A Mind To Work Nehemiah was cup bearer for the King of Persia He wanted to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem He demonstrated great faith & leadership The walls were completed in just 52 days! While building the walls they faced opposition Much like the opposition we face in the Lord’s church today!

A Mind To Work Nehemiah Faced Ridicule From Without Nehemiah 4:1-6 Sanballat & Tobiah ridiculed their efforts Does the Lord’s church face ridiculed today? He simply kept on praying and building

A Mind To Work Nehemiah Faced Rubbish From Within Nehemiah 4:10 The seed of doubt he planted is bearing fruit among the people. Often, before Truth can be planted the “rubbish of false teaching” must first be removed We must not become discouraged or give up .

A Mind To Work Nehemiah Faced Attack From Without Nehemiah 4:7-23 When scorn & mockery failed they decided to use force Instead of putting down his tools, he picked up arms, kept praying and building We are in warfare with the Devil; don’t drop your tools and run, instead pick up the Sword, pray and keep working

A Mind To Work Nehemiah Faced Greed From Within Nehemiah 5:1-19 There was strife among the workers The greatest harm to the Lord’s church is by its own members fussing and quarreling Nehemiah did not allow this to fester. He immediately confronted and condemned the offenders We must do the same!

A Mind To Work Nehemiah Faced Compromise From Without Nehemiah 6:1-4 His enemies pretend to be friends All they wanted was to stop the building of the wall There can be no fellowship between good & evil

A Mind To Work Nehemiah Faced Slander From Without Nehemiah 6:5-9 His enemies informed Nehemiah they would accuse him of rebellion before the King Nehemiah simply denied the charges and kept on working We should live our life in such a way that we can stand against false charges

A Mind To Work The wall was completed in 52 days! “So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God.” Nehemiah 6:15-16

A Mind To Work Practical Lessons From Nehemiah Often we can do more than pray; but we should never do anything without praying Under good leadership much can be accomplished With committed workers much can be accomplished We must keep our minds on the goal and overcome any obstacles that stand in our way We need to challenge ourselves to greater service Despite all of the opposition Nehemiah faced, he and the people finished the wall in 52 days! The one underlying key to their success is found in Nehemiah 4:6….

They Had A Mind to Work! Do You?

By Bob Gard – Hollister, Missouri church of Christ www By Bob Gard – Hollister, Missouri church of Christ www.hollisterchurchofchrist.org Adapted lesson from www.glasgow-coc.org