THE RESTORATION OF PURPOSE

REVIEW

Nehemiah’s name means “Comforter”, he is the type of the Holy Spirit. The rebuilding of the wall is a picture of the restoration of the life of the believer.

Identify the truth, rebuke the lie, double down.

Nehemiah was always building with purpose in mind.

Before you were a person, you had a purpose in the heart and mind God. To find that purpose you must both understand His heart and know His mind.

Nehemiah Chapter 7

Nehemiah 7:1–3 NLT

1 After the wall was finished and I had set up the doors in the gates, the gatekeepers, singers, and Levites were appointed. 2 I gave the responsibility of governing Jerusalem to my brother Hanani, along with Hananiah, the commander of the fortress, for he was a faithful man who feared God more than most. 3 I said to them, “Do not leave the gates open during the hottest part of the day. And even while the gatekeepers are on duty, have them shut and bar the doors. Appoint the residents of Jerusalem to act as guards, everyone on a regular watch. Some will serve at sentry posts and some in front of their own homes.”

Understand the context: Nehemiah has built the wall; he has risked all, travelled far, confronted many, fought opposition, and labored hard. So what now?

If Nehemiah doesn’t understand why God called him, he will begin to make bad decisions.

If the wall is just for safety, he would begin to now live for safety.

If the wall was for beauty, he would then paint and decorate the wall.

If the wall was the end game, he would have worshiped the wall.

If the purpose of labor was to allow rest, he would have rested.

If the purpose of the wall was for his personal comfort, he would have made himself comfortable.

If the purpose of the wall was to bolster his ego and provide for his well being, he would have built himself a position.

If the purpose of the wall was the aquisition of power, he would have secured his title.

Nehemiah did none of these things.

What did he do?

Nehemiah 7:1 NLT

1 After the wall was finished and I had set up the doors in the gates, the gatekeepers, singers, and Levites were appointed.

He insured that the structure was in place to restore the purpose of the city, the worship of God.

Nehemiah 7:2 NLT

2 I gave the responsibility of governing Jerusalem to my brother Hanani, along with Hananiah, the commander of the fortress, for he was a faithful man who feared God more than most.

He began to reproduce / replace himself. He did this a step in protecting what God had done.

Two things are important here:

Everything that God restores has to be protected. We are always only one generation away from destruction.

If there were only one prayer which I might pray before I died, it should be this; “Lord, send thy Church men filled with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.” Give to any denomination such men, and its progress must be mighty: keep back such men, send them college gentlemen, of great refinement and profound learning, but of little fire and grace, dumb dogs which cannot bark, and straightway that denomination must decline. ~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon June 12, 1864

Think of the great denominations or organizations of history and how they have deviated form the teaching and character of their founders.

Conrad Hilton vs. Paris Hilton

What did Nehemiah look for in a leader?

Hananiah - He bore the burden for the ministry over a long period of time and allowed that burden to determine the course of his life.

Hanani - “...he was a faithful man who feared God more than most.”

The leaders of any organization, church, ministry, or team, must fully embrace the vision and burden of the team, and they must demonstrate their faithfulness over a give period of time. How much time? How important is the vision? Jesus prepared for over 30 years.

What his leaders weren’t chosen for:

The blind obedience to their leader.

Their ambition.

Their talent.

Their prominence.

Their wealth.

He choose them for was their fear of God, willingness to work, and history of faithfulness to a vision.

What is division? It is more than one vision. The personal over the corporate.

To embrace a personal vision at the expense of the corporate, is to deny and hinder the purpose of the work of God. It always ends in the harm the people, the frustration of God’s purposes, and destruction of the person sowing the discord.

Nehemiah 7:4–5 NLT

4 At that time the city was large and spacious, but the population was small, and none of the houses had been rebuilt. 5 So my God gave me the idea to call together all the nobles and leaders of the city, along with the ordinary citizens, for registration. I had found the genealogical record of those who had first returned to Judah. This is what was written there:

The wall was not about labor and service, though it took both to accomplish. The wall was not about the city, though it established it. The wall was about the people, and the worship and testimony that they would give to God.

So how did Nehemiah rebuild the people as he had rebuilt the wall?

He began setting up a structure for leadership and direction.

He established and restored their identity as the people of God’s heart and purpose.

Nehemiah chapters 6-65 shows the registration of the people.

Today we could liken this to our church membership covenant, which is the first step to leadership at Living Hope.

PERSONAL IDENTITY: First he insured that they understood who they were in God, or in our case, not who we are, but whose we are.

CORPORATE IDENTITY: Then he then established their place in the family of God.

After he established that they were followers of God, faithful to the corporate vision and proven in purpose and labor, he observed who was practically supporting the vision.

Nehemiah chapters 70-72 we see all the people becoming involved in the protection of the city according to their means and measure of grace.

Leaders must be faithful. Leaders must lead. You can’t lead where not faithful.

God’s kind of faithfulness always leads to God’s kind of fruitfulness and benefits others.

To allow unfaithful people to lead is to unsure the destruction of any organization or church.

Faithful to corporate worship.

Faithful in giving.

Faithful in serving.

Faithful to the vision of the house.

But what is the standard of faithfulness?

Are you as faithful to the body as you are to yourself?

Nehemiah 7:73 NLT

73 So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the Temple servants, and some of the common people settled near Jerusalem. The rest of the people returned to their own towns throughout Israel. In October, when the Israelites had settled in their towns,

The committed covenant believer is someone who puts the kingdom at the center of their purpose and this is reflected in every aspect of their life.