Nehemiah 6:15-16 - Building the Church -- Doing the work of God!
Nehemiah 6:15-16 - Building the Church -- Doing the work of God!
By Pastor Lee Hemen
June 19, 2011 AM
Just when we thought we would be getting ready to be empty nesters, God had other plans. It may not have been the way we would have planned out our lives, but I am honored and willing to be used of the Lord in helping my grandson grow and mature in him. The spiritual and physical maturation of a family is never completed. It is an ongoing process and a parent can see it either as drudgery or as a blessing. I have discovered that God’s task in the Church is never completed either, why is that? I believe it is because we are to be about the Master’s business until he returns. However, have you noticed that for some Christians they never get involved in their church, for others it has become drudgery, and yet for still others it remains a joy? Now, why is that? I believe that it all depends on how you view doing God’s task!
After Nehemiah’s wall rebuilding was finished, he did not stop there. The task of rebuilding Jerusalem was not finished. Nehemiah began to repopulate the area with Israelites who had been in captivity in Babylon. He then had the Prophet Ezra remind the people of God’s word. He asked the people to respond to what they had heard and they did. Nehemiah realized there was more to finishing a project than just the physical aspects of building a few walls. It is a process of doing the work of God!
READ: Nehemiah 6:15-16
I remember getting discouraged in building a chessboard for my father. It was hard work getting the finish perfect. Yet I remembered how he loved to play chess and how he picked up the game. My brother and I actually taught him and soon he could beat anyone he played. After giving him the board, his face lit up and that was all the encouragement I needed! Doing “Church” can become hard work, when we feel that no one cares about what we do! Becoming discouraged Christians can begin to wonder why they are serving. When that occurs, believers have forgotten why God has called them. He has called his people to the task of reaching a lost and dying world for Jesus Christ! Nehemiah understood that in order for God to be known, there had to be people willing wholeheartedly to serve the Lord. God always desires to shine through his willing servants. In doing God’s task, like the people of Nehemiah’s day, we need to be…
I. Reminded of God’s Love! (Vv. 8:1-3, 6)
1. Tears will flow freely from the fountain of a loved-filled heart!
1) Nehemiah calls Ezra, who had been in Jerusalem 14 years before Nehemiah set foot in the city, to reeducate the people concerning the Lord and his Word! How the people responded to the rebuilding is a testimony to Ezra’s teaching and ministry, and how they responded to hearing the words of God’s love for them was encouraging! We are reminded that God calls his people to ministry and not to self! Paul would remind us that it is God “who has saved us and called us to a holy life-not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace...in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.” (2 timothy 1:9 NIV) It is God who calls us by his purpose and grace.
2) Ezra had begun to instruct the people about God’s law, and to remind them of the special relationship they had with him as his people! Teaching the Word, preaching God’s message, telling people of God’s love had a dramatic effect--they fell down and worshipped God! (v. 6)
3) I am reminded of Jude who wrote a struggling Church, “Dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.” (Jude 1:20-21 NIV) In other words, remember the Lord, his task for you, and keep doing the task of God! Like Jude, Nehemiah and Ezra reminded the people of God’s love for them! When doing the work of God, if you are getting discouraged, it helps to remember his steadfast love for you! Remind yourself of God’s love!
EXAMPLE: There have been times when I have felt the daily drudgery of ministry. Each time, every time, God reminds me that he has called me. He reminds me of his love for me. In my toughest days, God has reminded me of his love for me. Perhaps you face a tough time in your marriage, your work, or here at Grace doing the work of the Church. However, please remember, if I forget to tell you or if someone else neglects to tell you, God loves your willing service. I remember my father who at an early age had to walk with a cane because of the negligence of night nurse, when in giving him a shot, severed the nerve in his leg. He rarely complained and still longed to work and earn a living for his family. Serving others is not always easy, but in doing God’s task we can remind ourselves of his love for us in doing it!
Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends,” and Jesus proved his love by doing it! (John 15:13 NIV) God loves us! Nehemiah and Ezra sought to remind the Israelites of that love. Nehemiah knew that the Israelites had wandered far from God spiritually. Living in a foreign land, they had begun to worship foreign idols of stone or wood. Nehemiah knew that when a person comes face-to-face with the Living God, doing His task would be much easier. When we truly meet God face-to-face in worship, like in Nehemiah’s day, we will…
II. Confess Our Sin! (Vv. 9:1-3)
1. Confession is not just saying you are sorry, but it is agreeing with God that you have sinned!
1) So moved and struck by the power of God at the reading of His Word, the Israelites began to realize just how far away from Him they had wandered. They placed ashes on their heads, fasted and wore sackcloth, signifying their repentance. Notice that for three hours they stood and confessed their sins! Wow! I wonder how long it would take some church congregations in our day and age to stand and confess their sins publicly! True worship will bring a person to confession of their sins. Why? Being in the presence of God reveals to us just how far away we actually are from him.
2) Notice what had lead them to this point was the reading of God’s Word, celebrating together, and remembering what God had done for them and how far they had left God out of their lives! In our day, we call it “church.” Is it any wonder that Ezra would eventually write, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV) When doing the work of God, if things do not seem to be where they need to be it is a good time to pause, read the Word of God and confess our sin! To come and be in church with others who love the Lord, listening to his Word, and are worshipping him through our personal confession of our sin!
EXAMPLE: I had run over my mother’s prize roses. Not that I had meant too, it was just that they were in my way when I was trying to escape the enemy soldiers coming after me! When faced with the threat of your best friend capturing you in a make-believe game of war, you run any way you can! Dad came home from the store and found me on the back porch. When I told him what had happened, and how Mom had punished me, he replied, “Lee, confession is good for the soul.” I agreed but I also asked him if it “could heal a hurt bottom also?” That’s the way it is with real confession. Sometimes it does hurt, but then there is the cleansing that follows. Nehemiah’s people experienced it, have you? When tiring of the task of God, confession brings us back to him!
In doing God’s task we have to realize, we cannot do it alone. It takes everyone doing his or her part! Each person has a share in God’s work. In building his church here until he comes again. From the least to the great, the leader to the layman, young or old, each one of us has a part. Nehemiah set the example. He was the first to act on what God wanted him to do. In building a strong church or family, we have to also, like Nehemiah and his people did…
III. Act On What We Have Learned from God! (Vv. 9:38; 10:38-39)
1. Remember, service really is love dressed in work clothes!
1) Nehemiah and the Israelite people responded to God’s call to the task. They responded to God’s call to service. They made an agreement in front of everyone, which was one of the first historically recorded response times during a worship service! They did more than just talk a good talk they walked the walk, (v. 9:38) and they openly confessed, “In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement, putting it in writing, and our leaders, our Levites and our priests are affixing their seals to it.” They not only said they would do what they agreed to do, but they made it into a binding legal agreement! I wonder how many folks in today’s church would do the same thing. They acted on what they had learned from God!
2) Notice also that by actively serving it encouraged each person to give as each one was supposed to in the first place, (v. 10:38) and then each one took to heart the condition of their temple building and promised, “Not to neglect the house of our God.” (v. 10:39) It is reminiscent of Paul when he reminded the Asian churches that although they did not think much of themselves, God did! He reminded them that God had a reason for them to exist and even for their suffering. Paul said, “God chose the foolish things... the weak things... the lowly things... and the despised things--and the things that are not,” (1 Corinthians 1:27-28) Why? “To prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:12-13 NIV) The same is true for any Christian and church! Just as Nehemiah encouraged his people, we need to act on what we have learned from God!
EXAMPLE: Church is more than a rest stop on Sunday mornings. My father was a devote Catholic, and he said something to me one time that I remember quite well. After moaning about having to go to church, which often was long and boring, I asked him why we had to go. He responded by stating, “I love God and I love his church. That is where we are expected to be on his day.” I thought to myself, “Love church?” I have since learned that church isn’t just for us participants. It isn’t a quick fix to get us through the rest of the week! Our church is here to encourage, praise god, and to serve him, but it also exists to disciple and discipline the believer as well. It is the body of Christ doing his work and will in the world. “Disciple” means to train and to help all of us to use the gifts God has given us! Real service however comes not from a sense of guilt, but from an overflow of love! Often, I would ask my Dad why he would do something for me. His usual response was, “Because I love you!” When you love someone, you will want to serve him. Christ loved us, served us, and now it is our turn to build a strong Church by serving him in his body! We must act on what we have learned from God!
Conclusion:
This morning God is calling us to his task. He desires a relationship with us that is both real and personal. Nehemiah understood that God works through His people. It helps to be reminded of God’s love, to confess our sin that has separated us, and to act on what we have learned. Nehemiah built more than a wall. He helped God build a strong nation. How about you? There are places where you can serve in your Church. You can dedicate yourselves to his service here at Grace.
----
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2011 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
By Pastor Lee Hemen
June 19, 2011 AM
Just when we thought we would be getting ready to be empty nesters, God had other plans. It may not have been the way we would have planned out our lives, but I am honored and willing to be used of the Lord in helping my grandson grow and mature in him. The spiritual and physical maturation of a family is never completed. It is an ongoing process and a parent can see it either as drudgery or as a blessing. I have discovered that God’s task in the Church is never completed either, why is that? I believe it is because we are to be about the Master’s business until he returns. However, have you noticed that for some Christians they never get involved in their church, for others it has become drudgery, and yet for still others it remains a joy? Now, why is that? I believe that it all depends on how you view doing God’s task!
After Nehemiah’s wall rebuilding was finished, he did not stop there. The task of rebuilding Jerusalem was not finished. Nehemiah began to repopulate the area with Israelites who had been in captivity in Babylon. He then had the Prophet Ezra remind the people of God’s word. He asked the people to respond to what they had heard and they did. Nehemiah realized there was more to finishing a project than just the physical aspects of building a few walls. It is a process of doing the work of God!
READ: Nehemiah 6:15-16
I remember getting discouraged in building a chessboard for my father. It was hard work getting the finish perfect. Yet I remembered how he loved to play chess and how he picked up the game. My brother and I actually taught him and soon he could beat anyone he played. After giving him the board, his face lit up and that was all the encouragement I needed! Doing “Church” can become hard work, when we feel that no one cares about what we do! Becoming discouraged Christians can begin to wonder why they are serving. When that occurs, believers have forgotten why God has called them. He has called his people to the task of reaching a lost and dying world for Jesus Christ! Nehemiah understood that in order for God to be known, there had to be people willing wholeheartedly to serve the Lord. God always desires to shine through his willing servants. In doing God’s task, like the people of Nehemiah’s day, we need to be…
I. Reminded of God’s Love! (Vv. 8:1-3, 6)
1. Tears will flow freely from the fountain of a loved-filled heart!
1) Nehemiah calls Ezra, who had been in Jerusalem 14 years before Nehemiah set foot in the city, to reeducate the people concerning the Lord and his Word! How the people responded to the rebuilding is a testimony to Ezra’s teaching and ministry, and how they responded to hearing the words of God’s love for them was encouraging! We are reminded that God calls his people to ministry and not to self! Paul would remind us that it is God “who has saved us and called us to a holy life-not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace...in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.” (2 timothy 1:9 NIV) It is God who calls us by his purpose and grace.
2) Ezra had begun to instruct the people about God’s law, and to remind them of the special relationship they had with him as his people! Teaching the Word, preaching God’s message, telling people of God’s love had a dramatic effect--they fell down and worshipped God! (v. 6)
3) I am reminded of Jude who wrote a struggling Church, “Dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.” (Jude 1:20-21 NIV) In other words, remember the Lord, his task for you, and keep doing the task of God! Like Jude, Nehemiah and Ezra reminded the people of God’s love for them! When doing the work of God, if you are getting discouraged, it helps to remember his steadfast love for you! Remind yourself of God’s love!
EXAMPLE: There have been times when I have felt the daily drudgery of ministry. Each time, every time, God reminds me that he has called me. He reminds me of his love for me. In my toughest days, God has reminded me of his love for me. Perhaps you face a tough time in your marriage, your work, or here at Grace doing the work of the Church. However, please remember, if I forget to tell you or if someone else neglects to tell you, God loves your willing service. I remember my father who at an early age had to walk with a cane because of the negligence of night nurse, when in giving him a shot, severed the nerve in his leg. He rarely complained and still longed to work and earn a living for his family. Serving others is not always easy, but in doing God’s task we can remind ourselves of his love for us in doing it!
Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends,” and Jesus proved his love by doing it! (John 15:13 NIV) God loves us! Nehemiah and Ezra sought to remind the Israelites of that love. Nehemiah knew that the Israelites had wandered far from God spiritually. Living in a foreign land, they had begun to worship foreign idols of stone or wood. Nehemiah knew that when a person comes face-to-face with the Living God, doing His task would be much easier. When we truly meet God face-to-face in worship, like in Nehemiah’s day, we will…
II. Confess Our Sin! (Vv. 9:1-3)
1. Confession is not just saying you are sorry, but it is agreeing with God that you have sinned!
1) So moved and struck by the power of God at the reading of His Word, the Israelites began to realize just how far away from Him they had wandered. They placed ashes on their heads, fasted and wore sackcloth, signifying their repentance. Notice that for three hours they stood and confessed their sins! Wow! I wonder how long it would take some church congregations in our day and age to stand and confess their sins publicly! True worship will bring a person to confession of their sins. Why? Being in the presence of God reveals to us just how far away we actually are from him.
2) Notice what had lead them to this point was the reading of God’s Word, celebrating together, and remembering what God had done for them and how far they had left God out of their lives! In our day, we call it “church.” Is it any wonder that Ezra would eventually write, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV) When doing the work of God, if things do not seem to be where they need to be it is a good time to pause, read the Word of God and confess our sin! To come and be in church with others who love the Lord, listening to his Word, and are worshipping him through our personal confession of our sin!
EXAMPLE: I had run over my mother’s prize roses. Not that I had meant too, it was just that they were in my way when I was trying to escape the enemy soldiers coming after me! When faced with the threat of your best friend capturing you in a make-believe game of war, you run any way you can! Dad came home from the store and found me on the back porch. When I told him what had happened, and how Mom had punished me, he replied, “Lee, confession is good for the soul.” I agreed but I also asked him if it “could heal a hurt bottom also?” That’s the way it is with real confession. Sometimes it does hurt, but then there is the cleansing that follows. Nehemiah’s people experienced it, have you? When tiring of the task of God, confession brings us back to him!
In doing God’s task we have to realize, we cannot do it alone. It takes everyone doing his or her part! Each person has a share in God’s work. In building his church here until he comes again. From the least to the great, the leader to the layman, young or old, each one of us has a part. Nehemiah set the example. He was the first to act on what God wanted him to do. In building a strong church or family, we have to also, like Nehemiah and his people did…
III. Act On What We Have Learned from God! (Vv. 9:38; 10:38-39)
1. Remember, service really is love dressed in work clothes!
1) Nehemiah and the Israelite people responded to God’s call to the task. They responded to God’s call to service. They made an agreement in front of everyone, which was one of the first historically recorded response times during a worship service! They did more than just talk a good talk they walked the walk, (v. 9:38) and they openly confessed, “In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement, putting it in writing, and our leaders, our Levites and our priests are affixing their seals to it.” They not only said they would do what they agreed to do, but they made it into a binding legal agreement! I wonder how many folks in today’s church would do the same thing. They acted on what they had learned from God!
2) Notice also that by actively serving it encouraged each person to give as each one was supposed to in the first place, (v. 10:38) and then each one took to heart the condition of their temple building and promised, “Not to neglect the house of our God.” (v. 10:39) It is reminiscent of Paul when he reminded the Asian churches that although they did not think much of themselves, God did! He reminded them that God had a reason for them to exist and even for their suffering. Paul said, “God chose the foolish things... the weak things... the lowly things... and the despised things--and the things that are not,” (1 Corinthians 1:27-28) Why? “To prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:12-13 NIV) The same is true for any Christian and church! Just as Nehemiah encouraged his people, we need to act on what we have learned from God!
EXAMPLE: Church is more than a rest stop on Sunday mornings. My father was a devote Catholic, and he said something to me one time that I remember quite well. After moaning about having to go to church, which often was long and boring, I asked him why we had to go. He responded by stating, “I love God and I love his church. That is where we are expected to be on his day.” I thought to myself, “Love church?” I have since learned that church isn’t just for us participants. It isn’t a quick fix to get us through the rest of the week! Our church is here to encourage, praise god, and to serve him, but it also exists to disciple and discipline the believer as well. It is the body of Christ doing his work and will in the world. “Disciple” means to train and to help all of us to use the gifts God has given us! Real service however comes not from a sense of guilt, but from an overflow of love! Often, I would ask my Dad why he would do something for me. His usual response was, “Because I love you!” When you love someone, you will want to serve him. Christ loved us, served us, and now it is our turn to build a strong Church by serving him in his body! We must act on what we have learned from God!
Conclusion:
This morning God is calling us to his task. He desires a relationship with us that is both real and personal. Nehemiah understood that God works through His people. It helps to be reminded of God’s love, to confess our sin that has separated us, and to act on what we have learned. Nehemiah built more than a wall. He helped God build a strong nation. How about you? There are places where you can serve in your Church. You can dedicate yourselves to his service here at Grace.
----
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2011 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
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