LET US RISE UP AND BUILD!
Nehemiah 2:17-20
By Cleavon Matthews
October 7, 2007
INTRODUCTION
Nehemiah is motivated. Nehemiah is inspired. The urgency is because ‘the survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down and its gates are burned with fire.’
This news knocked him down. It caused weakness in his knees and weeping in his eyes. Nehemiah mourned with woeful heart for numerous days. But in his misery Nehemiah turned to the Lord God of heaven. Nehemiah sought the source of all blessings. In his anguish Nehemiah turned to the Great and Awesome God. He looked to the Lord Who keeps covenant and mercy with those who love and obey Him.
Nehemiah turns to the omnipotent difference maker with fasting and prayer. Don’t make the mistake of thinking Nehemiah is primarily interested in walls and gates. Nehemiah is concerned about ‘the survivors in great distress and reproach.’
This architectural endeavor is not about a building rather it is about rebuilding survivors! Are there any survivors in here? Are there survivors in great distress and reproach? A survivor is a person who has been through some catastrophic event or episode where others didn’t make it but somehow by the grace of God they survived! A survivor is a person who the beat the odds! The odds said you wouldn’t make it!
This project is about fortifying the fallen. It’s about reconstructing the crushed. It‘s about removing reproach. It’s about defeating distress. Rebuilding the walls and repairing the gates were aimed at renewing and restoring Israel’s relationship with God.
We are not building a monument. A monument is something to remind people of the past. Church monuments often become museums to be maintained rather than tools to be used. This program is an instrument to be used in ministry to ‘the survivors who happen to be in great distress.’ Their lives are in ruins. Their walls are torn down and gates are burned with fire.
I.THE GREAT DISTRESS
Nehemiah 2:17a “Then I said to them, “You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire.”
Jerusalem lies in waste. The gates are burned with fire. Jerusalem is literal but also symbolic. Jerusalem is the place of God’s habitation. The Lord dwells in Jerusalem. Jerusalem is called the holy city and the city of God. The Lord placed His Name in Jerusalem . His name and dwelling were not in Babylon, not in Assyria, not in Damascus, not in Egypt, not in Persia, not in Philistia, but His Name and dwelling were in Jerusalem.
During the Babylonian captivity Jerusalem had been destroyed. The people of God were taken into exile. They were removed from their homeland. The Babylonians carried away both the treasures of God’s house and the king’s house. Babylonian carried all the captains, mighty men of valor, craftsmen, and smiths. They left none except the poor and weak.
The intense affection of Jerusalem in the heart of God’s people is expressed in Psalm 137. The sweet Psalmist captures the brokenness and sorrow of the captives. It is not a song for those unwilling to address the painful realities of living for God in a fallen world. Listen to the Psalmist. Listen to the lament. Here the heart. Watch the weeping.
Don’t miss the disgrace. Don’t overlook the distress.
1 By the rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down, yea, we wept
When we remembered Zion.
2 We hung our harps
Upon the willows in the midst of it.
3 For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song,
And those who aplundered us requested mirth,
Saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 How shall we sing the LORD’s song
In a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
Let my right hand forget its skill!
6 If I do not remember you,
Let my btongue cling to the roof of my mouth—
If I do not exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.
7 Remember, O LORD, against cthe sons of Edom
The day of Jerusalem,
Who said, 1“Raze it, raze it,
To its very foundation!”
8 O daughter of Babylon, dwho are to be destroyed,
Happy the one ewho repays you as you have served us!
9 Happy the one who takes and fdashes
Your little ones against the rock!
But now they have been released from Babylonian captivity! The Persians rule. They
are liberated. They can return to Jerusalem. Many returned with Ezra to rebuild the
Temple. But restoration is not complete.
The survivors are in great distress. Jerusalem is literal but it is also symbolic. It was the
dwelling place of God. But God no longer dwells in a temple made with hands. Paul
says, ‘do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells
in you?’ The Lord dwells in man.
Every person we encounter is a place God desires to dwell. People are in great distress.
Their walls are broken down and their gates are burned with fire.
Their marriages are broken down
Their homes are burned with fire
Their families are fractured
Their relationships are ruined
Their bodies are unhealthy
Their minds are confused
Their emotions are unstable
Their lives are unmanageable
Their finances are flames
II.THE GREAT DISCUSSION
Nehemiah 2:17b-18a “Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach. And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me.”
Nehemiah is a role model for leadership. He is broken by the facts. Nehemiah is faithful and wise enough to pray. Nehemiah is courageous enough to act. Nehemiah is the king’s cupbearer. He holds a prestigious position. But his purpose is not found in his position! His purpose develops from his spiritual paradigm. There is often a difference between what you do for a living and who you are as a person! Some people go through life never understanding who they are and why they exist!
Nehemiah spends three days in Jerusalem. During the night he inspects the situation. He keeps his plan under wraps. There is a problem. There is a purpose. There is a plan. Nehemiah forms the plan before discussing it with ‘the officials,’ ‘the Jews,’ ‘the priests,’ ‘the nobles,’ or ‘the others who did the work.’
Nehemiah’s purpose is, ‘that we may no longer be a reproach.’ The word for reproach means disgrace, contempt or state of dishonor and low status. Nehemiah was attempting to elevate people of lower status! This is exactly what Jesus did in His ministry.
Leadership is about helping people remove their disgrace and dishonor. Nehemiah gives no statistics. He quotes no experts. He is not asked to prove his credentials. Nehemiah simply says let’s face the facts! Jerusalem lies waste and its gates are burned with fire!
Church lets’ face the facts. Denominations are growing and we are declining. It’s time for an update! We need spiritual human resources and we need material resources. We need spiritual human resources. We need God’s people to serve faithfully with dedication and commitment. We need God’s people to use their spiritual gifts and talents in sync with the purpose and plan of the church. We need spiritual servants to work on their portion of the wall.
We also need material resources. It takes men and women to do ministry but it also takes money. Concrete, wood, steal, electrical wiring, roofs, paint, brick, plumbing, ac, heat, and furnishing cost money.
But Nehemiah didn’t worry about money because he says, ‘and I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me.’ Nehemiah was ordained by God and ordained by the king!
When the king notices the problem he says to Nehemiah ‘what do you request?’ Nehemiah does not answer immediately instead he prays to the God of heaven. The Lord will let him know what to do with this opportunity!
The hand of God is good upon Nehemiah. God placed Nehemiah in position because there was a purpose to fulfill. God moved the king to grant Nehemiah the time he needed. God moved the king to give Nehemiah the legal right to do the work. The Lord moved the king to give Nehemiah the material resources to do the work and to build Nehemiah’s house!
Some of us don’t realize it yet but God’s hand is with us!
God is blessing this ministry
God is blessing this church
God is giving us increase
God is giving us favor
God is giving us opportunity
God is healing the hurting
God is cleansing us
God is causing us to be fruitful and multiply
God is directing our steps
God is feeding our souls
God is leading our spirits
God is doing something special with our men
God is working through our women
God is covering our youth
God’s hand is good upon us!
We will not be average!
We will not be mediocre!
We will not decline!
We will not give up!
We will not be defeated!
We will not be denied!
God’s hand is good upon us!
We are reaching out to the lost
We are encouraging our youth
We are ministering to our families
We are praising our God
We are feeding the hungry
We are serving one another
We are loving one another
We are clothing the naked
We are growing in a mighty way
III.THE GREAT DECISION
Nehemiah 2:18b “So they said, Let us rise up and build. Then they set their hands to this good work.”
They didn’t need coercion. They didn’t need pressure. They didn’t need to be sold. After they heard the facts, they said ‘let us rise up and build.’ They set their hands to this good work.
They saw the problem. They understood the purpose. They accepted the plan. What’s our plan? Let’s give God some time. Let’s pray. Let’s look more closely at the problem. Let’s keep serving, growing, and working. Let’s consider what can be done now to help our space problem. Let’s get our building fund into six figures! Let’s clean up any mess we might have because God won’t bless a mess!
Now notice something. They saw the problem. They understood the purpose. They accepted the plan. Then they formed a partnership! They formed a team. They renewed a fellowship. They were in it together!
But they didn’t just say it! They showed it. They set their hands to this good work. They put their backs and shoulders into it! They believed it was a good work! What we are doing here is a good work!
CLOSING
The despisers did not discourage their determination!
Nehemiah 2:19-20 “But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us and said, What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the king? So I answered them, and said to them, the God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem.”
We will not allow the Sanballat’s, Tobiah’s, and Geshem’s to discourage or dissuade our determination!
The God of heaven Himself will prosper us…
He will prosper our families because we obey Him
He will prosper our finances because we trust Him
He will prosper our lives because we love Him
When the Lord prospers us no one will be able to stop us!
When heaven sanctions us heaven supplies us!
When heaven approves us heaven assures us!
When heaven loves us heaven lifts us!
The Lord will prosper our attendance our cup is running over
The Lord will prosper our ministries
The Lord will prosper our leadership
The Lord will cause our souls to prosper!
