Perseverance at Work
October 29, 2017

Scripture: Nehemiah 6:1-14

I. You persevere by remembering your work is for God’s glory.

A. Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem wanted to make sure that Jerusalem did not rise in political power, and one way they could keep Jerusalem and its people under their thumb was to make sure the walls of the city were not rebuilt. If the walls were not rebuilt, the city would always be insecure. Since Nehemiah had the backing of the Persian king, they could not directly attack him. So the enemies of Nehemiah sought to distract him from the work of rebuilding the walls. Their distraction came in the form of calling Nehemiah to a summit meeting in vs. 2.

B. But Nehemiah repeatedly said no to this distraction of a meeting (vs. 4). The reason Nehemiah persevered and refused to be distracted by the enemies is that he remembered who he was working for. He wasn’t really working for the Persian king in rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls. He was working for God. He was working for God’s glory. 1 Corinthians 10:31: “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Everything we do, including our work, is to be done for a purpose – for God’s glory.

II. You persevere by remembering your work is fulfilling God’s promises.

A. Another way that Nehemiah’s enemies attacked him was through rumors and gossip. In vs. 5 we read that Sanballat sent a letter to Nehemiah. The content of the letter is found in vs. 6: “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.” Nehemiah flatly denied the rumors in vs. 8. Nehemiah also persevered by remembering God’s promises.

B. The truth was that there were Jewish prophets who were saying that a king was coming to Jerusalem to defeat his enemies. One such prophet was King David. Let’s read out loud together King David’s prophecy from Psalm 110:1: “The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’” Nehemiah persevered in his work because he knew God would fulfill His promise to send a king to the city of Jerusalem. And moms can persevere in their work because of the promise of Proverbs 31:28: “Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.”

III. You persevere by remembering your work is for God’s people.

A. It was not just Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem who were trying to get Nehemiah to stop his work of rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls. It was even religious people who tried to intimidate Nehemiah. In vs. 10 we read about a man named Shemaiah who told Nehemiah that there was a threat on his life. He told Nehemiah to seek sanctuary in the temple. But any non-priest who came into the temple to live and touch the holy things would die according to Numbers 18:7. So Nehemiah knew this was a false prophet. If he had run to the temple and sinned in this way, Nehemiah would have undercut the purpose for his building walls around Jerusalem. The walls were to protect God’s people so they could keep God’s law.

Application:
What makes a job great is who you are doing your job for and how you are doing it. Persevere!

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