The work is great & large

Sunday PM February 3, 2013

Nehemiah4:1-4

At 2,722 ft tall and 163 floors, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai is the world’s tallest building by any measure. By comparison the Burj Khalifa towers over the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower in Chicago, which stands in only at 1729 ft to top of antenna and only 108 floors.

Do You Remember Your First Real Job?

The William H. Natcher Bridge is 4,505 feet (1,373 m) in length (including its approaches) and 67 feet (20 m) wide. It is supported by cables connected to two identical diamond-shaped towers, each 374 feet (114 m) tall. At the time of its construction, it was the United States' longest cable-supported bridge over an inland waterway.

Christians have a great work to do

Mat 28:18-20 NKJV And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. (19) Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

Read Nehemiah 4:1-6

The World Mocks Us

Nehemiah 4:1 KJV But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we built the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.

1. Wroth means to blaze up of anger; indignation means extreme anger mingled with contempt disgust or abhorence.

2. Out of his anger, Sanballat mocks God’s people.

The World Mocks Christianity today

There World Mocks Christianity today“That is the definition of faith – acceptance of that which we imagine to be true, that which we cannot prove. Every religion describes God through metaphor, allegory, and exaggeration, from the early Egyptians through modern Sunday school” (Brown 369)

Hebrews 11:1 ESV Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Hupostasis – a setting under, a solid foundation, assurance.

There World Mocks Christianity today

James Cameron has been called a “Pseudo-Historian”

“Pseudo” means false or fake.

In scripture there are:

Pseudo-adelphos –false brothers, pseudo-apostolos – false apostles, pseudo-marturia – false witness, pseudo-prophetes – false prophet, pseudo-christos – false christ

There World Mocks Christianity todayHe's an atheist and his objective is to bash Christianity and promote atheism. I heard that he has made remarks that he wants to kill God in the minds of children, and that's what his books are all about. He despises C.S. Lewis and Narnia, etc. An article written about him said "this is the most dangerous author in Britain" and that Pullman would be the writer "the atheists would be praying for, if atheists prayed." Pullman said he doesn't think it is possible that there is a God and he has great difficulty understanding the words "spiritual" and "spirituality." What I thought was important to communicate is what part of the agenda is for making this picture. This movie is a watered down version of the first book, which is the least offensive of the three books. The second book of the trilogy is THE SUBTLE KNIFE and the third book is THE AMBER SPYGLASS.

There World Mocks Christianity todayEach book gets worse and worse regarding Pullman's hatred of God. In the trilogy, a young girl becomes enmeshed in an epic struggle against a nefarious Church known as the Magisterium. Another character, an ex-nun, describes Christianity as "a very powerful and convincing mistake." As I understand it, in the last book, a boy and girl are depicted representing Adam and Eve and they kill God, who at times is called YAHWEH (which is definitely not Allah). Since the movie would seem mild if you viewed it, that's been done on purpose.

They are hoping that unsuspecting parents will take their children to See the movie, that they will enjoy the movie and then the children will want the books for Christmas. That's the hook. Pullman says he wants the children to read the books and decide against God and the kingdom of heaven.

God Will Not Be MockedGal 6:7 NKJV Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

Let us turn to GodNeh 4:4 NKJV Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their reproach on their own heads, and give them as plunder to a land of captivity!

When we are troubled we can turn to God:

1Pe 5:7 NKJV casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Who do we trust?

In God We TrustPsalms 25:1-3 KJV Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul. (2) O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me. (3) Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.

Rom 8:31-32 NKJV What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (32) He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

God Will Fight for Us

Neh 4:20 NKJV Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us."

We Must Work With Great Fervor

Neh 4:6 NKJV So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

If a church today just had a willing mind to work.

2Co 8:5 NKJV And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.

Sometimes we must fight for our beliefs

When is the last time you stood up publically for Christianity?

The Work is Great and LargeNehemiah 4:19-23 ESV And I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, "The work is great and widely spread, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another. (20) In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us." (21) So we labored at the work, and half of them held the spears from the break of dawn until the stars came out. (22) I also said to the people at that time, "Let every man and his servant pass the night within Jerusalem, that they may be a guard for us by night and may labor by day." (23) So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us took off our clothes; each kept his weapon at his right hand.

The Work is Great and LargeMat 9:37-38 NKJV Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. (38) Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."

Are you a servant of Christ?

1. Servants must work.2. We must be willing to work hard.3. We must be united in our work.