Neh. pt. 2
ROUTE 66 – NEHEMIAH PART 2 3/2/15
It’s great to be with you guys, on our road trip through the 66 books of the Bible. Our Monday night drives through the bible, to bring us tonight to the last section of the book of Nehemiah, and as we said, the book of Nehemiah is essentially the Holy Spirit inspired journal of one man’s passion for the mission of God. Last week we launched into our drive through this amazing book by highlighting how important the book of Nehemiah is for us to study. By way of Nehemiah’s journal, the Holy Spirit informs us of the realities and nature of living on mission with God and for God. Last week we learned, that living on mission is engaging in the clash of two kingdoms. That’s the reality of living on mission. Opportunities and open doors to advance the gospel are going to be met by opposition to the Gospel. They are going to be met with opposition to those of who love Jesus, and those who love to make the name of Jesus known. And there was that epic quote by J. Sidlow Baxter that we looked at last week. Again, I’ll read it for you. QUOTE: J. Sidlow Baxter “There is no winning without working and warring. There is no opportunity without opposition. There is no open door set before us without there being many adversaries to obstruct our entering in. Whenever the saints say, “Let us arise and build,” the enemy says, “Let us arise and oppose.” There is no triumph without trouble, no victory without vigilance. There is a cross in the way of every crown that is worth wearing.” Big lesson in the book of Nehemiah. That’s why it’s such an important landmark for us, as we move through the 66 books of the bible. We learned that the book of Nehemiah is big stuff for all of us, because the life of Nehemiah instructs us about the essential character traits for that man, that woman concerned with the mission of God. And the essential character traits of that man and woman who would lead others in the mission of God. And we said last week, you might not think of yourself as a leader because you don’t have an official title, ministry title, an official “slot” in the ministry that would say “leader.” But if you’re breathing, you are in some way, a leader. If you’re a husband, you’re a leader. If you’re a parent, you’re a leader. If you have siblings, you’re a leader. Among your peers, you should be a leaders. 1
We learned, concerning Nehemiah, that he was a man of prayer, he was a man of faith, he was a man of courage, and he was a finisher. All of those character components so important for us to see. We should be able to looking at this guy’s life as we study the bible and as we look and read through the book of Nehemiah together, whether it’s in our through the bible in a year readings, or a devotional you are going to do. It should be a point of reference. As we read of this guy’s life we should say, “Lord, I want to be a man, a woman, of prayer. I want to be a man, a woman, of faith, courage. I want to be a finisher.” We learned last week that the book of Nehemiah covers a period of 15 years. In a course of 15 years, we see Nehemiah’s life in three stages. We see Nehemiah, the cup bearer. We see Nehemiah, the wall builder, and we see Nehemiah, the heart builder. Last week we learned that the book of Nehemiah divides really easily along the lines of Nehemiah’s mission that fell into two phases. Phase 1, the reconstruction of the wall, and that’s the first 7 chapters. We almost hit the finish line of that one last week. We are going to pick it up in a little bit tonight. The 2 nd division, the restoration of the people, Nehemiah 8-13. Chapters 1-7 cover only a period of 9 months, out of the 15 years. The actual work of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, took just over 7 weeks. A total of 52 days. There is so much amazing truth for us in the first 3 chapters. I really encourage you to get the resources from last week. Also, reference as you read, the 16 weeks we spent going through the book of Nehemiah together on Sunday mornings, not long ago. We closed our time together last week going through chapters 4-6. Where we find the account of opposition Nehemiah and the people faced in rebuilding the wall. Those chapters are so very important to us, because they inform us, they instruct us. As Paul spoke of the Old Testament scriptures in writing in the New Testament, how things were written for our instruction. Those chapters instruct us about the strategies, of our adversary the devil, in opposing us as we seek to be a part of God’s mission.
VERSE: “So that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes.” 2 Corinthians 2:11 NLT
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The opposition to the people of God and the mission of God in Nehemiah’s work, came from external and internal sources. The external opposition came in 3 forms. We made our way through 2 of them last week. The first, mockery and ridicule, chapters 4:1-6. And last week we noted, that if it weren’t for our pride, mockery and ridicule would never be effective, right? The only reason mockery and ridicule are so effective in stopping the work of God, is because the people of God have pride. And truth be told, we care of what people think of us. We care how people preserve us. The second external opposition, was by way of threats. Sanballat, the leader of the opposition, was so totally committed to opposing the mission of God that he escalated from ridicule to threats of violent terrorism. In Nehemiah 4:11, it says, “and our enemies said, they will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.” Honesty guys, we don’t know much about that kind of opposition, in western Christian culture. What’s so sad is that we know nothing of that kind opposition. Threats to our physical well-being. And yet, Christians are so quick to just raise the white flag and walk away from the work, just because it’s raining sometimes. You know? We made note of how all of that opposition was piled on top of sheer physical fatigue. In the face of the threat of terror, the workers were running out of gas.
VERSE: “And we prayed to our God and set a guard as protection against them day and night. In Judah it was said, “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.” Nehemiah 4:9-10 ESV
Such a massive project. Rebuilding a 15ft high wall, 3ft thick, 2 miles long. The ridicule, the threat of terrorism, the physical, emotional fatigue. Everything seems to be coming apart at the seams at this point in Nehemiah’s journal. This is the application that we closed with last week. Our adversary the devil never feels sorry for you and me. Never. He never gives you a break just because you’re tired. Just because you are feeling frazzled.
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So we’re going to continue tonight with the schemes aimed at leadership in Nehemiah 6, which is where we closed last week. Out of sheer desperation the opposition moved from attacking the people as a whole, to the one man leading the people of God.
QUOTE: Donald Campbell, Dallas Theological Seminary ”They launched a war on Nehemiah because they had at least come now to see that he was the key to the entire project. Remove him from the scene, and the work would immediately cease.”
We learned how crucial it is that we recognize the implications that, that conspiracy has for us in the 21st century. If Satan can defeat a Christian leader, he can cripple a ministry and discredit the cause of Christ. And again, leaders, Nehemiah 6 speaks to husbands because they lead in marriage. Dads and Moms because they lead their children. Pastors, because they lead the flock of God. Ministry leaders, because they are extensions of pastoral leadership. Peer leaders, because you lead in social circles by your examples, your actions and with your words. Teachers, coaches, employers, supervisors. Christians, we need to remember when God is moving the work forward, and milestones and mission goals are being met, the leader becomes the “high-value” target. So, here we pick up tonight. Far worse than the external opposition, there was opposition from within. We see that from Ch. 4:7 – Ch.5:19. Guys, the greatest threat to the mission of God, is God’s people divided. God’s mission is brought to a grinding halt when God’s people are divided. I would be willing to venture that a room with this many people in it, that there is probably a whole lot of people here who’ve said “Yeah, there was a church that I used to go to, there was a church that I helped start, I was there on the ground floor when it was started, and it got divided, it got split, and it died.” When our adversary, the devil, can’t stop God’s people and God’s mission by external attacks and threats, he will attack the unity of the body of Christ. The unity of the believers is a precious and powerful thing. God honors unity among the brethren. He pours out His Spirit on such unity. “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is, when the brethren dwell in unity.” It’s like the dew on Mt. Herman 4
and the oil running down the beard of Aaron. God anoints the unity of His people. He pours His Spirit out on hearts united around the cause of God, around the glory of God and the well-being of the people of God. If you want to know how division begins, it’s when people set aside the cause of God, for their own cause. When people set aside the glory of God for their own glory. When people set aside the well-being of the people of God, for their own well-being. Unity among the brethren is a powerful witness to the reality of the coming of Jesus.
VERSE: “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” John 17:20-21 ESV
You know, a lot of times the unbelieving world has no inkling that Jesus is who He claimed to be because they don’t see the believers living as one. VERSE: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35 ESV
Jesus says that all people are not going to know we are His disciples if we agree on every theological tenant. We’ve said time and again, there are “closed handed” issues and “open handed” issues. There are the “non-negotiables” in Scripture. The things that Christianity consists of. If you take those doctrines and put them in an “open hand” there is no more Christianity. There are a lot of things in Scripture that are “open handed” issues. Things that godly men and women over millennia have disagreed on, but, they can still love one another in the midst of that disagreement. When they love one another in the midst of these disagreements, they say, “I’m a pre-trib guy,” “Well, no I’m all-millennial,” “I believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit.” “No, I’m a cessationist.” Look, if you’re a cessationist who attends Metro, you are welcome to be here. All the guys in leadership here don’t believe the gifts of the Spirit stopped at the close of the writing of the New 5
Testament. We all believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. As long as you are not going to take your position and make it a dividing point in this congregation, you are welcome to be here, and to fellowship with us. Be a part of the Metro family and serve here. Pre-trib/post-trib, there is something about when Christians can love one another in the face of those things. Jesus says, that’s how people are going to know we are His disciples. The bible is filled with the realities of how messy and hard life is. How hard and messy life can get while your laboring with other people in the mission of God.
QUOTE: Timothy Keller “People are messy, therefore relationships are messy. Expect messiness.”
What is so crazy, is that people come into a church and before they see how messy everybody is and how messy people are in a church, there going, “Ah, we just love this place. We love the worship, and we love the teaching.” And then suddenly there is a mess. And they’re response is, “Oh, I’ve gotta go! This is messy!” Well you just walked in. If you walked into a church that wasn’t messy, the minute you walked in, it’s messy. Because we are messy. We just need to understand that the nature of the kingdom.
So, what was at the core of this division? At the core of this division in Nehemiah was greed and selfish ambition. The greed and selfish ambition in the lives of some gashed the people of God and the work of God. Write this next verse in your bible next to Nehemiah 5:1. Tuck it away in your heart.
VERSE: “For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.” James 3:15-16 NLT
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I always found James 3:16 one of the most staggering declarations. Wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. Guys, living for self-interest, living for self-gain, is absolutely counterproductive to the mission of God. Remember, the mission was to restore the glory of God. The rebuilding of the walls was actually the rebuilding of their witness to the world. In Nehemiah 2:17 “Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” They wanted to see their witness in the world rebuilt. Here’s the point. Selfishness gashed the main artery of the mission. The very thing that Sanballat wanted to accomplish with his terrorism, was being done from within. Nehemiah provides a living example of how to combat selfishness, and combat divisive agendas. First of all, you bring the truth of God’s word alongside divisive actions and attitudes. How do you combat division? You bring the truth of God’s Word alongside divisive actions and attitudes. What does the Word say? Whatever the Word says, I need to obey. I need to recalibrate my life, my ambitions, my actions, my attitudes to the Word of God. Nehemiah reminded the people of God’s commandants concerning borrowing and lending, because that was the stuff that was gashing God’s economy. Secondly, be an example of the truth. Nehemiah reminded the people of the way he served the people of God, in the mission of God. He made no person profit in the project. He shared his food, he shared his provisions. He actually bought men and women out of slavery. Purchased their redemption. The Word of God and a life that looks like the Word of God, combats divisiveness.
VERSE: “So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.” Nehemiah 6:15-16 ESV
Now we come to the last major division of the book. Chapters 8-13, the restoration of the people. As I said, the first 7 chapters, 9 months. The walls rebuilt, 52 days. Chapters 8-13 deal with phase 2 of the mission. The hardest part of the mission was saved for last. It was the hardest part of the mission because of the materials Nehemiah had to work with in the 2nd phase of the mission. He wasn’t working with stones and wood anymore. In phase 2 he was working with human hearts. As 7
we come to this section of the book, Nehemiah has come from ‘cupbearer” to “wall builder.” Rebuilding the walls of the city of Jerusalem. Now, he is going from “wall builder” to “heart builder.” Rebuilding the walls of worship and witness in the people of God. In that role, he is going to work alongside Ezra. Nehemiah is going to bring Ezra’s teaching ministry to the forefront of the nation. With the Holy Spirit at work, through Ezra’s teaching ministry is going to transform people’s lives. These closing chapters are absolutely jammed with truth that is so powerful, so personal, and so practical for our lives today. I’m going to touch on them, not all of them.
VERSE: “And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel.” Nehemiah 8:1 ESV
Big Lesson, church is more than a crowd. It’s a gathering. The New Testament word for the church is Ekklesia. The gathering. When God is restoring and reviving His people you just don’t see crowded churches, you see men and women gathering as one. Coming with hearts set on God. Coming with hearts desiring God. It says, “And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel.” When God is reviving and restoring an individual, He plants in their heart a hunger to hear the Word of God. Now in our study through Nehemiah on Sunday mornings, we learned that this group of people that was gathering on the 1st day of the 7th month, was a big group of people. About 50,000 people. 50,000 people were united, gathered as if they had a single heart that was beating for, longing to hear from God. Question. How were they going to hear from God? Well they knew that God had already spoken. That God had given them the book. God had spoken to Moses, and Moses had wrote it down. As we have learned in our Route 66 series, Moses had wrote the pentitude, 5 books. Geneses, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. With one heart, they said to Ezra, “Bring out the book.” If God is reviving His people, if God is restoring His people, they sense a need for, a desire to hear from God. So use that as a diagnostic. You can ask yourself that tonight. “Is God reviving my own heart?” Well, ask the question. “Is there a need a
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desire in my heart to hear from God?” My heart beats for it. It yearns for it. I want to gather with other people whose heart has a great need for God. VERSE: “And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood.” Nehemiah 8:5 ESV
Really amazing, as the bible was opened, they stood in respect. They stood because the recognized the book as their authority. Now, let me ask you this question. Each time we gather, we start with a reading of scripture. We ask everyone to stand. The Word of God is read to us. As they finish reading they say “this is the Word of the Lord” and we all say “Amen” yes it is, we agree. Question. Are we standing up in our hearts, in the light of God’s Word? Do we find in the posture of our hearts a respect for God’s Word? And, not only a respect for God’s Word, but a readiness to receive it? VERSE: “They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.” Nehemiah 8:8 ESV
God’s Word was read then it was explained. Then more of God’s Word was read and more was explained. That’s called “expository preaching.” That’s what we do. Every time we gather, we read from the Word, we explain the Word. You read a little bit of God’s truth and then you unpack it, and explain the meaning. Ezra was a scholar in the scriptures.
VERSE: “And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law.” Nehemiah 8:9 ESV
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Now why did they weep? When they heard the Words of the Law? Why did they cry? Well, the light of God’s Word showed them how wrecked they really were. God’s Word will do that. When you open the Word with a humble and open heart, here is what you see. Big God. Small you. Perfect God. Imperfect you. That’s a good bible study. You know you have read the Word humbly, prayerfully, and accurately, if that is your perspective when you close the Word of God. When you leave a bible study. That you walk away very, very, impressed by how Big God is and very humbled by how small you are. In awe of how perfect God is and humbled by how imperfect and flawed you are. God’s Word should break us. Then our response should be to come and seek God for the grace and the power to change. There’s always a response. Ezra is reading an explaining, and when the time was spent, 6 hours they stood, and had the Word of God read and explained to them. At the end of the 6 hours they were just wrecked. They were responding to the Word of God. It’s so important that we respond after we have opened and study the Word of God. So respond, and we come and seek God for grace and the power to be changed. Then we are astounded as we find our big God meeting small us. Loving us, and giving us grace, and giving us mercy. Working transformation in our hearts. That is the process on this side of eternity. On the second day we see them doing the same thing they did on the first day, and here’s the picture. Maintaining a revived heart involves a continuing in the very same things that brought about revival in the first place. There is nothing flashy about it. There is nothing novel about it. That’s always been the way that God works. We read this quote as we were studying the book of Nehemiah in depth.
QUOTE: “Perseverance is a long obedience in the same direction.”
You know, our culture is not really good at perseverance. Everything in our culture actually mitigates against perseverance. “Perseverance is a long obedience in the same direction.”
VERSE: “On the second day the heads of fathers' houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to 10
study the words of the Law. And they found it written in the Law that the Lord had commanded by Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month” Nehemiah 8:13-14 ESV As they were being taught, they came back and said, “We need more instruction” they discovered something in the Word. They discovered how God wanted them to live their lives. They discovered that pretty much their whole life, they had not been living the middle of the 7th month right. That they had not been doing life correctly in the middle on the 15th day of 7th month. Because on that day, God wanted them to be living in booths. It’s so amazing. As we were studying on Sunday mornings, on the 2nd day of the 7th month, the feast starts on the 15th day, and they had a whole lot of preparation to do. They suddenly turned their whole world upside down, pushed everything off their calendar and said, “We’ve got to get ready for this.” God’s Word so changed them, that they reprioritized their lives.
VERSE: “Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth on their heads.” Nehemiah 9:1 ESV
“Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month” Day 24, and they are still doing on the 24th day the same thing they were doing on the 1st day of the 7th month. Guys, real ongoing personal and corporate revival produces an insatiable desire to know God, to love God, to worship God, and be in community with God’s people. Those things become indispensable elements in your life. It’s not like somebody is saying, “you better want to know God, you better want to love God, and you better go worship God, and you better show up at church and through the week try to live in community with God’s people.” No, it’s from the inside out that you’re desiring it. When I first got saved, my unsaved friends, before they just totally bailed on me. They would say, “What are you doing tonight?” I would say, “I’m going to church.” They would say, “I thought you were there last night?” I would say, “Yeah, I was.” They would as, “Man, do you have to go to church every night of the week?” No! I want to go to church. I want to hear the Word of God. I want to be with the people of God. I can’t believe I get to sit there as these people are 11
worshiping God. I feel like I have just stepped into Heaven. I’ve never know any such thing in my life. Growing up in a Catholic family, I had to be drugged to church. They had to chain me, beat me, and drug me. Throw me in the car, put a hood over my head to get me there. Throw me on the ground when we got there. I did not want to be there. But when I met Jesus, there was no place I’d rather be than with His people. So that I could know Him better, love Him more, worship, live out my Christian life with other men and women whose hearts were set on fire by the same Jesus.
VERSE: “Then the leaders of the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah—called out to the people: “Stand up and praise the Lord your God, for he lives from everlasting to everlasting!” Then they prayed: “May your glorious name be praised! May it be exalted above all blessing and praise!” Nehemiah 9:5 NLT
Guys, as a result of the teaching of the Word of God, men and women worship the God of the Word. Now Jesus said that’s the way it works. Jesus says, the Father is looking for worshippers. He’s seeking those who will worship Him in Spirit and in truth. In Spirit is doesn’t mean excited and elevated. It means people are regenerated and born again and made alive by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Gone from spiritual death to spiritual life, regenerated by the Holy Spirit, indwelt by the Holy Spirit. They are now able to have fellowship with, to commune with, to give to God, and receive form God, via the Spirit. Now, they’re made alive to God in the Spirit. They worship Him in the light of the truth. We just don’t invent the God we want to worship. The God that we worship is revealed in the Word of God. So as the Word of God was taught and explained, the men and women responded to worship the God of the Word. Nehemiah ends with this in verses 38:
VERSE: “Because of all this we make a firm covenant in writing; on the sealed document are the names of our princes, our Levites, and our priests.” Nehemiah 9:38 ESV
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Because of all of this, they have rehearsed the history of Israel’s faithlessness, Israel’s rebellion, and God’s mercy. They rehearsed the history and said “God, you never gave up on us, God, you still pursued us, and God even when you casted us off, even when we were in captivity you brought us out of captivity. God you are so good and because of how good you are, we make a firm covenant in writing and on the sealed document are the names of our princes, our Levites, and our priests.” This covenant was their way of saying, “God, in light of your incredible mercy, in light of your steadfast love for us, we are, every single one of us yours forever. And we will write it down and sign or name next to it, and the moment we begin to think otherwise, please discipline us.” Now people look at that and say, “Well, that’s the Old Testament, that was so legalistic, and that’s so the law, and we don’t relate to God on the basis of the law. We relate to God on the basis of Grace.” That is absolutely 100% the truth, but they are not relating to God on the law, they’re relating to God on the basis of mercy. They are relating to God on the basis of grace. In light of the mercies of God the reasonable response is, “God, I’m your man forever. God I’m your women forever.”
VERSE: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” Romans 12:1 ESV
“I appeal to you” it does not say “I command you.” The old King James says, “I beseech you.” There is this loving pleading. It’s not on a pleading of, “you better do this, or else” it is on the pleading on the mercies of God. In light of the mercy that you have received because of the death of Jesus Christ in your place for your sins, won’t you please present your bodies to God as a living sacrifice? Because that’s just reasonable. It’s the only reasonable response to the man or woman who truly understands that Jesus is God, who became man, to die in their place, for their sins. Nehemiah chapter 11-12:26 deals with the repopulation of the city of Jerusalem. God moving people. Nehemiah 12:27-43 deals with the dedication of the walls to the Lord. I love this section. In chapters 8-10 the people dedicated themselves to the Lord. They had dedicated to the Lord all that they were, all they did, and all they could ever hope to become. Now it was time to dedicate the work they had done to the Lord. That’s always the right order. It’s no good to dedicate walls, 13
gates, buildings, you fill in what that would be the equivalent of that would be today. There is no point in dedicating such things to the Lord, if we are not dedicated to the Lord. Now here’s why Nehemiah is leading them in this, Nehemiah knew the restored walls were not first and foremost about man and for man. He knew. He knew that those walls were all about God. He knew that without God, those walls would have never been rebuilt and never would have been restored. It was God’s mission to rebuild the wall. Nehemiah knew it was God who broke into his life, he knew it was God who broke his heart. Remember, the mission began with a burden. The rebuilding of the walls began with a burdened heart. Nehemiah knew that it was God who broke into his world, that it was God who broke his heart over the condition of the wall and the state of affairs in the people. Nehemiah knew it was God who gave him a vision for the mission. Nehemiah knew it was God who enabled him and his team to finish the wall in 52 days. As we’ve seen, not only did they know it was God who enabled them to finish the wall, but even enemies said, “we surrender, that’s God.” Nehemiah wanted to remind the people that the rebuilt wall was not about them, he also wanted to remind the people that the rebuilding of the wall was not for them. Nehemiah wanted God to be honored and glorified every time the people looked at that wall. Every the people looked at that wall Nehemiah wanted the people say, “That’s the work of God. God did that. We just got to be a part of that.” Every time they looked at that wall, that wall had been in ruins for 150 years, but God restored it and they got to be a part of it. Nehemiah wanted them to see that the restored wall was for God. For His use. For His glory.
Think about that as we get a building ready to house for worship. To house ministry. First and foremost, it’s not for us. It’s for God. The wall that rebuilt was intended to protect something dear to the Lord. It was intended to protect His people. To provide them a secure place for them to worship in. It was to protect the place where He would meet with them, and where they met with Him. That would have been in his day, the temple. Now we’re the living temple. So we gather, we get to go to a physical address. We gather and we are a collection of believers in a locality. God has a place where we get to meet, so that God can give us a time “set apart.” We call this place a sanctuary. It’s a sanctuary from something. From the craziness of life, day in, day out, outside of these walls. God says, I have a place, where you can come in and just block that out, and you can meet with Me, and I’ll meet with you. 14
In that scene as they are dedicating the walls, we see people literally standing on what God had built. They stood on the walls and they worshipped Him on the walls. What an awesome picture. Let me ask you this. Has God rebuilt your life? Has God rebuilt your marriage? Rebuilt your family? Has God rebuilt your educational life? Has God rebuilt your business? Whatever it is that God is rebuilt in your life that was once torn down, then dedicate it to the Lord. Because that in which He rebuilt is all about God and it’s all for God. Your life, your marriage, your family, your educational life, your professional life, your business life. It’s all about God and it’s all for God. Dedicate it to Him. Then, stand on what He has rebuilt. Stand in what He has rebuilt. There, within your life, within your marriage, within you family, within your educational world, within your professional life. Stand in it and give Him thank with it. Let your life be a sacrifice of worship and praise to Him, in your life that He has rebuilt. I love that chapter 12 ends like that. Chapter 13 is a little bit of rough business. Because some time goes by, and people forget their covenant. The covenant that they made. Nehemiah had to do some business that wasn’t very pleasant. And when you read it, it’s kind of striking. It’s a little uncomfortable. It was like he was beating some people up. Literally beating them up. I’ve always been kind of puzzled on that. This is God’s guy. His name means “The Lord is my comfort” or “The Lord is comfort.” Here, God wants to comfort you. Boom. Comfort you with a right hook. But in a sense, when they made that covenant, they said, “God, we don’t live up to this, feel free to curse us. Feel free to come and sort us out.” And Nehemiah went and sorted them out. Now, I’m not advocating that pastoral leadership get in the business of punching people out when things go south is someone’s life. Not in any shape of form. But I do know, that God will hit you right upside your head with grace. I don’t know if any of you have seen the movie Unbroken, when Louie was in church, as a young boy, his feet where under the pew and he was acting fidgety. His father reaches around behind Louie’s head and whacks him behind the side of his head. God loves us, and whom he loves he disciplines and chastens. And sometimes when a brother and sister in Jesus sits down and says,” I need to talk to you, because you are professing this, and living like that.” And sometimes those words might seem to you like somebody is hitting you. Don’t run from the Word of God. Don’t shrink you back from the truth. Let the Word of God correct you. Paul said, that all of scripture is God breathed. It is inspired by God and it’s profitable for correction. I don’t know about you, but I have had times in the bible bus all by myself at the kitchen table in the morning, and I just feel like the Holy 15
Spirit just smacked me on the side of the head. And it’s a good smack. It’s a gracious smack. It’s loving. Because sometimes with the Word of God you feel like you were just punching in the stomach. It just takes the wind out of you. Then the Holy Spirit just fills it up, breathes it into you. He fixes you. It’s great book, Nehemiah. Chapter 1 to 13. It’s so important for us. THE END
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It’s great to be with you guys, on our road trip through the 66 books of the Bible. Our Monday night drives through the bible, to bring us tonight to the last section of the book of Nehemiah, and as we said, the book of Nehemiah is essentially the Holy Spirit inspired journal of one man’s passion for the mission of God. Last week we launched into our drive through this amazing book by highlighting how important the book of Nehemiah is for us to study. By way of Nehemiah’s journal, the Holy Spirit informs us of the realities and nature of living on mission with God and for God. Last week we learned, that living on mission is engaging in the clash of two kingdoms. That’s the reality of living on mission. Opportunities and open doors to advance the gospel are going to be met by opposition to the Gospel. They are going to be met with opposition to those of who love Jesus, and those who love to make the name of Jesus known. And there was that epic quote by J. Sidlow Baxter that we looked at last week. Again, I’ll read it for you. QUOTE: J. Sidlow Baxter “There is no winning without working and warring. There is no opportunity without opposition. There is no open door set before us without there being many adversaries to obstruct our entering in. Whenever the saints say, “Let us arise and build,” the enemy says, “Let us arise and oppose.” There is no triumph without trouble, no victory without vigilance. There is a cross in the way of every crown that is worth wearing.” Big lesson in the book of Nehemiah. That’s why it’s such an important landmark for us, as we move through the 66 books of the bible. We learned that the book of Nehemiah is big stuff for all of us, because the life of Nehemiah instructs us about the essential character traits for that man, that woman concerned with the mission of God. And the essential character traits of that man and woman who would lead others in the mission of God. And we said last week, you might not think of yourself as a leader because you don’t have an official title, ministry title, an official “slot” in the ministry that would say “leader.” But if you’re breathing, you are in some way, a leader. If you’re a husband, you’re a leader. If you’re a parent, you’re a leader. If you have siblings, you’re a leader. Among your peers, you should be a leaders. 1
We learned, concerning Nehemiah, that he was a man of prayer, he was a man of faith, he was a man of courage, and he was a finisher. All of those character components so important for us to see. We should be able to looking at this guy’s life as we study the bible and as we look and read through the book of Nehemiah together, whether it’s in our through the bible in a year readings, or a devotional you are going to do. It should be a point of reference. As we read of this guy’s life we should say, “Lord, I want to be a man, a woman, of prayer. I want to be a man, a woman, of faith, courage. I want to be a finisher.” We learned last week that the book of Nehemiah covers a period of 15 years. In a course of 15 years, we see Nehemiah’s life in three stages. We see Nehemiah, the cup bearer. We see Nehemiah, the wall builder, and we see Nehemiah, the heart builder. Last week we learned that the book of Nehemiah divides really easily along the lines of Nehemiah’s mission that fell into two phases. Phase 1, the reconstruction of the wall, and that’s the first 7 chapters. We almost hit the finish line of that one last week. We are going to pick it up in a little bit tonight. The 2 nd division, the restoration of the people, Nehemiah 8-13. Chapters 1-7 cover only a period of 9 months, out of the 15 years. The actual work of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, took just over 7 weeks. A total of 52 days. There is so much amazing truth for us in the first 3 chapters. I really encourage you to get the resources from last week. Also, reference as you read, the 16 weeks we spent going through the book of Nehemiah together on Sunday mornings, not long ago. We closed our time together last week going through chapters 4-6. Where we find the account of opposition Nehemiah and the people faced in rebuilding the wall. Those chapters are so very important to us, because they inform us, they instruct us. As Paul spoke of the Old Testament scriptures in writing in the New Testament, how things were written for our instruction. Those chapters instruct us about the strategies, of our adversary the devil, in opposing us as we seek to be a part of God’s mission.
VERSE: “So that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes.” 2 Corinthians 2:11 NLT
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The opposition to the people of God and the mission of God in Nehemiah’s work, came from external and internal sources. The external opposition came in 3 forms. We made our way through 2 of them last week. The first, mockery and ridicule, chapters 4:1-6. And last week we noted, that if it weren’t for our pride, mockery and ridicule would never be effective, right? The only reason mockery and ridicule are so effective in stopping the work of God, is because the people of God have pride. And truth be told, we care of what people think of us. We care how people preserve us. The second external opposition, was by way of threats. Sanballat, the leader of the opposition, was so totally committed to opposing the mission of God that he escalated from ridicule to threats of violent terrorism. In Nehemiah 4:11, it says, “and our enemies said, they will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.” Honesty guys, we don’t know much about that kind of opposition, in western Christian culture. What’s so sad is that we know nothing of that kind opposition. Threats to our physical well-being. And yet, Christians are so quick to just raise the white flag and walk away from the work, just because it’s raining sometimes. You know? We made note of how all of that opposition was piled on top of sheer physical fatigue. In the face of the threat of terror, the workers were running out of gas.
VERSE: “And we prayed to our God and set a guard as protection against them day and night. In Judah it was said, “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.” Nehemiah 4:9-10 ESV
Such a massive project. Rebuilding a 15ft high wall, 3ft thick, 2 miles long. The ridicule, the threat of terrorism, the physical, emotional fatigue. Everything seems to be coming apart at the seams at this point in Nehemiah’s journal. This is the application that we closed with last week. Our adversary the devil never feels sorry for you and me. Never. He never gives you a break just because you’re tired. Just because you are feeling frazzled.
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So we’re going to continue tonight with the schemes aimed at leadership in Nehemiah 6, which is where we closed last week. Out of sheer desperation the opposition moved from attacking the people as a whole, to the one man leading the people of God.
QUOTE: Donald Campbell, Dallas Theological Seminary ”They launched a war on Nehemiah because they had at least come now to see that he was the key to the entire project. Remove him from the scene, and the work would immediately cease.”
We learned how crucial it is that we recognize the implications that, that conspiracy has for us in the 21st century. If Satan can defeat a Christian leader, he can cripple a ministry and discredit the cause of Christ. And again, leaders, Nehemiah 6 speaks to husbands because they lead in marriage. Dads and Moms because they lead their children. Pastors, because they lead the flock of God. Ministry leaders, because they are extensions of pastoral leadership. Peer leaders, because you lead in social circles by your examples, your actions and with your words. Teachers, coaches, employers, supervisors. Christians, we need to remember when God is moving the work forward, and milestones and mission goals are being met, the leader becomes the “high-value” target. So, here we pick up tonight. Far worse than the external opposition, there was opposition from within. We see that from Ch. 4:7 – Ch.5:19. Guys, the greatest threat to the mission of God, is God’s people divided. God’s mission is brought to a grinding halt when God’s people are divided. I would be willing to venture that a room with this many people in it, that there is probably a whole lot of people here who’ve said “Yeah, there was a church that I used to go to, there was a church that I helped start, I was there on the ground floor when it was started, and it got divided, it got split, and it died.” When our adversary, the devil, can’t stop God’s people and God’s mission by external attacks and threats, he will attack the unity of the body of Christ. The unity of the believers is a precious and powerful thing. God honors unity among the brethren. He pours out His Spirit on such unity. “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is, when the brethren dwell in unity.” It’s like the dew on Mt. Herman 4
and the oil running down the beard of Aaron. God anoints the unity of His people. He pours His Spirit out on hearts united around the cause of God, around the glory of God and the well-being of the people of God. If you want to know how division begins, it’s when people set aside the cause of God, for their own cause. When people set aside the glory of God for their own glory. When people set aside the well-being of the people of God, for their own well-being. Unity among the brethren is a powerful witness to the reality of the coming of Jesus.
VERSE: “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” John 17:20-21 ESV
You know, a lot of times the unbelieving world has no inkling that Jesus is who He claimed to be because they don’t see the believers living as one. VERSE: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35 ESV
Jesus says that all people are not going to know we are His disciples if we agree on every theological tenant. We’ve said time and again, there are “closed handed” issues and “open handed” issues. There are the “non-negotiables” in Scripture. The things that Christianity consists of. If you take those doctrines and put them in an “open hand” there is no more Christianity. There are a lot of things in Scripture that are “open handed” issues. Things that godly men and women over millennia have disagreed on, but, they can still love one another in the midst of that disagreement. When they love one another in the midst of these disagreements, they say, “I’m a pre-trib guy,” “Well, no I’m all-millennial,” “I believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit.” “No, I’m a cessationist.” Look, if you’re a cessationist who attends Metro, you are welcome to be here. All the guys in leadership here don’t believe the gifts of the Spirit stopped at the close of the writing of the New 5
Testament. We all believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. As long as you are not going to take your position and make it a dividing point in this congregation, you are welcome to be here, and to fellowship with us. Be a part of the Metro family and serve here. Pre-trib/post-trib, there is something about when Christians can love one another in the face of those things. Jesus says, that’s how people are going to know we are His disciples. The bible is filled with the realities of how messy and hard life is. How hard and messy life can get while your laboring with other people in the mission of God.
QUOTE: Timothy Keller “People are messy, therefore relationships are messy. Expect messiness.”
What is so crazy, is that people come into a church and before they see how messy everybody is and how messy people are in a church, there going, “Ah, we just love this place. We love the worship, and we love the teaching.” And then suddenly there is a mess. And they’re response is, “Oh, I’ve gotta go! This is messy!” Well you just walked in. If you walked into a church that wasn’t messy, the minute you walked in, it’s messy. Because we are messy. We just need to understand that the nature of the kingdom.
So, what was at the core of this division? At the core of this division in Nehemiah was greed and selfish ambition. The greed and selfish ambition in the lives of some gashed the people of God and the work of God. Write this next verse in your bible next to Nehemiah 5:1. Tuck it away in your heart.
VERSE: “For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.” James 3:15-16 NLT
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I always found James 3:16 one of the most staggering declarations. Wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. Guys, living for self-interest, living for self-gain, is absolutely counterproductive to the mission of God. Remember, the mission was to restore the glory of God. The rebuilding of the walls was actually the rebuilding of their witness to the world. In Nehemiah 2:17 “Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” They wanted to see their witness in the world rebuilt. Here’s the point. Selfishness gashed the main artery of the mission. The very thing that Sanballat wanted to accomplish with his terrorism, was being done from within. Nehemiah provides a living example of how to combat selfishness, and combat divisive agendas. First of all, you bring the truth of God’s word alongside divisive actions and attitudes. How do you combat division? You bring the truth of God’s Word alongside divisive actions and attitudes. What does the Word say? Whatever the Word says, I need to obey. I need to recalibrate my life, my ambitions, my actions, my attitudes to the Word of God. Nehemiah reminded the people of God’s commandants concerning borrowing and lending, because that was the stuff that was gashing God’s economy. Secondly, be an example of the truth. Nehemiah reminded the people of the way he served the people of God, in the mission of God. He made no person profit in the project. He shared his food, he shared his provisions. He actually bought men and women out of slavery. Purchased their redemption. The Word of God and a life that looks like the Word of God, combats divisiveness.
VERSE: “So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.” Nehemiah 6:15-16 ESV
Now we come to the last major division of the book. Chapters 8-13, the restoration of the people. As I said, the first 7 chapters, 9 months. The walls rebuilt, 52 days. Chapters 8-13 deal with phase 2 of the mission. The hardest part of the mission was saved for last. It was the hardest part of the mission because of the materials Nehemiah had to work with in the 2nd phase of the mission. He wasn’t working with stones and wood anymore. In phase 2 he was working with human hearts. As 7
we come to this section of the book, Nehemiah has come from ‘cupbearer” to “wall builder.” Rebuilding the walls of the city of Jerusalem. Now, he is going from “wall builder” to “heart builder.” Rebuilding the walls of worship and witness in the people of God. In that role, he is going to work alongside Ezra. Nehemiah is going to bring Ezra’s teaching ministry to the forefront of the nation. With the Holy Spirit at work, through Ezra’s teaching ministry is going to transform people’s lives. These closing chapters are absolutely jammed with truth that is so powerful, so personal, and so practical for our lives today. I’m going to touch on them, not all of them.
VERSE: “And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel.” Nehemiah 8:1 ESV
Big Lesson, church is more than a crowd. It’s a gathering. The New Testament word for the church is Ekklesia. The gathering. When God is restoring and reviving His people you just don’t see crowded churches, you see men and women gathering as one. Coming with hearts set on God. Coming with hearts desiring God. It says, “And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel.” When God is reviving and restoring an individual, He plants in their heart a hunger to hear the Word of God. Now in our study through Nehemiah on Sunday mornings, we learned that this group of people that was gathering on the 1st day of the 7th month, was a big group of people. About 50,000 people. 50,000 people were united, gathered as if they had a single heart that was beating for, longing to hear from God. Question. How were they going to hear from God? Well they knew that God had already spoken. That God had given them the book. God had spoken to Moses, and Moses had wrote it down. As we have learned in our Route 66 series, Moses had wrote the pentitude, 5 books. Geneses, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. With one heart, they said to Ezra, “Bring out the book.” If God is reviving His people, if God is restoring His people, they sense a need for, a desire to hear from God. So use that as a diagnostic. You can ask yourself that tonight. “Is God reviving my own heart?” Well, ask the question. “Is there a need a
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desire in my heart to hear from God?” My heart beats for it. It yearns for it. I want to gather with other people whose heart has a great need for God. VERSE: “And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood.” Nehemiah 8:5 ESV
Really amazing, as the bible was opened, they stood in respect. They stood because the recognized the book as their authority. Now, let me ask you this question. Each time we gather, we start with a reading of scripture. We ask everyone to stand. The Word of God is read to us. As they finish reading they say “this is the Word of the Lord” and we all say “Amen” yes it is, we agree. Question. Are we standing up in our hearts, in the light of God’s Word? Do we find in the posture of our hearts a respect for God’s Word? And, not only a respect for God’s Word, but a readiness to receive it? VERSE: “They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.” Nehemiah 8:8 ESV
God’s Word was read then it was explained. Then more of God’s Word was read and more was explained. That’s called “expository preaching.” That’s what we do. Every time we gather, we read from the Word, we explain the Word. You read a little bit of God’s truth and then you unpack it, and explain the meaning. Ezra was a scholar in the scriptures.
VERSE: “And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law.” Nehemiah 8:9 ESV
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Now why did they weep? When they heard the Words of the Law? Why did they cry? Well, the light of God’s Word showed them how wrecked they really were. God’s Word will do that. When you open the Word with a humble and open heart, here is what you see. Big God. Small you. Perfect God. Imperfect you. That’s a good bible study. You know you have read the Word humbly, prayerfully, and accurately, if that is your perspective when you close the Word of God. When you leave a bible study. That you walk away very, very, impressed by how Big God is and very humbled by how small you are. In awe of how perfect God is and humbled by how imperfect and flawed you are. God’s Word should break us. Then our response should be to come and seek God for the grace and the power to change. There’s always a response. Ezra is reading an explaining, and when the time was spent, 6 hours they stood, and had the Word of God read and explained to them. At the end of the 6 hours they were just wrecked. They were responding to the Word of God. It’s so important that we respond after we have opened and study the Word of God. So respond, and we come and seek God for grace and the power to be changed. Then we are astounded as we find our big God meeting small us. Loving us, and giving us grace, and giving us mercy. Working transformation in our hearts. That is the process on this side of eternity. On the second day we see them doing the same thing they did on the first day, and here’s the picture. Maintaining a revived heart involves a continuing in the very same things that brought about revival in the first place. There is nothing flashy about it. There is nothing novel about it. That’s always been the way that God works. We read this quote as we were studying the book of Nehemiah in depth.
QUOTE: “Perseverance is a long obedience in the same direction.”
You know, our culture is not really good at perseverance. Everything in our culture actually mitigates against perseverance. “Perseverance is a long obedience in the same direction.”
VERSE: “On the second day the heads of fathers' houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to 10
study the words of the Law. And they found it written in the Law that the Lord had commanded by Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month” Nehemiah 8:13-14 ESV As they were being taught, they came back and said, “We need more instruction” they discovered something in the Word. They discovered how God wanted them to live their lives. They discovered that pretty much their whole life, they had not been living the middle of the 7th month right. That they had not been doing life correctly in the middle on the 15th day of 7th month. Because on that day, God wanted them to be living in booths. It’s so amazing. As we were studying on Sunday mornings, on the 2nd day of the 7th month, the feast starts on the 15th day, and they had a whole lot of preparation to do. They suddenly turned their whole world upside down, pushed everything off their calendar and said, “We’ve got to get ready for this.” God’s Word so changed them, that they reprioritized their lives.
VERSE: “Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth on their heads.” Nehemiah 9:1 ESV
“Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month” Day 24, and they are still doing on the 24th day the same thing they were doing on the 1st day of the 7th month. Guys, real ongoing personal and corporate revival produces an insatiable desire to know God, to love God, to worship God, and be in community with God’s people. Those things become indispensable elements in your life. It’s not like somebody is saying, “you better want to know God, you better want to love God, and you better go worship God, and you better show up at church and through the week try to live in community with God’s people.” No, it’s from the inside out that you’re desiring it. When I first got saved, my unsaved friends, before they just totally bailed on me. They would say, “What are you doing tonight?” I would say, “I’m going to church.” They would say, “I thought you were there last night?” I would say, “Yeah, I was.” They would as, “Man, do you have to go to church every night of the week?” No! I want to go to church. I want to hear the Word of God. I want to be with the people of God. I can’t believe I get to sit there as these people are 11
worshiping God. I feel like I have just stepped into Heaven. I’ve never know any such thing in my life. Growing up in a Catholic family, I had to be drugged to church. They had to chain me, beat me, and drug me. Throw me in the car, put a hood over my head to get me there. Throw me on the ground when we got there. I did not want to be there. But when I met Jesus, there was no place I’d rather be than with His people. So that I could know Him better, love Him more, worship, live out my Christian life with other men and women whose hearts were set on fire by the same Jesus.
VERSE: “Then the leaders of the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah—called out to the people: “Stand up and praise the Lord your God, for he lives from everlasting to everlasting!” Then they prayed: “May your glorious name be praised! May it be exalted above all blessing and praise!” Nehemiah 9:5 NLT
Guys, as a result of the teaching of the Word of God, men and women worship the God of the Word. Now Jesus said that’s the way it works. Jesus says, the Father is looking for worshippers. He’s seeking those who will worship Him in Spirit and in truth. In Spirit is doesn’t mean excited and elevated. It means people are regenerated and born again and made alive by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Gone from spiritual death to spiritual life, regenerated by the Holy Spirit, indwelt by the Holy Spirit. They are now able to have fellowship with, to commune with, to give to God, and receive form God, via the Spirit. Now, they’re made alive to God in the Spirit. They worship Him in the light of the truth. We just don’t invent the God we want to worship. The God that we worship is revealed in the Word of God. So as the Word of God was taught and explained, the men and women responded to worship the God of the Word. Nehemiah ends with this in verses 38:
VERSE: “Because of all this we make a firm covenant in writing; on the sealed document are the names of our princes, our Levites, and our priests.” Nehemiah 9:38 ESV
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Because of all of this, they have rehearsed the history of Israel’s faithlessness, Israel’s rebellion, and God’s mercy. They rehearsed the history and said “God, you never gave up on us, God, you still pursued us, and God even when you casted us off, even when we were in captivity you brought us out of captivity. God you are so good and because of how good you are, we make a firm covenant in writing and on the sealed document are the names of our princes, our Levites, and our priests.” This covenant was their way of saying, “God, in light of your incredible mercy, in light of your steadfast love for us, we are, every single one of us yours forever. And we will write it down and sign or name next to it, and the moment we begin to think otherwise, please discipline us.” Now people look at that and say, “Well, that’s the Old Testament, that was so legalistic, and that’s so the law, and we don’t relate to God on the basis of the law. We relate to God on the basis of Grace.” That is absolutely 100% the truth, but they are not relating to God on the law, they’re relating to God on the basis of mercy. They are relating to God on the basis of grace. In light of the mercies of God the reasonable response is, “God, I’m your man forever. God I’m your women forever.”
VERSE: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” Romans 12:1 ESV
“I appeal to you” it does not say “I command you.” The old King James says, “I beseech you.” There is this loving pleading. It’s not on a pleading of, “you better do this, or else” it is on the pleading on the mercies of God. In light of the mercy that you have received because of the death of Jesus Christ in your place for your sins, won’t you please present your bodies to God as a living sacrifice? Because that’s just reasonable. It’s the only reasonable response to the man or woman who truly understands that Jesus is God, who became man, to die in their place, for their sins. Nehemiah chapter 11-12:26 deals with the repopulation of the city of Jerusalem. God moving people. Nehemiah 12:27-43 deals with the dedication of the walls to the Lord. I love this section. In chapters 8-10 the people dedicated themselves to the Lord. They had dedicated to the Lord all that they were, all they did, and all they could ever hope to become. Now it was time to dedicate the work they had done to the Lord. That’s always the right order. It’s no good to dedicate walls, 13
gates, buildings, you fill in what that would be the equivalent of that would be today. There is no point in dedicating such things to the Lord, if we are not dedicated to the Lord. Now here’s why Nehemiah is leading them in this, Nehemiah knew the restored walls were not first and foremost about man and for man. He knew. He knew that those walls were all about God. He knew that without God, those walls would have never been rebuilt and never would have been restored. It was God’s mission to rebuild the wall. Nehemiah knew it was God who broke into his life, he knew it was God who broke his heart. Remember, the mission began with a burden. The rebuilding of the walls began with a burdened heart. Nehemiah knew that it was God who broke into his world, that it was God who broke his heart over the condition of the wall and the state of affairs in the people. Nehemiah knew it was God who gave him a vision for the mission. Nehemiah knew it was God who enabled him and his team to finish the wall in 52 days. As we’ve seen, not only did they know it was God who enabled them to finish the wall, but even enemies said, “we surrender, that’s God.” Nehemiah wanted to remind the people that the rebuilt wall was not about them, he also wanted to remind the people that the rebuilding of the wall was not for them. Nehemiah wanted God to be honored and glorified every time the people looked at that wall. Every the people looked at that wall Nehemiah wanted the people say, “That’s the work of God. God did that. We just got to be a part of that.” Every time they looked at that wall, that wall had been in ruins for 150 years, but God restored it and they got to be a part of it. Nehemiah wanted them to see that the restored wall was for God. For His use. For His glory.
Think about that as we get a building ready to house for worship. To house ministry. First and foremost, it’s not for us. It’s for God. The wall that rebuilt was intended to protect something dear to the Lord. It was intended to protect His people. To provide them a secure place for them to worship in. It was to protect the place where He would meet with them, and where they met with Him. That would have been in his day, the temple. Now we’re the living temple. So we gather, we get to go to a physical address. We gather and we are a collection of believers in a locality. God has a place where we get to meet, so that God can give us a time “set apart.” We call this place a sanctuary. It’s a sanctuary from something. From the craziness of life, day in, day out, outside of these walls. God says, I have a place, where you can come in and just block that out, and you can meet with Me, and I’ll meet with you. 14
In that scene as they are dedicating the walls, we see people literally standing on what God had built. They stood on the walls and they worshipped Him on the walls. What an awesome picture. Let me ask you this. Has God rebuilt your life? Has God rebuilt your marriage? Rebuilt your family? Has God rebuilt your educational life? Has God rebuilt your business? Whatever it is that God is rebuilt in your life that was once torn down, then dedicate it to the Lord. Because that in which He rebuilt is all about God and it’s all for God. Your life, your marriage, your family, your educational life, your professional life, your business life. It’s all about God and it’s all for God. Dedicate it to Him. Then, stand on what He has rebuilt. Stand in what He has rebuilt. There, within your life, within your marriage, within you family, within your educational world, within your professional life. Stand in it and give Him thank with it. Let your life be a sacrifice of worship and praise to Him, in your life that He has rebuilt. I love that chapter 12 ends like that. Chapter 13 is a little bit of rough business. Because some time goes by, and people forget their covenant. The covenant that they made. Nehemiah had to do some business that wasn’t very pleasant. And when you read it, it’s kind of striking. It’s a little uncomfortable. It was like he was beating some people up. Literally beating them up. I’ve always been kind of puzzled on that. This is God’s guy. His name means “The Lord is my comfort” or “The Lord is comfort.” Here, God wants to comfort you. Boom. Comfort you with a right hook. But in a sense, when they made that covenant, they said, “God, we don’t live up to this, feel free to curse us. Feel free to come and sort us out.” And Nehemiah went and sorted them out. Now, I’m not advocating that pastoral leadership get in the business of punching people out when things go south is someone’s life. Not in any shape of form. But I do know, that God will hit you right upside your head with grace. I don’t know if any of you have seen the movie Unbroken, when Louie was in church, as a young boy, his feet where under the pew and he was acting fidgety. His father reaches around behind Louie’s head and whacks him behind the side of his head. God loves us, and whom he loves he disciplines and chastens. And sometimes when a brother and sister in Jesus sits down and says,” I need to talk to you, because you are professing this, and living like that.” And sometimes those words might seem to you like somebody is hitting you. Don’t run from the Word of God. Don’t shrink you back from the truth. Let the Word of God correct you. Paul said, that all of scripture is God breathed. It is inspired by God and it’s profitable for correction. I don’t know about you, but I have had times in the bible bus all by myself at the kitchen table in the morning, and I just feel like the Holy 15
Spirit just smacked me on the side of the head. And it’s a good smack. It’s a gracious smack. It’s loving. Because sometimes with the Word of God you feel like you were just punching in the stomach. It just takes the wind out of you. Then the Holy Spirit just fills it up, breathes it into you. He fixes you. It’s great book, Nehemiah. Chapter 1 to 13. It’s so important for us. THE END
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