Overview
Victoria Finley examines “One Accord Conference #3: One Accord Begins with God” through Isaiah 40, Nehemiah 8, showing how nehemiah, together, going shape a believer’s relationship with God, daily choices, and service to others.
Transcript
Understanding One Accord Conference #3: One Accord Begins with God
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, God’s kids of all ages. Aren’t you a wonderful bunch to look at? I am so delighted to be here with you this morning. Would you do me a favor and join me in Acts chapter one, please.
Acts chapter one. Thank you to our brother Rico for queuing us all up and getting us ready to dive into the wonderful word of God and what he has provided us for our inspiration, for our guidance, for our provision, to be able to show us the way he would have us to go and the things that he would have us to do for him. God is with us always.
We heard that through the expression of his beautiful spirit this morning. He is with us in the big and the small. Our Father is with us in all.
My husband and I were walking down a sidewalk one day with some family friends. And they had three children. And one of their children, the eldest, Willie, was about 12 years old.
And we had enjoyed a lovely dinner together, and it was the evening time, and we were walking down the sidewalk together in their little town. And Willie was right in front of me. And Willie walked right past the shiny penny.
Right past it. I know he saw it. He walked right past it.
Because I saw it, so I know he saw it. I said, hey, Willie, you should pick up that penny, man. You walked right past the penny.
And Willie turned back to me and goes, oh, Miss Finley, it’s just a penny. And I go, I know Willie, but you never know when you’re going to need a penny. Pick that penny up.
So he reluctantly embarrassed, kind of a little embarrassed. I shamed him a little bit. He turned around and picked up the penny and dropped it in his bucket.
And off we went. Now, I have to tell you, I don’t tell everyone that I see who walks past the penny to stop and pick it up. But I did feel like I needed to tell Willie to stop and pick up that penny.
So he did. He’s a good boy. And a little while later, we were window shopping, and we meander into a video rental store.
You all remember video rental stores? And I think everybody in this room, with the exception of our little tiny ones, have been in a video rental store. We were going to go home after our walk and enjoy a video together, we and our friends. So we pick out a video, we get to the counter, and the clerk says, while he’s checking us out, he says, hey, we got a special going on.
Rent a video, get another for a penny. So what does Willie do? He nearly jumps out of his skin. I’ve got a penny! It was so great.
So he slaps the penny down on the counter, he gets the privilege of picking out the second video, and we have a great night. But the greatest thing about that little incident is that father knew what was around the corner, didn’t he? It wasn’t about the value of the one penny. It was about looking and seeking and knowing he is with you on that sidewalk.
Wherever you are, look for him because he moves in the big and the small. And the word of God contains examples of our spiritual ancestors who have done just that. And their movement and response to God reverberates in our lives today.
Look at Acts chapter one with me, please. So I’m going to give you a little synopsis. Luke writes the book of Acts.
And so he gives a summary of the resurrection time. Jesus Christ and his resurrected body was with these wonderful apostles and disciples. And he knows he’s about to depart.
The Biblical Foundation
And he gives them instruction. And he says, this is what I need you to do. This is what I’m really going to suggest is a really good idea.
You need to go and stay in Jerusalem. Remember I told you about the promise the father’s going to give you. Well, that’s actually going to happen.
I’m telling you what’s going to happen. So I need you to go back to Jerusalem. They were at the Mount of Olives.
Go back to Jerusalem. Stay together. Hang together.
Pray together. Look expectantly. Don’t be in a big hurry.
But it’s coming. And so they go, okay, great. And then they go, hey, but are you back here? Are you going to put the Kingdom of Israel back together? They’re still not getting the greatness of all that’s about to happen.
God bless them. And he says, hey, listen, don’t you worry about time. Time is God’s business, not yours.
You just need to trust him. You just need to move. And you just need to expect.
And they did. And so they, Jesus Christ, what happens? He’s ascended. He’s gone.
Poof! Gone. And they’re standing up there looking at an empty sky. And what does God do? He helps them.
He sends two angels and he says, hey, boys, what are you doing? Staring at an empty sky. Get moving. The same way that he left, he’s coming back.
Move. Go. Get to Jerusalem.
So they do. Look at verse 14. These all, these all, continued with one accord.
They were together. They had seen great things that day, didn’t they? They all continued with one accord in prayer. They were just locked in prayer together with the women.
And I love how God points out that Jesus Christ’s mom was there. Isn’t that beautiful? And with his brethren. And what happens? We all know what happens 10 days later.
The gift of Holy Spirit came. I want to show you another example. Please turn with me to Nehemiah, the great book of Nehemiah.
You see, those men and women were living the anticipated hope of the first coming of the Messiah. They were in the moment in their lifetimes. They got to see the Messiah, the first coming.
Examples and Spiritual Lessons
Right there. And then they got to see the ascension and they were told by angels the same way that he left. He’s coming back.
You just keep moving. You just trust that what God has promised, what God has moved. He has now initiated Christ in you, the hope of glory.
He will not fail. Just wait. Expect and wait.
And do that together. Isaiah 40, 31, familiar verse. But they that wait upon the Lord expectantly.
Not he, not she, they. Together, they waited in Jerusalem. And were they disappointed in their expectation? I should say not.
It was awesome. So together, we move with God. We recognize his movement.
Now, I’d like you to turn, please, with me. I welcome you to do so. Nehemiah chapter 8. But before we read this tremendous summation of what God did for his children, I want to give you a little background.
See, at the time, the believers, the Judeans, were scattered abroad. They were led captive. And they were living amongst unbelievers.
And in many cases, they were their servants. They had lost their freedom. But there were some that escaped and some that found a good place to work.
Nehemiah was one of them. He worked in the palace for the king. In fact, he was in front of the king nearly every day.
And so he knew the king. And there were some that escaped and set up their habitation, their home, back in Jerusalem. Those were the ones that escaped.
So one day, Nehemiah gets a visit from some friends, some brethren. In fact, it turns out it was Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They were of the same time period.
And so they come back and they talk to Nehemiah and they say, and Nehemiah says to them, what’s going on in Jerusalem? See, he lives in the palace. He doesn’t know what’s going on. So God makes sure he’s moving.
And he sends his gentlemen, his believers, and they tell Nehemiah, the children of Israel are in great affliction and reproach. The walls are burnt down. They’re vulnerable inside and outside.
They have enemies that just want to see them flattened and just in misery. We know that their names Sam Ballad and Tobias. And they were the ones, Tobias.
They were the ones that orchestrated the hate against God’s people. But not only that, not only were the walls broken down, and not only were there evil workers on the outside, they had some serious trouble on the inside. The believers were no longer taking care of the believers.
It was a mess. They were using each other. They were taking an interest on each other.
Faith in Action
They were holding believers’ children as servants. It was just awful. And when Nehemiah heard this and the man left, he wept and he cried and he prayed.
And he said, what would you have me to do? See, God sent Nehemiah’s brethren to tell him because Nehemiah didn’t know. They were involved. God moved in them.
And then Nehemiah found out about it and he sat down and he gathered his thoughts and he prayed and he said, what am I to do? And you know what part of his prayer was? He says, show favor before me to the king because he knew that the king was a good man. But he wasn’t of the children of Israel, but he was a good man. And he says, show him that I have been called of you and what I need, work in him.
So what does he do? He goes back to work and a little bit of time passed. See, Nehemiah knew he had to wait expectantly. He couldn’t push God’s time clock and he didn’t.
And so he waited a little while. And before you know it, he’s in front of the king. And the king says to him, hey, you look down in the mouth, brother.
What’s up? Because usually Nehemiah is cheerful, doing his job. He’s thankful, this and that. He doesn’t look too good.
And the king says, what’s wrong? Are you sick? Are you depressed? What’s wrong? And then Nehemiah knows the door is wide open. So he walks through and he tells the king, hey, my brother in Judah, in Jerusalem, they’re a terrible mess. They were approached in affliction.
I know I need to go. And you know what the king says? What do you need? You need a leave of absence? Yep, you can how long? You’re going to be gone. I’ll give you a leave of absence.
What else do you need? Well, I need some documents, a passport, some letters from you. Okay, got it. I also need some materials.
I need some building materials. Could you set that up for me, king? King says, absolutely. And he sets the whole thing up.
He’s not even a believer. Do you think God was working in that king? Absolutely. Perfect timing.
Perfect timing. Nehemiah has everything he needs to move forward with God’s call to rescue his people. So Nehemiah gets going.
He’s got a military escort. He does. And he gets everything he needs.
He gets to Jerusalem. And he takes a deep breath. And he says, what am I to do now? And so he takes a surveillance and he tells no one that he’s there.
And he gets a summation of all that’s going on. And God works with him and says, okay, now go to my people in Jerusalem. And you tell them what we’re going to do together.
And so he does. He gets the nobles. He gets the priest.
Walking in Love and Confidence
He gets all the leaders of Jerusalem. And remember, they’re like flattened. And here comes Nehemiah, who they have not seen in a long time.
And he’s on a mission from God. Right. And he’s looking for the boys in the band.
And we’re going to put the band back together. That’s what Nehemiah is saying to him. And you know what? They see God at work.
They know that he is there for him, God. And that God has heard their prayers. They get chills.
And so they say to him, we’re with you. And what a relief that must have been to Nehemiah. What a relief.
And they say, we’re with you. And they all did. Nehemiah was the leader.
He was the catalyst. He was the galvanizer. But was he alone? Started with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
Then the king. And now Nehemiah. And now the leader is within the walls of Jerusalem.
You see, it’s not just one of us. It’s us together. It’s us.
God works in you. But you know what? We fail sometimes. We fail to trust that it’s actually God at work.
Don’t do that. You’ve got the magnificent gift of Holy Spirit. There is nothing like it.
The gift that you have is uniquely different than the gift that I have, but in equal measure and equal power. But he’ll work in you differently than he worked in Nehemiah. He’ll work in you differently than he worked in Peter.
But he will work. Because he has called you, and he has a purpose for you and me in our time on this second heaven and earth. Okay.
So he rallies the band, right? And they set that. They organize it. So they get people to work on the wall.
And they get people to defend against the creepy unbelievers on the outside. And they start building. And you know what’s magnificent in Nehemiah? If you read chapter 1 through 7, you will see so many names.
You will see so many names. It’s not just Nehemiah, Nehemiah, Nehemiah, Nehemiah. No.
It’s not. There’s names of families. There’s names of individuals.
Applying the Teaching in Daily Life
It’s beautiful how they all work together in synchronicity, spiritual synchronicity, because they knew God was at work. It’s great. So they build this wall.
And while they’re building the wall, one of the chapters, I think it’s chapter 5, it comes to Nehemiah’s attention that not only they got trouble on the outside with Sam Ballad and Tobiah, who are just evil, evil, evil, right? They find out they got trouble on the inside, that the believers are not taking care of each other. He was so mad. The word said he was angry.
He was so mad. And so he kept everybody on task. And then he got those leaders together, and he called them out.
And he said, what are you doing? The unbelievers are taking us into captivity. Why are we taking each other? No. Unacceptable.
And you know what? They didn’t take the sword out of their sheath and whack off Nehemiah’s head. They saw God move. They knew and they were convicted in their souls that this cannot be.
It is wrong. And they were so filled with a contrite heart and spirit, and they promised him, we will never do this again, and we will repay everybody every wrong we have done. That’s one accord.
That’s how we should treat each other as Christians on this second heaven and earth waiting for his return. None of this using each other. That’s the devil’s plan, not God’s man.
So when they did that, whoa, were the unbelievers angry because they had bribed some of the believers to go against each other? Can you believe that? I mean, it’s like today. Hi. Just look at your news feed.
Yeah, same thing. Different date, same thing. Whack that like a guillotine.
Unbelievers could not come within the household of the believers. So we get to that, look at chapter 8. They rebuild the wall. They clean up the inside, and look what God summarizes for us in Nehemiah chapter 8. Verse 1, and all the people, look at that.
All the people gathered themselves together as what? You say it. As one what? Man. It’s a figure of speech.
They were unified. They hadn’t been unified for so long. It was how they got reproach and affliction.
They were scattered. And now, look, they gathered themselves as one man onto the street that was before the water gate, and they called Ezra. They hadn’t called him in a long time.
He was the prophet. Bring that man of God forward. We want to hear from God.
So they bring Ezra forward, the scribe, and he has the word of God, verse 2. And Ezra the priest brought the law, the word before the congregation. They were finally ready to receive the word. That’s what one accord does, ladies and gentlemen.
It gives us an open heart. We are ready to hear from our God. We are ready to move with our God.
That’s what happened. Before that, it was like Ezra who? Beautiful. And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation, both of men and women.
A Life Shaped by God’s Word
But I want to show you something here. And all that could hear with understanding. We’re going to see this word a few times in the few verses I’m going to show you, and I just want to point it out now.
The end result is always good to God’s people. When he moves, we understand. And I don’t know a person in this room who would say, I don’t want to understand.
Right? We all want to have an understanding, to have that knowledge and that wisdom blended together so that we understand who we are in Jesus Christ. It should be no mystery to you. It should be no mystery to your neighbor.
They understood, finally, because they were in one accord. I love that. Verse 2, to hear with understanding.
Verse 3, and he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, like we’re doing today. Morning until midday, and then they had lunch. And they could end, those that could understand.
And the ears of the people wanted to hear the word. Love that. Love that.
Verse 6, and Ezra, after sharing the word, after sharing the word together as one man, you know what they did for the first time in a very long time? They praised God together, and Ezra blessed the Lord. He gave glory to God, and the great God, Elohim. You bet.
That’s who we’re called by. The creator of the heavens and the earth, and he uniquely created Christ in you, so that you could have the faith of his beautiful son, Jesus Christ, so that you lack nothing, that you have understanding in everything he would call you to do and to be a part of. You are magnificent.
You are so magnificent. And together, no enemy can stop us. We live on this earth, and we await his return.
And when it comes, we are going to stand before him in all the fullness and the power and the glory of the might of our Lord God and in his son, Jesus Christ. We will see him face to face. Doesn’t that make you excited? It does me.
It does me. Wow, wow, wow. Verse 6, and Ezra blessed the Lord and the great God, and all the people together as one voice said, Amen, Amen, with the lifting up their hands, and they bowed their head, and they worshiped.
Look at this. Verse 7, I’m not going to read all the names, but there they were together. The priest got inspired, and the Levites were teaching again, and they caused the people, verse 7, the end of the verse, and they caused the people to understand the word, and the people stood in awe and respect of their God and his word.
Verse 8, so they read, the teachers read, in the book of the law of God distinctly because the people now wanted to have the sense, and they wanted to understand what was being read to them. Look at verse 10 with me. Then he said unto them, Go now, people, your walls are built, your city is safe, you’re in one accord, you’re in love with each other and with the Lord your God, and no enemy can touch you.
Now, verse 10, he said to them, Go your way, eat your food, your meals together, enjoy your drink, and remember those that have need. That could not be here, and prepare for them portions for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy unto the Lord our God, and don’t be sorry for your past sins.
I’ve forgiven them, God says, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. And what did the people do? All the people went their way to enjoy food together, breaking bread, and to have drink and sustenance, and they did send portions to those who had need, and they made great joy together because they had what? Understood who they were for him and how valuable they were before the Lord their God. Doesn’t that just make you so thankful for what Jesus Christ did and who you are and what you have, and that he will never leave you, he will never forsake you.
He is always at work. Look for him. Trust, move, and expect, and your God will be there for you.
Amen.
Key Takeaways
- Are you going to put the Kingdom of Israel back together?
- And so they come back and they talk to Nehemiah and they say, and Nehemiah says to them, what’s going on in Jerusalem?
- And the king says to him, hey, you look down in the mouth, brother.
- And we had enjoyed a lovely dinner together, and it was the evening time, and we were walking down the sidewalk together in their little town.
- And I go, I know Willie, but you never know when you’re going to need a penny.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main message of “One Accord Conference #3: One Accord Begins with God”?
Victoria Finley examines “One Accord Conference #3: One Accord Begins with God” through Isaiah 40, Nehemiah 8, showing how nehemiah, together, going shape a believer’s relationship with God, daily choices, and service to others.
Which scriptures are central to this teaching?
The teaching draws especially from Isaiah 40, Nehemiah 8.
How can believers apply this teaching?
And we had enjoyed a lovely dinner together, and it was the evening time, and we were walking down the sidewalk together in their little town.
Scripture References
Isaiah 40; Nehemiah 8
This text was prepared from the teaching audio or source document. Please verify scripture references against your own Bible.
