...My City
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
1 And the rulers of the people dwelt at Jerusalem: the rest of the people also cast lots, to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city, and nine parts to dwell in other cities.
2 And the people blessed all the men, that willingly offered themselves to dwell at Jerusalem.
nehemiah 11
Slide 1
1 And the rulers of the people dwelt at Jerusalem: the rest of the people also cast lots, to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city, and nine parts to dwell in other cities.
2 And the people blessed all the men, that willingly offered themselves to dwell at Jerusalem.
The etymology of the word “city” reveals the word city comes from the latin root word “civis” which is also the foundational word from which we get the word citizen or civilian. When we say the word city, our thoughts are drawn to skyscrapers, subway systems and congested traffic. However, fundamentally a city is less about structure and more about people.
Throughout the scripture in the both the New and the Old Testament, God called men to cities. Those men were not called to brick and mortar, they were called to people.
Just very briefly today, I want us to look at 3 Old Testament figures and the cities that they were burdened for.
The first city is that of Nineveh…a wicked and godless city. Historical accounts as well as Theological studies record that the particular sin of Nineveh was blatant and public acts of violence toward one another. Bloodshed, murder, rape and oppression without any call for justice or accountability. And God called a man…Jonah…Go to Nineveh…that great city. That great gathering of civilization…people and cry out against it.
Slide 2
1 Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
We are familiar with the story. Jonah runs the other way. He gets the first boat out of town headed in the opposite direction. The Lord sends a storm and prepares a great fish. Jonah is cast from the ship after revealing to the seafarer’s that his disobedience was the blame for the tumultuous waves. He spends three nights in the belly of a fish before being delivered onto dry land and again the Lord speaks to Jonah…Arise, go to Nineveh that great population and cry against the wickedness.
Reluctantly and unenthusiastically Jonah walks the streets of the city warning the population of coming destruction. A revival of repentance breaks out and God turns away his wrath and spares the city.
Abram and Lot look out over the plains…their herdsmen are fighting, their livestock competing for grounds to graze…its time to go their separate ways. Lot looks out and sees the lush plains of the Jordan. He chooses to settle and gathers his men and his herds and travels east.
IT isn’t long before we find that Lot has pitched his tent toward Sodom, a city that is described as being full of men that were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord. By the time we arrive at the end of the chapter, Lot is living in Sodom, while Abram moves his tent to Hebron.
Slide 3
Life goes on, with Abram building altars while tell us that daily Lots righteous soul was daily vexed by the godless actions of the citizens of Sodom.
the Lord sends messengers to tell Abram, he is going to destroy the wicked civilization of Sodom and Gamorah. Abram begins to intercede for Sodom and Gamporah, bartering God all the way down to if there can be just 10 righteous found, God would spare the cities.
Certain men of Judah come with dreadful news. The walls of Jerusalem are broken down and the gates of the city are burned.
Slide 4
4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,
again, Im summarizing an entire book of the bible, but we are familiar with the story…A wine taster becomes the foreman of a building project, the captain of an army and the governor of jerusalem. He faces incredible wickedness, incurs overwhelming opposition yet declares
Committal:
Slide 5
6 So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.
the writer of the book of Ecclesiastes declared
Whats the difference? Why does one man sulk when a city is spared while another man risks his very life to keep a city standing?
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter:
Why is one man unable to find 10 righteous within a city, while another man constructs walls to protect the house of worship?
a time to be born, and a time to die;
Slide 6 What makes the difference
The answer is two-fold…slide 7 ownership and influence.
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
Nehemiah chapter 11 verse 1 tells the story…Now the leaders of the people (of which Nehemiah was the top) dwelt at Jerusalem.
this is the difference between a sulking Jonah, angered that God didn’t follow through and wipe Nineveh off the map, and a stalwart Nehemiah.
this is the difference between a sulking Jonah, angered that God didn’t follow through and wipe Nineveh off the map, and a stalwart Nehemiah.
a time to mourn and a time to dance.
Though he possessed the resume of wine taster, he raises up an army and rebuilds the walls. One lives there, the other doesn’t. To Jonah its a city that he’s been inconvenience to pass through…the the other…his life, his heritage…his hopes and dreams are wrapped up within the city!
a time to keep silence and a time to speak.
You don’t pray for a city to be destroyed when your children attend school there. You don’t ask God to rain down fire from heaven and consume a city that your wife shops at the grocery store of that city.
Slide 8 Indifference is not an option when there is ownership!
And the Psalmist declared “Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in You.”
It is now time to commit Joseph Gray’s physical body to the earthly elements,
This is my city!
I realise that this time of parting is the most difficult, but before we do so however, let us be thankful and grateful for his life, remembering the intangibles – the impact of (Joseph’s) life on yours; you may bring to mind HIS smile, sense of humor, his great personality and the way he lived his life.
Nehemiah built there because Nehemiah dwelt there!
the bible says that as Nehemiah led them the people had a mind…TO WORK!! why…because it was MY CITY! When we its our city, we are willing to work!
Remember the significant moments and the fun times you had with him, the times you struggled with him and the times you as friends tried to support him.
What about Abram…righteous Abram contending for the citizens of Sodom…but unable to find 10 righteous.
What about Abram…righteous Abram contending for the citizens of Sodom…but unable to find 10 righteous.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not condemning or even questioning the intercession of righteous Abram. But Abram lived in Hebron…I have no doubt that all of those years prior, had Lot chose to dwell in Hebron and Abram dwelt in the plains of Jordan…it would have been a different story in Sodom…I don’t think it would have been difficult to find 10, 20, 30, 40, even 50 righteous in Sodom…
You will remember (Joseph’s) life by the memories he leaves behind.
you can pray for a city that you don’t live in, but you can’t change a city that isn’t yours. You can intercede from without but you can only influence from within. Six times, in Genesis chapter 18, Abraham pleads with God and the emphasis of his prayer is that God would spare the city. From without, you can ask God to spare a city…
Slide 9 but I don’t want God to just spare my city…I want God to save my city.
But most of all, remember him with love as long as you live.
Nehemiah changed the condition of Jerusalem because he lived there. They rebuilt the walls…by the end of the book of Nehemiah, the city is occupied, the walls have been dedicated and worship has been restored…Because you can influence what you occupy!
Slide 10 We must understand that influence will cost us something.
Lot could have…Lots kids graduated from Gamorah High School. His kids attended Sodom community college....Righteous lot could have influenced a godless city…the bible says his soul was daily vexed…tormented…tortured…He was willing to remain there but not motivated to make a difference there.....BUT....Lot wasn’t willing to pay the price, and instead of moving the wicked cities toward righteousness, he was daily vexed…he wasn’t willing to pay the price of influence. Influence doesn’t come just because you live there…it comes when you are willing to pay the price.
I find it striking that Abram, who lived in Hebron, pleaded with God for Sodom, more than Lot who lived there did. Just because you live there doesn’t make it “your city”. But when there is ownership, there will be influence. When it becomes more than the city that I live in, and it becomes “my city”, the price of influence will be paid.
Influence comes with a cost. For Jerusalem to be transformed from broke down ruins to a fortified, occupied place of worship…the cost was great to Nehemiah.
Well what did it cost him, you might ask? It cost him comfort. It cost him convenience. It cost him familiarity.
Nehemiah had no construction experience on his resume, yet he would be the foreman of the project. He had no military background, yet he would be the captain of the army...no political precedent, yet he would be positioned as the governor of Jerusaem…
Slide 11 Because when this is “my city”…you will do whatever needs to be done to save it!
When its my city, I may just be a servant to the king, but I’ll build, I’ll fight, I’ll govern, I’ll lead...
This is Slide 12 MY CITY!!
Those of us who feel deeply, will grieve deeply. No philosophy or religion ever taught to us can prevent this wholly natural reaction from the human heart.
I see many slogans and church campaigns…we’ve even done them ourselves… “i love my church”…but God didn’t call us to a church, he called us to a city…he saved us and redeemed us…he placed us within the church…but he put that church within the city to reach the citizens.
We must decide will we be like Jonah that walks the streets of the city, but cares little what becomes of the city/
Will we be Lot who lives among the wicked, but is unwilling to pay the price of influence and in so doing is daily vexed by the ungodly?
or perhaps we might be like Abram, who was righteous and prayed great prayers that God would spare the city.
Jonah hoped for the destruction of their city
Abraham prayed that God would spare that city
Abraham prayed that God would spare the city
Lot silently suffered silently within the city
Lot remained silent within the city
But Nehemiah prayed and worked for the salvation of his city.
But Nehemiah prayed that God would save the city!
My declaration is that we will be a nehemiah church. This is MY CITY.
My declaration is that we will be a nehemiah church. This is MY CITY.
My prayer is not that God will spare my city…it is that God will save my city.
I want to do more than beg to find 10 righteous, I want to work from within the raise up a city that is righteous.
We will live among the ungod
Whatever it takes…save my city!
Whatever it costs…save my city!
We come into this world with nothing and we leave with nothing. But the memories we leave behind with our family and friends are a mark of our life’s success.
Whatever I must do…It may cost me comfort....it may cost me convenience...
Nothing can detract from the joy and friendship you shared with Joseph
Nothing can possibly affect the happiness and depth of experience that he himself knew.
prayer for the family
Committal
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to God’s merciful care our husband, brother, uncle, (Joseph Gray); and we commit his body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
I now turn the service to the funeral director