INTRODUCTION:<\/p>\n
A. God has always honored those who were willing to go against all odds, or render an extraordinary service.<\/p>\n
1. The name Moses is a household word for millions still today, but the name Pharaoh who opposed him is a matter of much speculation, even among scholars (Exodus 5:1-2)<\/p>\n
2. We know well Elijah who stood against the 450 prophets of Baal, but we know not a single name among those false prophets (1 Kings. 18:20-40).<\/p>\n
3. A woman broke an expensive alabaster box of ointment to anoint Jesus’ head: wherever the gospel is preacher, her story is still told (Mark 14:3-9)<\/p>\n
4. Hebrews 11, sometimes called “God’s Hall of Fame,” pays tribute to those of whom the world was not worthy<\/p>\n
B. Nehemiah 3 may seem like dull reading for us, but we must realize that it is a tribute to those sincere souls who braved hardships and the sword to restore and fortify the City of God.<\/p>\n
C. In this lesson we are going to consider some reasons why these were worthy of God’s tribute. These are attributes that will help us even today.<\/p>\n
DISCUSSION:<\/p>\n
A. THEY FOLLOWED A WELL DEVISED PLAN<\/p>\n
1. Each group had its assigned section of labor, and each individual labored in the craft best suited to his ability.<\/p>\n
2. Back in Nehemiah 2:12ff, Nehemiah surveyed the work and by this was able to come with a game plan<\/p>\n
3. Many a work has failed because there was not enough planning or preparation involved.<\/p>\n
4. Today, in the Lord’s church, there needs to be well devised plans as we go about doing the Lord’s work<\/p>\n
a. There must be planning<\/p>\n
1) Proverbs 13:16, in other words there needs to be planning ahead<\/p>\n
2) Ezekiel drew plans for a battle (Ezekiel 4:1-3)<\/p>\n
3) Paul planned his efforts for the Lord (2 Corinthians 1:15-17)<\/p>\n
4) What are our goals, when do we want these goals accomplished, and how are we going to accomplish our goals? – this is true individually as well as congregationally<\/p>\n
5) There has to be something to reach for or strive for before we can improve or grow<\/p>\n
b. There must be preparation<\/p>\n
1) If you are going to plant a garden you must prepare the soil<\/p>\n
2) If you are going to build a parking lot – you must put a good base down<\/p>\n
3) If we are going to perform well in the Lord’s service,we must lay a good foundation<\/p>\n
4) This is one of the reasons that our Bible classes are so vitally important … laying the ground work\/preparation!<\/p>\n
5) Psalm 119:1-8<\/p>\n
c. We must use and develop our personal talents<\/p>\n
1) The parable of the Talents … Matthew 25:14-30<\/p>\n
2) Those faithful not only used their talents, but gained others as well<\/p>\n
B. THEY WORKED AS A DETERMINED BODY<\/p>\n
1. They were determined not to allow mockery, intimidation, nor violence, to stop them from their appointed task.<\/p>\n
2. We will see this especially beginning in chapter 4<\/p>\n
3. We must be a determined people<\/p>\n
a. Numbers 23:24 … relentless determination<\/p>\n
b. 2 Chronicles 15:7 … Don’t give up<\/p>\n
c. Psalm 44:18 … consistent determination<\/p>\n
d. Psalm 119:10 … wholehearted determination<\/p>\n
e. 1 Corinthians 15:58<\/p>\n
4. We must be determined not to allow persecution, gossip, difficulty, failures, or anything – to keep us from accomplishing much for the Lord<\/p>\n
C. THEY WORKED AS A UNIFIED BODY<\/p>\n
1. They worked as a unified body – the men working with their hands, the guards who placed their lives between them and the enemy, and the rulers backing the work in every way.<\/p>\n
2. They achieved a common goal – working together, and not against each other<\/p>\n
3. The Bible is replete with passages that discuss our need to be unified as we work in the Lord’s cause<\/p>\n
a. Genesis 13:8<\/p>\n
b. 1 Samuel 14:6-7<\/p>\n
c. Nehemiah 8:1<\/p>\n
d. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12<\/p>\n
e. Amos 3:3<\/p>\n
4. We can never live up to our full potential until we work together as a unified body.<\/p>\n
D. THEY LOOK ON THEIR WORK AS SERVICE TO GOD<\/p>\n
1. These mentioned in Nehemiah 3 looked on the work – not as a menial task, not as a project of Nehemiah – but as service to God.<\/p>\n
2. Remember Nehemiah 2:18-20 … they realized that this was the Lord’s work<\/p>\n
3. Colossians 3:23<\/p>\n
4. 2 Chronicles 31:20-21<\/p>\n
5. Ecclesiastes 9:10<\/p>\n
6. How do we view our labors as Christians?<\/p>\n
CONCLUSION:<\/p>\n
A. Sadly, in every congregation, there are the shirkers who tarnish the scroll of the faithful.<\/p>\n
1. Many say and do not … Matthew 23:1-4<\/p>\n
2. With many, they only labor they set forth is trying to hinder others … Matthew 23:13<\/p>\n
B. The nobles of the Tekoites were this way<\/p>\n
1. Nehemiah 3:5<\/p>\n
2. They would gladly enjoy the protection of the refurbished wall, but they would not lift a finger to get the job done.<\/p>\n
3. Their record mars the continuity of this honor roll, but inspiration will not ignore their neglect<\/p>\n
4. They have gone down in infamy as men who would dirty their hands on one of the truly great triumphs of divine history<\/p>\n
C. Where do we stand, with the nobles of the Tekoites, or with those to whom God gives tribute as hard workers in His cause?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
INTRODUCTION: A. God has always honored those who were willing to go against all odds, or render an extraordinary service. 1. The name Moses is a household word for millions still today, but the name Pharaoh who opposed him is a matter of much speculation, even among scholars (Exodus 5:1-2) 2. We know well Elijah … Continue reading “The Life and Times of Nehemiah #4. Tribute to the Faithful – Bible Outlines”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43727\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}