How Great is Our God – Part 3
God’s Signs & Wonders; Our Obedience
-Introduction
-In this series of lessons, we have begun each time in Neh 1. Let us do so again today.
-vv. 5-7
-As Nehemiah reflects over the Israelite history, he acknowledges sin—the people as a whole,
his family, himself. Remember, he is uttering this prayer—not in Jerusalem/Judah—but in the
palace of a Persian king—still ongoing consequences of the Babylonian Captivity.
-Nehemiah clearly understood “How Great is Our God” yet the people had rebelled.
-Before Nehemiah
-Deut 29 - Moses – (~1,000 years before Nehemiah)
-Looking back: vv. 1-9, 16
-Looking forward: vv. 18-19, 25-26
-Joshua 24 – Joshua (Canaan conquest approx. 7 years)
-vv. 1-13 – Review of Hebrew history
-vv. 14-17
-vv. 20-24
-Yet, I can turn one page and see how the people departed from God (Judges 2).
-2 Chron 29 – Hezekiah (700s—so, approx. 300 years before Nehemiah)
-vv. 3-8 – The temple was in disrepair!
-2 Chron 32 – Sennacherib threatens Jerusalem
-Isa 37:16-20, 29, 33-36
-God delivered his people.
-2 Chron 34 - Josiah (600s; Josiah was killed by the Egyptians on their way to
Carchemish in 605-6 B.C.; about 200 years before Nehemiah)
-cf. 2 Kings 22 – repairing the temple again
-2 Kings 22:13 – “because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book”
-God had performed many signs and wonders. God had delivered his people, redeemed his
people, instructed his people. Yet, they continued to depart from him.
-Hence, we find Nehemiah in a foreign land.
-After Nehemiah
-Let’s now fast forward from Nehemiah through about 500 years.
-Acts 7
-v. 2 – Abraham; v. 6 – oppression; v. 9ff – Joseph & Egypt; v. 20ff – Moses;
v. 36 – wonders & signs; v. 39; v. 44ff – tabernacle, Promised land and temple
-vv. 51-52 – sinfulness of the people
-Even when Jesus was amongst mankind, so many responded with sinfulness.
-When confronted with this fact, they killed Stephen.
-The Proper Response of Mankind
-Neh 1:5 – “love him and keep his commandments”
-Deut 29:9 – “keep the words of this covenant and do them”
-Josh 24:14 – “fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness”
-Josh 24:23 – “incline your heart to the Lord”
-2 Chron 29:11 – “do not now be negligent”
-Hezekiah & Josiah – humble, penitent, sought God’s counsel & will
-Stephen – pointed people to Jesus
-Closing
-Remember God—his wisdom, his power, his signs and wonders. Love him. Serve him. Seek
his will and do it.
-Some might say, “That sounds an awful lot like salvation by ‘doing’—Doing good enough to
receive salvation.”
1. Yet, as we scan the Israelite history, don’t we see they never did “good enough?” In that
fact, don’t we see How Great is Our God in his patience, forbearance, mercy, grace,
love? Despite their shortcomings, God still fulfilled his plan of redemption!
2. Deut 7:6-8; 9:4-5 – God did not select the children of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob because
they were greater in number than others. He did not select them because their
righteousness deserved it. He chose them because it was his will and part of his
marvelous plan.
-Think about us today: Christians do not comprise a majority of people. We have not earned
God’s blessings due to our own righteousness. However, we have responded to his Word.
We want to love him and keep his commandments. We want to keep his words. We want
to fear him and serve him in sincerity and faithfulness. We want to incline our heart to him.
We want to be humble, penitent, seekers of God, his Word, his will.
-Because…How Great is Our God!
-Invitation