Let's Get To Work! Series

“LET’S GET TO WORK!” Neh. 3

FBCF – 6/21/20

Jon Daniels

INTRO – Martin Luther: “Pray like it all depends on God, then when you are done, go work like it all depends on you.”

There comes a time when it’s time to go to work.

- Playtime is over.

- Break time is over.

- Bedtime is over.

- It’s time to wake up, get up, get ready, & go to work. And that time is NOW for the Church.

Why is it time to go to work?

- The urgency of the times

- The level of evil in our world

- The fact that we have the Answer

- The expectation from God that we will obey His commands & commission

Nehemiah found out that the walls of the city were down & there was no way he was going to stand idly by & let his city & his people be overrun by any enemy forces.

Question for us: Are we going to stand by while the walls of our lives are down & the enemy is trying to overrun us? Everywhere we look, we see evidence of the walls being destroyed.

- Marriages are in trouble.

- Marriage itself is being redefined

- The homosexual agenda & transgender community is gaining strength & momentum every day, as seen in the most recent Supreme Court this week issued ruling that obliterated the Constitution

- Anarchism is on the rise as governmental officials around our nation are actually seriously considering defunding & dismantling police departments & law enforcement agencies

- Watch this: numberofabortions.com

Try to convince me that the walls are not being dismantled before our very eyes right now! And WE have the Answer! We KNOW the Answer b/c the Answer is a Person & His name is Jesus!

- I’m not issuing a call to political action

- I’m not issuing a call to social action (although both of those have their place)

- I’m issuing a call for us as Christ-followers to GET TO WORK rebuilding the walls in our lives!

And, today, on this Father’s Day 2020, the call for the MEN to stand up & be the GODLY HUSBANDS & FATHERS that your families need is more urgent than ever!

APPLICATION – IT’S TIME TO GET TO WORK! And based on the Godly example of Nehemiah, this is how to do it:

FIRST – WE NEED TO HAVE A VISION THAT IS CLEARLY COMMUNICATED – 2:17-18

When there is a clearly communicated vision, the motivation factor for getting to work is off the charts. Nehemiah knew this, & we see him communicating the vision for rebuilding to those who would be joining him in doing the work.

He showed them:

- The reality – Neh gave them the honest, brutal facts – v. 17a

- The remedy – Neh’s remedy? v. 18, 20 – “God’s hand is on us! Let’s build the wall!”

- The results – Neh. 6:15 – “So the wall was finished…” – Simply put: The work was done – the people were safe – the enemies were silenced - & God was glorified!

NEXT – WE NEED TO HAVE LEADERSHIP THAT IS DISTINCTLY DEFINED

My daddy used to have a saying: “There’s too many chiefs & not enough Indians.” If you want to get a firsthand taste of what this means, take a busload of men on a trip & you be the busdriver. See how many opinions are voiced from the back of the bus about how fast to drive, where to get gas, where to eat, where to park, when to merge, what music to listen to, etc.

The leadership for the wall-building project was distinctly defined. Everyone knew that Neh was the leader. And he was a good leader. He didn’t run roughshod over people. He wasn’t a domineering dictator. He wasn’t a “my way or the highway” kind of leader. He was a solid leader that the people willingly followed.

- Teambuilder

o v. 17 – “I said to THEM, ‘You see the trouble WE are in…Come, let US build…”

o v. 18 – “…And THEY said, ‘Let US rise up & build.”

- Visionary

- Generous – 5:14-19 – Fed the workers at his own expense

- Prayer warrior

- Faith-filled & courageous – 4:14

FINALLY – WE NEED TO HAVE EVERYONE WILLINGLY WORKING

Ch. 3 – Entire chapter is nothing but the names of the people & the groups who did the work.

- Phrase “next to him/them” – 15x

- Phrase “after [behind] him/them” – 15x

- v. 12 – “Shallum…AND his daughters…”

One exception: v. 5 – What a sad testimony of these nobles!

APPLICATION – Let’s make some application to our personal lives & to our church. First, personal lives: