Nehemiah 2:17, 18 - Nehemiah 6:15, 16
It Was Nobody But God
When something happens, we want to know the outcome. We don’t you want me
to take all day. We want the details, so hurry up and make your point. And that
goes for every part of our lives, even at a time like this. Even right now, you want
the message to speed up, get to the point and let’s go home. But when it comes to
the things of God, we must go thru the process. Back in the day, they used to sing
about You Can’t Hurry God, Oh no, You just have wait, we have to trust Him and
give Him Time, No matter How long it takes, because He’s a God that You Can’t
Hurry, He’ll Be there, You Don’t Have to Worry, But He May Not Come When
You Want Him, but He’s right on time.
I just believe that somebody here today is dealing with a challenge, and you want
to know, how long it will take before your situation changes. You want to know,
how long will it take for you to do what you want to do? HOLD UP. STOP RIGHT
THERE. PUMP YOUR BRAKES, SLOW DOWN AND PULL OVER. The
question to ask ourselves is, what WE WANT TO DO, is it God, or is it just a good
idea? Is it for self promotion, or is the desire motivated out of genuine concern for
something greater than ourselves?
These are questions for all of us to consider. In the text, we find a man named
Nehemiah that went thru some of the very same things, but in the process, he
recognizes, and he comes to understand, that despite the desires of his heart,
despite challenge that he would face, in the end, IT WAS NOBODY BUT GOD.
From last week’s lesson, in Chapter 1, Nehemiah received the bad news of how
life is going in his homeland, Jerusalem. He knows that the temple has been
rebuilt, but the wall surrounding the temple is still broken down. To have a temple,
without a wall, left the city unprotected and shameful. That was not a good thing.
After Nehemiah got over his time of sadness, his level of deep concern kicked in.
He had to do something about it, but his first course of action came thru His
allegiance to God, and thru prayer and fasting. It was a time for him to
acknowledge who God was to him, and to seek God’s direction. He confessed the
sins of his ancestors, as well as his own sins. He remembered the promise made to
Moses and God honored His promise in that IF, they transgressed, they would be
scattered abroad among the nations. But IF they returned to God, He would bring
them together, to the chosen place, where God set His Name. Nehemiah
committed himself to REBUILD THAT WALL! Is there anybody, in the house
this morning, that’s ready to rebuild. Are you ready to partner with God to fix that
which is broken? It may not be a wall, but you know what it is, and whatever it is,
God IS ABLE. When HE brings it to pass, it won’t be out of our own strength, it
won’t be you money, it wont be your education, it won’t be you colleagues,
confidants, comrades or constituents. It will be NOBODY BUT GOD.
As time moves on, Nehemiah continues in his commitment and his window of
opportunity opened, but he had to take a RISK. He had to seize the moment. He
exercised his FAITH. He had to make his request known before the king, with
CONVICTION and COURAGE. This is a clear indication of growth. That’s what
God is looking for. People that are willing to go against the grain. People who are
ready to break out of the box, because we’ve been in the box, long enough.
People who are ready to come out of the can, because the pressure is tight and we
can’t even MOVE. People who are COMMITED enough, CONVICTED enough
COURAGEOUS enough and CRAZY enough, to trust GOD and to take a RISK,
in order to do something that failed the last time. When we get to that point in our
walk with the Lord, that we TRUST HIM enough, to face our challenges, then our
witness will change, from the same witness that we’ve held on to since the 1970’s.
CHANGE WILL COME, and NOW, the testimony is clearly evident, that down
thru the years, God’s been good to me. IT WAS NOBODY BUT GOD.
Nehemiah finds favor in the king’s sight, which was a pagan king by the way, and
he receives everything that was necessary to get the job done. He had clearance to
go for a set amount of time A set a time for what is believed to be about 4 months
. Isn’t it amazing to see the hand of God, moving, on a situation and touching some
on the most unlikely people to provide what you need, in order to get the job done.
This was not a COMMITMENT for Nehemiah TO BOAST about his
accomplishments; it was an opportunity to trust God, to step out on His promise, to
face a challenge, to grow from it, and to glorify God. It was an opportunity for one
to serve God in a greater capacity, a capacity greater than himself, in order to gain
a deeper perspective of how God can take an UNLIKELY situation, touch the
heart of any UNLIKELY person, breathe upon it and show how ALL THINGS
work together for the good, even when we don’t UNDERSTAND IT. When you
can hardly EXPLAIN IT, but you know that it was NOBODY BUT GOD. You
may be facing a challenge in your life right now, but God is in the midst of the
challenge with you. Stand on the promise that He will never Leave you, nor
forsake you. If you have the approval of God, for a specific assignment, Rest
assured that you can Trust Him, and in time it will come to pass.
When we commit ourselves to God, and He begins to rebuild the broken areas of
our lives, and the things that we are committed to, let me forewarn you. You need
to know this, and take it home with you! Put it on the shelf, you might need it
later. Be prepared for opposition. Nehemiah had enemies. We have enemies, and
the enemy does not like it when you’re doing something positive. As long as the
wall remained broken, they were just those poor children of Israel that could be
invaded at any time. But somewhere along the way, someone SAW or HEARD
something, someone that talks too much, told EVERYTHING, because they
couldn’t keep ANYTHING. Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite
heard something that they didn’t want to hear. They were enemies of the children
of Israel ANYWAY, and they “HEARD” that there was a man, who was
concerned about the welfare of the children of Israel. Sanballat and Tobiah had no
CONCERN for the children of Israel, at all, other than to try their very best, to
STOP, or to HINDER, any progress from being made. These two men were
“exceedingly grieved at the thought that there might be the possibility of progress.
So often, even in this day and age, People usually will not support you, out of fear
of what you may become.
Stop right there. Let me say it this way.
I have learned in life, and you have learned from your own life experiences, what it
feels like to come in contact with people in the world, that really don’t mean you
any good. We have our own Sanballats and Tobiah’s. Their ways and actions
show what’s in their heart. When they find out WHAT you have going on that’s
POSITIVE, they blow it off as if it’s NOTHING. But these, are the same people
that love drama, and they feed off of NEGATIVITY. They do not have good
intentions where you are concerned, and the objective is to see you FAIL. These
things are character traits of the Sanballats and Tobias we face every day. I just
want you to know that wherever you find yourself in the confounds of this
message, Don’t be surprised when you face the challenges of opposition. It’s
comes with the territory. Open your eyes. Be watchful, be vigilant, opposition is all
around, don’t be caught by surprise. In time, God will EXPOSE the lies, the
trickery, the schemes, and the manipulations. The mask will be pulled off their
faces to prove who they really are, and those in opposition will be cast down, in
their own eyes, for they will witness that it was NOBODY BUT GOD.
Nehemiah faced a major challenge, and God was on his side. He surveyed the
landscape of Jerusalem, not revealing what his plan to anyone. His enemies didn’t
have a clue as to what welfare he sought on behalf of the children of Israel. I can
imagine in my mind, how God had set the stage for him to see what he was
working with. In my mind I can imagine on this particular night God lit up the sky
over Jerusalem, with the light of a HARVEST MOON. The light in the midnight
sky, allowed him to see the destruction. IT WAS NOBODY BUT GOD.
Nehemiah returns and presents his plan to the leaders and the people. They have
seen the destruction, and they know how terrible things look in Jerusalem. The city
was unprotected and wide open for the enemy. It is interesting that Nehemiah says
in vs. 17, Come; “Let us” build up the wall. Thru prayer and fasting, thru
confessions their sins, thru making a commitment, they had everything that they
needed. But the most important thing was that, God was on his side. Nehemiah
had the GOOD HAND OF GOD UPON HIM.
The people came together with one collective voice and said. “Let us rise up and
build. They didn’t just say it; they put some action behind it, by strengthening
their hands. It was a joint effort to get the job done. Some were building, while
others were watching, but the all played their role. Can you imagine how we as the
body of Christ, have the opportunity rebuild. We have the opportunity to first and
foremost to allow the Spirit of God to rebuild the broken areas of our lives. A
broken heart, broken self esteem, a broken spirit, a broken fellowship with God.
We have an opportunity to rebuild that which is broken, right here at Beech Creek.
Even as it relates to this building, she has weathered the storm, withstood the test
of time, She’s served well, and she’s still standing, but are we open rebuilding her
to making her even better.
Thru God, we can do it. The opportunity will come with CHALLENGES. The
opportunity will come with OPPOSITION, the opportunity will come by being
able to see something greater than ourselves. We as a church have an opportunity,
for generations to come, that God chose THIS PLACE to set His name upon.
Nehemiah faced great challenges at the hand of Sanballat, Tobiah, and others who
opposed. They were laughed at, plotted against, lied on and manipulated, but they
kept on working. They didn’t allow DISTRACTIONS to result in DEFEAT. They
didn’t allow opinions to ABORT the ASSIGNMENT. Nehemiah took a RISK by
CONFRONTING a CONCERN, and Being COMMITED to a CAUSE. THE
WORK WAS COMPLETED in 52 days. Not 52 months. Not 52 years, but 52
days. That was NOBODY BUT GOD. Out of all that Nehemiah and the children of
Israel had been thru, from CAPTIVITY to RELEASE. They rebuilt the wall while
facing CONFLICT and CHAOS. But With God, they CONQUERED the
CHALLENGE. That was NOBODY
BUT GOD. Maybe you’re facing a challenge this morning, and you’re wondering
how will I make it thru. I just want to encourage you, that you are surrounded by a
great cloud of witnesses. Many of us have testimonies that you would never
imagine, but as we gather in this place, Sunday after Sunday, week after week, it’s
NOBODY BUT GOD. God is right in the midst of the challenges we face. God is
in the midst of our mess, teaching us that it ant over, it’s only a test to grow our
faith, a test to grow us up, and to equip us for the next challenge. He kept us, when
we couldn’t keep ourselves. He strengthened us, when we felt like giving up. But
now, because of we’re growing up, we realize that GIVING UP IS JUST A
THOUGHT: IT’S NEVER AN OPTION. He’s depending on us to tell our story,
HOW IT WAS NOBODY BUT GOD .You have heard just a portion of
Nehemiah’s story, and you’ve got a story to tell how the Lord has been good to
you. But what good is it, if we never tell our stories and give God praise that
through it all, we conclude when we reflect upon all that we’ve been through, we
can only lift our voices in praise by saying, It Was Nobody But God.
