The Deeper Restoration

I have to start today by telling you a story about my wife, Sonia. She doesn’t know I’m doing this, but trust me, it’s a good story.

This study in Nehemiah began as a heart longing in Sonia. It was at the beginning of the pandemic and she sensed that God might be wanting us to do a sermon series or some kind of study on the book. When she shared it with me, it resonated. We both knew that the book was about restoration and we both felt that God was calling us to some restorative work here in the church. Still, the timing didn’t work out and, as far as I knew, it was off the radar.

While I was taking my partial sabbatical, and I wasn’t preaching for 4 weeks in February and March, Sonia began to share again about Ezra and Nehemiah. As she did, I knew it was the right time. I can’t remember who suggested first that we do a church-wide study on the book, incorporating our small groups and the sermons. But it quickly became apparent to us that the study we wanted to do was going to be hard to find. So we decided to right it.

Now, I don’t know if any of you have ever written a small group curriculum before, but it’s a time consuming effort. Not only that, but it’s difficult, especially when we were trying to cram a 13 chapter book of the Bible into a 6 week study. But Sonia jumped in. She was reading Ezra, Nehemiah, Zechariah, Haggai, and who knows what else. She wanted to know the events, the background, the history, and most importantly the promises that God had given his people. All this while homeschooling, taking care of our family, and doing her own work. She had a fire lit under her by the holy Spirit - that’s my only explanation.

So as we entered the writing process, I had my ideas of where I wanted things to go. But I was blown away by how often Sonia was able to dramatically improve upon what I had started. It started with her understanding of the different pieces of Nehemiah and how they fit into the larger drama of God’s redemptive work in history. But it also included some incredible insights into the text, itself, and what God was doing through the telling of this story.

Why am I sharing all this?

The first is that you guys need to know what an incredible pastor you have in that woman over there. She is remarkable. Her insights in the Bible are like her insights into people and relationships and systems. She’s brilliant.

The second is that I want to honor her for all her hard work devoted to this study (and really so much more) on behalf of this congregation.

The final reason is that there was on insight she shared that, to me, is the perfect example of how well Sonia reads the word and reads our community. It’s something I had missed, even though it’s staring us all in the face. We were sitting down to discuss Lesson 5, which is based on Nehemiah 8-10. I had my outline and main points ready to go. And they were good. But she said something that reoriented my entire understanding of this passage. I was seeing the details, but she had seen those and how they created this big picture. And the she said it.

God was not satisfied to restore the walls in Jerusalem. He wanted to restore the people.

Mic drop.

Seriously, if you don’t get anything else from this sermon, I want you to walk away knowing this. God cares about the world. He cares about creation. He cares about societies and cultures and political systems. But even if he restored and redeemed all those things in this world… Even if he made our society work perfectly for the rest of time… Even then, God would not be satisfied until he restored you and me. And beyond that, he wants to restore our community.

In the western world, it may seem odd the way I just ordered those two things. For most of us, it would be natural to move from the restoration of the world and its systems, to the restoration of communities, to the restoration of individuals. That’s because we live a culture that values the individual over the community. We care more about our individual rights than our communal responsibilities, for example. But for God, the individual restoration is a a crucial step toward restoring whole communities.

We don’t need to get too caught up in this line of thinking because if we are willing to enter into our callings, and we have an eye towards restoration, both will happen. Remember, your calling is an all-encompassing mission that leads to restoration and healing for you and others. As you fulfill your calling, you will be restored. As you fulfill your calling, others will be restored. When you and others are restored, a community is restored. Besides, the benefits flow both ways - from individual to community and from community to individual.

Let’s look at the three topics in our Lesson this week, the Word, Remembering, and Obedience.

The Power of the Word in Restoration

The Power of Remembering in Restoration

The Power of Obedience in Restoration

Takeaway:

When believers submit to the word of God, when we remind ourselves of the truth of God’s faithfulness, and when we partner with the Lord in radical obedience, restoration will come in the form of a whole community aligned with God’s heart, mind, and will.