Visioneering: The Value of Participation
Nehemiah 3
Matthew Sullivan
Now, it’s probably pretty safe to assume that most everyone here today knows about Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Because just a couple weeks ago, that was the only thing anyone in town seemed to talk about. Extreme Makeover Home Edition was the biggest conversation of the area because their latest project was a house just a short drive away in St. Meinred. If I went to get gas, or the store, or wherever I went one of the questions was, “Hey…you been out to see the house they’re working on?” No one had to ask, “Well what house are you talking about?” Because it was such huge event for the entire tri-state area and everyone knew exactly what house they were talking about.
So now I’m going to ask you…did any of you go out to see the house. Were any of you there for the reveal, when the family came home? And now here’s one of the neatest things to me…volunteers were from all over the area – from Dubois and Spencer – all over. Did any of you actually work on this house?
It was reported that construction of the house was completed in just over 95 hours with the help of over 1700 volunteers, and has a comfortable 3,300 square feet of space. To look at blitz builds like this, the area seems like an anthill of activity with people coming and going everywhere. Each person assigned to his or her task, and everywhere you’ve got plumbers and electricians and carpenters and bricklayers and artists. Then since it’s a TV show you’ve got camera operators, sound technicians, lighting engineers and people involved with production. Then you have to be able to support all those people with food service workers, firefighters, there are police directing traffic and keeping order, medical personnel on hand just in case anything should happen. And all these people are just working trying to complete their little piece of the puzzle, in order to accomplish the goal of building a house for a deserving family.
Last week we began our series entitled “Visioneering” as we look into the story of Nehemiah. Last week we discussed the Necessity of Preparation. We looked in the Bible at chapters one and two of the book of Nehemiah where we found that Nehemiah felt called to take on a major building project of his own. He felt God calling him to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, his home city. And as he worked Nehemiah would not only be rebuilding a physical wall, but would be rebuilding his people as well. Last week we talked about how important it is for us as a church and us as individuals to take time to adequately prepare when we’re about to follow God in what he is calling us to do. This week we’re going to continue with the story of Nehemiah as we look into the Value of Participation. We’re going to be looking at selected passages in Nehemiah chapter 2 & 3.
Let’s pick up with his story where we left off last week in Nehemiah 2:11. Turn with me there. Chapter 2, verse 11. Now, for those who weren’t here last week, let me quickly recap. While living in Persia, an 1100 mile journey from Jerusalem, Nehemiah heard about the plight of his fellow Jews who had been allowed to return to Jerusalem from captivity in Persia. They were living in disgrace because their city walls were still lying in ruins. You see, over a century before, God punished the Israelites for their horrible sins by allowing them to be overrun and taken into exile by the Babylonians. Persia then conquered the Babylonian Empire, and thus you have a few million Jews now under Persian control. That’s where we find Nehemiah. And as I mentioned last week, he also happened to be in a very influential position as the cupbearer to the king. So, when news of his homeland reached his ears, he felt a burden on his heart to go and rebuild the city where his fathers were buried. King Artaxerxes of Persia grants him permission, as well as many provisions for the trip and the project. Let’s look to our text to see what happens next. Nehemiah 2:11-18:
11 I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days 12 I set out during the night with a few men. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on. 13 By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire. 14 Then I moved on toward the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was not enough room for my mount to get through; 15 so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and reentered through the Valley Gate. 16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work. 17 Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace." 18 I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me.
In this text and certain passages in the next chapter, we’re going to see the significant value of participation when it comes to the work of the Lord. The Jews, under Nehemiah’s leadership, left us with a wonderful illustration of faith meeting up with works. We can certainly apply these principles to our task of evangelizing the unsaved world. First of all, we see that…
Every Believer is Responsible- It is apparent that Nehemiah did not believe in a one man show. He expected everyone to get involved. He did a great job of delegating authority. It seems obvious to me that he did that. Nehemiah seems to have allowed each group to work as they saw fit after he gave the assignments.
But what is most tremendous to me is who all got involved. Look at Nehemiah 3:1, “Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests went to work and rebuilt the Sheep Gate. They dedicated it and set its doors in place, building as far as the Tower of the Hundred, which they dedicated, and as far as the Tower of Hananel.” Like I said earlier, when I first read through this chapter it just seemed like a long list of names and gates and towers that people rebuild by. It wasn’t until I’d read through this a few times that I noticed something. That guy that we just mentioned…Eliashib? Yeah, he’s the HIGH PRIEST. And the other priests took part in the rebuilding too. The work of rebuilding was not just given to everybody else, but the leaders of the group lead by example. They could have exempted themselves and it’s likely no one would have said a word. They could have said, “We need to stay in the temple (which had been rebuilt by this time by the way) and focus on our priestly duties.” But instead they got out and got their own hands dirty in the work of rebuilding. And I need to commend the elders, deacons, trustees, and Ministry teams and leads of this congregation because these are the men and women I see leading by example, and stepping up when something needs to be done in order to serve in the ministry of Shoals Christian Church and the work of the Kingdom. The priests in Nehemiah’s time seemed to feel responsible for helping build the wall and they wished to set a good example. So they did what they could with what they had.
Let’s look at some of the rest:
1. Men of Jericho- Jericho was quite a distance off. Other cities are mentioned so other Jews came to help.
2. City Officials- there are names of people said to be rulers over certain districts.
3. Women- in verse 12, we see that the daughters of Shallum chipped in to help. It was not expected for women to do the work of men in ancient Jewish society, but yet they nonetheless enlisted.
4. City Merchants- Nehemiah 3:32 “and between the room above the corner and the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and merchants made repairs.”
When it comes to our church we need that kind of participation as well. I think it is important to remember that one of the reasons God saved us is so that the church could benefit from us belonging to it.
This was a remarkable achievement. Yet in fairness let us admit that Nehemiah did not achieve total success. The cooperation was remarkable , but according to verse 5, the nobles of Tekoa, unlike other nobles, “would not put their shoulders to the work.”
Frank Tillapaugh says, “There are always a few turkeys in the bunch.” Nehemiah had them and we will too.
The success of Nehemiah in getting the entire population of Judah to take part in this work is something we do need to take special not of. Today in church everyone is to be involved. Ephesians 4:11-13 tells us the proper pattern is to be:
“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 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.”
This is the basis for every member ministry. It means ministers in the churches are to prepare the people in church to do the churches work.
Many churches have this turned around. It is said that many churches are like football games played in large stadiums. There are eighty thousand spectators in the stands who badly need exercise, and there are twenty-two men on the field who badly need a rest.
1 Peter 4:10 reads, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” Whatever gifts God has built us with, Peter says that we have a responsibility to put those abilities to use for His Kingdom. If we look down through Nehemiah chapter 3 we begin to see that there were perfume makers and goldsmiths and people of all sorts of trades, who simply worked however they could because they all had a responsibility to assist in the building up of the wall. Not every one of them could hang a gate. And not every one of them knew how to best engineer a wall. But they all felt a responsibility to get involved in using the abilities they did have.
Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Everybody can be great... because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” Whatever our gifts are and whatever God has enabled us to do, we have a responsibility as believers to use those gifts for the building up of his Kingdom. Every believer is responsible.
Every Believer is Necessary- No one person can do everything, but every person can do something. Let me repeat that. No one person can do everything, but every person can do something. Saying and doing are often two different things. Many are ready to say, “Let us rise up and build,” then they just sit still and do nothing. This remnant of Israel who survived the exile was nothing of the sort. As soon as they decided to move ahead, they wasted no time in starting. What we find in chapter three is a detailed list of those who got involved. Nehemiah felt it was important to record the names of all the workers so as to honor them and to ask God to remember how hard they worked on this task. This was meant as an encouragement to the rest. The Lord is pleased with those who step up and answer His call to be a responsible member of the kingdom.
Nehemiah sure couldn’t have pulled off this task alone. When any great task is accomplished, you know it had to start with an idea or a vision that originated with one person or a small group of people. Then, the leader or leaders must recognize that in order to get the most work done, you have to sell many people on the vision. Now, you can’t argue that it’s the will of God to see His kingdom grow in and around this community. God always wants to see more unbelievers become believers. But many have argued over the years whose job it is. “That’s what we pay the preacher for!” If that’s the position you take, I think you need to re-examine the Word. As Nehemiah gives testimony to, it’s a lot easier to pull off any goal when everyone gets involved
Our service is essential to the body. I know that because here is what Paul says in I Corinthians 12:12-18:
12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
God has arranged his Church just as he wants it to be. God has called you to come to his church and that means that God has designed for you in this church a role to fill.
Every believer is necessary because we are a body. We cannot have part of the body say “I will show up some other time, I will give a little bit, I will do what I can when I feel like it.”
I have to count on 100% of my body 100% of the time.100% commitment is what we need from our physical and spiritual bodies.
In the war against hell that God is fighting through his church you have a role. Some are visible and some are invisible. But if we all do our role lives will be saved. God placed you in this body for a reason and for us to reach our full potential we need to remember that every believer is necessary.
Not only is our service necessary it is also expected.
Have you ever found and old flashlight you haven’t used in some time. And you got to get it and it doesn’t turn on. You think those batteries were new when I put them in. Then you unscrew the top of the flashlight and the batteries have corroded and there is acid everywhere. The problem was you kept the flashlight somewhere safe and comfortable on a shelf or drawer. Batteries aren’t meant for that they are meant to be used. Christians are not designed to be warm and comfortable on a pew we are designed to be used.
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). God put us here for a great purpose that that was to be involved.
Why do kids play sports? To play the game. Some coaches don’t know that. Most think the job is to see how bad you can win and they don’t let those who aren’t very good play. A good coach lets everyone play because that is why they join the team.
God didn’t draft you for this teams you volunteered. No one made you confess Christ no one pushed you into the baptistery. You signed up and when you did God didn’t expect you to just sit on the bench. Some act like since you played in the past you don’t have to now.
As we pursue our vision remember that: Every Believer is Necessary.
Conclusion
When Extreme Makeover Home Edition showed up, those 1700 volunteers were all working together for a common purpose…to build a new home for a deserving family. When Nehemiah showed up in Jerusalem and challenged his fellow Israelites to come together they did so for a common purpose…to rebuild a wall of a city that meant so much to them. When believers show up to serve and minister together they do so for a common purpose…to help in the ministry of Shoals Christian Church but even more so to assist in the building up of God’s Kingdom. God’s Kingdom, which exists to seek and save those who are living without Jesus Christ. And frankly it comes down to this, as Christians we are called to participate in the building up of His Church. As Christians we are called to participate in the building up of His Church.
Some are here today because of others who have served…
Some want to begin serving here…
Some may simply want prayer…
