The People Had a Mind to Work

The People Had a Mind to Work

September 4, 2005

Introduction

Tomorrow is Labor Day. From the Department of Labor website, we have this statement concerning labor day: “The vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation's strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker.”

It needs to be remembered that it is God Who has blessed the work of the American worker. God warned the Children of Israel not to take credit for their blessings "Then you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.' {18} "And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. {19} "Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the LORD your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish.” (Deut 8:17-19 NKJV)

Even while we are assembled here today, there are thousands who are working to restore the storm devastated areas of the gulf coast region. We appreciate work and what work can accomplish. Throughout history, there have been numerous great work projects that have accomplished much. Today, we have a great work project: we need to build up the church in this community. Next Sunday, we have set aside a time for you to bring your ideas, and we will share together what we might do to strengthen the church here.

We want to study the example of Nehemiah who carried out a very successful project. While Nehemiah was in exile in the land of Babylon, he receives a report about conditions in his home land. The report is recorded in Nehemiah 1:3 And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”

Body

I. What would you do if you were Nehemiah?

A. He could have said, “That is such a shame, but what can I do about it?”

He was in captivity. What could he do?

B. He could have really said, “It really is no concern of mine. That problem is hundreds of miles away. (Approximately 640 miles away) It’s 629 miles to El Paso.

C. But instead, he cared.

II. He was concerned and acted on his concerns.

A. He prayed. One study Bible says there are 11 records of Nehemiah praying.

(Neh 1:4-11 NKJV) So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. {5} And I said: "I pray, LORD God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments, {6} "please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father's house and I have sinned. {7} "We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. {8} "Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations; {9} 'but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.' {10} "Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand. {11} "O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man." For I was the king's cupbearer.

B. His caring was so real that he couldn’t hide it even when he tried. -- It was obvious to the king -- which was a concern to Nehemiah.

Nehemiah 2:1 And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before.2 Therefore the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.” So I became dreadfully afraid,

C. He had a plan, and he told the plan to the king.

(Neh 2:4-8 NKJV) Then the king said to me, "What do you request?" 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, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, that I may rebuild it." {6} Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside him), "How long will your journey be? And when will you return?" So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. {7} Furthermore I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of the region beyond the River, that they must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah, {8} "and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel which pertains to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy." And the king granted them to me according to the good hand of my God upon me.

III. He had to overcome obstacles.

A. Sanballat and others tried to stop him.

Nehemiah 2:10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of it, they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel. (Later he will cause trouble.)

B. He has to encourage the people to overcome their problems.

Nehemiah 2:17 Then I said to them, “You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.”18 And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me. So they said, “Let us rise up and build.” Then they set their hands to this good work.

C. The enemy tried to discourage them.

Nehemiah 4:1 But it so happened, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Jews. 2 And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish—stones that are burned?” 3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall.”

IV. What was the final result.?

A. The wall was finished in fifty-two days.

Nehemiah 6:15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days.16 And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God.

V. What contributed to their great success?

A. They had a leader with an idea.

B. The people were willing to accept his leadership, and to work.

Nehemiah 4:6 So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

B. They had a leader who prayed.

Conclusion

I. Like Nehemiah, we have some very real needs.

A. We have attendance that is in decline.

B. We have discouragement because of what appears as apathy on the part of some as expressed in being absent from services.

II. We don’t have a wall to build, we have a church to build, but may we arise and build.

A. Let’s encourage those who are working and join them as we can.

B. Let’s pray.

1. For workers.

2. For guidance, and that we can share some great ideas next week.

3. God’s blessings.

III. If you are here, and need to make your life right with God, there is no better time than now.

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