All God’s People
September 17, 2017

Scripture: Nehemiah 2:9-20

I. You need the whole people of God to accomplish a great work.

A. We see in Neh. 2:11 that Nehemiah had arrived in Jerusalem from Persia. Since this was a journey of about a thousand miles it probably took him three or four months to get to Jerusalem on horseback. He had no idea how great a work it would be to rebuild the burned and broken-down walls of the city. But on his nighttime (vs. 12) inspection tour he was beginning to get an idea of the massive scope of the project. He could not do this job by himself. He would need all of the people of Jerusalem to get involved.

B. Verse 16 reveals that Nehemiah kept his rebuilding plans away from the Persian government leaders and the Jewish leaders. Perhaps he kept his plans a secret because he did not yet know who he could trust with this plan that he had from God. If he revealed his plans too early, he might have alarmed some people into shooting down his plans at a very early stage. And especially with the Jewish leaders, Nehemiah would want to take his time to come up with a clear and comprehensive plan before speaking to them. He would need a well-thought out plan.

II. You need the whole people of God to live out your identity.

A. We see the identity of the Jewish people in Nehemiah’s day in Neh. 2:17. By the time of Nehemiah, the people of Jerusalem had been servants to foreign empires for about 150 years. And they were ridiculed by those foreigners who ruled their city and their country. The Jews were considered losers. When you call God’s chosen people a bunch of losers, who else are you calling a loser? God! Well, Nehemiah was not going to stand for that. So he reminded the Jewish people of their true identity. Your identity is that of God’s chosen people.

B. What is your identity as the church? Romans 8:14-15: “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” We are the children of God. He became our Father when we believed that Christ died on the cross for our sins. Together all of us in the church make up the beloved family of God. And when the family of God loves the rest of the family of God that brings glory to God.

III. You need the whole people of God to overcome your enemy.

A. Something not so wonderful happens to you when God becomes your Father. When God becomes your Father, Satan becomes your enemy. Here in Nehemiah 2 we see Satan work to discourage and defeat the Jews through Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem. Nehemiah reminds the Jews in vs. 12 that it was God who had put it on his heart to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. And if God had put this plan on Nehemiah’s heart to accomplish was there really any enemy who could stand in the way? So how do we defeat Satan and complete our mission? By coming together in unity with one another. See what Jesus prayed in John 17:20-21: “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

Application:
It will take all of us as the people of God to do the will of God in building God’s kingdom.

Sources:
Commentaries on Nehemiah by Derek Thomas and James Hamilton Jr.