A Faithful Community Rallies Together

Nehemiah 11:1–4 NKJV

Now the leaders of the people dwelt at Jerusalem; the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to dwell in Jerusalem, the holy city, and nine-tenths were to dwell in other cities. And the people blessed all the men who willingly offered themselves to dwell at Jerusalem. These are the heads of the province who dwelt in Jerusalem. (But in the cities of Judah everyone dwelt in his own possession in their cities—Israelites, priests, Levites, Nethinim, and descendants of Solomon’s servants.) Also in Jerusalem dwelt some of the children of Judah and of the children of Benjamin. The children of Judah: Athaiah the son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel, of the children of Perez;

Pastoral Prayer to begin the Sermon

The locus of the community is no longer a theocratic kingdom; it is now an assembly of churches from around the world, living under many “kings” and “Caesars,” and offering worship to none of them.

D. A. Carson

On October 1917, in the Ladies Home Journal, Theodore Roosevelt stated:

In this actual world, a churchless community, a community where men have abandoned and scoffed at, or ignored their religious needs, is a community on the rapid down-grade.3035

Theodore Roosevelt

Commitment to the Messiah implied commitment to the Messianic community, that is, the church.

John Robert Walmsley Stott (English Preacher)

Individual Obedience Leads to Community Obedience.

Godly Obedience Flows from Gratitude.

Grace and Mercy are the Couch for Timeless Truths.

The endgame is God-Magnifying Transformation.

Are We Rallying or Disbanding as We Follow God?

A Covenant People Follow A Covenant God

The people see the fulfillment of God’s promise through the Prophet Daniel that after 70 years of exile the people would return and Jerusalem would be a dwelling place once more, as proclaimed by the Prophet Jeremiah.

The Obedience of the Leaders among the people in the return of the Exiles leads the community to see that God uses those who are repentant, humble, and teachable in his hands.

The people follow because God has been presented as a faithful God who is everywhere all at once. Who is powerful, just, and gracious.

Jeremiah 31:33 NKJV

But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Nehemiah is making the paths straight to lead the people to the ultimate hope of the Messiah who is to come some 500 years later. Hear the words that John the Baptist would preach to call the Jews to repentance and to Believer’s Baptism:

Mark 1:1–3 NKJV

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the Prophets: “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.” “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.’ ”

Covenant Faithfulness Unites & Restores

God’s mercy restores families of the King’s lineage, Priests, Levites, Gatekeepers, and Leaders in Judah as a display of His steadfast nature.

If my accounting is correct, there are 2,050 leading families restored from both Judah and Benjamin, which shows the goodness of God to the two tribes that while sinful, where faithful to follow God and not compromise.

The author conveys the prophetic fulfillment of the division that is evident in the books of Kings and Chronicles, where the Northern Kingdom is cast out to the gentiles, but the Southern Kingdom is called back for the faith displayed by Uzziah and Hezekiah.

We see this evident in the interaction of Jesus and Zacheus, as found in Luke 19:5-9

Luke 19:5–9 NKJV

And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.” Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham;

As the Church we are called to unite under the banner of the Gospel, with the clear instruction to preach to the world that the lost may hear, repent, and believe that Jesus Christ is LORD. Do we embrace the role of peacemakers and priests of God, or do we carry on with whatever comfort normalcy gives us?

Faithful People Spread Faithful Obedience

… obedience is taught throughout the entire Bible… true obedience is one of the toughest requirements of the Christian life. Apart from obedience, there can be no salvation, for salvation without obedience is a self-contradictory impossibility.8

A. W. Tozer

The people who have come back, seen the wall rebuilt, the doors hung, and the bars set in its place, are now the people who the Lord utilizes to restore the Southern Kingdom’s lineages as a set-up for the Messiah’s revealing.

The people, now under the re-affirmation of the covenant of being God’s people, are rallied to the point of faithfulness and commitment to God’s unfailing grace and mercy.

When humble leaders lead a broken people back to the one who can renew them, the stage is set for a glorious revival that only the Holy Spirit can accomplish.

Acts 2:37–38 NKJV

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

If Nehemiah and Ezra are being imperfect led the people to recommit themselves to God’s covenant, and Peter, the Coward and John the striker saw thousands repent unto new life, what can the local church that worships and works together in our imperfection accomplish with the Living God leading us?

How Does Nehemiah Compel Disciples Today?

The best measure of a spiritual life is not its ecstasies but its obedience.

Oswald Chambers (Lecturer and Missionary)

The LORD Compels Us to…

Seek Him First as the Only Hope for Eternal Life and a Fulfilled Life.

Unite and Work Together Under the Banner of the Gospel and Love for Our Neighbor.

We Cannot Holdout on the Harvest in the Lord’s Vineyard and Hope to be Called “Good and Faithful.”

Revelation 3:14–21 NKJV

“And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

What do we do in response?

Repent and Believe!—If you are not a born-again believer.

Repent and be Restored—If you are a prodigal son.

Join and Serve the Body—If you are longing for a family of faith to call your home.