we served at, I was talking with the senior pastor, had been there for some years. And they had already done some expansion and different things. But he was telling me about years ago that they had wanted to buy up a few houses that had surrounded the church. And there were some people in the congregation who went to the owners of this house and told these people, don't sell to this church. These are members. Don't sell to this church because they never pay their bills. They tried to scare the people out of selling. It didn't work, because they did end up selling. But the opposition to God's people in our text today was just like that opposition. They were trying to frighten the Israelites to not take up this building project. We know this because unlike in Ezra chapter four, Sam, Ballad, and company never threatened to tell the king. That's because they knew that king Artaxerxes had already authorized Nehemiah to conduct this work. So all they could do was try illegitimate scare tactics. But God's leaders, here's the last one, equip his people to rightly respond to opposition. We see this in verse 20. Then I replied to them, Nehemiah says, the God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem. Notice that Nehemiah did not even mention Cain or Xerxes. God had already taken care of that issue, so they didn't even go there. No, this is what Nehemiah does. He points both the enemies of God's people and God's people to the God of heaven. Granted, this was a common phrase in those times that could refer to any particular group's deity. So Nehemiah's reply to these enemies had a dual purpose. First, it was a brilliant response as non-Israelites would take it to mean that their own God was displeased with their evil tactics, but was pleased with the Israelites and was gonna help them accomplish their purposes while leaving Israel's enemies out of his blessing. But Nehemiah knew he was actually talking about the one true God who was and is sovereign over all his creation. So his statement challenged God's people to place their faith in God himself, his power, his provision, and his protection as they obeyed him in their work. God prepares his people to work, for he designates the work He prepares his leaders to work, and God's leaders prepare God's people to work. As I get ready to take my seat, as we obey Jesus, as we join him on mission to save the nations, both in our community and beyond, by taking the gospel to them in word and deed, let us constantly trust him. relying on his power his provision and his protection because God is always working and he works in his people to accomplish what he desires. Amen Amen So what does God's desired work for us to do in response to this text just two really quick things you ready? Are you ready? All right number one Embrace the work of glorifying God. Embrace the work of glorifying God. Resolve to make this your life calling. It's all about Jesus. It's not about me. Second thing, know and do our part in the work. Know and do our part in the work. We need to first know Jesus and the gospel, and then we need to tell the gospel. Amen? Amen, let's pray. Father, we are grateful for your word. We're grateful, dear God, that you have both challenged and encouraged us from your word that the simplicity of the gospel is liberating. First, it liberates us from the bondage of sin, from the penalty, from its power, and ultimately from its presence. Because through the gospel, you saved us and made us your own. You have given us the faith to believe and the faith to continue to believe the gospel. Now, God, encourage our hearts to go out into our world, where we live. where we play. Help us especially with family members, God. They seem to be the hardest field to share the gospel with. God, strengthen us to be able to share your truth, to tell the gospel. It's so simple, yet it's so hard. But you are the God of the universe you are creator god you made us you made this world the universe and all that's in it both known and unknown you are indescribable you are all-knowing you are omnipotent god you have made us yours and we are yours you are our god we serve you we live for you we pray that you will be glorified by both our words and our deeds as we live to bring You glory. We pray all of these things in Jesus' name, Amen. God bless you.