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Introduction:
Recently, we heard a great lesson from Max Dawson regarding
10 keys to Nehemiah’s success in restoring Jerusalem’s wall.
I am not sure he was aware of how truly appropriate a study
from Nehemiah was for us. Of
course, it was appropriate to all Christians.
Our goal is to restore the Christianity of the New
Testament in our own lives and rebuild the church as described in
the New Testament. But
it was also appropriate to this congregation very specifically. Just
as the Jews came back into the Promised Land after years of
trouble, we see ourselves serving God following years of troubles.
Just as they wanted to restore and rebuild God’s temple,
we want to restore and rebuild this congregation back to the
strength God wants us to have.
As we look through 2004 and beyond, we need to see
ourselves as builders. We
are building the Lord’s temple (Ephesians
2:19-22). I
would like to sprinboard off of Max’s lesson by looking at seven
important concepts of restoring and rebuilding not just from
Nehemiah, but also from that other great book of Israel’s
restoration – Ezra. Discussion: I.
What we build must be based on God’s Word. A.
When the first exiles returned to Israel, they rebuilt
God’s altar and sacrificed according to God’s Word (Ezra
3:2). In Ezra
9-10, many of the men of Israel divorced their wives and
put their children away because their marriages violated God’s
Word (Ezra
9:10-12; cf Deuteronomy 7:3).
In Nehemiah
8, the people assembled to hear the Word of the Lord read
and explained, they then restored the Feast of Tabernacles
according to what was read (Nehemiah
8:2-3, 8). The
Israelites relied on God’s Word to restore and rebuild their
nation. B.
As we strive to build God’s temple in Franklin, we must
use God’s Word as our guide.
Ephesians
2:20 said our temple is built on the foundation of the
apostles and prophets. Paul
was using a figure of speech called Metonymy.
The foundation is not men themselves, but rather the
revelation that came through those men as Ephesians 3:3-5
demonstrates. We are
to build this church on that foundation.
As II
Peter 1:20-21 affirms, this Bible came from the Holy
Spirit. We must live
by it and build from it. II.
We must be prepared for drastic changes that we do not
expect. A.
Since the Jews were not directing their own steps,
but the Word of God was, when they wanted to restore God’s
nation, they encountered drastic changes that many evidently had
not expected. According
to Ezra
1:5, the people who returned were people who wanted to
rebuild the house of God. They
wanted to turn away from idolatry and restore the proper worship
of the one true God. However, about 52 years after they had returned and completed
the temple, Ezra arrived with the second wave of returning exiles
and discovered that many of the Israelites were still married to
foreign women, which had been condemned in Exodus
34:13-16. Certainly,
they wanted idolatry destroyed, but were they prepared to rip
their homes asunder to accomplish the goal?
According to Ezra
10:1-3, they were. B.
It is easy to say we want to build this church on
the Bible. It is much
more challenging to do it. The
fact is, as we study our Bibles, we may find drastic changes we
need to make. But we must remember that we are to do God’s will, no
matter what the cost. This
goes along with the Lord’s words in Luke
14:25-35. We
must be willing to do whatever the Lord asks of us, no matter how
shocking or drastic. Otherwise,
we cannot be His disciples. III.
We will have opposition. A.
Both books demonstrate the work of those opposed to the
Lord and His people. In
Ezra
4, the adversaries who first tried to infiltrate the
forces of God’s people (Ezra
4:2) and then discouraged them (Ezra
4:4-5). Their
tactics kept the temple from being completed for 21 years.
Nehemiah
2:19; 4:1-3 recorded the same kind of opposition when the
Israelites built the walls. B.
We will have opposition.
People will try to discourage us.
They will “hire counselors” against us.
They will mock us and what we are trying to build.
We must remember Jesus’ words in John
15:18-21. Jesus had enemies and so will we. We must be prepared for opposition and we must be prepared to
keep on serving the Lord anyway. IV.
But we must not prejudge or assume who will bring
opposition. A.
While the Jews faced opposition, they also had some
surprises regarding who opposed them and who did not.
Nehemiah faced opposition even from among the supposed
prophets and priests of Israel (Nehemiah
6:10-14;13:4-5). Just
because a person was a Jew, did not mean they would support
God’s will. However,
Nehemiah received surprising support from one who had previously
opposed the Jews, Artaxerxes (Ezra
4:7-22; Nehemiah 2:1, 5-6). B.
We must not assume or prejudge who will bring opposition.
We can very easily have an us/them mentality.
If they are not “one of us,” then they will probably
not want to hear the truth. But if they are “one of us,” then anything they do must
be valid. Just
because someone is a member of a “church of Christ” or even a
member of this church does not mean they will ultimately be
friendly to God’s cause. Just
because they are not Christians, does not mean they will not
accept the truth when they hear it.
While we must be prepared for opposition, we must not
assume or prejudge from whom it will come. V.
Leaders must lead the way, the rest must follow. A.
After Cyrus gave his decree to rebuild the temple in
Jerusalem, the first thing said is that the “heads of the
fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the
Levites” led the way (Ezra
1:5). Then
after the 21 year break in working on the temple, the text claims
that Zerubbabel and Jeshua, the governor and the high priest,
began to build the temple (Ezra
5:2). When
the unfortunate incident with the foreign wives occurred the
people turned to Ezra to lead them through it (Ezra
10:4). When
Nehemiah came to Jerusalem, who can doubt that he was the
people’s inspiration to build the wall (Nehemiah
2:17-18). In Nehemiah
5, when Nehemiah learned that Jews had been charging usury
and taking advantage of their brethren, he demonstrated that he
led by example (Nehemiah
5:14-19). The
leaders led the way. But
we need to remember the other side of this, the people had to
follow. One of the
amazing facts of leadership is that it is voluntary.
In reality, neither Ezra nor Nehemiah could force any of
the Jews to do any of the things they did.
They were only leaders, because the people followed them. B.
Our leaders must lead.
Too many churches have men who are named leaders, but
typically spend most of their time wondering what is happening.
Leaders need to look to the future and see where we need to
be going. Leaders
need to stir up our hearts to do the work.
Then they need to lead the way by example.
But, we also must follow them.
We must submit to them (Hebrews
13:17). We
are not to cheer our leaders on their way, but follow and work
with them. VI.
We must all be willing to work. A.
According to Nehemiah
3, everyone from the high priest (vs.
1) to goldsmiths and perfumers (vs.
8) helped build the wall.
Nehemiah
4:6 claimed they quickly built the wall to half of its
height because the people had a mind to work. B.
We also must have a mind to work.
All of us must have that mindset.
The work is not for the elders, the deacons and the
preacher. The work is for the Christians.
Ephesians
4:16 says every joint supplies work.
You may not do the same thing as the person sitting next to
you, but you need to be doing something.
What work are you doing?
Are you teaching anyone?
Are you inviting anyone?
Are you encouraging anyone?
Are you helping anyone?
If we are going to build this church up, we must all have a
mind to work. VII.
We must be prepared to work through internal difficulties. A. In Nehemiah 5:1-5, Nehemiah learned that some of the Jews had taken advantage of their poorer brethren. They were exacting usury and even taking those who were unable to pay as slaves. In Nehemiah 5:6-11, Nehemiah rebuked the nobles and rulers and commanded them to restore the lands and fields to the other Jews. In Nehemiah 5:12, the nobles and rulers said they would comply. One might think that among God’s people, difficulties like these could be avoided. That, however, is not the case. Even among God’s people troubles arise. They had to work through these problems and then live with each other afterwards. This even meant that some seemed to get a raw deal. They had let people borrow money when the king’s taxes were due or when the famine was great and now they were restoring what they had taken as collateral and were requiring nothing. B.
We need to be willing to do the same.
That is, work through internal issues that come up.
We will have people problems.
We will rub each other the wrong way.
Some of us will take advantage of the others and then need
to be rebuked for it. Others
will have to give up their claims to rights in order to maintain
peace. But we must
work through all of this and focus on being united with one
another. As I
Corinthians 6:7-8 said, sometimes we will even have to be
willing to be wronged in order not to do wrong to others.
We must live peaceably with all (Romans
12:18). Conclusion: No doubt, we have a great deal of work ahead of us this year and the years to come. However, just as He was with these Jews, God is with us. His good hand will prosper us (Ezra 8:18, 22; Nehemiah 2:18; Acts 11:21; Hebrews 13:5). We must rely on Him and do His will. Remember Ephesians 3:20 – God is able to do more than we can even ask or think and He can do it through us.
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
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