The wall in Jerusalem had to be rebuilt.
In Nehemiah's time, it was imperative thatthe Jewsrebuild the wall and the gates. Remember, each gate along the wall served a vital purpose. The sheep gate was used to bring animals into the city for food and sacrifices to God. The fish gate was used to bring fresh fish from the Mediterranean Sea. The dung gate was used to dispose of waste and keep the city free from disease and sickness. The fountain and water gates were used to supply fresh water. The horse gate was used for horses and chariots to enter and exit in order toconduct warfare. The east gate led people into God’s holy temple.
The wall itselfphysically provided protection from hostile enemies. And in a symbolic way, the wall reminded the Jewish people that they weren’t just another city or community. They were a holy community, called together by a holy God, for holy purposes.
The benefits of building.
Allow me to highlight a few benefits of building a physical structure. First, God’s people need space to gather (Nehemiah 7:4). The builders built beyond their immediate need, knowing God would increase their numbers. That is what we hope to do through our EveryOne Counts campaign. We want to build beyond our immediate need, and build for the increase in people that God will bring to our church.
Second, building communicates God’s presence and activity in a community (Nehemiah 6:16). The wall was proof of God’s presence and activity among his people in Jerusalem. When you see a church with a full parking lot, ablaze with activity, lights on throughout the week, with families carryingtheir Bibles, and with people excitedly serving, you think, "Wow, God’s really doing something there. God is alive and active!"Your curiosity makes you visit that church to see what’s going on.
But when you see an abandoned church with rusted siding, overgrown weeds, a handful of cars, and no young families you think, "That church looks dead. Did God die?" People are drawn to places where they sense God’s presence and activity. This is why churches that build are churches that grow.
Third, building requires faith. Apart from God, the builders didn’t have the timbers, the authority, the financing, the wisdom, nor the gumption. When I came to Lakeside in 2000, we had a $940,000 mortgage and were a church of 150 people. What struck me about Lakeside was her people’s faith that God would provide and give an increase. We’ve been debt free for several years now and have doubled in size. When we build we have no choice but to trust God with our resources. It takes faith to a write a check over and above a 10% tithe. It takes faith to tithe 10%! If tithing could be done without faith, everyone would be doing it.
Last, building creates unity. Few things bring people together like building something. Building this facility unleashed the gifts and cooperation of every member of our church. There is nothing like seeing everyone working together to accomplish something they believe in. Building gets men active, women active, and children, parents, and grandparents active and involved.
Physical building allows God to give increase, and it bears testimony of God's presence and activity among us. It strengthens our faith andcreates unity among us. We should be very excited about the EveryOne Counts campaign! You should be excited about the part you are playing, and will play as plans unfold. We could be breaking ground next year on a children’s ministry area. When you give, you’ll always be able to say, "I was part of that!"
But it's more than a building.
But I titled this message, "More than a building".It’s not enough to have a nice church building. First, we need to have a plan and be intentional about what we do here (Nehemiah 7:3). Look at this verse. We can’t just throw open the gates and hope that everything somehow works out. We're not a crowd, or mob. We’re the community of God. What is our purpose for gathering?
We need an intentional plan for ministry.
Part of being intentional is solving the challenges we face as a church together. After last week’s sermon, people were saying, "Jon, you need to make sure the refrigerator and freezer in the kitchen is cleaned out. You need to make sure the counters and stovetops are cleaned up. You need to make sure the communion delivery kits get cleaned up. You need to make sure people aren’t being double scheduled. You need to make sure the volume isn’t too loud. You need to make sure the flag isn’t torn, that it is lighted properly, and that the flag is lowered to half mast on special occasions. Jon, you need to get on the janitor because the floors aren’t getting cleaned and there are lady bug carcasses everywhere."
Friends, God gives you eyes not just to see. He gives you eyes to do! If God shows you something, do it! A few weeks ago, late one night I caught Larry and Ellen Henton with their shampooer in the lobby. They said, "We saw coffee stains and thought we’d take care of it." One afternoon I saw Gene Appel out front trimming the hedges.
We’ve got to figure these things out. The men get discouraged setting up chairs each week. The ladies get discouraged staffing the nursery. It takes all hands on deck to be the Church and to respond to all these practical needs. We don’t need more eyes to see problems, but we need more hands to faithfully respond. Everyone should have some responsibility in this ministry. What is your responsibility?
We need to give top priority to the ministry of the word of God.
So we need an intentional plan that elicits the involvement of everyone. Second, we need to give top priority to the ministry of the word. The first order of business is to proclaim the word of God. Look at Nehemiah 8:1 (NIV) which says, "All the people assembled as one man in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel."
For the record, it is easier for us pastors to clean out the fridge, trim the hedges, and vacuum lady bugs than it is for us to find someone to do it. But is that what you are paying us to do? You should get angry at the thought of your ministers cleaning out the refrigerator instead of giving priority to the ministry of the word and prayer. The practical needs of this church are sufficient to consume all of the time of our paid staff. It’s not that these things aren’t important, but it’s that some other things are indispensible.
This is why in Acts 6:2-5 (NIV) the apostles say, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to themand will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word."
Friends, the word of God is what changes lives. Here's a few highlights.Nehemiah 8:3 (NIV) describes how Ezra, "read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law."
Nehemiah 8:5-6 (NIV) says, "Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, 'Amen! Amen!' Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground."
Nehemiah 8:9(NIV) says, "Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, 'This day is sacred to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.' For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law."
With the teaching of the word came great conviction, weeping, and authentic worship. Those called to preach and teach must be freed to preach and teach. I don’t want our ministry staff managing the janitorial service, changing lightbulbs, or buying supplies at Sam's Club.I want them studying in the word of God, on their knees praying, giving sound biblical counsel and wisdom to the afflicted, encouraging the weak, equipping the church, mentoring parents and youth, developing Life Groups, training up godly leaders, and writing solid curriculum, study guides, and lesson material.
If increasing the ministry of word and prayer isn’tthe top priority of our church, then how are we any different than the Kiwanis, or YMCA, or whoever?
We need to celebrate God's grace.
Third, we need to celebrate God’s grace. Consider Nehemiah 8:9-12 (NIV)."Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, 'This day is sacred to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.' For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. Nehemiah said, 'Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.' The Levites calmed all the people, saying, 'Be still, for this is a sacred day. Do not grieve.' Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them."
As people hear the word of God, the Holy Spirit stirs deep conviction within them. We become aware of our guilt and shame. We realize how deeply we have offended God, and how cavalier we have been about things. We realize how we have stirred his wrath and deserve the full penalty for our sin. Galatians 3:10 (NIV) says, "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law."
Were we to grasp the utter depth of our depravity, we too would need to be calmed. Our weeping and wailing would be too much to bear. But without this recognition of our depravity, there cannot be true repentance or true celebration. You cannot truly appreciate grace until you see what your standing before a holy God would be like without it.
The whole purpose of the law is to shatter our pride, humble us in repentance, and make us ready to receive grace. People will never be brought to conviction apart from the hearing the word and law of God. And they’ll never be brought to grace apart from the hearing the word.
One of the most powerful verses in the Bible is Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)."The joy of the Lord is your strength."As they wept for their sins, Nehemiah reminded them that it was God’s great joy,God’s great pleasure,to save them by his grace. Friends, we absolutely must bring people to the joy of the Lord. We absolutely must bring them to grace. Once a person seeshis need,he needs to know that God has already prepared the remedy!
The joy of the Lord is your strength.
John 3:17 tells that God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but rather to save the world. Once a person comes under conviction, he needs to hear that grace.
Check out Nehemiah 8:17 (NIV)."...From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great."
Later in Nehemiah 12:43 (NIV) we read, "And on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away."
I always hear people complaining about the loudness of worship. "It’s too loud, it hurts my ears." I’ll tell you what we should complain about. We should complain about quiet, dying churches, where no one raiseshis voice to the Lord. We should complain about Christians who have never had the joy of the Lord’s salvation visit them.
If we really grasped the magnitude of God’s grace, the volume in this room would be unbearable. We wouldn’t need amplified microphones or a sound system. We'd need ear plugs. What does Nehemiah 12:43 mean? The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away? Celebrating, grace-filled churches are loud churches. Praise God that it’s loud! Praise God that you're singing out and the foundations of this church shake. There are plenty of places where that never happens!
Some questions for you to consider during communion meditation.Has God’s word brought you under conviction? Are you loud in the joy of the Lord? What part of God’s work at Lakeside will you be responsible for?