-Transcript-
00:30 Amen. Glory to God. Welcome to the program.
00:33 Welcome to the Cafe. Pastor Clark Covington here with another episode of KJV Cafe. Hopefully you’re doing great.
00:40 Hey, I got me some iced coffee, actually iced latte today. And it’s one of those days, beautiful, almost close to 70 outside, leaves are changing. It’s a gorgeous day outside.
00:51 Just thank God for another day. Amen. I thank you for listening.
00:57 Here at the Cafe, we are looking at Nehemiah chapter two, and this is the second part of a three-part series on strengthening our hands for Christ and how Nehemiah faced great opposition but still able to build the wall, rebuild the wall and the gates with people there in Jerusalem
01:13 and how incredible it was and how God’s hand is very evident throughout the scripture. And we were looking here in the previous episode about what it means to be a cupbearer, how it’s an important role, amen,
01:25 how the king’s hand was upon a Nehemiah, how Nehemiah was upset because there was great reproach being brought to the name of God, to God’s people, to God’s chosen people in his chosen city, Jerusalem,
01:33 there was great reproach coming to them because this wall was caved in, amen, and the gates were burnt down to a crisp and he was upset about it, amen. He wanted to do something about it.
01:47 And, you know, the king allowed him to go, gave him passage, not just passage, but supplies. And all of this was godly ordained. It was a godly, I’m tripping over my words today.
02:08 It was ordained by God. How about that? We’ll approach it that way. It was ordained by God because there’s no way that Nehemiah would be able to like manipulate the king or convince the king when he literally was just the cupbearer, amen.
02:15 It was all God that allowed him to go to repair the gates, amen. And he goes there and he covertly looks at everything for three days at night, no one really sees him.
02:24 And he presents his case before these individuals there in Jerusalem, the priests and the nobles and the everyday folks.
02:33 And they say, yes, we want to build, they pray to God to strengthen their hands so that they could go rebuild that wall, amen.
02:41 It’s a beautiful story. And we’re picking up here in this idea of Nehemiah having what he needs to do, what he needed to do, what God would have him to do.
02:52 That’s where we’re picking up here in part two. And then after this message, there’ll be one more message, part three, and we’ll wrap it up. And again, thank you for listening.
03:06 And we’re going to jump right in here. God’s hand was upon Nehemiah. Not only did Nehemiah get permission to go as a cupbearer, I don’t know if you have paid time off, amen.
03:11 But Nehemiah got some, and not only did he get paid time off, but he got paid time off with supplies he needed to go ahead and build that wall, amen.
03:18 He got the letters he needed to go ahead and do what he needs to do. And that was very important because he faced great opposition.
03:25 If you read the book of Nehemiah, he needed permission to go do what he was going to do because he faced great opposition. And God designed Nehemiah with those talents and skills and leadership abilities to do this job.
03:35 It was a high pressure job, and God had made Nehemiah someone that could deal with that pressure.
03:41 And so when we look at these things, what does it mean to us? Where has God given you the green light to work and do for him? You know, where is the passion in your heart, right?
03:50 Because Nehemiah was grieved, so his heart was hurt. And there was that open door. The king said, why are you grieved? What can I do to help you, right?
03:58 And so we see here, where is it in your heart that there’s something you desire to do for the Lord? And where is the Lord opening that door? It may surprise you, amen.
04:08 It may not follow worldly logic. In fact, it probably won’t, amen. God’s ways are higher than our ways, but we need to be aware and see what God is doing.
04:16 Next, God’s hand was upon Nehemiah. Where are you seeing God opening doors for you as you work for him? You know, his ways are higher than our ways.
04:29 Where are you seeing God opening doors for you? What skills and talents has God given you to do his will? A lot of people will be bashful and say, oh, I don’t have any skills or talents.
04:42 If we’re honest here, we all have skills and talents. There’s all things that everyone has something God has given them that they’re good at. You could be a good listener, right? You could be a good artist.
04:49 You could be a good cook. You could be good with technology. You could be good with empathy and loving others.
04:53 You could be great with prayer. Everybody’s praying and no one can outlast you in prayer. People are falling asleep or doing other things and you’re just praying along the day.
05:08 Maybe you’re an excellent reader. Maybe you’re really good at research. Maybe you’re great at fixing cars.
05:13 Maybe you’re great at making a sandwich. Maybe you’re great at giving hugs. Maybe you’re great at the garden and working with plants and flowers.
05:21 Every single thing I mentioned and so much more can be used for the glory of God if the Lord would have you to do it and if you have the courage to go do it.
05:31 So where has God opened those doors? What skills and talents has he given you to do his will? Take an honest look. Just be honest.
05:38 We’re not talking about some kind of outward assessment speaking to others. Honestly, say, okay, God, what’d you make me good at? Okay, here it is. What do you want to do with it?
05:46 And you pray to him and I believe he’ll open a door and pray for God to strengthen your hands to do his will.
05:52 Secondly, God’s providence brought them there. Them being not just Nehemiah, but the others that worked on the wall. We see in verse 16, a very interesting verse in Nehemiah 2:16 here.
06:07 We see, and the rulers knew not whither I went or what I did, neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, the nobles, the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.
06:18 Well, Nehemiah 2.16 is an odd way of doing this, but it’s telling us those that did the work, the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the rulers, and the rest that did the work.
06:27 That little category there are people that did the work, amen. And again, I know if you read the rest of Nehemiah, you get more insights into who was doing the work, but it was a diverse group of people.
06:35 And not everyone did the work, but many people did. Those people God brought together. The ones who God called were fit for a purpose that was coming together to rebuild that wall.
06:47 That started by strengthening their hands. And they said, let’s strengthen our hands. Let’s do this.
06:50 They purposed to do something for God. So, who has God put in your life to assist with what God’s placed in your heart to do? I believe the Lord often wants us to work together, and I don’t have time to preach a lot on this.
07:02 I wish I could, but we have a missionary family that’s been staying in our house.
07:07 We’ve been kind of like a prophet chambers along with just our regular house, all in one building, amen. And they come and go, and so they’re at a meeting right now in South Carolina.
07:16 They’ll stay in the prophet chambers up there and come stay with us in the future and this and that. But man, just all the work of the ministry that that brother, Freddie Manzano, has helped me with while he’s been here has been incredible.
07:27 I said, oh my goodness, Lord, we’re much better. Two is much better than one. I know there’s a lot of Bible on that, amen? Not just for being warm when you sleep, amen.
07:39 And they have their own room, just to clarify, they have their own room.
07:45 But two is better than one, and even things like simple things, you know, packing packages for work and helping around the house. It’s just been incredible to have this family here, amen.
07:49 And so, who has God put in your life to do what God wants you to do? That’s very important. What purpose does God have for us in this age of grace?
07:58 If you say, Brother Clark, I don’t know what God wants me to do, well, number one, He wants you to be soul winning, and number two, He wants you to be discipling those that you win to Him, or those that are won to Him.
08:07 I’ve seen great churches have mighty altar calls. People get saved, and then what? You know, it’s on to the next altar call, but those people that got saved, they need discipleship.
08:18 That was Brother Ronell there talking about last week, about how he has a new converts class, and those new converts get together and meet and study the Bible, and he said, Brother Clark, before we can even get to the end of our curriculum for the day, we get stuck on questions here, there, and everywhere, and it’s wonderful.
08:34 And I know exactly what he’s saying. As a teacher, there’s nothing better than when people are asking questions, because if they’re asking questions, hey, they’re listening, they’re into it. And so it’s so important, soul winning discipleship.
08:44 So God has this purpose for all of us in this age of grace, which I believe is about over. I believe the Lord’s going to call us home soon. So we are to win souls.
08:50 So if you can’t think of what God wants you to do, think about what God would have you to do when it involves soul winning and discipleship. Are you motivated to strengthen your hands for the causes of Christ?
09:01 You know, motivation is so important. As someone that’s a sports nut, I always love how these coaches will get their teams motivated, and oh, how it’s very effective.
09:11 Confidence and motivation kind of go hand in hand. And here, the motivation for Nehemiah, mentioned in Nehemiah 2, was this reproach. He was sick of it.
09:23 It bothered him. And I gave an example to our congregation that was kind of long, so I can’t give that example here on the radio, but I will tell you, are you sick of it?
09:31 Are you sick of seeing a church building that’s broken down with no one in there? Are you sick of seeing the church van on the empty driving down the road, or not even driving at all?
09:38 Are you sick of seeing people getting tricked into false doctrine? Are you sick of the people in this world living wickedly and prospering and profiting and boasting of themselves?
09:48 Do these things make you sick? It should make you sick, because the Bible and fundamental Christianity has become a reproach, and it should make us sick to death that that has been that way, because we don’t have enough people sticking up for it.
10:03 And so someone needs to go ahead and get motivated and strengthen their hands for the causes of Christ.
10:08 Finally, the people believed in God’s strength to carry them through. The place lay in waste, and the gates burned down with fire. This is a picture that is hard to paint, because I imagine it was just really bad, and it looked really hard.
10:23 It took three days to survey. It did not look like it could be easily fixed, and yet they completed it. The people said, we can do this, and they believed.
10:34 They had faith. Now, think about this. It had been 100 years, and it hadn’t been done yet, yet they believed and they had faith.
10:38 Faith is the key ingredient in God’s program, not earthly conditions and not worldly facts. Earthly conditions would say, there’s no way you guys can do this. Worldly facts would say, oh, you guys are just some outcasts.
10:50 You won’t get it done. Or we’ve been fine without it or whatever it is, but it got done. So reflect on what wasteland do we see today that we need to have faith that God can clean up?
11:00 Do you believe God can do something incredible through you for his kingdom? All you have to have is godly faith.
11:09 Some people listening today may say, I just don’t have a lot of faith. Well, guess what? The Bible says you can increase your faith. Romans 10:17.
11:20 So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10: 17. So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
11:28 We all struggle sometimes with the way things are. What do we do? What do I do? What do the preachers do? What are the people that are supposed to be experts in the ministry?
11:36 What do they do? Well, hopefully they’re turning to the word of God. That’s what I do.
11:49 When I need an extra double portion of faith, I go and read the book and I pray and I read the book and I pray and I read the book and that’s the most effective thing that I could do to grow my faith. And that’s not original to me. That’s Romans 10:17, amen.
11:52 Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. So go ahead. Make sure you have a good Bible.
11:57 Make sure you use that Bible. You know, if the print is too small, get a Bible with bigger print. If you know, if it’s, if you have trouble finding the places, get one where you can find the, you know, the little divots in there.
12:09 If you have trouble with note taking, get a study Bible. If you have trouble with commentary, get one that’s a concordance or got commentary in it. King James version.
12:18 Okay. This is not complicated. You’ll treat yourself to this, that, and the other, right? I know I would, you know, Hey, if I need a new notebook for work, I’ll buy that or print or paper.
12:26 I’ll buy that. Now the most effective tool that I have in the ministry, physically speaking is the Bible. Will I not invest in a good Bible? I think you should.
12:35 Amen. And yeah, I just, you know, years ago I just went online and looked and looked and looked and found a good one. And I’ve been very happy with the one that I got.
12:45 The one I got is from Christian art gifts or Christian art publishers and they’re, they’re great Bible publisher. So get yourself a good Bible, get in there, enjoy it. You know, again, that’s why we call this KJV cafe.
12:58 Going to a cafe is enjoyable. You know, talking with friends, having a coffee or a tea. It’s enjoyable.
13:03 It’s pleasurable. Getting into God’s word should be enjoyable. It should be pleasurable.
13:09 Yes. The fear of God is in his word. And yes, there’s times we read his word, especially in the Old Testament, he said, Whoa, God is mighty.
13:17 God is powerful. But does it not still bring peace? I can read the most disturbing accounts in scripture, amen, of the Israelites making themselves a molten calf.
13:23 And I’m still at peace when I’m done with it, because I know that God has been so merciful that God has been so wonderful that the same God that had mercy on Moses at that day and his people still has mercy on us today.
13:35 Amen. And so as we get into God’s word we’re going to be blessed, whether it’s the Old Testament or whether it’s the New Testament and you know, whether it’s the New Testament where Jesus is telling us how good things are going to be in heaven or whether it’s the New Testament when it’s the telling us, you know, some of the harder truths, amen, that we have to drink of his blood and eat of his flesh. Either way, it brings great peace.
14:03 God brings peace like there is nothing else in this world that can compare. I wish we had more time, but we’re out of time for today.
14:06 This has been part two of a three part series on strengthening our hands for Christ out of Nehemiah chapter two.
14:13 I appreciate you listening today. If you haven’t already, visit the website, kjvcafe.com. Visit us on Facebook, facebook.com forward slash kjvcafe. We’ve got a newsletter on there on either site that you can subscribe to.
14:26 Thank you for listening. Tune in next time. Take care. God bless and amen.