R315 The God of The Bible and The People of God Pt.2

We all could use some encouragement and will find it together today. The Bible raises of Dr. Don Wilton coming up on today's edition of The Encouraging Word the conclusion of the message, the God of the Bible and the people of God, we headed back to the book of Nehemiah in just a moment. Dr. what you want to know we're here for you when just cherish the privilege of praying with you and for you anytime day or night. As you call 86689. I encourage adjust that number down stored in your cell 866-899-9673 will always connect with one of us having to talk or listen or pray or connect with the right resources so many are asking about the new book Saturdays with Billy by Dr. Don Wilton about his relationship with Dr. Billy Graham can also find details online at tewonline.org. Now Dr. will Bible always has his people for the times in which one let's look at it. First of all just brief. The first principle we going to describe in general terms, is that the God of the Bible is sovereign and his purpose for his people. You see friends. God desires to reveal himself to us the same way in which he revealed himself to Nehemiah and to the remnant of Psalms that return to devastated Jerusalem had the privilege of being in the hospital again.

At one place in the hospital. I saw some people that were were very bereaved and I began to think about these people.

I began to think about about full gamut of emotions that come upon us as human beings. I began to think about some of the most penetrating questions that we ask of ourselves.

And sometimes when we are at our worst point does God desire to reveal himself to us. Are you telling me that God actually wants us to know him and to do what he wants us to do. We going to discover absolutely yes God desires to reveal his will to his people. Consider the situation you're in Nehemiah that we going to get to know over the next couple of weeks, humanly speaking, their predicament was impossible. The walls of Jerusalem were broken down. They had no means to defend themselves that had no place to worship. They were scattered all over the universe. The people were torn apart. They had given themselves to ungodly pagan practices that had been away from the sanctity of everything that God is in everything that God was and everything that God does for us, and yet God did something for Nehemiah through Nehemiah and 40s people that boggle the mind. Why did he do that. Simply stated, because he tells us in acts all power is given unto me in heaven and upon the and that would power that means dynamite. It means because I am God.

I am the God of dynamite. I'm so explosive that nobody can touch me and I have a habit of rearranging everything that I do touch because I dynamite God power and grace is sovereign and there is nothing that is side of the reach of McGraw's of any terminal and holy God. This is clearly seen in the Old Testament, you can go back with me if you lack go back in your own private time and study about Abraham and Isaac you going to understand that the God of the Bible is sovereign in his purpose for his people. You can go back to Joseph and Jacob.

I mean can you imagine the audacity of Joseph being turfed into that and being sold into slavery by his brothers. I wonder how many wise Joseph must've lost why Lord, what am I doing here.

One of I've done you, not Joseph. Added to that, you naughty's father called input thickeners. That's just a rough translation of the Hebrew text. It means that he was his father's favorite son he never did anything wrong. He was the one who washed the dishes off to the meal he was the one that was always there to serve his mother and father.

He was the one who always was the model child.

He's father love him so much and get my friend the Bible says that he's brothers in the jealousy claimant cost him away and sold him into slavery what conclusion can we come to well admit stole the wise, my friends, we come to the conclusion that the God of the Bible is sovereign in East purpose for his people, so it is with Moses. This is not any clear clearly seen in the Old Testament. It's clearly clearly taught in the New Testament.

I don't have time this morning to go back to Ephesians chapter 2 and see how that we were once lost heading out trespasses and sins, but now because of Christ and the purpose of God in Christ we have now been found in Romans chapter 8 verse 28 all things work together for the good of those that love God and to those who all the cold. According to what his purpose.

But there's a second truth second principle here it is the God of the Bible always has his people, for the time in which they live, and so we come to me in my Nehemiah one incredible person I want to introduce you just briefly today and perhaps somewhat raw the scantily to this man whose name was Nehemiah.

Any credible person he was. He came right out of the court of Artaxerxes the king, and there is so much that God wants to teach us about this man called Nehemiah he was a remarkable person. He was someone upon this spirit of the living God to send this man by the name of Nehemiah. No different from you and no different from me did most extraordinary things under extraordinary circumstances, all because he had a relationship with an extraordinary God.

Someone who loved someone who gave to him. Someone who poured out he sold upon him, but they are three things that I believe that we learn about the God of the Bible who always has these people for the times in which they live.

First of all, God implements these eternal purposes through people of folks I don't understand but it's marvelous is not. I love to read autobiographies and biographies and all these kinds God implements he's eternal purposes through people. I preached on Luke chapter 15 entity in Luke chapter 16.

At the end of Luke chapter 16 the rich man hood gone to hell there for Abraham to send someone back from the dead, so that he could convince these brothers that they needed to accept God as their Savior.

And what of the Bible say the Bible said they have Moses they have Nehemiah, they have the prophets.

They have the preachers they have the treacherous they have the Sunday school teachers you know why my friends sending somebody back from the dead is not God's chosen method of evangelism you not God's chosen method of evangelism is it's the word of God, the Spirit of God and the man of God. It's the most believably exciting thing to know that God any sovereign has chosen the word of God through the inspiration of the Spirit of God through the heart of the man of God totally given over to the grace of God to bring about all the riches of God's grace. Consider this man. Nehemiah, he was one of the greatest men that ever lived. According to historians. He was a captive in Babylon just like all the others. He was chosen to fill a respectable office in the court of Artaxerxes the king, he lived in ease and comfort, but he couldn't continuing comfort because of the news that he received attractive in those first four verse you see this man had everything everything that open and shut per se because he came to occupy even as an exile. A privilege in the king's court and yet he couldn't find any peace in his own heart. He couldn't just sit there and watch the world go by.

He had to get into action.

He had to keep the main thing the main thing. What had he seen.

He saw that his people were distressed. According to Nehemiah chapter 1 the sepulchers of these fathers had been trodden. All because of these God had been overturned, the worship of God being corrupted and so he sought, he prayed and he whipped for Jerusalem.

Look at verse four with me when I heard these things, I sat down and I went. The Bible goes on and says for some days I mourned and fostered and I prayed before the God of heaven. This man, we have a picture of someone who is absolutely pouring out his heart before the only one who could do anything about the unbelievable predicament in which they found themselves using Nehemiah was willing to be that instrument he was willing to just give of himself. That's what the word says he had to develop ways in which he could deal with the opposition that he know when he went to Jerusalem that he was going to find himself coming up against sand ballot against the Samaritans against the buyer against people who even though we cannot understand that even while they were building the walls of Jerusalem and, while the people coming back to God.

There were those that were rising up within the congregation and they were bringing about every kind of opposition. You could ever imagine. So what we going to do is regain about this man's virtues in his piety, his character is devotional his conviction. What he believed about God.

All he relieved these people from their hardships. He reestablished proper worship. He reinstituted godly morality and he revived the spirit of Jerusalem and her people. This man up on his knees, but I am not praying seeking God's place main business before the throne of grace, perhaps beloved friends this morning as we consider the God of the Bible and the people of God, we must conclude that the God of the Bible always has his people for the times in which they live. And God implements he's eternal purposes through people, but I want you to notice something in the 2nd Pl., God achieves great things through ordinary people just like you and me. This was an ordinary man. We might not afford so we my daughter thought he was ordinary but I'll guarantee you. Nehemiah was just as ordinary as you and me. Let's note some of the things that Nehemiah did based upon the mission that God had given to him what he knew well. He showed us how to pray when they seems to be no solution to problems. I wonder if you've ever had a problem in your life and you say there's no way out of this one up up up. I wonder if it's a family problem marriage problem finances maybe been laid off from your job, whatever it might be assignment.

I don't know where to turn. I don't know what to do.

I do not Comdata good this man. Nehemiah is going to show us how to pray when they seems to be no solution to the problems that surround us. Please forgive the interruption your listing to The Encouraging Word with Dr. Don Wilton and in those moments when he is talking about Nehemiah showing us how to pray when it seems like there no solution to our problems.

You need to know that Dr. Don reminds us often. It's not about talking about prayer.

It's about praying and we believe in the power of prayer. It's one of our foundational truths here at The Encouraging Word and was the first thing we did when we began the ministry years ago when God launched the ministry years ago was say we need to have a way to pray for people that you can do it. In a lot of ways keyboard keyboard is perhaps the most common today from our website at tewonline.org, RG that's TEW online.org summary like me and sometimes the most powerful thing is the voice of someone else. Another Christian brothers and sisters in Christ, ready to pray for you now at 866-899-WORD, I pray you will jot that number down and know that we love to pray with you anytime 866-899-WORD 9673. Now back to today's message with Dr. Don Wilton, but he's also going to show us how to blend human and divine factors when facing innumerable predicaments and unbelievable any measurable predicaments. There was something about Nehemiah that the Bible is going to show us that Nehemiah was able to take the salt of Gaul and his divine grace and bullying. These two together with the human factor. We understand who God is. Understand where God is. And yet at the same time continue to operate our daily lives on. I dating vice. You see it's one thing Nehemiah for us to stand in the court of Artaxerxes and it's one thing to be in the temple of God, but it's another thing to be out there in the workplace on Monday. It's another thing to be building the walls of Jerusalem. It's another thing to be faced by the onslaughts of a society that wishes to erase everything that is dear and near to the heart of God, but he didn't only do that, he showed us how to keep God's sovereign control of the universe and our responsibility in proper balance. He took God's sovereign control of the universe and human responsibility, and he kept them in the proper balance you know it is possible for us individually to try and get ahead of God sometimes is not.

We do that is churches as nations as individuals is people. One thing about Nehemiah that we going to discover that was so remarkable. He was able to keep them a proper balance.

God's sovereign control of the universe juxtaposed and intertwined together with our human responsibility. But he took that even further than that, he showed us how to plan our work and then how to work out plan, while always relying on the Holy Spirit. It's so easy friends when we get involved. And when we do things to try and move the Holy Spirit into the background of our activities.

This man plan. He's working with these plan in such a way that the spirit of the living God was so evident in everything. Maybe it might be what it was Nehemiah. Maybe you understood is to draw sure that when God is for you. Nothing can be against you. If God be for us.

Nothing can be against us.

Perhaps this is what Jesus meant when he said to his disciples.

I reinstituted my church, and you are the rock upon which my church's blue and the gates of hello shall never provide against my church. What an incredible thing to understand that in the life of Nehemiah. But he also taught us how to handle discouragement in ourselves and with others. Yet he was remarkable in this regard we going to see how that sand balance in the Samaritans and Tobiah while all this activity was going on.

Maybe we going to call the church growth principles. I don't know but God was moving the remnant, the exiles would come back and God was moving he was bringing people back. People were coming to know him. He was forgiving their sin he was restoring them he was leaving the church. He was resurrecting the temple. He was really instituting the worship of the one true and living God. There were those who didn't like it all.

They didn't like it they were out there more.

They rebuild they began rumors. They began false accusations. They began to ask questions, they began to rumble away.

I don't know what it was that he did but I do know this in one hand he taught the people to take a sword. He took that sword and he said to them, put on the whole armor of God, not forgive me Nehemiah you didn't quote the New Testament you didn't know anything about that, but that's that's what he said without nice. It put on the whole armor of God, you probably preached on on Ephesians chapter 50 Chapman, you didn't even know about. He he he understood the grace of God put on the whole armor of God, perhaps you understood second Peter that the devil is as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

And so he told these people to take the sword of the Spirit and the sword of the word of God and stand up, stand up for the Lord Jesus Christ stand up for righteousness.

Stand up and yourselves and prepare to stand against the onslaught of the devil. But then in the other hand, he took his work to. He took his instrument sees hammers and he took his nails and he taught the people how to work. In fact you going to discover something in Nehemiah it'll boggle your mind to know how many times the word work is used in Nehemiah.

I'm going to tell you about. He had a work ethic.

I mean this man didn't believe in snow days, folks. I want you to know he'd want any cabin fever thank you very much he want to be out there working because God had spoken to him.

This is the same man who will teach us how to set goals and achieve them. While all else files. This is the same man who will teach us how to motivate others when Morello is even at an all-time low.

Even in the United States of America spiritually. This is the man who will teach us how to cope with anger and with feelings.

This is the man who will teach us how to accept promotion and success without abusing and misusing privilege. This is the man who will teach us how to respond to those who make false accusations and rumors and who spot trouble. This is the man who will teach us how to develop others and to develop their own perspective of God in their lives. This is the man who will teach us how to face him to solve some of the pros toughest problems that you and I can never face you see the Bible says my friends that God implements his eternal purposes through people but God achieves great things through ordinary people just like you and me. I like that don't you. There's 1/3 thing. The Bible tells us the Bible says that God uses people who are service. If you look with me at your Nehemiah chapter 1 of the lost verse of chapter 1. Look at it. What is it say that since I was Dara to the king. That's what this man was, he was a cupbearer do not you know the cupbearer was good him he he carried a cup you know what that meant to be the cupbearer of the king. That means that you have the lowest position in the king's court with a simultaneous highest honor you had the lowest position with the highest honor. You know like was the lowest position because you could die at any moment, buddy. You know that it was the lowest position. They took the servant of all service and not the cupbearer did. He took a sip of everything that the King was about to drink just to make sure there was no poison.

He ran he ran ahead of the king. Everything that he I the king hate the cupbearer would eat first in the Kingwood watching pop-up site always have to be dressed well smell good pet to have the right be a little race off the shy bombing.

He had the best looking guy in the whole 9 yards. The king wanted him closely.

The king wanted to say to look at my cupbearer because of the cupbearer keeled over the tummy ache. He knew there was something there that he need not to touch you see the cupbearer of all people in the king's court was the one man who is willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice for the king that he soon there was never a day in the life of the cupbearer that he was not willing to lay down his life for his king is not Nehemiah.

Maybe again, I apologize for doing this because you didn't know the Romans or the letter to the run, but in Romans chapter 1 is a verse it goes like this, I beg of you, Nehemiah Ibis each of you that you lay down your life a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable under God, because this is your reasonable act of worship.

This man was willing to lay down his life. Thank you. Nehemiah we looking forward to starting you in the weeks and months that lie ahead.

You'd say to me pasta. What does this mean for us as a people. Perhaps it means that we serve a sovereign God who can do far more than we think it's possible. Perhaps what it means is that we are an important part of the revelation of God. But perhaps what this means beloved friends is simply this, that we must be ready to adjust our ways in obedience to God's will. You been listening to Dr. Don Wilton and she challenges us to adjust our ways in obedience to God's will is there a course correction adjustment that you need to make today if you need to talk with someone to pray with someone where here at 866899 word that's 866-899-9673 if you develop questions as we study God's word together, let us discover the answers in the Bible itself, God's Encouraging Word per Dr. Don preached, but now as he steps in the studio just to hear him from his heart.

Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm so happy to hear that wanted to pray this prayer with me today. Dear God, I know you love very very and I know that the Lord Jesus Christ came God on the cross so that I might be forgiven if they hire a painter marks I can face my sin, I invite you to come and Jesus name if you prayed that pray, let me be the first want to welcome you to the family of God. This is one of the I hope that you know how much I'm going to be praying for you and how very important this is for me: so we can talk to connect to the right nice you can begin this wonderful journey. And in just a moment I'm in a come back with the final welcome the family of God. I believe some of you just prayed with Dr. to give your life to Christ for the very first time, and some we dedicated your either way you want to walk with you in the next steps. Dr. Wilton has specific materials for freaking what you have just need to call us and let us know what God's done in your life. The decision you make today are numbers 866899 word that's 866899673 or email us at online@tewonline.org right now the buzz online is about this fresh new book with Dr. Don there's Doc with all the details.

Hello everybody you know my friends know me as Don Wilton foster friend, neighbor, and husband.

Grandpa that I'm gay to tell you people around the world just like you know and identified Dr. Billy Graham is that man God used reach so many people around the world. Jesus Christ, I had the privilege of knowing Mr. Wright very personal, intimate, both as he's framed and as he supposed. In fact, for many years I drove up to his Montreat, North Carolina and visited with him every sector just like frames everywhere we sat together and ate together warped. We discussed politics frames places people read aloft kids will we did everything one possibly that's why I wrote this Saturday's, it's all about personal relationship and I hope and pray that Santa days with will be a blessing willingness by and will encourage justice.

Mr. Brian encourage my changed mama automation number again because of your copy of this new book is 866-899-WORD. That's 866899673 we can order it online as well.

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