Hazelwood Baptist Church

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 Tobiahs 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.

More than prayers thoughts. There is action that needs to take place.

Make them notice what God has done. This miraculous work they've done gives all the credit glory to God.

Stand firm. Do not Fear. Nehemiah is getting bullied. Intimidation. Propaganda. He stands firm.

6 Now when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it (although up to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates),--2 Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of Ono. But they intended to do me harm.--3 And I sent messengers to them, saying, I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?--4 And they sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner.

5 In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand.--6 In it was written, It is reported among the nations, and Geshem also says it, that you and the Jews intend to rebel; that is why you are building the wall. And according to these reports you wish to become their king.--7 And you have also set up prophets to proclaim concerning you in Jerusalem, There is a king in Judah. And now the king will hear of these reports. So now come and let us take counsel together.--8 Then I sent to him, saying, No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.--9 For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done. But now, O God, strengthen my hands.--10 Now when I went into the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his home, he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple. Let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. They are coming to kill you by night.--11 But I said, Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live? I will not go in.--12 And I understood and saw that God had not sent him, but he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.--13 For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me.--14 Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid.

Three Refusals

Refuse to Come Down

Refuse to Cower

Refuse to Fall for Traps

Jesus refused to come down. Because He stayed on the cross, you can stay on the wall.

Nehemiah 4:1-6

1 Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews.

2 And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?

3 Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, Yes, what they are buildingif a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!

4 Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives.

5 Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders.

6 So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

Nehemiah 4:15-20

15 When our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had frustrated their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work.

16 From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah,

17 who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other.

18 And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me.

19 And I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, The work is great and widely spread, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another.

20 In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.

Nehemiah 5:1-5

1 Now there arose a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers.

2 For there were those who said, With our sons and our daughters, we are many. So let us get grain, that we may eat and keep alive.

3 There were also those who said, We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine.

4 And there were those who said, We have borrowed money for the kings tax on our fields and our vineyards.

5 Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children. Yet we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but it is not in our power to help it, for other men have our fields and our vineyards.

Nehemiah 5:14-19

14 Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor.

15 The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people and took from them for their daily ration forty shekels of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people. But I did not do so, because of the fear of God.

16 I also persevered in the work on this wall, and we acquired no land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work.

17 Moreover, there were at my table 150 men, Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us.

18 Now what was prepared at my expense for each day was one ox and six choice sheep and birds, and every ten days all kinds of wine in abundance. Yet for all this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because the service was too heavy on this people.

19 Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people.

Three Movements

Stand Firm Against External Attacks

Confront Internal Exploitation

Model Sacrificial Generosity

1 Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and set its doors. They consecrated it as far as the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Tower of Hananel.

2 And next to him the men of Jericho built. And next to them Zaccur the son of Imri built. 3 The sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate. They laid its beams and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars.

4 And next to them Meremoth the son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz repaired. And next to them Meshullam the son of Berechiah, son of Meshezabel repaired. And next to them Zadok the son of Baana repaired.

5 And next to them the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord.

Step up and lead by serving

Build right where God has placed you

Trust that your service counts to God

11 So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days.--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.--13 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.--14 Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the Kings Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass.--15 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.--16 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.--17 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.--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. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for the good work.--19 But when Sanballat 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?--20 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.

Assess the damage first. (v. 11-16)

Get ready to work hard. (v. 17-18)

Tough Against Ridicule (v. 19-20)

1 In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence.

2 And the king said to me, Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart. Then I was very much afraid.

3 I said to the king, Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?

4 Then the king said to me, What are you requesting? So I prayed to the God of heaven.

5 And I said to the king, If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers graves, that I may rebuild it.

6 And the king said to me (the queen sitting beside him), How long will you be gone, and when will you return? So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time.

7 And I said to the king, If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah,

8 and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the kings forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy. And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.

9 Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the kings letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen.

10 But when Sanballat 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.

Three Movements:

1. Wisdom : Four months of silence. Pridence, not passivity. (v 1a)

2. Courage : Terrified, and he spoke anyway. An arrow prayer. (vv 1b-5)

3. Softness: A pliable servant under the good hand of God. (vv 6-10)

1In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. 2And the king said to me, Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart. Then I was very much afraid. 3I said to the king, Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire? 4Then the king said to me, What are you requesting? So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5And I said to the king, If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers graves, that I may rebuild it. 6And the king said to me (the queen sitting beside him), How long will you be gone, and when will you return? So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time. 7And I said to the king, If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah, 8and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the kings forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy. And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.

9Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the kings letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. 10But when Sanballat 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.

1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel,

2 that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem.

3 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.

4 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.

5 And I said, O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,

6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my fathers house have sinned.

7 We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses.

8 Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples,

9 but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.

10 They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand.

11 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. Now I was cupbearer to the king.

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common.

45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.

46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,

47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Contagious Joy

Natrual Overflow

The Lord Adds

Pray Reach

We are Reconciling Ambassadors

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.--43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.--44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common.--45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.--46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,--47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

A Unified Heart

Voluntary Generosity

Meeting Needs

Serving Like Jesus