November 3, 2002
The job to which God called Nehemiah was to leave being a comfortable captive in the service of Persian king (Artaxerxes), and travel to the home of his ancestors, Jerusalem; it was there the work of rebuilding the crumbling walls of a defeated people was to take place.
Nehemiah accepted his calling, swallowed hard and approached the king for permission. The reason Nehemiah worried was the fact that even though God may call you to do something important, not everyone in the world (or church, or family) may see it that way. However, God gave Nehemiah a spirit of favor with the Persian despot.
King Artaxerxes gave Nehemiah permission, letters of authority to rebuild the walls, and supplies to accomplish the task. What a great God we serve!
Arriving in Jerusalem, Nehemiah made a midnight inspection tour of the broken-down walls, but told nobody of his heart’s plans.
When he was ready, Nehemiah gathered the people and gave them a 37-word “sermon” (I can’t match that!) on how the broken-down walls of God’s city were a disgrace before the world. They should arise and rebuild (Nehemiah 2:17-18a).
Before Nehemiah could tell the organist to play “Just As I Am” the people responded…Let us rise up and build. (I’d like to see YOU match that!)
In classic fashion, the enemies of God entered the picture before the ink was dry on the architectural drawings for rebuilding of the walls (2.19); yet Nehemiah’s response was to trust God (2.20).
With that as our refresher on the story line, we now see the process of rebuilding the walls begin, and we learn a number of Kingdom building principles as we follow Nehemiah through his journal.
LESSON I. WHEN IT COMES TO THE WORK SOME ARE APATHETIC
5Next were the people from Tekoa, though their leaders refused to help. Nehemiah 3.5 (NLT)
A survey-taker knocked on a door. When it opened, he asked the homeowner if he was aware that the greatest problems America faces today are ignorance and apathy. The man replied, I don’t know, and I don’t care!
It is bad enough to have apathy among followers, but Nehemiah faced apathy among the leaders of the little village of Tekoa. Not all heroes are leaders; not all leaders are heroic material. The greatest heroes I have are of the “ordinary” variety – folks who serve year-in, year-out in the mundane ways.
On the walls of Jerusalem, the common folk from Tekoa caught the vision their apathetic noblemen couldn’t see. In our day there are apathetic folks in the church.
When people don’t see the need to serve others – when their own purposes and ideas and appetites are far more interesting and urgent, it is apathy towards God.
When people think life is too busy for kingdom work, it is apathy towards God.
When folks think the germs floating in the air on a Sunday night might get them, it is the kind of apathy which comes up with a hundred excuses for not worshipping and not serving; it is apathy towards God, and apathy towards God is sin.
Jesus had something to say to first century churches that were apathetic:
15“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you were one or the other! 16But since you are like lukewarm water, I will spit you out of my mouth! 17You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked… .19I am the one who corrects and disciplines everyone I love. Be diligent and turn from your indifference. 20“Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends.
21I will invite everyone who is victorious to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne. 22Anyone who is willing to hear should listen to the Spirit and understand what the Spirit is saying to the churches.”
Revelation 3:15-17, 19-22
What is it like to open the door to Jesus? William Carey founded the first foreign missions society in 1792. He told this story:
Through the quiet streets of a fishing village that lay in the mouth of a turbulent river, a cry rang out, "Boy overboard." Quickly a crowd gathered, and anxious eyes looked out over the rushing water to the figure of a drowning boy. Each anxious mother’s heart was asking, Is he my boy?
A rope was brought, and the strongest swimmer in the village volunteered to rescue the drowning lad. Tying one end of the rope to his waist, he threw the other among the crowd and plunged in. Eagerly they watched him breast the tide with strong, sure strokes; and a cheer went up when he, reaching the boy, had grasped him safely in his powerful arms. "Pull in the rope," he shouted over the swirling waters.
The villagers looked from one to another. "Who is holding the rope?" they asked. But no one was holding the rope! In the excitement of watching the rescue, the end of the rope had slipped into the water. Powerless to help, they watched two precious lives go down because no one had made it his business to hold the shore end of the rope.
As Carey finished his sermon on that founding day, he promised his friends that he would go down into the well if they would hold the rope. Kingdom-building is all about holding the rope. (1)
What do you do to address apathy? Lesson learned, and…
Application: Encourage Them
For those of us who slip into apathy in our worship, service, stewardship or devotion, the encouragement is to stop this!
a. You are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus.
b. Greater is He who is in you, than the apathy that wants to steal your service and blessing.
c. Be strong in the Lord! Let us not be a church full of Christian “wimps”.
d. Be the man, the woman, the young person God called you to be!
Our missionary speaker last Monday evening, Quentin Roberts encouraged us to reclaim our PASSION for the work of the Kingdom. If you missed his passionate sermon of encouragement for any reason, short of being in the hospital, or serving in the Kingdom elsewhere, then he meant YOU! Apathy is the stuff of lukewarm churches and lukewarm Christians. If you know some apathetic believers, encourage them. But don’t do it as if you’re apologizing. We have enough lukewarmness. Say it like you mean it. “George….man what’s happened to your passion? Are you backing off from the Lord?” “Robin, why have you stopped coming? What could make you give up on Jesus?”
Apathy is backsliding, and it is nauseating to God. It calls for strong people to love the apathetic back into the fold. You can do this!
LESSON II. WHEN IT COMES TO THE WAY SOME GET OFFENDED
1Sanballat was very angry when he learned that we were rebuilding the wall. He flew into a rage Nehemiah 4.1a
It is as old as Cain and Abel. People always get offended; especially if the ways we remember things were, or think they should be, are contradicted by God’s Word, or somebody messes with our agenda.
An 80 year old couple was having problems remembering things, so they decided to go to their doctor to get checked out to make sure nothing was wrong with them. When they arrived at the doctor’s, they explained to the doctor about the problems they were having with their memory.
After checking the couple out, the doctor tells them that they were physically okay but might want to start writing things down and make notes to help them remember things. The couple thanked the doctor and left.
Later that night while watching TV, the old man got up from his chair and his wife asks, "Where are you going?" He replies, "To the kitchen."
She asks, "Will you get me a bowl of ice cream?"
He replies, "Sure."
She then asks him, "Don’t you think you should write it down so you can remember it?"
He says, "No, I can remember that."
She then says, "Well I also would like some strawberries on top. You had better write that down cause I know you’ll forget that."
He says, "I can remember that, you want a bowl of ice cream with strawberries."
She replies, "Well I also would like whipped cream on top. I know you will forget that so you better write it down."
With irritation in his voice, he says, "I don’t need to write that down, I can remember that." He then fumes into the kitchen.
After about 20 minutes he returns from the kitchen and hands her a plate of bacon and eggs.
She stares at the plate for a moment and says, "You forgot my toast."
Most of the time when people get offended, the infractions have prodded our pride – and we have forgotten how our own sins have offended holy God! And how God, for Christ’s sake has forgiven us!
Nehemiah was involved in a great and difficult work. Some really warmed to the task – others were apathetic; Sanballat was offended at the new guy, Nehemiah arriving and taking over his province. It is that way in churches sometimes.
Things get changed. We do things differently.
We don’t like this or that; so we grumble, or pout.
We pull back from everything.
Sometimes it happens when people don’t know the Word of God, and the leader points to God’s way, and the follower says, “I don’t like that.”
Beloved, that is not spiritual, Christian, Godly or even close to humble. It is sin. It is sin to worry about feelings when eternal souls are going to hell because we would rather fuss over incidentals than take the time to go tell the gospel.
Application: Lead Them
What do you do with “offended” folks? Lead them! Lead them with your example of Godly humble service. That’s what Jesus did. Jesus was the perfect Son of God. He was accused of everything imaginable. His response was to give his life for His accusers.
Our Tuesday night speaker, Terry Dorsett shared how his whole family – including his young son – was put in casts and traction for months by a drunk driver. Terry was in one room at home, cast on a leg the doctors said he’d never use again. Terry’s wife was in another room shattered arm in traction, and their young son in a body cast with a broken back. The lady wasn’t a stranger; she worked in the grocery store not fifty feet from their apartment. And she was hardly hurt – only a few scratches.
What did Terry do? He had all the reason in the world to be offended – write her off! No one would have blamed him. He could have done nothing – withdrawn from her as a “loser” human being. Most people would understand!
Instead Terry Dorsett did what Jesus would do – he visited her in jail, got the ladies at his church to knit her a blanket for her cold jail cell. He and his family sat with her at her trial. And when she got out, Terry took her to church with the family, sat with her, and led her to Jesus. Now they work together as co-laborers in the same church.
LESSON III. WHEN IT COMES TO REVERENCE SOME RIDICULE
and mocked the Jews, 2saying in front of his friends and the Samarian army officers,“What does this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think they are doing? Do they think they can build the wall in a day if they offer enough sacrifices? Look at those charred stones they are pulling out of the rubbish and using again!”
3Tobiah the Ammonite, who was standing beside him, remarked,“That stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked along the top of it!” Nehemiah 4.1b-3
This same bunch that got offended also lashed out at Nehemiah and the work. That is the normal response of people who get angry. Sanballat’s rage became a tirade of mocking and insults. The problem with that kind of anger is that no matter how you regret it later, once you’ve ridiculed the work, your spirit is such that it is next to impossible to repent, humble yourself and rejoin the efforts. It is hard to admit you’ve been wrong and going against God. That is why Satan fell, and stayed down!
What did Nehemiah do? He prayed! And that is our application as well if we would learn the lesson. When they ridicule…
Application: Leave Them (to God)
4Then I prayed, “Hear us, O our God, for we are being mocked. May their scoffing fall back on their own heads, and may they themselves become captives in a foreign land! 5Do not ignore their guilt. Do not blot out their sins, for they have provoked you to anger here in the presence of the builders.” Neh 4.4-5
Nehemiah didn’t waste his breath trying to convert Sanballat and Tobiah over to wall-building. And he didn’t fire-off some insults to answer them back. It does no good to turn around and ridicule someone who has deserted God’s will, gotten angry and ridiculed the work. You become as twisted as they. Nehemiah prayed, leaving the results to God.
I have had many people angry at me in my lifetime. Now, that’s hard to admit for a peace-lover. I hate conflict. Having someone angry at me eats away at my insides like cancer. On the other hand, as a pastor I have studied God’s Word and human nature is revealed ever so clearly there. We humans are a prideful and stiff-necked bunch!
Most people act pretty reasonably most of the time. But!!! Watch-out when you cross them! I recall a man who was a member of a church I served years ago. He was pretty reserved, but occasionally entered into the good-natured teasing men do when gathered for a social event. And our men’s fellowship was better at teasing than most – not quite as good as Cedar Lodge Men…but close!
Once, when our church was hosting a community Thanksgiving service, the meal was ready, many of our members and guests had arrived. It was a festive, happy spirit that night; until James came through the door. With a great big smile, and warm handshake, I teased, “Well, look what the cat drug-in”. He teased back, “Cat wouldn’t ever drag somthin’ like you in”.
The next day James came to my office. The secretary showed him in and closed the door. He never even sat down. He came to my desk and said, “Preacher, you embarrassed me last night. You ever talk to me like that again, you’d better duck with the next breath, because I’m gonna knock your head off.” I immediately apologized to him. I couldn’t recall how I’d embarrassed him, but the fire in his eyes told me he needed to calm down. Despite my apologies, and offers to publicly apologize, he eventually stormed out of my office, and we never saw him in the church again.
Now, that is an extreme example. Most people who get angry at the preacher, or Sunday School teacher, or Deacon are really angry with themselves for not having a better relationship with the Lord. Most times they ridicule from afar.
What do you do about such? Pray….Leave them to God. Don’t forget, sometimes God moves people into your life and influence, and sometimes He leads them away. When the issue is truly a misunderstanding, the truly humble servants will humbly come together to solve problems. When people with a haughty, angry spirit leave in a huff, leave them to God. He is much better working with them than you will ever be!
LESSON IV. WHEN IT COMES TO SERVING SOME WILL LABOR
6At last the wall was completed to half its original height around the entire city, for the people had worked very hard. Nehemiah 4.6 (NLT)
By far this is the happiest part of the story. The King James Version says the people had a mind to work. I like this newer translation (NLT) better; for it says it plainly…the people had worked very hard!
Some will always do the work, get the job done. I am very appreciative for the Kingdom laborers we have here at Cedar Lodge Baptist. I am ever-mindful of the fact that nothing can really be done without cooperation. Our men cooperate on doing unseen things – like opening the buildings for worship each week. Our ladies pray, visit and bring meals to the sick.
Nehemiah made the point that the wall got finished because of the willing spirit and faithful service of the people. In a church it is true that the Pastor can’t do everything. Just as true is the statement that whatever the Pastor does won’t be anything without the people. So, it’s not about the Pastor, or the Deacons, or the teachers and committee members. It is all about the family of God joining together, doing what we’ve been called to do;
a. Share the Good News with people that Jesus saves.
b. Help people come to know that Jesus.
c. Teach them to live by the word of God.
d. Show them how to reach others.
Nehemiah saw a great revival among the people because God placed it in their hearts to work. What should we do about the work of the Kingdom ?
Application: Join Them
Jane Paramore talked about a women’s club luncheon. She said… a young woman sitting across from me spoke of the camaraderie she felt with her mother-in-law since they’d opened a small craft shop.
We all looked at her in disbelief as she talked about the many tasks they performed together. When someone asked how she managed to avoid the typical in-law clashes, she answered, "It helps that one of us has a good disposition." Amused, I asked which of them that was. "Oh," she laughed, "we take turns!" (2)
What a wonderful outlook on working in a difficult situation! How we need that always in Kingdom workers. The Lord promised us we would always find opposition to His Kingdom’s work. That is true – evil will always seek to undo righteousness. Taking turns at having a good, humble, Christ-like disposition is good medicine for preventing sickness in the life of a congregation! How we need that; for only a healthy congregation can truly build the walls of God’s Kingdom.
Here is our prayer:
God, give us courage to face our own lack of strength, our apathy, with humility – recognizing we depend solely on Christ for strength to accomplish the work to which He has called us. Lord, we rely on prayer to accomplish what we cannot – Be our strength, O God, our Rock and Redeemer!
Lord, like Nehemiah of Jerusalem of old, let us see rebuilt walls of family and community in our day here in Thomasville. May we see it in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
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FOOTNOTES
(1) Proclaim Magazine
(2) Jane Paramore, Denton, TX. Heart to Heart, Today’s Christian Woman.
