Sermon Tone Analysis

Is it just me or have you ever noticed that loving people isn’t easy?

example

example

But relationships is what life is all about!

And while there will be projects to be accomplished and goals to be achieved our focus should not be on what is to be done, but on who we’re doing it for and who we’re doing it with.

Nehemiah is known as the man who led the nation of Israel to rebuild the great walls of the city of Jerusalem, which was no small achievement, but Nehemiah’s motivation wasn’t accomplishing a huge task.

His motivation was rebuilding and rejuvenating a community.

His focus was on relationships!

And then in Chapter 3 we have an entire section filled with strange names, a variety of societal categories, lists of local leaders, descriptions of assignments for commuters, and jobs completed by various families.

We won’t read the entire section but read through the chapter at some point and highlight everytime you see the phrases, “next to him,” “next to them,” “after him,” “after them.”

Those phrases are used 28x’s!

Nehemiah 3:

Every person was in place!

With a few exceptions, everyone was involved in the work!

(V.5) “The nobles did not lift a finger.”

There’s always that ONE guy!

Nehemiah recognized the value in every individual in Jerusalem.

His focus was on relationships!

Nehemiah was an encourager!

He was a people person.

His heart was for people.

In chapter 3 alone, Nehemiah mentions 75 people by name!

And in many cases he recognized their accomplishments!

He mentioned at least 15 different groups of people… (priests, levites, goldsmiths, specific families, etc…)

He knew people.

He knew where they worked.

He knew where they lived.

This of course took time and effort.

What does it tell us?

It tells us that while Nehemiah would accomplish great things, his greatest achievement was his ability to prioritize relationships and move people toward unity and love for one another.

Bottom Line:

Our focus isn’t on accomplishments or achievements but on relationships.

Life is all about relationships!

Verse 9 shows us that Nehemiah understand something that the surrounding Governors didn’t understand.

“seek the welfare of the people of Israel”

Nehemiah understood WHY life is all about relationships.

Sanballat and Tobiah didn’t have Nehemiah’s perspective on relationships.

They viewed people as

opponents to conquer and control

objects to manipulate and use

obstacles to avoid and dismiss.

But Nehemiah knew that people matter.

That they are loved.

They are useful.

They have a future.

And he was going to be the one to tell them!

Nehemiah knew that...

Relationships fulfill our need to love and be loved.

That’s what love is.

Love is seeking the welfare of others.

This is the GOSPEL!

That God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners (devoid of love) Christ died for us!

Our need to love and be loved is ultimately fulfilled when we begin a personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus and then as we walk in that relationship we start to understand just how significant relationships are.

Just how necessary it is to love and be loved.

And this is also why loving people isn’t easy.

Because we don’t always want what’s best for someone else.

We don’t always seek the welfare of others, like NEhemiah.

Maybe it’s because we think it will limit our influence.

Maybe it’s because we’ll lose control over someone or a situation.

Maybe it’s because we’ve been hurt and don’t want to be manipulated or wounded again.

Maybe it’s because they don’t deserve to be loved.

But the fact is, we need to love and we need to be loved.

Many experiments have been conducted in recent years to demonstrate that the need to love and be loved is one of our basic and fundamental needs!

One of the forms that this need takes is contact comfort —the desire to be held and touched.

Findings show that babies who are deprived contact comfort, particularly during the first six months after they’re born, grow up with severe psychological damage.

If we don’t live a life of love, nothing we accomplish matters.

(Show image of Nehemiah’s midnight ride)

The historian Josephus recorded the circumference of JErusalem’s walls at about 4.5 miles.

So Nehemiah is taking quite a long ride here in the middle of the night.

Other sources tell us that after Nehemiah’s reconstruction project the walls were 15ft thick and 12 feet high.

Rebuilding the walls and the gates was a big job!

You can’t take your accomplishments with you.

Your achievements won’t matter when you’re gone.

But Nehemiah knew...

How you invest in your relationships will last forever.

What did the wall represent?

Why was rebuilding the wall so important?

The walls represented safety.

The walls represented significance.

The walls represented strength.

The walls represented identity.

The walls represented unity.

The rebuilding of the walls was all about relationships!

Connection.

You can’t live a life of love and be disconnected from people!

Least of all, God’s people.

Every human is wired for relationships, and if you are a child of God even more

God’s relationship with his people AND

The relationship of God’s people with each other AND

THe relationships of God’s people with everyone else.

TRANSITION: In the same way that Nehemiah was called by God to bring restoration and renewal to Israel, you and I are called by God to bring restoration and renewal to our communities.

God’s chosen ones.

I love that!

Chosen for what?

For connection.

For relationships.

Above all, put on love!

Let God’s love flow through you to those you live with, work with, and worship with!

(Picture of Cory Long in Chester)

Show concern for the people around you.