Can You See? (2)

Introduction

As a child spending time with my grandparents I have a lot of fond memories. My grandfather, Arzell Jones was an avid wrestling fan. There was a local circuit that wrestled not far from his house in West Dallas, and some Sunday evenings after church we would go to the matches. It was in that, for a lack of better terms amatuer circuit that I was introduced to the Von Eric’s, Ahmed Johnson and many other household names throughout the 90’s.

It even spanned to Monday and Thursday evenings that we would stop by my grandmother’s house and he would be sitting in chair watching Monday Night Raw, Thursday Smackdown, and an occasional pay-per view. He loved the old school wrestlers. Jimmy Superfly Snuka, Undertaker, Andre the Giant, and even the newer ones when I was a teenager like Shawn Michaels, the Rock, and Rey Mysterio Jr. Even later on we would watch individuals like John Cena with his famous taunt “You Can’t See Me”, after which he would hit you with a little attitude adjustment. Similar to the iconic Muhammad Ali phrase, “You can’t hit what you can’t see”. I’d like to parallel that statement to ministry today. There’s power in what we see as church, there’s also pain at the expense of what we refuse to pay attention to. It’s not secret that in many of our neighborhoods in Columbus there’s a lot of things we see and some things we refuse to look at. We may refuse due to self-interest, lack of direct impact, or just pain and trauma within itself. It’s no secret that violence and crime has been an issue in this community for quite sometime. Similar to what Nehemiah experienced the proverbial walls in some of our neighborhoods are broken and need repair. There is a shared mission that the church must have within the four walls and outside the four walls that lead to the betterment of the people that live in the surrounding area of our places of worship.

So much so that the beginning of Nehemiah begins as such:

Nehemiah 1:3–4 “And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.” So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.”

This cupbearer sees that Jerusalem is in shambles to the point in which it moves him to tears. Some of the places that many of us have called home, or places we grew up, or still have family that live there see the brokenness and the trauma that needs to be repaired. It is my belief that it is up to the church to develop infrastructure nestled in the foundation of Jesus to aid to health and well-being of the afflicted in our community. I encourage us today that we fix what we see that has been broken. Fixing this wall would aid to the protection of the oppressed. It would also provide a since of pride, suggesting that those who help rebuild will continue to take care of it.

What Were the Problems

Understand that if we are going to help fix what has been broken we have to prepare ourselves for a few things! We are also going to need a certain type of people that like Nehemiah have a strong faith and are committed to prayer. We need people with conviction who are willing to rely on the divine guidance of God to stay motivated in the face of hostility and intimidation. Understand that there are people who like to see us broken, there are people who thrive off of oppression. In chapters 4,5 and 6 we see the exploitation of the poor and intimidation tactics by neighboring authorities in Samaria, Ammon and Arabia.

Around 586 BC, the Babylonians returned and took an estimated 60 to 80 thousand Judeans into exile. Sometimes oppression can rid you of your identity to the place that the only thing you have is your identity in God. What took three days of observation and 52 days of work overcame the oppression that they had experienced for over a hundred years. This is one of the most important jobs of the church, to that those who have been exiled by society and be a place of refuge so that those society has turned their nose up at are empowered to rebuild the place in which the enemy has tried to destroy.

See the Issue

As the church we have to open up our eyes to the dismay of the community around us. Nehemiah saw that his people were in a great amount of distress.

Nehemiah 1:2–3 “that Hanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.””

The walls of the city were broken down, there was a lack of protection, a lack of resources, and infrastructure that has been destroyed. This puts the people in a vulnerable place of violence and being a victim. This wasn’t a haphazard attempt to fix what has been broken. Nehemiah’s first step should be our first step anytime we see something in the community that needs fixing. We need to pray, and we need to fast, the bible states that in the midst of mourning Nehemiah was praying and fasting before the God of Heaven.

Nehemiah 1:11 “O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” For I was the king’s cupbearer.”

We Need Some Cupbearers

If we are going to change our communities we need some folks that are dedicated to service. A cupbearer’s primary duty was to taste the win served to the King as a precautionary measure to protect against poisoning. It was a daily effort of sacrifice. Furthermore, it was a like having someone on the inside. I’ll tell you today, we need people on the inside next to the folks with power in this community, just like we need people on the outside as well.

Watch this, we can’t get so comfortable on our inside job that we forget about our people. See, I have old school parents. Their mentality was go to college, get you a good government job, work for thirty years and then retire. So much so that’s what they did. My father was a police officer for over thirty years, my mother was a public school nurse for over thirty years. Get you one of those good government jobs, with benefits, take care of your family and call it a day. Look at the faith of Nehemiah, being the inside man he gained favor from the king, but he also was able to collect the resources and the support to help him withstand the people who tried to paint this narrative that their rebuilding was rebellion!

See then Act

The state or condition of our people should make us sad. No amount of money or access should push you to turn a blind eye to your people.

They didn’t just act haphazardly. The planned first.

Nehemiah 2:7–8 “Furthermore I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of the region beyond the River, that they must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel which pertains to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy.” And the king granted them to me according to the good hand of my God upon me.”

Nehemiah set a time, and garnered support! We need community support if we are going to change the community. At Genessee Avenue before I even implemented a mentoring program within Cassady elementary our Golden Wisdom ministry has been reading to the kids for over 5 years. Our goal is to show Christ, but often times we have to meet needs before we have a bible study. Feeding the homeless every first Saturday, fighting for affordable housing, it all began with a plan.

Nehemiah viewed the condition of the city and the people, understand we need some people to help rebuild but we need a visionary who can go the place of turmoil and strategically bring a plan back that we can all join in on.

The text states in chapter 2, verse 11 that he was there three days just observing. He observed at a time where he would not be seen, sometimes we have to make a plan and not tell anyone! But understand that when the people are in distress they need someone who is going to provide protection and refuge. Nehemiah 2:17–18 “Then I said to them, “You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.” And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me. So they said, “Let us rise up and build.” Then they set their hands to this good work.”

We see the problems with addiction, we see the economic disparity and folks can’t afford food and clothes for their children, we see the violence, the broken down sidewalks, the parks with trash, narcotic needles and liquor bottles! It’s up to the church to be the refuge. This past year, domestic violence has had an uptick. Our family resource center is here to provide advocacy and resources for the victims of violence. We have to address a specific need! Not engage in ministry because it’s the cool thing to do! ADDRESS THE NEED OF THE COMMUNITY!

Patience Matters

Understand that change does not happen overnight, history suggest that Nehemiah prayed and fasted for three to four months before he approached the king. Here’s the beauty sometimes waiting is harder than working, but it’s imperative that we have a plan before we start acting! Here’s the crux of the matter, no matter how desolate, no matter how debilitating life becomes God always sends a messenger to empower and encouragement to rebuild, and a Jesus that is with us to provide refuge no matter the evil around us.

What we see matters, and it’s my prayer that God sends the proper person to rebuild what the enemy has broken. Thank God that even beyond our community, in our personal lives, there’s some of us here that the walls of our life has been broken. I thank God that He sent a Jesus a Jesus of service that thought it not robbery to become like us to save us. I thank God that in the rebuilding phase of my life he sent a Jesus of compassion that has a heart for my broken condition, I thank God that He sent a Jesus of inspiration to not only inspire me to partake in the rebuilding of my life but inspire others to rebuild their life by trusting in Him.