THE GOD WHO BUILDS THROUGH ORDINARY PEOPLE A Sermon

Nehemiah 2:17–20

God takes ordinary people who trust Him and uses them to accomplish extraordinary things.

INTRODUCTION

The world can change when somebody looks at what everybody else has accepted and says, “This is not the way it has to remain.”

That was Nehemiah.

For years, the people of Jerusalem had lived among broken walls and burned gates. They had become accustomed to the ruins. They had learned how to survive in a place that was never meant to stay broken.

But God placed a burden in the heart of one man.

Nehemiah was not a priest. He was not a prophet. He was not a military leader. He was a cupbearer serving a foreign king. But he had something that God could use: a heart that cared about what God cared about.

Before Nehemiah ever picked up a stone, he picked up a burden.

Before he ever rebuilt a wall, he prayed.

Before he ever faced opposition, he trusted the God of heaven.

And that is how God has always worked.

God used Noah to build an ark when nobody had ever seen rain.

God used Moses with a shepherd’s rod to stand before Pharaoh.

God used Gideon with only three hundred men to defeat a mighty army.

God used David, a young shepherd boy, to face a giant.

And God used Nehemiah and a group of ordinary people to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

The question is not, “Are we strong enough?”

The question is, “Is God strong enough?”

And the answer is always yes.

I. RECOGNIZE THE PROBLEM

“You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire…” — Nehemiah 2:17

Nehemiah begins by saying, “You see.”

He wanted the people to look at reality.

The walls were down.

The gates were burned.

The city was vulnerable.

The condition was serious.

But notice something important. Nehemiah did not recognize the problem because he was a pessimist. He recognized the problem because he had a burden.

There is a difference between criticism and conviction.

A critic looks at something broken and complains.

A person with God’s heart looks at something broken and says, “Lord, what can You do through me?”

Nehemiah did not walk away from Jerusalem because it was damaged. He walked toward Jerusalem because God had called him.

Sometimes we cannot experience God’s restoration until we are willing to acknowledge our need.

Isaiah had to recognize his condition before God could use him.

When Isaiah entered the presence of God, he said:

“Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips…”
Isaiah 6:5

Before God gave Isaiah a mission, God gave him a vision of himself.

Ezekiel stood in a valley full of dry bones.

God asked him:

“Son of man, can these bones live?”
Ezekiel 37:3

The answer was not found in the bones.

The answer was found in God.

Churches, families, and individuals must be willing to recognize what is broken, not so we can become discouraged, but so we can believe God for restoration.

II. RECEIVE THE PLAN

“Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem…” — Nehemiah 2:17

Nehemiah did not simply identify the problem. He gave God’s people a purpose.

He said, “Let us build.”

Notice the word “us.”

He did not say:

“Let somebody build.”

“Let the talented people build.”

“Let the wealthy people build.”

He said, “Let us build.”

God’s work has always been accomplished through people who are willing to join together around His purpose.

When Moses built the tabernacle, God’s people gave willingly because their hearts were stirred.

“Then everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing…”
Exodus 35:21

When David prepared for the temple, the people rejoiced because they were able to participate in God’s work.

“Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly…”
1 Chronicles 29:9

The great works of God are not built by a few spectators watching from a distance. They are built by people who say, “Lord, use my hands. Use my gifts. Use my life.”

Nehemiah also reminded them:

“And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me…”
Nehemiah 2:18

The vision was not based on Nehemiah’s ability.

It was based on God’s hand.

The same God who called them to build would empower them to build.

III. RESIST THE PRESSURE

“But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed us to scorn and despised us…”

Nehemiah 2:19

The moment God’s people decided to work, opposition arrived.

That should not surprise us.

Whenever God begins a work, the enemy tries to stop it.

Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem were not just names in a history book.

They represented the voices that rise up against the work of God.

Sanballat the Horonite was a powerful leader connected with Samaria. He had political influence and did not want Jerusalem restored.

Tobiah the Ammonite official was a man with connections and influence. He represented those who had interests in keeping things the way they were.

Geshem the Arab was a wealthy and respected leader among the surrounding nations.

Together, they represented intimidation, criticism, and resistance.

Their first weapon was not a sword.

It was a word.

“They laughed us to scorn and despised us…”
Nehemiah 2:19

The enemy knows that if he can discourage God’s people, he can often stop God’s work.

But God’s people must learn to resist the pressure.

David faced pressure when everyone else saw Goliath as unbeatable.

But David said:

“You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts…”
1 Samuel 17:45

The size of the giant was never the issue.

The greatness of God was the issue.

IV. RELY ON THE PROMISE

“The God of heaven Himself will prosper us…”

Nehemiah 2:20

This is where Nehemiah’s confidence shines.

He does not answer his critics by pointing to their resources.

He does not say:

“We have enough workers.”

“We have enough money.”

“We have enough strength.”

He says:

“The God of heaven Himself will prosper us.”

That is the foundation of every work God blesses.

Not human ability.

Divine power.

Not human greatness.

God’s greatness.

The same truth is found throughout God’s word:

“Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.”
Psalm 127:1

Jesus said:

“I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
Matthew 16:18

Our confidence is not in what we can accomplish for God.

Our confidence is in what God can accomplish through us.

CONCLUSION

The walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt because one man believed that God was bigger than the ruins.

Nehemiah saw the problem.

He received the plan.

He resisted the pressure.

He relied on the promise.

And the God of heaven used ordinary people to accomplish an extraordinary work.

The same God is still working today.

He is still looking for people who will say:

“Lord, here are my hands.”

“Lord, here is my life.”

“Lord, use me for Your glory.”

Because the greatest question is not:

“Can we build?”

The greatest question is:

“Will we trust the God who builds?”

And when His people trust Him, the impossible becomes possible.

“The God of heaven Himself will prosper us.”
Nehemiah 2:20

BDD