“Going Public”
Nehemiah 2:11-20
This is the setting for our message today. There are three major points we have seen in this study of Nehemiah. (1) The walls and the city of Jerusalem are in ruins and the people are no longer safe. (2) Nehemiah has a vision to rebuild the walls. (3) There is a new king, and he gives permission to do so.
The temple has already been rebuilt so they are making progress, and it is now that Nehemiah arrives on the scene. He is standing there looking at the city of Jerusalem and this is probably the first time he has ever seen it.
• Remember he has been in captivity all his life.
• He considers this his hometown because this is where his ancestors were from.
• Fifty years have now passed – a remnant/portion of the people have already gone back and rebuilt the temple.
• Nehemiah has been given permission by the king to go.
• We believe he would be about 30 years of age. Now with all of that in mind , let’s look at today’s scripture.
Nehemiah 2: 11 – 20. So, we remember from our previous study that when Nehemiah receives the news of the state of Jerusalem, he sat down, and he wept. It is likely he does that again, here. After all it’s one thing to hear about a tragedy; it’s another to see the results. Before I made my first trip to Guatemala 24 years ago – I knew very little about the country. I knew it was a poverty-stricken country – but when I saw it for myself, it was definitely an eye opener. Especially when I saw the homes – here’s a picture from that visit – this picture was a home where there had been a fire – but the family had continued to live there. After all, they had no place to go. Also, they had no front door. No protection from anyone who might want to hurt them. And neither did the people of Jerusalem. No wall around the city to protect them. Now he is there. Here is another building block. The first 5 are listed in your notes for the day.
Investigate before you initiate.
When God first places something on your heart – remember you are likely the only one who knows – no one else has the vision, yet. So, this would likely be the first time Nehemiah had set foot on the soil in Jerusalem. But as he arrived, the people likely noticed him because he would have been riding into town with an armed escort. And he had picked up all that lumber we mentioned earlier. The news is likely traveling fast. Nehemiah, according to verse 2: 12 hadn’t told a soul. In fact, he didn’t share his vision with anyone for at least three days. 😊 If I get a good idea, I can’t wait that long. 😊 From the time we moved to this property three years ago God began to place it on my heart to build a worship center on this property or at least some classrooms. The vision was a bit vague to me. But God put some people in my path, and this is the day when the vision really began to open for me, was on this day. The day we went from this to this. Show pics. And I suspect it began to open for you as well. Sometimes we must clear some things from our minds before we can see the vision. In the same way there was no way for Nehemiah to know what he would find when he arrived in Jerusalem. He knew what God had placed in his heart to do but he also knew that without the support of everyone/ the people this would be impossible.
The vision is always meant to be shared but timing is crucial. You must share at the right time. Nehemiah 2: 12 – 13.
So, investigate it. Get as much information as possible. Make the vision as clear as possible. If there are barriers to the vision clear them up. To begin with, nobody is going to be nearly as excited as you are. So, it’s wise to know what you might be up against. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is speaking of the cost of being/ becoming a disciple/follower. Luke 14: 27-30. Notice that in this passage people are laughing. 😊 Now Nehemiah wasn’t investigating the walls to make up his mind whether he should build new ones. He had already made that decision. He already understood what he would be up against. But I know this, once, you announce your vision, you must be open to two things.
(1) Discussion
(2) Criticism.
There are going to be questions, and you need to be prepared to answer them. There will be roadblocks, and you should be prepared. Here is what I mean:
Nehemiah had likely heard through word of mouth across many years, through what we call oral tradition, about the leadership of Joshua. God was placing Joshua in a place of leadership to get God’s people to the promised land/Canaan. God wasn’t sending Joshua to decide whether they should go or not but rather to actually lead. Prior to this, Moses had sent a group of spies, 12 of them, to find out what they would be up against. You need to go but you also need to know what to expect. So, investigate first! The spies came back and 10 of them said, no way. Too many giants. We look very small in their eyes. Two of the twelve said we should go forward so they decided it is probably best for all of them to have a long talk with Moses. So, God leads them to the desert / wilderness where they walk around for the next 40 years until all of those who were against the idea were gone. A whole generation passed away. Then He turned to Joshua and said, “ok let’s try this one more time – get my people to the promised land.” (So now, remember last week the “how and the why” need to be left to God.) It is not a matter of how and why, it is a matter of who. Who will step forward? Who will embrace the vision? Who will do that?
Now it is time for Joshua to lead. The people in Canaan by the way, where the Giants lived, were actually afraid of the Israelites as it turns out. The people in Canaan were still talking about God parting the Red Sea. They were in afraid of the Israelites – because God was working on their behalf. If God is doing something and you are opposed – you better get things in order. So now, just as Moses did, Joshua sends out a group of spies. And they come back with a much more positive report. Listen to the report these spies bring to Joshua. Joshua 2: 24. Joshua 2:24 states, "The Lord will certainly give us the entire land, for all the people over there are scared to death of us". This was all Joshua needed to hear. The vision was confirmed. So long does he wait? A year? month? Nope, the next morning Joshua moves forward. The primary difference between the first group of spies and the 2nd was not what they saw. It was their perspective of what they saw. Two people can look at the same thing and have two completely different views. Both saw the high walls; both saw that their cities were fortified. Both couldn’t help but notice the oversized people. Both would have noticed the fertile land. Group one says, let’s go back to Egypt. The second group says let’s go to the promised land. All of us must decide which group you are part of. It is that way in life, and it is that way right here.
Now the vision is ready to take public. But Nehemiah has no idea how the people will respond. Remember he is the new kid on the block. They had been living without walls around the city for over 100 years. For all he knew, they might run him out of town, or just laugh at him or just flat out ignore him. But Nehemiah is a man on a mission, so he gathers them all together and then he casts the vision. Nehemiah 2: 17–18a. So here is how he laid out the vision and this is a great model for the local church.
1. State the problem. This is a bad situation we are in – the walls are down. The gates have been burned down. They’re Like – really – 😊we know that – we’ve been here a lot longer than you. This is nothing new. And how would you feel if you invite someone over for the first time to your house and they said, “hey your front doors got a crack in it it’s broken, that picture on the wall has broken glass, your furniture is outdated – you need to paint the walls”– you would be offended – right? But the truth is you already know it. And once your guests left you would probably start working. Not because you weren’t aware. You saw it all through someone else’s eyes. Was like a wakeup call. Nehemiah was saying.! Things are bad! We’re in trouble!
Now they were seeing the vision through the eyes of Nehemiah and so now they see/caught the vision.
2. State the solution. Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. That was the vision. Now they’re going to carry it out. We see it. Look at verses 18B. “Let’s rise and build it, so they put their hands to the good work.”
3. State the reason. State the why. You see the fact that the wall around Jerusalem had been torn down, that doesn’t mean the wall had to be rebuilt, right? Many things are torn down that never get rebuilt. Pointing out the problem and the solution was not enough. They needed a reason. They needed motivation. The reason gives it to them. Chapter 2:17b. That we may no longer be in reproach. No stain or spot. This probably hurt a bit. Think about it. If someone tells you, you need to tie your shoes, it means they are untied. If someone says you need to be above reproach it means you’re not above reproach. Nehemiah was issuing a challenge and was saying to them “we’re a disgrace to God and we have been this way for over a century.” Remember this was Israel and Israel has always been God’s land. Israel has always been very special to the father. Now,
• The former temple is gone.
• The Ark of the covenant was missing.
• The glory was gone.
For Nehemiah it wasn’t just about rebuilding the wall. He wanted to rebuild the connection between the people of God. Between Israel and God. And this was the calling placed on Nehemiah.
So, to cast vision,
(1) you must state the problem.
(2) you must state the solution.
(3) You must state the reason.
So, let’s flesh this out. This was a large task to rebuild the walls so there may have been a conversation that went something like this.
• Nehemiah, why should we rebuild the walls? ANSWER. Because they have been broken down.
• Why should we rebuild broken walls? ANSWER. Because the city is defenseless.
• Why should a city that has been defenseless for over 100 years be protected now? ANSWER. Because they are God’s people.
• Why should God’s people be protected? ANSWER. Because God has a special assignment for his people.
Proverbs says this: “where there is no vision the people perish.” If we/you plan to do anything in the future, somebody must see it first. It will not just happen. Mt Everest is 5.5 miles tall. Zig Ziglar, a motivational speaker, said (if you plan to climb it one day) you don’t just wander around and then one day wind up at the top of the mountain. It takes vison and planning and hard work. Listen, not everyone can see what is ahead.
• In the 1800’s only a handful of people thought there would ever be automobiles; and they thought that even if man could build a car, if you ever drove it at say 30m mph, you would suffocate. No one could handle it.
• In 1878 it was said electric lights are unworthy of any serious consideration.
• In 1943 Thomas Wilson who ran IBM said that one day there may be a market one day for as many as 5 computers. Today every family owns around 5. Your cell phone is really a computer.
• In 1962 Dick Rowe, of DECA records said “guitar bands are on their way out,” so he passed on signing a group called the Beatles.
Why should this church/Eagles Landing have a vision for the future? Because God has a special assignment for his people. And if we don’t have vision, we could very well miss what God has in store for all of us.
