"Reach Out"

February 1, 2023

FBC Baxley

“There Is A Time To Reach Out”

Nehemiah 5:10-13

Nehemiah 5:10-13

English Standard Version

10 Moreover, I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us abandon this exacting of interest.

11 Return to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the percentage of money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them.”

12 Then they said, “We will restore these and require nothing from them. We will do as you say.” And I called the priests and made them swear to do as they had promised.

13 I also shook out the fold of my garment and said, “So may God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not keep this promise. So may he be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said “Amen” and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.

PRAY

Notice here we see Nehemiah reaching out to His people.

He is pleading with them.

Nehemiah is intent on building bridges not barriers…

Why, to resolve conflicts within the ranks.

Notice also the urgency that seems to come from Nehemiah… “Return to them, this very day, or restore now…even this day…”

What is Nehemiah communicating? He is saying “Now…Do the right thing now!”

As a leader, as a follower of Jesus, as a child of God, as a rebuilder…

“Do the next right thing!”

Nehemiah is following the very pattern that Jesus prescribed in Matthew 18:15-17;

15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.

16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.

17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”

This is exactly what Nehemiah was doing…

First, He confronted his offenders in private…He said ”I told them” Neh. 5:7

When his personal and private offers did not work, he moved to a public approach… Neh. 5:7-12 That eventually worked…

What was the ultimate result of Nehemiah’s four way plan to conflict resolution?

Backing off, 2. Standing up, 3. Giving in, 4. Reaching out.

Neh 5:13, I also shook out the fold of my garment and said, “So may God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not keep this promise. So may he be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said “Amen” and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.

Peace returned!

We see another example of Nehemiah’s principle of conflict resolution and Jesus’ in Philemon…

“1 Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,

To Philemon our beloved fellow worker 2 and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house:

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

4 I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, 5 because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, 6 and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.

7 For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.

8 Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, 9 yet for love's sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus—

10 I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. 11 (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.)

12 I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. 13 I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, 14 but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord.

15 For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, 16 no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

17 So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me.

18 If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account.

19 I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self. 20 Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.

21 Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.

22 At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping that through your prayers I will be graciously given to you.

23 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, 24 and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.

25 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

These 25 verses show Paul putting Nehemiah’s principles to work…

What is going on here in Philemon?

Previously, when Paul was traveling through Colosse, Paul led a wealthy man to the Lord.

His name was Philemon and he started a church that met in his home.

Philemon had a worker whose name was Onesimus, and one day Onesimus stole some money of his master’s money and headed to Rome.

Onesimus was arrested and put in prison.

Paul had also been imprisoned, but for preaching the gospel.

These two inmates, found themselves cell -mates!

It wasn’t long before Paul led Onesimus to Jesus.

Onesimus’ life had been transformed and his first mission trip was back to the region of Colosse, find Philemon, make things right and seek reconciliation. Whew.

So Paul writes a letter to Philemon…asking him to receive Onesimus as he would receive Paul himself…”No longer a slave, but…a beloved brother.” verse 16

These principles work!

Neh. Backing off, 2. Standing up, 3. Giving in, 4. Reaching out.

Jesus… Matt. 18 1. Go to brother in private, 2. Go with someone, 3. Go before the Church

FBC… 1. Go in private… only sharing with the appropriate person…no gossip (3 resolutions with you being involved in one of them)

Go with someone

Go before the church

Our bylaws… share from document…

**The entire bible is a textbook in and for conflict resolution!

Think about Joseph’s family…

If there ever was a dysfunctional family it was his…

Jealousy, lying, plotting, deception ripped that family apart… and it stayed divided for alot of years…

How was Joseph able to forgive and move on???

First he backed off… The bible records before he met his brothers, he went into a room by himself and wept. (he backed off and listened to his heart), then he revealed himself to them…

Second, He stood up…

He came to his brothers, confronted them, and told them, I am Joseph your brother.

Third, he gave in and reached out…

As he went to them, they embraced each other in love and forgiveness…

Joseph did not cut, what he could untie…

**What about Jesus’ example and experience in the scriptures?

Almost everywhere you turn in the NT, Jesus is dealing with conflict…

Conflict with family, conflict with religious leaders, conflict with hometown folks, conflict with His disciples…

The bible is the continuous story of Jesus dealing with conflict resolution with people like me and you!

Nehemiah’s plan works… but you have to use it in sequence.

Alot of times people make the mistake of only using one part of it…. Like the back off part…

We cannot do the steps out of order or as a stand alone method…

Some people only use the stand up part of the plan. They never back down…

When we use only one method or out of sequence we risk making matters worse.

Remember, Rebuilders never cut what they can untie…

We need to remember there is a time to Back off, Stand-up, Give-in, and to Reach-out.

Remember our situation with Jesus…

Because of our sin, we were in conflict with Him…

Rom. 3:23

What did Jesus do, He backed off in prayer at the Garden of Gethsemane… Luke 22:42 “Father, if it’s your will, take this cup…”

Next Jesus Stood up… Before Caiphas, before Herod, before Pilate… When asked if He was the Son of God… Luke 22:70 “Jesus said, You rightly say that I am.”

Then Jesus Gave-in…Isaiah 53:7 says…”Like a lamb to the slaughter…” He laid down His life for you and me… No one took His life, He willingly gave it…

Finally Jesus reached-out! Suspended on the cross…

Rom. 5:10 “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”

Jesus wrote the book on conflict resolution!

PRAY