Nehemiah 2:9-20 Joining God's Work

Intro

How can you make sure you don’t waste your life?

Are you living only to serve yourself

That you live for something that actually matters instead of merely existing for 75-80 years going about your life day in and day out before dying in obscurity.

Now, almost all of us will die anonymously. Chances are, we will never do something so important, so noteworthy, that it will place our names in a history book or cause us to be remembered even 150 years after our death.

But as we continue our study of Nehemiah in chapter 2:9-10, we are going to see that even though we might not be remembered in the history books, we can still use our lives for something that has eternal significance.

Nehemiah will show us that instead of living our lives to serve ourselves and bring glory to our name, God invites every single Christian to live for something far more important.

instead of wasting our lives, we can live a life that matters because God invites us join Him in his work to save sinners.

Context

Nehemiah had gotten a report that the Jews that had returned from exile were in danger and disgrace because the walls of the city had been destroyed.

This was a big deal because Nehemiah knew that God had brought his people back from exile so that they would worship him and be a light to the nations.

But now, God’s people and the Temple where he was worshiped was in danger.

So last week we looked how Nehemiah went to King Artaxerxes and was given permission to go to Jerusalem with the king’s blessing and supplies to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

And this was proof that God was working in Nehemiah to bring glory to his name and save his people because And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.

And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.

God was working to save his people to be a light to the nations so that all the world might be saved.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

And Nehemiah leaves the king in Susa and travels to Jerusalem to join in God’s work to save sinners and begins with wise preparation.

1. Preparation to Begin God’s Work

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. 10 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.

9 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. 10 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.

On his way to Jerusalem, Nehemiah makes a quick stop to talk to the governors of the province Beyond the River.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

The province Beyond the River was the area located to the west of the Euphrates River

For the Persians who were east of the Great River, this area was ruled by regional governors who managed the day to day affairs of the region and collected taxes and tribute for the king and Persian Empire.

You have to remember the situation Nehemiah is walking into here.

The whole reason Nehemiah is on this trip is because, years earlier in , the people who lived in the Province Beyond the River convinced King Artaxerxes that the Jews were planning a rebellion against Persia when they tried to rebuild the wall the first time.

Because of this, Artaxerxes ordered that the wall be destroyed with “force and power” ().

So Nehemiah wisely goes to the rulers of these people groups to show that this time the Jews were building with the king’s blessing.

And to prove it, Artaxerxes had even sent with Nehemiah an army.

And after giving the letters to the governors Nehemiah notes that Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant were not happy about the king blessing the Jews rebuilding effort.

Sanballat was the governor of Samaria which lies to the north of Jerusalem and Tobiah was a powerful leader of the Ammonite people to the northwest of God’s people.

If you look at these regions on a map, Nehemiah is beginning the rebuilding effort on somewhat tenuous ground.

God called him to lead his people to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem so that God’s people would be protected, worship him, and be a light to the nations.

Then, before he even gets to Jerusalem, he has two men who lead people who border Jerusalem opposing him and the very thing God had called him to do.

This reminds us that following the Lord isn’t always doing the easy thing.

Some Christians assume that if God has really called them to do something, to some act of obedience, that it should just come easy.

And any time they face opposition they immediately assume that God isn’t faithful or that he is “closing a door” in their life

But Nehemiah reminds us that joining God in his work is to be engaged in a spiritual battle. Following the Lord is an act of faith.

This is why Paul said in Romans that the righteous shall live by faith.

In other words, we live with a trust and dependence on God to accomplish his purposes in our lives.

When God has called us to do something we must persevere regardless what opposition we might face.

Whether the opposition is our own sinful flesh or sinful people who what to keep others out of the kingdom of God like Sanballat and Tobiah we press on in faith just like Nehemiah.

Now Sanballat the governor of Samaria is kind of the ring leader of Nehemiah’s adversaries throughout the book. And why exactly are Sanballat and Tobiah so opposed to Nehemiah arriving to seek the welfare of Israel?

First off, this was a threat to their power.

If Jerusalem was given greater independence by having a wall, it might shift the balance of political power and influence in the region towards the Jews and they might lose their place.

To understand that we need to go back to the book of Ezra.

As the Jews were rebuilding the temple, the people of Samaria came to them and said “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria who brought us here.” 3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Now the Samaritans were cousins to the Jews. Basically, when Assyria conquered the northern kingdom Israel, they took most of of the Jews out of the land and took them into exile

In their place, they brought in pagan people groups to live in the land.

Some of the Jews who were left in Israel intermarried with these pagan peoples creating a new race called Samaritans.

You’ll remember Jesus speaking to the woman at the well in John 4.

Samaritans believed the worshiped the One True God of the Bible because they kept many of the traditions of the OT. But they also blended in enough pagan worship practices that Samaritan worship become something distance from both Judaism and Paganism.

It would be like a Christian church joining with Buddhists and Muslims to create a whole new religion while still claiming to worship Jesus.

So in when these people come to offer the Jews help to rebuild the temple, the Jews flat out say not a chance.

The Jews were just now returning from exile which God had sent them to because they failed to worship him in spirit and in truth. Instead of worshiping God as he had shown them, they turned to idols and mixed worshiped of God with their false gods just like these Samaritans had done.

Therefore, rightly desiring to be a people holy and set apart for God alone, the Jews rejected the Samaritan’s help and from their the Samaritan’s convinced Artaxerxes that the Jews were rebelling against Persia which led him to destroy the first rebuilding effort that Nehemiah is now trying to fix.

The point was simple, God’s people knew you can not mix the holy with the profane.

This is why Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and there is no eternal life outside of him.

Its not like you can mix a little Jesus with a little karma and still claim to be Christian.

For God its the whole heart or nothing.

God has saved a people that are set apart from the world to worship him alone, and true Christian churches cannot claim to worship God while still valuing and loving the same things the world loves.

So Nehemiah, confident that God is the one who will ultimately accomplish his work no matter the opposition, leaves from there and finally makes it to Jerusalem.

So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. 12 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. 13 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. 14 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. 15 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. 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.

11 So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. 12 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. 13 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. 14 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. 15 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. 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.

After arriving in Jerusalem, Nehemiah goes on a secret mission at night to inspect the walls surrounding the city.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Even though he knew that God is the one who had put it in his heart to restore Jerusalem and that God would accomplish this work, he did not want to present the people with a half baked plan.

If he was going to lead God’s people to accomplish this monumental task, he wanted to be sure he knew how to lead most effectively to accomplish God’s purposes.

Remember, Nehemiah’s mission was to restore Jerusalem to the city of God.

This was where God’s Temple resided on the earth. It was the place where sinners could come and worship the Living God.

So Nehemiah rebuilding the walls was not just an act that would serve as protection for God’s people, but it also symbolized God building a people for himself to bear witness to his glory.

To be a light to the nations and proclaim the God would pursued sinners in order to save them.

God is not interested in raising up hero leaders who do all the work of the kingdom while the masses sit on the sideline.

Nehemiah was just one man and if he was going to accomplish God’s work, then God’s people were going to have to be involved.

After inspecting the walls, Nehemiah finally goes to the people to invite them to join in God’s work.

2. Invitation for Others to Join God’s 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.” 18 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.

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.” 18 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.

Nehemiah calls out to the people and reminds them the great trouble they are in.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Jerusalem lies in ruins and because of this God’s light to the nations sits barely lit.

Nehemiah knew Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain, 2 beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King. 3  Within her citadels God ]has made himself known as a fortress.

Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised

in the city of our God!

His holy mountain, 2 beautiful in elevation,

is the joy of all the earth,

Mount Zion, in the far north,

Jerusalem was to be the joy of all the earth because it was there that God had revealed himself. It was there that God made himself known to the nations through the worship offered in his Temple

the city of the great King.

3  Within her citadels God

Nehemiah is reminding Israel that the walls so that the praises of God would once again ring out from Jerusalem.

has made himself known as a fortress.

So he says Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Another way of saying that we may no longer suffer derision is saying that we may end this disgrace.

The reason Nehemiah was urging the people to work together to rebuild the wall was not for political independence or to lift himself up as the great hero.

He was urging them to end their disgrace which dishonored God.

The reason the walls were destroyed in the first place is because God’s people were faithless and worshiped idols.

The broken walls were a symbol reminding the world that even God’s own people did not believe he was worthy of their sole devotion.

Not only that, but the walls remaining broken down were actually bringing shame to God’s own reputation.

It said that God either:

Cared nothing for his people who lived in the city, in which case, who in the world would want to follow such a cruel, unloving God

Or that he was not strong enough to help his people. And if God isn’t strong enough to save, then why follow him anyway.

The broken down walls did not look like they belonged to a city of the great king that the whole earth rejoices to see like mentioned.

Instead, the surrounding nations would look at this God as weak and ridicule those who trusted in him.

The ruined walls were a representation for God’s own character and they were bringing disgrace to his glorious name.

The same thing happens today. If you have a neighbor who doesn’t take care of their lawn, you think that are an absolute deadbeat.

That is exactly the kind of reputation that God was being given every day his people allowed the walls to lie in ruin.

But Nehemiah didn’t stop there. He gave the people confidence that God was at work on their behalf saying 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.

Nehemiah testified that God was at work to again save his people and bring glory to his name and it was proven in the fact that King Artaxerxes, the very king who destroyed the walls, the first time the were rebuilt, was not backing and bankrolling the whole project.

If God was not involved in this work on behalf of his name and his people, how in the world could this have happened?

After hearing Nehemiah’s invitation to join God in his work and bring glory to his name, God’s people enthusiastically join in.

And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.

And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.

But just like today, positive vibes and good intentions are not enough to live out God’s purposes in our lives.

We also need faith for endurance to carry out God’s work because we will face opposition.

3. Faith to Carry Out God’s 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?”

Sanballat and Tobiah come back on the scene and with them a third adversary joins them.

We are told his name is Geshem the Arab.

Geshem was a man who was able to unite multiple Arab tribes in the regions of Moab and Kedar and was named king of Kedar.

So you have Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem opposing the people of God by mocking them with scorn and ridicule. They were trying to frighten the Jews out of joining God in his work by saying What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?

Don’t you remember what happened last time you tried to build the walls? We were able to convince the king to let us come and destroy them. Do you really think that same thing isn’t going to happen again?

You see, Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem knew Nehemiah had permission from the king to build the wall. However, they also knew if they could dissuade God’s people from joining him, then it would never get done because Nehemiah was only one man.

Now at this point things were getting pretty dicey. Looking again at the map, with Geshem coming into the picture, God’s people are not surrounded by their enemies.

The people had strengthened their hands for the good work, but were they strong enough for this?

So Nehemiah responds to his enemies and encourages the people saying...

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.”

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?” 20 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.”

Notice Nehemiah doesn’t freak out at the first sign of serious opposition. He is man of faith.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Notice also that his trump card for his enemies is not his letter from the king giving him permission to rebuild the walls.

Instead he says that God himself will help them accomplish the task because it is his work in the first place.

Nehemiah doesn’t resort to trusting in his gifts, resources, or circumstances to give the people confidence that they will succeed.

He reminds them that their God is faithful to them. And because God is faithful to them, they are going to serve him by rebuilding the walls.

And he closes out with a strong claim to his enemies saying you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.

He was clearly telling Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem and the people that followed them that they were not part of God’s people no matter how much the might have claimed to worship him.

Nehemiah is clearly drawing a line between the people of God and their enemies.

No matter the opposition they face, he is determined to obey God and lead God’s people to glorify God’s name by rebuilding the wall.

It is so easy to give up prematurely when we are trying to serve the Lord.

People give up on their marriage.

Give up on the friends or their church when things get to messy.

Give up on holiness when the temptation is just too hard.

But Nehemiah is showing us that if we are relying on our circumstances or resources we have in ourselves, we will always fall short of God’s best for us.

The only way we can endure and join God in his work in our lives is if we walk with him by faith.

BIG IDEA

The big idea of this passage is that God is at work in the world to bring glory to his name and he desires his people to join him in that work by faith.

This is what Nehemiah was leading God’s people to do in rebuilding the wall even in the face of intense opposition, but what does this mean for us today?

What is God doing in the world today, and how can we join him in that work?

What Is God’s Work?

Remember that God was working through Nehemiah and his people to rebuild the wall in order that Israel may once again be a light to the nations and proclaim God’s salvation to the world.

God’s work is to bring his salvation to the ends of the earth and he ultimately does this through Jesus Christ.

The way the Jews were a light to the nations was because they were proclaiming and waiting on God’s Messiah, the savior of the world who would free his people from their sin and bring them into God’s kingdom.

Jesus Christ is this Messiah and he is the light of the nations. The one who came to earth, lived a sinless life on our behalf, died in our place for our sins under God’s wrath and rose again to bring salvation to God’s people.

As Isaiah prophesied “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant

to raise up the tribes of Jacob

and to bring back the preserved of Israel;

God in his grace and mercy did not limit his salvation to the Jews. e said that it was to light a thing for Jesus to only save the Jewish people.

I will make you as a light for the nations,

that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Instead, he brought salvation to the whole earth so that all the nations might worship God and praise his name.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Jesus even said concerning himself I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

God’s work is to bring people out of darkness and into the light of life.

Like Paul said in , He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

When we put our faith in Jesus, when we turn from our sins and ask God to forgive us and help us to worship him with our life, God saves us.

He brings us out of darkness and into his kingdom to be a part of God’s people.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

If that is God’s work, then how do we actually participate in it? Isn’t God the only one that can actually save people?

How Do We Participate In God’s Work?

Before he ascended into heave, Jesus told us that the way we participate in God’s work is by making disciples of all nations.

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

This is the mission of every true, biblical church that has ever existed.

According to Jesus there is no wiggle room. If we are going to join God in his work to save sinner, then we must participate in the Great commission by making disciples.

But here’s the problem. I think the prevailing understanding of how we participate in the Great Commission is solely through personal evangelism, but I want you to see how the Apostles responded to Jesus’ Commission.

In , before Jesus ascended he made it clear that Apostles were not to make a move until they had received the Holy Spirit. Only after the Spirit fell, would they be empowered to be Christ witnesses to the nations and carry out the Great Commission.

Well in , The Spirit falls, Peter preaches, 3,000 people get saved, and the Apostles immediately organize these believers into a church. Then they go from there and plant more churches that plant more churches and they never stop.

The Apostles ministry was a

What this tells us, is the primary means of fulfilling the Great Commission is not personal evangelism. Personal evangelism is an outworking of God’s people joining in the Great Commission.

Instead, the Apostles saw that the best way to carry out God’s work was through local churches.

It is through local churches that disciples are made and God’s people join God’s work to save sinners.

To put it more bluntly, you cannot grow in your discipleship unless you are a member of a local church. The New Testament understanding is that a Christian who is not intimately part of a local church is a contradiction in terms.

It is in churches that individual Christians are discipled toward maturity and it is from churches that new works and church plants should go out and make disciples.

So, how do you join God in his work, you engage in and orient your life around your discipleship in a local church.

Every church’s process for making disciples is a little bit different but let me share with you what ours is here at Metro.

1. Commit to God

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

This is where we see that because Jesus died on our behalf, we now live to glorify him.

This means we as a body are committed to personal holiness.

We seek to repent of our sin and worship God as revealed in the Scriptures with our whole life.

And one of the biggest contributors for our personal holiness is gathering together to worship on Sundays.

Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

This is about our personal holiness. How we have all been made holy by God in Jesus Christ so that we can live holy lives.

23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Let me let you in on a little secret. You cannot grow in personal holiness without gathering with other saints to worship God.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

If you want to join God in his work, then the worship service of your church must be a priority for you.

Consider what we do here together.

We sing songs that magnify God and his work in Christ to save us

We hear the word of God preached to learn who God has revealed himself to be in glory

We take communion remembering the great lengths God has gone to forgive us our sins in the first place

Everything we do here on Sunday morning is designed to remind us that the God we worship is worthy of all of our worship. Not just a part of it.

It is in worshiping God together that we each see how worthy he is of our praise. We see how holy and exalted he is and in seeing his glory together our paltry sins lose their luster and we grow in personal and corporate holiness.

Attending worship services with God’s people is the first step in growing in your discipleship because in gathering together to hear the word preached sing praises to God, and take communion, we are encouraged and encourage one another to commit to God and give our whole life to him in worship.

2. Commit to the Body

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Paul says that the only way for the body to build itself up is when each part of the body is working properly.

How can a part of the body work properly if it is disconnected from the body.

Committing to the body is going beyond just attending a worship service. It is committing to others to take a vested interest in their lives and walk with Christ.

The purpose of the body is to help us corporately grow to be like Christ.

For our church this looks like getting plugged into biblical community.

True biblical community is not necessarily everyone being best friends. Those are social clubs.

Biblical community is being committed to one another in such a way that says, “I care about your walk with Christ and will do whatever I can to help.”

You can have biblical community without being in a particular ministry because all biblical community really is is following Jesus together, but at our church we have some avenues to help commit to the body.

There are community groups that meet throughout NWA during the week to study God’s work and pray together.

Our Women’s Ministry desires to help connect women so that they can grow to be biblical women who glorify God.

There’s MSM which is our student ministry so our kids can make their parents faith their own.

There are also different serve teams like Fit, Security, or Little Metro which all help to make our Sundays run in a way where people can encounter God and commit to him.

Most importantly, Committing to the Body means becoming a church member.

How can you be a part of the body if you aren’t actually a part of the body?

How do we know how to obey all the “one another” commands given to the church if we don’t know who one another actually are?

Becoming a church member is says I’m committed to this place and to God’s work here so that I can grow in Christ and help others do the same.

3. Commit to the Mission

Like we’ve been talking about, God’s work in the church is to save sinners and glorify his name.

Committing to the Mission means you are committed to what our church is doing to make disciples.

First here in this place by Committing to God and Committing to the body

And second, by committing to what our church is doing beyond these walls.

The first way this happens is through our financial giving.

; For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also... No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Jesus believed that what is truly most important to you is shown in how you use your money.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

The Bible talks about how God is the one who provides all things to all people.

So in a very real sense, our money is really his money.

God gives us our money to steward as best we can for his purposes and his kingdom.

And one of the ways we steward our money is by giving it for the purposes of the kingdom.

Consider that giving your tithes and offerings is not just something we do in church culture, its actually a way we say, God your kingdom is more important than my kingdom. Use my money to serve your kingdom.

God doesn’t need your money. He owns all things. He wants your heart.

When you give to the church, you are furthering the proclamation of the gospel here in this place which benefits your spiritual life as well as beyond as we try to give our money as a congregation towards missions throughout the world.

Another way we commit to the mission is through personal evangelism.

But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

Paul saw the purpose of his life as sharing the gospel with others so that more people might be saved.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Do you see the personal responsibility God has given you to be a light to others of his gospel?

You have been given the joy to not only grow in your own discipleship through the ministry of the church, but to invite others into freedom from sin and eternal life as you proclaim the gospel.

Committing to the Mission means asking, How am I leveraging my life to expand God’s kingdom any way I can?

This is our process for discipleship. How do you join God’s work like Nehemiah and Israel did in their day? You commit to your discipleship in Christ.

Where are you at in the process?

Is God calling to commit to him by repenting of your sin and putting your faith in Jesus to save you from your sins? Or maybe asking you to commit to him by taking a new step of faith in your life?

Is he leading you to commit to the body so that our church would have another part of the body functioning properly so that we can be built up in love?

Or is God showing you ways you can commit to the mission? Is he calling you to trust him with your finances and to let go of the idol of your bank account or maybe to reach out to that friend, family member or coworker for a cup of coffee to share with them the gospel of Jesus Christ

Conclusion

Nehemiah returning to Jerusalem to invite God’s people to join in God’s work shows us that God desires to reveal his salvation to the world through his people.

To be a servant of the Living God doesn’t mean you have to be a pastor or church leader. It just means you have to join in God’s work to save sinners through the gospel of Jesus Christ

God invites each and every one of his people to join in what he is doing, to live a life that is bigger than themselves.

He invites all of us to not waste our life but to give it towards something that matters. The salvation of sinners through Jesus Christ.

Nehemiah was sent to rebuild the walls so that Israel could be a light to the nations. Jesus, the Messiah long hoped for by the Jews became the light for the nations in his life, death, and resurrection.

And today, God invites every Christian to join in his work by growing in their discipleship in local churches that bear witness to the gospel as lights to the world.

May God give us the grace at Metro Church to join his work and bring glory to his name.

Reading: 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Reading: 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .