(Visual Aids - Placed a large pile of rocks on the stage, simulating wall rubble. Picked up rocks, and dropped them during message illustration of the rocks of life.)
What a great time of year! This is by far my favorite time of year in Central Kentucky. I love the cooler temperatures. I love the anticipation of basketball in the Bluegrass. And you can not beat the beauty of the leaves turning and the trees exploding in color.
If you are new to Kentucky, you need to take some time over the next couple of days, and drive down Highway 68 towards Harrodsburg. Through the winding canopy of trees on a Sunday afternoon. Take in the beauty of fall. Or drive up 68 towards Paris. Through the incredible horse farms, and countryside. Do like our family did recently and pack up a tent, head east towards Natural Bridge and spend a night in the Red River Gorge. Or at least spend an afternoon hiking the trails, climb to the top of one of the rock cliffs, and look out over the foliage.
As you do any of the above, you will get to see another of my favorite things in the Bluegrass. The hand built, naturally aged, sometimes centuries old, stone walls. When we started working our website, being in central Kentucky with a name like Stonewall Wesleyan Church, I knew we had to have a picture of a beautiful, local stone wall right there on our home page.
Actually, in central Kentucky they are called rock fences. Fences built by Irish imigrants and freed slave fence-builders. Amazingly enough, according to a local expert on the rock fences, only 5 to 10 percent of what was once one of the most extensive networks of quarried rock fences on this continent remains. Once upon a time, almost all the roads through Bourbon, Fayette and Scott Counties were bordered on both sides with rock fences. But by rough estimate, 90 to 95 percent of former rock fencing in this region is now gone. At last count, in 1990, there were 38.7 miles of rock fences in Fayette County.
These fences were carefully fitted, rock by rock to hold themselves in place without mortar. The techniques for building them were brought over from the British Isles by immigrant stonemasons, mostly Irish, who passed them along to selected slaves who became master artisans and trained others in turn. Central Kentucky has one of the largest concentrations of 19th-century rock fences still standing anywhere in America
Well, over the next few weeks we are going to hear the story of a rock fence. Though actually, it was a much larger structure, and would be better labeled as a wall. We are going to be exploring a book that falls in the midst of the history of the nation of Israel, and requires some background to understand. A book that is in many ways, the story of a stone wall.
Take a trip back with me, way back to the beginning of God’s Word. In the book of Genesis, God calls Abram to leave his country and go to another land. He obeys and the nation begins to multiple, but eventually is enslaved in Egypt for more than 400 years until God calls Moses to lead His people out of captivity and to the promised land.
We know that the journey to the promised land was not a short one, nor a direct one. But eventually, they arrive in Canaan, and begin a period of hundreds of years during which the people experience significant struggles, faithlessness, and more or less wrestle with God. The highpoint of the nation of Israel’s history is when King David sits on the throne. For 40 years there is expansion and influence for the people of God. But then things head down hill.
After David’s son Solomon dies, the nation is split into two kingdoms. There is the northern kingdom which is composed of 10 of the original 12 tribes, and is known as Israel. Then there is the southern kingdom which is composed of two tribes, and is called Judah. The Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom, scattering the ten tribes, and resulting in their becoming known as the “ten lost tribes of Israel.”
Meanwhile, in the southern kingdom, the year is roughly 587 B.C. The evil Babylonians have invaded Judah, and destroyed the city of Jerusalem. Not only the city, but also the great temple which Solomon had built. In the larger historical context, this is actually the third military campaign into this region. As a part of each of these campaigns, the Babylonians have taken Israelites captive, and moved them to Babylon. For example, it was during the first invasion that we get the life stories of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
As time passes, the Persians defeat the Babylonians, and King Cyrus comes into power. We are now about seventy years after that first invasion. So for seventy years, the city of Jerusalem has laid waste. King Cyrus gives the Jewish captives permission to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple, and over roughly the next one hundred years, in about three different stages, tens of thousands of Israelites will return to Jerusalem for the work of rebuilding. But what they find will be very difficult to look upon.
With Zerubbabel at the lead, a group of Jews returned and started rebuilding and things were really looking up. But the city was so demolished and desolate. Life there was so dangerous and difficult, and unfortunately, old habits die hard. So it was not long until the people fell back into the same sinful pattern which had brought down God’s judgment in the days of Daniel and King Nebuchadnezzar.
The people gave up on the project of rebuilding the temple. God sent two prophets to them, Haggai and Zechariah, to admonish them to finish the project. Ezra was sent by God to help restore some spiritual fervor. And then along comes Nehemiah.
Now, if you didn’t follow all of that or aren’t real in to history, here are the vital pieces to understand. After hundreds of years building this great nation, you have this wondrous city of Jerusalem with this beautiful temple. Along come the bad Babylonians who completely destroy the city. They take the people captive, those they didn’t kill, and decades go by with this once great city lying in a trash heap.
Finally some people are freed to go rebuild the great city. But what they find when they return, similar to many of the families returning to the Gulf Coast, is more than they can bear. Their motivation, their inspiration, their desire to rebuild wanes, and they find themselves dwelling in a half-built, half-destroyed city, going no where fast. That’s when we meet Nehemiah.
Nehemiah was a contemporary of Ezra’s, who was sent by God to rebuild the temple, and he was the cupbearer to the King in the Persian palace. We find his story in the book of Nehemiah, which picks up with an emotional beginning in chapter one (read Nehemiah 1:1-2).
So Nehemiah sets the scene for us. He is in Shushan serving the king in the palace when one of his brothers comes to him, with a few other men that have been down in Judah, and Nehemiah asks them how those that survived the captivity. . .how those people who have returned to Jerusalem are fairing. And he wants to know what Jerusalem looks like. Verse 3 (read).
Not the response Nehemiah was hoping for. As for the people, they are in great distress and reproach. Taken literally, they are described as being in a position of great shame and disgrace. And as for the city. The wall is broken down, and the gates have been burned up.
Now, we need to pause here, and establish a mindset right from the start of our study of this book that differs a bit from our modern culture. In today’s society, often walls are talked about in very negative terms. I grew up as a teen of the 80s, and remember watching the fall of the Berlin Wall. I was taught to believe that walls represented separation, bondage, lack of ability to move freely. It exists in our emotional language. We will tell people they need to ask God to break down the walls between people. We talk about people that have been hurt in their life and have built a wall around themselves, and they don’t letting others in. When we think about walls in today’s society, and even more so in today’s church world, it often has a negative connotation and is quickly followed by our encouragement to tear down the walls.
However, that is not what a wall represented in the book of Nehemiah. In fact, walls back in the day of Nehemiah carried at least three very positive connotations to them. First, they provided safety. . .security. A good, strong wall kept the enemies, the invaders, the people like the Babylonians from being able to come in and destroy your life. They were like a modern day police force, or military defense. They enabled children to play in the streets, families to eat dinner in peace, and believers to worship God.
Secondly, walls were actually a symbol of God’s strength. They represented God’s protection, and blessing, and hand upon a group of people. A strong, solid wall around Jerusalem meant that God was blessing His people, keeping watch over them, and pleased with their lives. On the contrary, a depleted, destroyed, and demolished wall was actually a poor reflection upon God to the surrounding nations. It said that the God of the Israelites was not as powerful, as strong, as able as the god’s of the other nations. If the Babylonians can take out your wall. . .their god must be stronger than yours.
A third thing that a wall represented was fulfillment of a vision. It was that last piece of the puzzle that said, “We have accomplished the establishment that God called us to. We have built the temple, established our nation, restored the Holy City of Jerusalem, and secured it with the wall. The vision God placed in our heart for His kingdom, has been accomplished.” It would represent an incredible accomplishment, and the completion of a vision.
That is the context with which we need to view walls for the next few weeks together. Like the rock fences of central Kentucky. Testimonies to faithful plodding. Testimonies to diligence and persistence. Winding representations of a history and completed visions. Not as a negative thing that we need to tear down in our lives, but as a symbol of God’s plan, His purpose, His fulfillment of vision in our lives. And when you come to understand that context for a “wall”, then you may understand Nehemiah’s response to the news from his countrymen (read v. 4).
Now, let me ask you this morning. Have you ever been there? Cause I have. Once upon a time you had a vision. A picture in your mind of what life would look like. You could map out the details. You saw the home, you saw the spouse, you saw the children, you saw the job, you saw the income, you saw the vacations, you saw the cars, you saw the family moments, you saw it all. You had this incredible vision of greatness for your life. That was the report Nehemiah was looking for.
And then, in what seemed like the blink of an eye, you awoke one morning, and found yourself surrounded by rubble. All the work you had been doing, all the wall construction that you had given so much time and energy too, all the blueprints and dreams that you had hoped for. . .all now laying in a pile at your feet. Crumbled rocks.
Maybe you pick up one rock, and it represents your marriage. You remember that first date. You remember that night you got engaged. You remember the wedding day. Now, you hardly talk. Now, you can hardly stand each other. Now it is a piece in the rubble.
Maybe you pick up another rock, and it represents your children. God’s Word told you, “Raise up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” You did, but he has. Drugs, alcohol, sex, whatever the case might be. That once precious baby. That once cute little guy that you taught how to play catch. That little princess that you played dress-up with. Their life, now a piece in the rubble. Distant. Lost.
You pick up a rock, and it represents your career. Wow! You can remember the day you walked across the stage, got your diploma, and were ready to conquer the world. You remember that first job interview. You remember getting the call that they had picked you. You remember sitting behind your desk for the first time. Clear out the CEO’s office, I’m on my way. Then time passed. Promotions left you passed over. Cutbacks left you lucky to just have a job. And you wake up one morning, standing amidst the rubble, and see the rock of your career.
There are not too many of us in this room, that can’t to some extent relate to the pain, the sorrow, the misery that Nehemiah felt as this picture was painted of the condition of Jerusalem. I know I can relate. Can I be honest with you for a moment?
As I rapidly approach 37, knowing I may well have passed the mid-way point of my life, knowing that my children are half-way to adulthood, there are times when I find it very difficult to focus in on a vision. There are days when it seems that the rocks and the rubble of past decisions are waist deep, and it seems almost impossible to figure out where to start rebuilding.
There have been plenty of visions in my life. There was great vision when I received a congressional appointment to the United States Naval Academy, and headed out to Annapolis, Maryland to launch my career as a fighter pilot. There was great refocus of the vision four years later when I packed up a U-Haul, and headed east with Debbie to Kentucky to begin graduate work at Asbury Theological Seminary. There was great focus and vision three years later when we collected my Masters of Divinity, and headed to Alabama to begin a life of ministry.
Sure, sometimes life is rough. Things get tough, the enemy attacks, but we were once again able to refocus on a vision when we reconciled our marriage in 1997 and headed off to Memphis, TN. The vision seemed so fresh and exciting. Then it seemed so new, invigorating and clear in 2001 when God called us back to ministry with Athletes In Action.
And I have to tell you. . .all the rocks for the wall. . .all the confusion about vision, and life plan, and God’s direction seemed to come so fully together just two years ago when we began looking at the possibility of coming to serve as your pastor here at Stonewall Wesleyan Church.
But pastors are human. And if you find yourself waking up, sitting at the edge of your bed, and asking yourself. . .what happened? Where did all this rubble come from? God, what is going on? You are not alone. And maybe like me, there are times when you feel like the vision has been adjusted, changed, or maybe just flat out misread so many times, that it is just a blur now. You don’t know where to focus, where you are heading, and you can’t even imagine that there is some divine plan or map that is going to carry you through the next 10 years.
Most of you know me well enough by now to know that I have lived my life as a person of great passion and vision. But even I have those days when I am able to sympathize with the people of Jerusalem. Lacking the strength, the motivation, the inspiration to pick-up another rock. Lacking the “umph” to rebuild once again, and begin pursuing a vision. So I look to God’s Word, and to the life of Nehemiah for direction.
Nehemiah says, “When I heard these things, I sat down and wept.” Nehemiah was heartbroken. Understand that these walls had been down for years. Decades even. And yet, there came a moment, a defining time, when in God’s providence and sovereignty He birthed within the heart of Nehemiah a holy discontent for the condition of Jerusalem.
I want you to catch one simple, and I believe Biblical truth about vision today. If you are at a point of heartache, burden, and discontent. . .you may be right where God wants you. Because it is a common experience and reality that vision is often birthed at times of desperation. As long as we are content with the status quo. . .we will struggle to obtain a vision. As long as we are comfortable with the way things are, we cannot receive God’s vision.
It is at that point of desperation that things change from just filling bags with sand to building a dike in order to save a town. Think about the difference between those two. Because for most of us, marriage, raising children, work. . .God forbid. . .even church, can become filling bags. No clear purpose to it. Just scoop up another shovel of sand, drop it in a bag. Another bag. . .another day. . .another service. . .another Sunday. Going through the motions.
But saving a city. Saving a marriage. Saving a life. That is an all together different thing. When you are building a dike, the filling a bag with sand takes on an entirely greater meaning. The chore becomes a challenge. The routine becomes a rescue. The mundane becomes major. And heartache, burden, discontent. . .give way to vision.
Andy Stanley writes, “Everybody ends up somewhere in life. A few people end up somewhere on purpose. Those are the ones with vision.”
So how do we get back into focus? How do we find 20/20 vision? I believe it all starts with seeing a concern. Something has to get your attention. Something has to bother you about the way things are headed. Something has to begin to occupy your thoughts during your free time. Has to keep you awake at night. It has to reach the point where you won’t be able to let the thought go because it won’t let you go.
Thoughts will begin to consume you about what ought to be. Thoughts that will bring tears to your eyes. Thoughts that will rattle your emotions. Thoughts that will stir your spirit. Thoughts that will wake you from your lethargy, and make you want to stand up and shout, “Something must be done. I can’t keep going down this path!” Those thoughts gripped Nehemiah as he listened to this report. They instantly stirred his spirit. He knew it should not be the way it was.
Focusing in on God’s vision for your life will begin by seeing a concern. Your marriage. Your children. Your financial situation. Your health. Your career. And if up to this point you are looking at your life and saying, “I have no idea what Chip is talking about. I have no rubble in my life. I don’t see anything that concerns me about where I am heading.”
Well than praise God. He has ordered your life, and guided your path so that you can fully focus your concern on the people who are surrounding you every day, and are lost. Needing someone who has it together, someone with clear purpose, and direction, someone with a vision that is willing to come along side of them and help them regain some focus in their life. And if you can’t see any other concern. . .I pray that you can see that one. Lost people.
This is what frightens me: apathy. Just not caring. Can take it or leave it. No passion one way or the other. The times I get most concerned about my life and my ministry are those times where I just want to throw in the towel, and just don’t feel like caring anymore. Unfortunately, and there are so many days that I wish it weren’t so, God does not allow me to stay there. He stirs within me a passion, and a concern, and a care that I can not let die.
What frightens me most as I talk with pastors, parishioners, people across our area, is that most people just don’t seem to care. I’m not just talking about having a heart for lost people. Though that seems to be one area of great apathy, but there are others. Christians don’t seem greatly concerned about divorce in the church. Christians don’t seem greatly concerned about sexual immorality among teenagers. Christians don’t seem greatly concerned about reading, knowing, and understanding God’s Word. When push comes to shove and you talk to the average Christian. . .they don’t seem any more concerned about what is taking place in our world than non-Christians are. We have become an apathetic, numb to reality body of Christ.
But look at the life of Nehemiah. This is where it will begin. This is where your life will begin to come into focus. This is where you will be able to see God’s vision unfolding for your life. At that point when you set apathy aside, and allow it all to begin with seeing a concern. Having a passion to make a change. To see things turn out differently than they have been for so long.
Dan Southerland writes, “God gave Nehemiah a bad case of holy heartache. God broke his heart over the people of Jerusalem and their desolate condition. God let Nehemiah feel about Jerusalem the way that He felt about Jerusalem. God let Nehemiah see Jerusalem the way He saw Jerusalem.”
He goes on to write, “I had the privilege of teaching material not long ago in the state of Missouri. Just before we were about to start the conference, I met a local pastor. When I asked him how things were going in his church, he replied, ‘Well, things are comfortable.’ To this pastor’s credit, he came up after the conference and said, ‘That was the wrong answer, wasn’t it?’ As long as we are comfortable with the way things are, we cannot receive God’s vision.”
Nehemiah’s concern over the condition of Jerusalem consumed him. It broke his heart. Thoughts of what was as opposed to what could be brought tears to his eyes. It changed his countenance. Everyone who knew him was aware that something was bothering Nehemiah. This was not a casual concern. This was a vision in the making.
There is an old saying that goes, “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to go to the forest to gather wood, saw it, and nail the planks together. Instead, teach them the desire for the sea.” That is what happened in the heart of Nehemiah. God didn’t get him excited about gathering rocks, hanging gates, working until his hands and back were sore and weak. God gave him a desire for the city of Jerusalem. A desire to see this great city of God restored to the way God intended it to be.
I think that is what God is wanting to do in the church today. Not get us all excited about painting, building, designing, and those “work” things we do as a church. But wanting to birth within is us a desire for restoration. A desire for healing. A desire for lost people. Stirring up within us a desire for the heart of God for our Jersusalem.
Set your things aside for a moment. Clear your mind and heart of lunch plans, work projects, and football games. Bow your head. Close your eyes. And ask God. . .what am I to see in the midst of this rubble? Pick up that rock that has been sitting before you. Your marriage. Your children. Your career. Or maybe like Nehemiah. . .your neighborhood. Your city. It all starts with concern. It all starts with a holy discontent. What is that place of your life where you are unsettled? You are disturbed. And you are ready to cry out to God. . .”It shouldn’t be like this. Help me to make it different.” And if you can’t come up with anything else, then ask God to give you His heart for the lost. Ask Him to make that your place of passion. Ask Him to focus your vision in on those lost sheep that He sees all too clearly.
Do you have at least one rock? Do you have an area of concern in mind? Are you ready to break free from apathy, and allow God to use you in a mighty way to bring about change? Even revolution? Let that concern come into focus. Let it burn in your heart. Begin envisioning the wall being rebuilt. And let me pray a Nehemiah prayer for you.
(Pray Scripture. . .verse 5 through 11)
There is a place on the bottom of your outline to fill in that place of concern. That area that God is burning in your heart. If you don’t have one yet, spend some time in prayer and meditation this week with God, asking Him to clarify it for you. Because I believe God has one for each of us, and I believe coming into focus on the vision God has for your life will begin with a concern. Keep that area in your mind as we move forward in our series, learning from Nehemiah how to bring that vision into focus.
(Sermon Inspiration - the sermons in this series are largely inspired by not only the book of Nehemiah, but also the reflections on that book by Andy Stanley in "Visioneering", and Dan Southerland in "Transitioning.")
