UNITE: Part Three- 'Back To Square One'

Week Three of A Series On Unity & Leadership.

Recap of Series:

Over the past three weeks we have been looking into the life of one of the most promiment leaders that this world has ever seen: Nehemiah.

-In week one we looked into the Nehemiah’s example of leadership. He identified a problem, knew he could do something about it and he did it. In the midst of fixing a broken wall, his leadership determined the unity of a whole nation of people. Our leadership too determines unity (Neh. 1:1-2:5c)

-Last week we journeyed alongside Nehemiah as he began to put the crews of people together to rebuild the walls in Jerusalem. They began to make very quick progress! However, as they began to rebuild the walls opposition quickly set in. Seeing this, we noted that in our lives opposition arises as good things happen. (Neh. 2:11-6:15)

-Tonight: we’re going to wind this series down by looking at moving foward after the wall has been completed. Put simply, it’s this: continuity comes from unity.

Historical Background:

We will be in Nehemiah 13. Here is what you need to know as you turn there.

The wall has officially been rebuilt.

The Israelites are resettled back in Jerusalem.

Nehemiah Is The Governor of Judah (the nation that Jerusalem was in). So, he has left Jerusalem and been gone for about twenty years.

Before he left, Nehemiah had things in top notch shape. The people were working together and taking care of all the things that needed to be taken care of.

THINGS WERE GOOD!

But, what happens next is something that we are all going to experience in life.

Life Changes

Things in life will never simply stay put or just go endlessly right even after they have for a moment become right.

In 2016 Lauren Akins, wife of Country Music star Thomas Rhett took a trip to an Orphanage in Uganda. While she was there she describes the time as being super life-changing: here’s why. Lauren went on the trip to be a good samaritan and to spread some positive vibes across the planet. As she arrived to the orphanage she had laid hands on a very young baby girl. She said that as she held the baby the feeling became “electric” and that she knew the whole purpose of her going to Uganda was to find that baby girl a forever home.

Later that night, she facetimed her husband and was telling her all about the experience and he said that he had a crazy spiritual moment and said “well bring her home!”

They weren’t planning on having kids for several years...

Two weeks later they were talking to adoption agencies and getting everything together that they needed to bring home that sweet baby girl.

Little did they know that after a short year of having their newly adopted baby girl, Willa Gray, that Lauren would become pregnant with their second baby!

The only way they can describe it, is… hey, Life Changes!

The same is either true in your life already or I can promise you, it will be! Not that you will go to Uganda and adopt a baby, but, life will change!

You will at some point move out of your parents house. Life Changes!

You will at some point get sick or hurt! Life Changes!

A Friend will move schools! Life Changes!

You will drop your phone in the toilet! Life Changes!

You will have your first sweetheart! Life changes!

There Are Three Forces Constantly At Work To Ensure This:

1. Human Restlessness

We have a restlessness in our heart that is constantly working to resist change.

Eliashib beginning to bargain our God’s Temple in is prime example of this. Things were good, why would they change? Because our human nature takes over and tries to improve even if it leads us to destruction (Neh. 13:4-5).

2. God’s Energy

God is always working to transform people into a true Christlikeness and into a more mature holiness of life.

Therefore, sin won’t remain. God is refining us day after day.

Nehemiah returning to Jerusalem was a God send. God could have easily wiped the city out but instead sent Nehemiah.

3. Satan’s Energy

Directed to corrupting the good things God has made & the good work that He is doing.

Remember, oppositions arise as good things happen.

Satan’s greatest delight is whispering a certain sin in our life is okay. It is in that moment that we listen to satan that we get another inch of separation between us and God which can have eternal consequences tied to it.

Satan’s constant attacks on the church, and God’s refusal to give up on it guarantee us to see disappointments alongside periods of encouragement.

3 Truths About Church That We Need To Notice:

1. Mountain Top Moments Cannot Be Maintained

Matthew 17:1- The transfiguration of Jesus

This moment that the disciples shared with Jesus was truly a once in a lifetime experience. They were taken up on a mountain by Jesus and saw Him in full glory talking to Moses & Elijah. This doesn’t just happen! It was a spectacular moment!

However, Jesus didn’t allow the disciples to stay on top of the mountain in view of the spectacular event. The disciples and Jesus descended down the mountain after a short while.

This shows us that God doesn’t permit his people to live on the mountain top. Not that God hates us or wants to be away from us, but imagine the type of greedy we would become if that happened.

Just as a parent doesn’t let a child consume candy all the time, so God takes us away from the mountain tops.

Nehemiah 13:10-28 gives us an account of Jerusalem on its way down from a spiritual high.

Note: Nehemiah had been gone for about 20 years; the memory of a mountain top was no longer vivd and zeal for God’s praise & glory was no longer a driving force of the people.

2. Conformity To The World Is A Consistent Snare

The best place for a ship to be is the sea, however, when the sea gets in the ship it means disaster.

The same is true of the Christian life.

This call for us to be separated from the world and unseparated from God constantly goes unheard or unheeded, just like in Nehemiah’s time.

Romans 12:2

3. Discipline Is A Constant Need In The Church

Discipline is a matter of putting people on the right track rather than dwelling on the fact that they were wrong.

Part of our discipline as a StuMin is to continue to raise up strong leaders who will continue to unite God’s people.

The reason being is this: continuity arises out of unity. Unity arises from strong leadership.

This is your call to stand up and be the strong leader!