Working Together

Good morning again church.

Prayer

Read Nehemiah 3

Nehemiah 3 NIV

1 Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests went to work and rebuilt the Sheep Gate. They dedicated it and set its doors in place, building as far as the Tower of the Hundred, which they dedicated, and as far as the Tower of Hananel. 2 The men of Jericho built the adjoining section, and Zakkur son of Imri built next to them. 3 The Fish Gate was rebuilt by the sons of Hassenaah. They laid its beams and put its doors and bolts and bars in place. 4 Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, repaired the next section. Next to him Meshullam son of Berekiah, the son of Meshezabel, made repairs, and next to him Zadok son of Baana also made repairs. 5 The next section was repaired by the men of Tekoa, but their nobles would not put their shoulders to the work under their supervisors. 6 The Jeshanah Gate was repaired by Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah. They laid its beams and put its doors with their bolts and bars in place. 7 Next to them, repairs were made by men from Gibeon and Mizpah—Melatiah of Gibeon and Jadon of Meronoth—places under the authority of the governor of Trans-Euphrates. 8 Uzziel son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, repaired the next section; and Hananiah, one of the perfume-makers, made repairs next to that. They restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall. 9 Rephaiah son of Hur, ruler of a half-district of Jerusalem, repaired the next section. 10 Adjoining this, Jedaiah son of Harumaph made repairs opposite his house, and Hattush son of Hashabneiah made repairs next to him. 11 Malkijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-Moab repaired another section and the Tower of the Ovens. 12 Shallum son of Hallohesh, ruler of a half-district of Jerusalem, repaired the next section with the help of his daughters. 13 The Valley Gate was repaired by Hanun and the residents of Zanoah. They rebuilt it and put its doors with their bolts and bars in place. They also repaired a thousand cubits of the wall as far as the Dung Gate. 14 The Dung Gate was repaired by Malkijah son of Rekab, ruler of the district of Beth Hakkerem. He rebuilt it and put its doors with their bolts and bars in place. 15 The Fountain Gate was repaired by Shallun son of Kol-Hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah. He rebuilt it, roofing it over and putting its doors and bolts and bars in place. He also repaired the wall of the Pool of Siloam, by the King’s Garden, as far as the steps going down from the City of David. 16 Beyond him, Nehemiah son of Azbuk, ruler of a half-district of Beth Zur, made repairs up to a point opposite the tombs of David, as far as the artificial pool and the House of the Heroes. 17 Next to him, the repairs were made by the Levites under Rehum son of Bani. Beside him, Hashabiah, ruler of half the district of Keilah, carried out repairs for his district. 18 Next to him, the repairs were made by their fellow Levites under Binnui son of Henadad, ruler of the other half-district of Keilah. 19 Next to him, Ezer son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section, from a point facing the ascent to the armory as far as the angle of the wall. 20 Next to him, Baruch son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section, from the angle to the entrance of the house of Eliashib the high priest. 21 Next to him, Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, repaired another section, from the entrance of Eliashib’s house to the end of it. 22 The repairs next to him were made by the priests from the surrounding region. 23 Beyond them, Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs in front of their house; and next to them, Azariah son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, made repairs beside his house. 24 Next to him, Binnui son of Henadad repaired another section, from Azariah’s house to the angle and the corner, 25 and Palal son of Uzai worked opposite the angle and the tower projecting from the upper palace near the court of the guard. Next to him, Pedaiah son of Parosh 26 and the temple servants living on the hill of Ophel made repairs up to a point opposite the Water Gate toward the east and the projecting tower. 27 Next to them, the men of Tekoa repaired another section, from the great projecting tower to the wall of Ophel. 28 Above the Horse Gate, the priests made repairs, each in front of his own house. 29 Next to them, Zadok son of Immer made repairs opposite his house. Next to him, Shemaiah son of Shekaniah, the guard at the East Gate, made repairs. 30 Next to him, Hananiah son of Shelemiah, and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. Next to them, Meshullam son of Berekiah made repairs opposite his living quarters. 31 Next to him, Malkijah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs as far as the house of the temple servants and the merchants, opposite the Inspection Gate, and as far as the room above the corner; 32 and between the room above the corner and the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and merchants made repairs.

Are you board yet?

I mean, I almost skipped right over chapter 3 in our series here on Nehemiah and I was ready to just sum it all up by saying, chapter 3 is a record of all the people that God used to do the good work. And as you look at study bibles and bible commentaries, most people skip right over it.

It’s easy to check out because it feels mundane, it feels normal. These names don’t mean a whole lot to me, or a whole lot to you. But they meant something to Nehemiah. And they certainly meant something to God because God’s Spirit led Nememiah to record them for us and for them to be considered Scripture.

So it should lead us to ask the question…why? Why would God include this list of names in the bible?

The Good Work is Sacred Work.

It could be easy to miss this point. In these 32 verses we find 36 individuals named and 7 additional teams who all came together to do the work of God.

God made a point for us to know the names of these 36 men who led over 40 teams in rebuilding the walls and that work is considered sacred. Ordained by God, recorded by God and all these different people organized under the leadership of Nehemiah to do what God asked them to do. Rebuild the walls of Jerusalem…and so they got to work.

But one thing the text points us to is that they were regular people with regular jobs.

Uzziel- a goldsmith

Hananiah- a perfumer

Rephania- a government official

actually 6 government officials listed.

levites

temple servants

A guard

merchants

And all these men, there work was considered sacred. Not just the work of building a wall but their work. What they did day in and day out, can be considered sacred because work itself is a God ordained thing.

Work is sacred.

Genesis- God worked and when he created Adam he put Adam in the garden to work it. Not only did God give Adam the job to be a zoologist but also a horticulturist.

Jesus- the first 30 years he was a carpenter, the last 3 years was supernatural public ministry.

Recorded for us here is men and women who all came together to build walls, dig holes, hang gates. And God considers that sacred.

It is tempting to think that our work may not be sacred.

It’s not what you do that makes it sacred, it’s who your doing it for.

Colossians 3:17 (NIV)

17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Imagine for just a few minutes with me if we had spirit-filled men and women all over the workforce?

Instead of wondering if you were getting a good deal the next time you go to buy a used car, you know you are because the salesman is a follower of Christ who is filled with the spirit of God. You know he has integrity.

Instead of wondering if the mechanic you’re going to is trying to pull a fast one on you and do work that doesn’t need done to your vehicle, you know that they want to take good care of you and your vehicle and so they do the work with honesty and integrity.

Instead of politicians who lie out of both sides of their mouth and change their platform depending on who they are speaking to and who the highest bidder is, imagine if they were men and women who stood on the truth of the word of God.

Imagine if we had spirit-filled teachers, spirit-filled doctors and nurses, spirit-filled government employees, spirit-filled contractors, spirit-filled daycare workers, spirit-filled gas station clerks, spirit-filled waitresses.

Imagine what it would be like to know that all these people know that it’s not what they are doing that makes their work sacred, it’s who they are working for and because they are working for the king of kings, the lord of lords, the work they do is sacred. They know that every person they come into contact with is a sacred opportunity to introduce them to the Lord they are working for. The Lord that worked for them.

What do I mean by that? Well Jesus Christ came to seek and save the lost. That was his mission. And in order to seek and save the lost he had to go to work. He had to find the lost sheep. He had to live a perfect life. He had to be beaten and tortured. He had to bear the weight of the worlds sin while on the cross. He had to be buried. He had to conquer the grave. He had to rise from the dead. And he did it all for the glory of God. He did it all for you and for me. The one who knew no sin himself, became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. The only eternal son of God went to work for you and for me, and that is why we are saved by grace through faith. It’s not of our works, it’s of his finished work…it gives us as humans no room for boasting about what we have done, because all our work would never add up to righteousness. We are sinners saved by grace, and now by faith we are saints and co-heirs with Christ, to the praise of his name, hallelujah.

Work is sacred and the work you do for the kingdom is sacred

And what was that work that Israel was called to at this time here in Nehemiah 3?

Digging holes, picking up rocks, hanging gates, laying down beams of wood, using shovels and picks.

That doesn’t seem like very sacred work does it? Well it sure is! Because they are doing it all for the God who called them to do it.

And really this whole chapter is just a great big example of what life is supposed to look like when God’s people come together to accomplish God’s will. It’s a great example of what the church should look like. Everyday people who have everyday jobs…regular people, doing regular things.

That’s what made this good work that is recorded here sacred. They all came together to do work for the Lord.

This Chapter in Nehemiah 3 is so closely related to how the Apostle Paul says that churches are to operate as well. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 12...

1 Co 12:12–15(NIV)

12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.

The body of Christ is a diverse group of people who are unified in Christ and working together for Christ.

7 Simple Lessons from Nehemiah 3 about the Good Work

#1) The Body of Christ is a diverse group.

There is no division but there is diversity. We are all united under Christ.

In Nehemiah, people from all different tribes of Israel came together, people of all different occupations and skill levels, people from different areas all came together to do the good work. To rebuild the walls. To provide security and dignity to their city.

There was a leader who was hearing from God. And their were team leaders who led their team, or tribe or family in the work. But they all came together to do the work that they were able to do.

The skilled craftsmen did the skilled work, but each of them got to work in the areas where they could.

So it should be in the church of Christ. We should each be willing to serve or King who freely serves us. We should each be willing to say, here am I Lord. What can I do for you? What have you empowered me to do God? What gifts of the Spirit has he empowered me with?

When you have a body of Christ who is all participating, who are all working together, it is such a beautiful sight. Churches, when they rally together around a particular vision to complete something, to go get something done, we have people from all different walks of life, all different ages, stages and wages serving together for one purpose…because God asked them to…it is a beautiful sight and amazing and miraculous things can often take place.

#2) We need everyone to do their part.

Here in Nehemiah 3 we find 41 different teams who all worked different sections of the wall and gates. Now some of these teams had just one or two people but some of them had a whole crew of people working together, but they each did the work that they felt called to. They each took responsibility for a part of their work.

1 Corinthians 12:15–20(NIV)

15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

We need everyone to do their part in order for this to take place. And when everyone does their part, it’s amazing what God can accomplish. We might not see the whole picture. We might only see the gate we are working on, but God sees the whole picture.

It’s funny to me that each week we have an announcement asking for help in the audio visual and in the kids church for teachers.

There is a good work to be done. And maybe we don’t do a good job sharing the importance of the task at hand. Or maybe we undersell the importance of being a sunday school teacher. Or a volunteer with the media team.

The same is true for giving to a particular mission, or ministry. We might think that the gift we have to offer is insignificant…but there is no such thing in the Kingdom of God. Each and every stone that was picked up and placed in that wall was a significant step towards completing the mission.

THE TALE OF THE STARFISH IT ALL STARTED WHEN… A young girl was walking along a beach upon which thousands of starfish had been washed up during a terrible storm. When she came to each starfish, she would pick it up, and throw it back into the ocean. People watched her with amusement. She had been doing this for some time when a man approached her and said, “Little girl, why are you doing this? Look at this beach! You can’t save all these starfish. You can’t begin to make a difference!” The girl seemed crushed, suddenly deflated. But after a few moments, she bent down, picked up another starfish, and hurled it as far as she could into the ocean. Then she looked up at the man and replied, “Well, I made a difference for that one!” The old man looked at the girl inquisitively and thought about what she had done and said. Inspired, he joined the little girl in throwing starfish back into the sea. Soon others joined, and all the starfish were saved.

#3) Sometimes others won’t join in.

Nehemiah 3:5 “5 The next section was repaired by the men of Tekoa, but their nobles would not put their shoulders to the work under their supervisors.”

New Living Translation Chapter 3

Next were the people from Tekoa, though their leaders refused to work with the construction supervisors.

#4) Some get less honorable work

The New International Version Chapter 12

On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

#5) Some get honored more than others

Two different times the same guy, or group of men were mentioned and honored for their work.

Nehemiah 3:4–5 NIV

4 Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, repaired the next section. Next to him Meshullam son of Berekiah, the son of Meshezabel, made repairs, and next to him Zadok son of Baana also made repairs. 5 The next section was repaired by the men of Tekoa, but their nobles would not put their shoulders to the work under their supervisors.

Nehemiah 3:21 NIV

21 Next to him, Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, repaired another section, from the entrance of Eliashib’s house to the end of it.

Nehemiah 3:27 NIV

27 Next to them, the men of Tekoa repaired another section, from the great projecting tower to the wall of Ophel.

But it may be that they worked twice as hard…Some people just have that capacity to work, and go the extra mile and the Lord wanted to make sure they got credit for it. Not that the other work isn’t deserving of honor, it is…but if we are not careful, we can begin to make bad judgement calls. Why is so and so always being honored when what i am doing isn’t.

It’s times like this when we should remember the advice of Jesus...

Matthew 6:3–4 NIV

3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

But there is also another form of double honor in the scriptures and that has to do with pastors. Because i know there are people who wonder why on earth do pastors get paid? Shouldn’t they do the work they do for the church for free since everyone else is?

1 Timothy 5:17–18 NIV

17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 18 For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.”

The Scriptures teach us that the reason pastors should be worthy of double honor, or respect and pay is because they are spending so much time in taking care of the affairs of the church and preaching and teaching that a job outside of that is nearly impossible. So as far as is possible, preachers should get double honor. And my prayer is that i will never forget how much of a blessing it truly is to have my families needs met while I get to do what God is called me to do. It is an honor and a blessing that I do not want to take for granted.

#6) Good leaders honor their people

Nehemiah honored every one of his team leaders by writing their names down for all of history. He took the time to record who they were, what they did and celebrated their work. What a blessing to have your name written down in the Bible!

Think of it this way.

#7) God knows your name

It might not seem like a big deal to us when we come across a chapter of the bible that is full of names like this one. It can seem a little boring. A little ordinary, but think for a moment, if you were one of those listed among the 36. What an honor, what a blessing. You would take this chapter out at every family gathering…look, I made it into the book of life!

Well friends,

New Living Translation (Book of Life)

The names of Christians are in the Book of Life

Philippians 4:3 NIV

3 Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.

Our names cannot be removed from the Book of Life

Revelation 3:5 NIV

5 The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.

People whose names are not written in the Book of Life will experience God’s wrath (Revelation 20:15

Revelation 20:15 NIV

15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Only those whose names are in God’s Book will enter heaven (Revelation 21:27

Revelation 21:27 NIV

27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.