The Mystery of Marriage
Notes
Transcript
Ok church if you have your Bibles, and I hope you do, grab them and head on over to Nehemiah 2:9. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover today. Last week we started chapter 2 and today we will finish it and chapter 3.
By way of quick reminder, Nehemiah has made the request to go to Jerusalem to lead in the rebuilding of the walls, and King Artaxerxes has given him a thumbs up. We looked at that moment extensively last week and we spent time thinking about the window of time between chapters 1 & 2, which was about four months. In it we saw two things, that Nehemiah made the best use of his time waiting on God to open the doors for him to make the ask by planning & praying.
Today, we pick up the story with Nehemiah making the journey back to Jerusalem, surveying the situation, calling the people to work and them beginning it, and dealing with some opposition. We won’t cover the opposition as much today because we’ll see them later on in the book. So with that brief refresher, I’m going to read Nehemiah 2:9-20, we’ll pray and then jump into it.
Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.
So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode. I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass. Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work.
Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work. But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.”
This is God’s Word for God’s people. Thanks be to God. Let’s pray
If you’ve been around Liberty for a minute then you have heard me use the phrase, “The why is more important than the what.” I learned that phrase back when we lived in NC, but honestly was never real sure as to where it came from. I did a little digging and it seems to have been formulated from a TED talk given by Simon Sinek and made popular as more and more businesses have sought to develop mission, vision, and value statements.
At Liberty, we have such statements. So let’s start this morning with a little quiz…what is our mission statement? “We exist to glorify God by making disciples in Dalhart and around the world.” That’s one we say pretty regularly around here and we do so for a reason. That statement tells us why we do what we do and what the goal is of what we do. We also have values. Now this one is a little more challenging because we don’t often communicate these, but who knows what our values are?
We value a welcoming environment, expositional preaching, gospel culture and intentional discipleship. We even have behavioral and action statements. We behave biblically, prayerfully & lovingly. We do all of this to exalt God, equip believers, and evangelize the lost.
Most churches and business have similar statements. They are essentially the why behind the what. They tell us why we do what we do, and then they tell us what we do.
In the last part of Nehemiah 2 we find a similar moment. Nehemiah doesn’t necessarily give a defined mission statement to the people of Israel that they would put on a banner and carry around to remind the people as to what was going on, but he does give the people a reason to work, a way to work, and a goal of work. Those are the three things we’re going to look at this morning: a reason, a way, and a goal of work. Starting with
A Reason to Work
A Reason to Work
Nehemiah has received the approval and support of King Artaxerxes. He begins his travel to Jerusalem and along the way we see the first sign of trouble—Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite. They’re bothered by Nehemiah and his posse’s mission. The story, however, quickly moves on and Nehemiah arrives in Jerusalem. Since he had the kings army & horsemen with him there would’ve been no doubt as to his arrival. He wasn’t coming in quietly; his arrival carried a certain amount of gravitas. But when he arrives, he doesn’t make a big deal of it. He quietly, and wisely surveys the situation. He doesn’t communicate with others as to his purpose, he just goes about his business of planning—which as we saw last week, is a spiritual act.
With his mind wrapped around the situation and a plan in his head he calls the people together and he gives them a reason to work. Look back to Neh. 2:17
Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.”
The people are in trouble. Jerusalem hasn’t been rebuilt, there’s no wall to protect it, and because of all of the external destruction not only are the people at risk, but they’re being mocked by outsiders.
Why had the people allowed the city to dissolve into such ruin? While the answer doesn’t come directly out of Nehemiah 2, the books of Ezra-Nehemiah give us some clues. Complacency in their current situation, lack of leadership, constant opposition and mockery, oppression, laziness, possibly even a lack of supplies all could have contributed to current state of God’s city and God’s people.
And while all of that may have been true, do you remember what we looked at last week? God was faithful from the beginning to the end. Many of the people currently residing in Jerusalem were exiles that had come back with Ezra or Zerubabbel previously. The others had lived there after King Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed the city about 100 years before. Even if they hadn’t experienced the destruction, the exile and the return of the people, they had heard the stories of the work of God in time’s past, and if God in his faithfulness had provided for his people previously, then what would prevent him from doing the same now?
The real reason for the state of Jerusalem and the people of God wasn’t external challenges, it was internal faith. The kingdom of God had not been realized in their hearts. What was true internally was reflected externally. This is why Nehemiah followed up his statement about the observation of things in verse 17 with his testimony in verse 18…
And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good…
Regardless of the external circumstances, the people had forgotten about the faithful God who had called them to be a part of building His kingdom.
We sit on this side of the cross, and yet destruction still remains. Look at the news and you learn that Iran has killed an estimated 5,000 protestors. Last Sunday, Cities Church in Minneapolis was in the middle of their church service when protestors marched in during the middle of the service. I’ve read stories this week of violent criminals being protected that should be deported while at the same time there’s stories of abuse and misuse of authority by agents who are supposed to be protecting the American people, not wrongly arresting them.
That’s a snippet of global and national news, but what about when we look internally at our own lives. How many people this morning are trapped or affected by addiction, depression, brokenness, complacency, or inability here in this room, let alone in our city? Destruction still remains. The people of God still suffer derision, and the why is still the same: the kingdom of God has not been realized in the hearts of people.
If the Kingdom of God hasn’t been realized in the hearts of people and Christ hasn’t come back to establish his eternal reign then that can only mean one thing: God is not done building His kingdom. And it’s important that we understand that—it’s God who does it, but he does it through His people. One author (Raymond Brown, BST) points out that Nehemiah teaches us two vital elements about the doctrine of God here: his transcendence and his immanence.
Where does Nehemiah point out God exists? Verse 4 & verse 20 of chapter 2—He’s the God of heaven. That’s God’s transcendence. He transcends over all things. Yet at the same time he is immanent. “The hand of my God that had been upon me for good.” While God exists in heaven he is presently active in and through His people.
So as long as destruction & derision remains the people of God have a reason to go to work. God is not done building His kingdom. That’s your reason. And the way He does it now is the same way he did it in Nehemiah—through His people. The difference is instead of building walls around a city He is redeeming hearts and minds; He is restoring families and marriages; He is meeting practical needs of people; He is transforming communities; He is doing exceedingly, abundantly more than all we could ask or imagine and He is doing it through His people. The question is, will you echo the words of the Israelite people, “Let us rise up and build,” or will you sit in your current state saying it just is what it is; The job is too big; the work is too hard; my situation is unredeemable; I’ve been like this for too long; the cost is too great; this means I have to get uncomfortable and vulnerable. Will you make excuses or will you go to work on the mission of God to see the kingdom of God built? Nehemiah reminds us there is nothing that is too big for him. He transcends all things and is immanently present in them too, and because of who He is and what He is doing we have a reason to work.
The second thing Nehemiah shows us in these verses is a way to work.
A Way to Work
A Way to Work
Now, can I ask you and obvious question? Where has Nehemiah been for the entirety of his life? With King Artaxerxes! He hasn’t been in Jerusalem. Yet when he calls the people together what is the first thing he says?
Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.”
I had the joy of exchanging some messages this week with Brian Pate, our missionary in Brazil. I’ve never been down there. If I walked into his church and saw issues I think the first thing I’d say is, bro, you have a problem. Yet Nehemiah says, “Look at the trouble we are in.” He identifies with the people. Not above them. Because while Nehemiah’s mission was to build walls, his purpose wasn’t just about building a place, but a people. And in order for that to happen he had to come alongside them, just like Jesus did for us.
You see, our problem is that we are no different than the Israelite people in the book of Nehemiah—we can’t see God or follow God. We have a predisposition toward sin and a lifelong habit of committing sin. So what did God do? He came to us, not as one greater than us, but actually as the least among us. And then He was crucified for the very sin that we continue to commit. But in identifying with His people he was able to pay the price of his people so that he might shape a people for himself.
To follow Christ then isn’t just to say prayer, it’s to actually become like him. It’s to assume His identity because when you believe in him that’s what He bestows on you—His identity! He makes you His—not by any work you’ve done or who you are or where you came from, but because of who He is.
We then live that identity out by living like him…coming alongside others in the midst of their trouble and showing them a greater hope. Church it makes my heart happy to say that it has been my experience here that you do well in identifying with people. In fact, just this week I had a meeting with several families in this room as to how we can strategically meet and care for the needs of others who are in a tough situation. There was no arrogance or superiority, but a position of “you see the trouble we are in.” The planning and the praying was focused on how we, Liberty, could take on the needs of others as our own, just like Christ did for us.
Nehemiah identified with the people, but I think it’s worth taking a moment to see the people he identified with. Look back to Neh. 2:16
And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work.
Essentially, that’s everyone. When we look ahead to the next chapter we see these people in action. We aren’t going to read all of chapter 3 because there is a sense of redundancy there, but the Spirit inspired and the Lord has kept it, so it is important for us to look at and understand. Chapter 3 list all of these people working alonside one another to build the wall. There’s several things that jump out from this chapter to me.
Neh. 3:1 “Then Eliashib the high priest rose up…”
Neh. 3: 8-12 “Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, goldsmiths, repaired…Hananiah, one of the perfumers…Jedaiah repaired opposite his house…Shallum..ruler of half district of Jerusalem repaired, he and his daughters.”
I point these out because you see the high priest, the goldsmiths, the perfumers, the rulers of districts, & the daughters of those men all went to work building the wall. Some of these people you would think had no business participating in this work. They didn’t have the skills, the experience, or the know how. Yet because they understood that God was not done building His kingdom they went to work together because God accomplishes His mission through His people. No one was left out except for one group.
And next to them the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord.
We don’t know why the nobles wouldn’t participate. Maybe they were afraid. Tekoa was near the area Geshem the Arab ruled, so maybe they thought he would attack them if they participated. Maybe they disagreed with Nehemiah and either what he was doing or how he was doing it. Maybe they felt they were too old and that they had served their time. It was time for younger people to step up. Maybe the felt they were too busy and their job being nobles put them above the work of building a wall. We simply don’t know their reason, but we all read that verse and what we see is that pride is what really prevented their participation. Pride is what kept them from mission. Pride is what kept them from community and pride is what kept them from serving their Lord, which implies that they truly weren’t servants of the Lord.
Nehemiah shows us that the first way we work is together. The second way we work is with structure. As the building of the wall continues problems begin to arise. I’m getting a little ahead of our text today, but as the people build the wall threats and challenges begin to mount. Nehemiah realizes that he needs some people to serve as soldiers protecting and others to focus on building. Yet even the ones building must be ready for war. Then as then once the wall is complete he stations men along it to serve as watchmen and others at the gates to serve as guards. Different people had different roles.
I find it interesting how Nehemiah led the people and how God brought structure to provide support is carried over into the New Testament. In Acts 6:1-7 Pentecost has happened. People are being saved left and right. The church is growing. The mission of God is continuing, and all the sudden it becomes too much for the apostles. The Hellenist widows aren’t being cared for, and the apostles now are not able to do what God has called and gifted them to do. So in Acts 6:3 the disciples are instructed to
Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
Throughout the rest of the letter of Acts and Paul’s & Peter’s letters we continue to find that as churches are established elders shepherd and deacons serve. At Liberty we have sought to follow that biblical pattern. This morning it is with great joy that I get to present to you our 2 nominees for the 2 diaconate roles that need filled. The deacons and I have met and we would suggest that Jaime Puga serve as the Deacon of Grounds & Justin Bolte serve as the Deacon of Facilities. We will give two weeks and then we will have a vote for these guys to serve in these rolls.
If there is something that we haven’t considered or do not know, then I would ask that in the next two weeks you would speak to these men directly or to myself about it. We have prayerfully consider them and spent time with them and feel the Lord is leading us in this.What makes me even more joyous is that these aren’t the only two guys who are qualified to serve. There are more and were more men who were ready, willing, and able, and for that I’m grateful.
But the other thing Acts, Timothy, Titus and Peter point us towards is elders or pastors. I use the term synonymously. We are an elder led church and currently I am the only elder, however, this morning I’m also glad to present to you two men to serve in the role of elder elect. That is Dustin Peterson and Frank Lowen.
Now I want to bring a little clarity here, because if you search throughout the NT you don’t find the role of elder elect. So what is it? Why are we doing it? and What are they going to do?
If you’re a member of Liberty you know these two men. If you’re not a member of Liberty then you likely know them or at least recognize them. They have both served this church for a number of years in a number of ways with Frank currently leading our youth and Dustin serving as deacon of member care. Serving alongside of them is one thing, submitting to their leadership and pastoral care is another.
As God has grown and shaped them he has put in them a desire to serve in this roll, but looking at it from the outside and wanting it and stepping into it and doing it is another. This is where the role of “elder elect” comes in. Our aim is to take the next 12 months—yes I know that’s a bit of a long time—but to have a more focused and intentional look at these 2 men so see if they meet the qualifications for the role.
For the sake of time, I’m going to send out an email this afternoon seeking to answer the questions what this role is and what they will do? But for now
Biblically speaking, you can find those qualifications in 1 Tim 3., Titus 2, 1 Pet. 5, and even get an idea here in Acts 6. But to summarize them there’s 4 areas that we, you, me, and our deacon body will look at these men with a different set of eyes than before.
Character
Competency
Conviction
Chemistry
Character-Do they meet the biblical character traits?
Competency- Do they have the skills or can the skills be developed in them?
Conviction - What do they believe? What hills will they die on and how do they respond when those convictions are challenged?
Chemistry - Can we work together? This last one is more for me than the church at large, because chemistry must exist amongst an elder team.
What will they do? Our plan is for them to continue serving in their current roles. Regardless of whether or not Dustin becomes an elder, at the end of this year he will step down as a deacon of member care. Not because they’ve failed, but because they’ve served in that role for quite a while, done a fantastic job, and there are others who I think can serve in that role. If he becomes an elder, elders cannot double serve as a deacon.
Frank will continue to lead our youth and seek to disciple them.
I have put together a pretty intense Elder application and reading list. It will take us every bit of 12 months to get through it. I am going to do my best to train & develop these men with a little more focused intentionality through reading and writing. And I’m going to seek to bring them into pastoral conversations and thought processes. I will bring them with me as I seek to pastor you.
But for now, an impactful statement my brother once said to me was, “a pastor isn’t a position, its a person.”
Ultimately, what I’m calling us to today is to see if these men are that. Not perfectly. We’re under-shepherds to the good shepherd. He alone is perfect. But we are asking, is Christ being formed in them? Can I trust them to care for my soul? Can I submit to their guidance and leadership?
At the end of 12 months—ideally at our praise, pie, and pots of soup in November/December we will have come to a decision together. It might be yes, it might be no; or it might be not yet. All 3 answers are a gift of grace from God. It brings clarity to us and to them.
God gives structure to his people to protect them and to serve them. That’s what He did for Nehemiah. That’s what He did for the NT church. That’s what He’s done for us. The way we work is together and with structure. The why we work is because God is not done building His kingdom. But what about the goal of all of this? What is the goal of our work? That’s our third observation from Neh. 2-3 this morning
The Goal of Work
The Goal of Work
Now, you’re a smart group of people and knowing our mission statement you can probably deduce where I’m going. So I’ll be quick on this one.
Look back with me to Neh. 2 real quick and I want you to notice something of this chapter. I’m going to back up all the way to Neh. 2:4 that we covered last week.
Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.
Now look down a little further to Neh. 2:8 Just the last sentence after Nehemiah has made his ask.
And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.
Or look at Neh. 2:12 when Nehemiah describes where his desires came from
Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem.
Then, we’ve looked at this already, but Neh. 2:18 after he’s called the people to work
And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good,
One last time in Neh. 2:20
Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper,
Constantly, throughout the narrative, where is Nehemiah taking our eyes back to? The God of heaven! The focus isn’t the walls, the state of the city, the unity of the people, the jeers of the opposition, or even Nehemiah’s wise and good leadership. The focus of the narrative is God. As John Piper famously quipped once, “Mission exists because worship doesn’t.”
The reason we get up and go to work is because worship doesn’t exist. The Kingdom of God hasn’t been fully realized. When we work together with structure and purpose worship multiplies. It was true in Nehemiah. It was true in Acts. Look at Acts 6:7
And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
Because God was faithful then, what would prevent him from being faithful now. Past grace empowers present hope. Our hope isn’t in us, but in God’s faithfulness to us. That faithfulness calls us to work. It calls us to pray. It calls us to plan. In fact, that’s the main point this morning. God’s faithfulness calls his people to worship building work.
MPT: God’s faithfulness calls his people to a worship building work.
SO the question for you is, will you join it?
For some of you, you might be realizing that you’ve never been a part of the people and you need to join by repenting and believing in the Christ who came to you. If that’s you today, I’d love to meet with you after the service.
For others, you might be realizing that you need to join the church. I plan to launch a Life at Liberty class here in a few weeks. That’s part of our process for becoming a member. I’ll have more details on that in the weeks to come.
For some of you, you’ve been like the Tekoites, not willing to stoop to serve the Lord. The Lord’s patience hasn’t grown thin. Repent and go to work.
Lastly, for some of you, rejoice. God’s faithfulness is what called you and it’s what will keep you as you seek to be a part of His worship building work.
Nehemiah’s leadership was effective. The people came together to work. The walls were built and later in the book the people of God came together to worship. On the outset it might look like it was because of Nehemiah, or because of the effort of the people. But worship really happened because God’s good hand was upon them. That’s our hope. Let’s pray.
