A mother was preparing pancakes for sons, Kevin who is 5, and Ryan who is 3. The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson so she said: “If Jesus were sitting here, He would say, "Let my brother have the first pancake. I can wait." Kevin turned to his younger brother and said, "Hey Ryan, you be Jesus."
Today’s message is about being like Jesus. It’s about putting feet under you faith and taking action. It’s about getting off the bench and into the game and when you leave today I hope you get it. I hope you understand how significant you are in the Kingdom of God.
Nehemiah had a problem. He heard that the walls in Jerusalem were down and that the people who were living there and moving back to the city were vulnerable to attack. He lived hundreds of miles away yet he allowed himself to get involved in their problem and make it his own.
Nehemiah saw a problem, went to God with that problem then he went to work on the problem. Last week I left you looking for a wall that you can help build or rebuild and today we are going to learn how to get to work and what to expect once we get going.
When Nehemiah heard that the wall was down in Jerusalem he prayed about problem and decided that he could not sit on the sidelines in the comfort of his own home and wish that someone else would do something about it. He went to God then he went to work.
After getting his entourage together he set off for Jerusalem. It must have been a great moment for him. He getting to do exactly what he feels that God wants him to do and God has paved a smooth road for him to travel. But that moment was definitely short lived. Even before he reached Jerusalem a couple of locals were already upset that Nehemiah was going to rebuild the walls for the Jews.
The Bible says: “When Sanballet the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites.” Nehemiah 2:10 NIV
Before Nehemiah even picked up the first stone he had two influential locals who opposed him. But their opposition didn’t sway Nehemiah from his course. He just kept right on going. He accessed the situation then raised the problem to the people. Everyone there knew they had a problem, they just needed someone to help them with the solution. So when Nehemiah addressed the crowd and told them that he wanted to help them rebuild the walls everyone jumped in to help.
But as soon as they started to build the wall their enemies began to attack. Sanballet, Tobiah and a new thug they roused up named Geshem the Arab heard that the work had begin they started verbally assaulting the workers. Nehemiah and the people just ignored them and kept working in spite of the opposition.
Nehemiah knew that no one person could rebuild these huge walls so he broke the responsibility down into little pieces. He asked the people who lived by the wall to rebuild the wall in front of their homes. It was a pretty logical decision and the homeowners were definitely interested in protecting their families so they worked hard on the area they were assigned.
Everything was going smoothly at first. But the local thugs become more vocal and more of a problem as the work was gaining success. The Bible says:
“…when Sanballat, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the men of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it.” Nehemiah 4:7-9 NIV
The fight was on. At first only a few people opposed Nehemiah and now the thugs has roused up a whole bunch of people to try to stop the work. Nehemiah persisted against the opposition and the Bible says:
“But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.” Nehemiah 4:9 NIV
When the wall was half built Nehemiah faced yet another problem. Half the Jews were living very well and half of them were living in poverty. The very people he went to help began to fight among themselves and he had to do something. Nehemiah was a wise man and went to God with the problem, then he went to work on solving it.
Problems like these arose again and again. Sometimes the problem was external, meaning outside forces were causing them. And other times the problems were internal, meaning that the very people Nehemiah was helping had problems that he had to help solve. Regardless of where the problem originated or how big it was or how trivial it was or how uncomfortable it was Nehemiah responded the same way. He went to God with the problem, then went to work on the problem.
In the end, Nehemiah did complete the wall and he did it in record time.
The Bible says: “So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty two days. When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.” Nehemiah 6:15-16 NIV
God used Nehemiah to rebuild the walls around the city of Jerusalem. Even more than that, he used Nehemiah to rebuild the cultural and religious center for all Jews and provide them with a sense of security that would last longer than Nehemiah himself. Nehemiah wasn’t rich, he wasn’t superman. He was a man who saw broken walls and made the choice to help fix them.
So this morning, let me ask you this: What can you do with the help of God? What wall can you help build or rebuild? Do you see a wall that’s down? Do you see a place where you can help? Are you ready to get off the bench and into the game? If you are, God to God, then go to work.
Maybe you are wondering how you can get to work. Maybe you have gone to God and he has allowed you to feel the weight of the problem on your shoulders and you feel that he wants you to get involved in the solution. How to do you do that? How to you get going? Let me give you a few suggestions.
Action plan
Go to God in prayer then go to your wallet for money.
If you see a wall that needs money, get out your wallet and help pay for it. Don’t pray that someone else will get out their wallet, reach into your pocket and make the choice to make a difference. I spend my money of more junk than I would care to admit, but before I spend a penny, I give God his ten percent first.
I give 10% because the Bible tells me to and because I love to see what God can do with what I give him. I love to see hungry people eat and addicted people set free. I love to see kids sing about Jesus and teens changed forever. I want to be a part of what God is doing and I am willing to help pay for it.
Go to God then open up your home.
We constantly have people who need temporary housing. You can volunteer to open up your home to someone or a family in need.
Go to God then go to your grocery store.
We have a food shelf right here. Next time you buy groceries pick up a few extra things and feed someone who could use it. Last Thanksgiving we had a small group make up a dozen or so Thanksgiving baskets with a Turkey, potatoes, cranberries and everything else then we handed them out. They went to God, then went to work.
Go to God then go to people who can make things happen.
If you are opposed to something in legislature God to God then go to your representative. Senator Gen Olson once told me that very few people actually write or call in their concerns. Everyone complains but very few people do anything about it. You can be the one person who takes action and changes history.
I shared three weeks ago about the church in St. Cloud that was facing problems with the city. It looked like their church would have no place to go. Something needed to be done so I picked up the phone and called the pastor. We sent him all of our legal paperwork and he was thrilled to receive the help. On Tuesday morning the Star and Tribune did a follow up to the story. The headlines read: “Black church gets go-ahead in St. Cloud.” So I met with the pastor on Thursday and he has something he wants to say to us as a church.
VIDEO CLIP #1 (Pastor)
Go to God and then go to the Marie Sandvick Center.
On the first of every month a group of people from Freshwater make enough food to feed a couple of hundred people then we pack it up and haul it to the Marie Sandvick Center and hand it out. We also put on a worship service and preach the Good news of Jesus Christ. You can help rebuild a wall of hope for hurting people.
This Friday night I went down to the Center and talked to the director. She wants to say something to you as a congregation.
VIDEO CLIP #2 (Marie Sandvick Center)
The pastor at Marie Sandvik also has something to say to you.
VIDEO CLIP #3
Nehemiah faced incredible hardships. There were certain people who hated him and rode him constantly. People told lies about him and spread rumors saying he was building the walls to set up his own kingdom. His enemies were constantly on the prowl. He faced problem after problem but with God he prevailed. Nehemiah went to God with his problems then he went to work on the solutions and he changed history forever.
My action plan.
I’m going to go to God then ________________________.
At Freshwater we want to make a difference. We want to build walls where there are none. We want to rebuild walls that are fallen. We want to help people see the love of Jesus Christ in every way possible. Let’s go to God, and go to work.
DRAMA: BUILD THE WALL
What are you going to do?
