Nehemiah and the Calvary Construction Company: Passion

Calvary Construction Company

#1 Person of Passion

Nehemiah 11:1-11

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Introduction:

With this message I am going to challenge you to be a rebuilder for the Lord. In a sense, I’m trying to form the Calvary Baptist Church Construction Company specializing in rebuilding, repairing and restoring lives, family and communities. Over the next few weeks we will look at the passion, planning, opposition and power of God’s most famous rebuilder, Nehemiah, as he rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem.  The same qualities which he had to possess or find are also needed if we are to rebuild the ruins we find around us.

Background of the Work Nehemiah 1:1-3

The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, 2 That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. 3 And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.

The ruins of Israel

Nehemiah was the king’s cupbearer. This was a position of great power and responsibility. He was and advisor to the king, trusted because he was also the king’s food taster and often in charge of the king’s finances and held the keys to his treasure. The cup bearer, over time evolved into what we now would call a Prime Minister, the first servant of the king.

Nehemiah was in Shusan a city where which was the winter residence of the Persian Kings and he dates his writing as the 20th year from the time that Artaxerxes began to reign. This would be in the year 445 BC.

 Nehemiah had a visitor, his brother Hanani, who had just returned from a trip to their homeland and the city of Jerusalem. Nehemiah was eager to hear the news because a few years before in 458 BC, Artaxerxes had allowed some of the Jews under the priest Ezra and the governor Zerubbabel to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple and the houses they would need to live in. Jerusalem had lain in ruins for over 140 years since being destroyed by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar. So, for 13 year Zerubbabel and Ezra had been back in Jerusalem rebuilding the city and so Nehemiah was excited to hear how the work was going.

But what Hanani told him was not the news he must have been praying to hear. Vs. 3 “The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.”

Jerusalem and its inhabitants, all that remained of the once great nation of God and the city of David, was still open to the dangers of attack from enemies, outlaws and even wild animals.  The city that once held the Temple of the God of Heaven was still laid waste. Where once silver was as common as stones in the reign of Solomon, now wild animals roam the streets at night.  Where once was heard the praise of Solomon’s wisdom now was heard the laughter of derision from Israel’s enemies.  Where once a beautiful temple had stood filled with the glory of God now no stone stands atop another and empty mount is filled with the only the sound of the wind.

Scripture Psalm 137:1-6 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.  We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.  For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.  How shall we sing the LORD'S song in a strange land?  If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.  If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.

Facing the Ruins Around Us

Do you have to be a preacher to see a parallel between the condition of Jerusalem in the time of Nehemiah and the condition of nation today? Is it a stretch of imagination to not see the connection between the nation of Israel that had turned their back upon God and suffered the loss of God’s protection and blessings and our own nation turning its back upon God and seeing His blessings being removed from us?

Nor is it just our nation that is suffering without God. People are suffering, their lives broken down and wrecked by drugs, alcohol, sexual impurity, sexual insanity. Lives that are riddled with selfishness, pride, apathy, loneliness and sorrow.

Families are laid waste by bitterness, misplaced priorities, financial ruin and the ignorance on what makes a family strong and able to endure. Families are under attack from enemies of morality, common decency and anything that God has ordained in the past.

Churches are needing to be rebuilt, morally they have grown weak and worldly, spiritually they have grown hard and unyielding and materially they have become fat and lazy.

What the Lord told John to write to the church of Laodicea applies to most churches and their members in this nation of rubble today.

Scripture: Revelation 3:14-18 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; 15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

There is a real need for restorers and rebuilders in the Lord’s work and through the Lord’s churches. There is a need for rebuilders here in our own church and in our own community. We need a Calvary 

Construction Company rebuilding for the Lord.

Illustration: Abraham Lincoln’s call for fasting and repentance

Our nation has been at such crisis many time in the past and we have turned to God to rebuild and restore. During perhaps the darkest hour of this nation's history, in the midst of the Civil War, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution asking President Abraham Lincoln to appoint a day of national prayer and fasting. Lincoln issued the following proclamation on March 30, 1863 designating April 30, 1863 as a national day of humiliation, prayer and fasting.

Whereas, the Senate of the United States devoutly recognizing the Supreme Authority and just Government of Almighty God in all the affairs of men and of nations, has, by a resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for national prayer and humiliation: And whereas, it is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history: that those nations only are blessed whose God is Lord:

And, insomuch as we know that, by His divine law, nations like individuals are subjected to punishments and chastisement in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates the land, may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole people?

We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious Hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.

Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!

It behooves us then to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.

Transition: In our passage, this morning after Nehemiah hears the news and reacts strongly.

Burden of the Work   Nehemiah 1:2-4

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,

Nehemiah is Broken by Jerusalem’s Brokenness

After Nehemiah hears the news from his brother about the condition of his beloved city, his people and his friends his heart is broken and he collapses in sorrow and hurt before God.  Probably Hanani brought news that not only was the city rebuilding not going forward but that things had grown worse. At this time, there were marauding bands of outlaws and petty chieftains who were preying on the returned exiles. The very hope of rebuilding Jerusalem was being destroyed.

It was Nehemiah’s heartbreak, and pain that would move him to give up his place in the King’s palace, his role as the kings most trusted servant, his power in the elevated position he held and forsaking it all set his face toward the work of rebuilding Jerusalem.

 Are You Willing to Risk Brokenness?

If you are to be a rebuilder, or as we are phrasing it, a member of the Calvary Construction Crew, then you must realize what it will cost you. You must be willing to be broken by the burden which will come in this kind of work.  Being a rebuilder for the Lord is not a task lightly undertaken.  It is not playing at being a Christian, it requires the true spirit of a willing servant and the real sacrifice of all we hold as precious. It must all be given to God, fully and willingly.

You must understand the principle of being broken for God in order to be used by God as absolutely necessary and that it is clearly taught throughout God’s word. Let me give you just one verse of scripture.

Psalm 126:4-6 Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.  He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

I know that verse is often used to talk about soul winning but that is not its context. It is the prayer of the nation of Israel for God to bring them back and restore their nation. It is a Psalms of brokenness and sorrow, of passion and through that passion the power of God can be released to his people. The key condition in the verse to seeing their return is going out in tears, carrying hope and a precious seed and in that sorrow and hope knowing they will return.

For us as Christians wanting to rebuild lives around us we must be willing to risk your emotional safety, bear the precious seed of the gospel in order to reach out to those whose lives have been shattered by sin.

ILLUSTRATION:  Richard Baxter "The Need of Personal Revival"

I know not what other think, but for my own part I am ashamed of my stupidity, and wonder at myself that I deal not with my own and others souls as one that looks for the great day of the Lord; and that I can have room for almost any other thoughts and words; and that such astonishing matters do not wholly absorb my mind.  I marvel how I can preach of them slightly and coldly; and how I can let men alone in their sins; and that I do not go to them, and beseech them, for the Lord's sake, to repent, however they may take, and whatever pain and trouble it should cost me.  I seldom come out of the pulpit but my conscience smites me that I have been no more serious and fervent.  It accuses me not so much or want of ornaments and elegancy, nor for letting fall and unhandsome word; but it asks me, "How couldst thou speak of heaven and hell in such a careless, sleepy manner?  Dost thou believe what thou sayest?  Art thou in earnest, or in jest?  How canst thou tell people that sin is such a thing, and that so much misery is upon them and before them, and be no more affected with it?  Shouldst thou not weep over such a people, and should not thy tears interrupt thy words?  Shouldst thou not cry aloud, and show them their transgressions; and entreat and beseech them as for life and death?" Me thinks we should not speak a word to men in matters of such consequence without tears, or the greatest earnestness that possible we can; were not we too much guilty of the sin which we reprove, it would be so.

Truly this is the peal that conscience doth ring in my ears, and yet my drowsy soul will not be awakened.  Oh, what a thing is insensible, hardened heart!  O Lord, save us from the plague of infidelity and hard-heartedness ourselves, or else how shall we be fit instruments of saving others from it?  Oh, do that in our souls which thou wouldst use us to do on the souls of others.

Transition: Back in the first chapter of Nehemiah, our rebuilder begins to work the first thing he does is not to gather material or men or money but the first work is to go to God.

Beginning the Work Nehemiah 1:5-11

 And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:  Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.  We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.  Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:  But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.  Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.  O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.

NEHEMIAH GOES TO GOD.

In his brokenness Nehemiah went to God.  It was here in God's presence that he begins the work of rebuilding Jerusalem by turning first to God.

Nehemiah’s going to God were two very specific and strong actions, he fasted and he prayed. He does this because he realizes the work of rebuilding a wall, rebuilding the tribes of Israel, restoring the nation of God is beyond him and must be empowered and directed by God himself. It is God’s work and he is being called into that work, but God must supply the means and the power or it will not be done.

 Strength Comes From Going to God

As Nehemiah, if we are to be builders and restorers in the Lord’s work then we must have a burden and a passion for the work. We must also see our need for God’s power and His intervention in the work He has called us into. That means we must pray. Our first impulse is always to just jump in and get started, but in the pattern in the Bible is that before God’s chosen servants begin the work they always pray. Pray flows from our passion and it must precede all that we hope to accomplish for God.

Quote: Oswald Chambers – We make prayer the preparation for work, it is never that in the Bible. Prayer is the exercise of drawing on the grace of God.

If we are to be rebuilders here at Calvary Baptist church then just like contractor in the real world before you can build you must have money to finance the building. Prayer from a passionate heart is the financing, it is drawing on the funds of grace to begin the work.

I must prayer as Nehemiah and so many other rebuilders prayed for God’s power. Notice some things about this prayer.

Prayer contained praise of God Nehemiah 1:5
 And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: 

Prayer contained confession to God Nehemiah 1:5-7 
  Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.  We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. 

Prayer contained an appeal based upon God's promises Nehemiah 1:8-9
 Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:  But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.

Prayer contained an appeal based upon God's relationship Nehemiah 1:10 
 Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.

Prayer contained a plea for God's power Nehemiah 1:11
 O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.

I must pray but that is not all that Nehemiah did. He like many others in God’s service have done, also fasted. So, then I also must understand the purpose of fasting. There is a lot of talk about fasting today, for health reasons, weight loss and for Christians spiritual reasons but there is not a real understanding of the basic purpose fasting serves in the life of Child of God.

Fasting first of all in its most basic and simplest form is to abstain from eating. Knowing that though does not explain why fasting is often tied to pray and serving God. How does going without food make me more effective in God’s work?

I think the answer is in Isaiah 58:4-9. Here God, through Isaiah, gives the purpose for fasting by correcting the false hypocritical fasting of the those in his times.
 

“Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.  Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?  Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?  Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?  Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.  Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;

Therefore, the purpose of fasting is not just the idea of going without food but the greater idea of being so devoted to the task that the Lord gives us, that we put aside things like food that will let us then devote ourselves more fully to the work, to show our devotion to the calling of God. Have you ever been so involved in a task that you just don’t want to eat, just don’t want to let anything else interrupt what you’re doing? That is the idea behind fasting in the Lord’s work.

For us as members of the Calvary Construction Crew, this may mean an actual fast or it may mean the cutting off of something which hinders our walk and work for God.

I may need to fast from the distractions of television, movies, music or the internet so that I may devote my full attention to God and His work. Being a rebuilder requires concentration and much of my time, therefore somethings must be dropped, a fast not of eating but of those things which keep us from drawing close to God and seeking His help and power.

And we must seek the power of God for without that power we will not succeed.

Psalms 62:5-8 5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.  6 He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved. 7 In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. 8. Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.

Illustration:  David Livingstone

Was a world-famous missionary. He said this about sacrifice for God and His work, “People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa.  Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply paid back as a small part of the great debt owing to our God, which we can never repay?  Is that a sacrifice which brings its own reward of healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter?

Away with such a word, such a view, and such a thought!  It is emphatically no sacrifice, say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering or danger now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause and cause the spirit to waver and sink; but let this only be or a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall hereafter be revealed in and for us.  I never made a sacrifice. Of this we ought not to talk when we remember the great sacrifice which He made who left His Father's throne on high to give Himself for us."

CONCLUSION

This morning I’m not launching a new program or a new direction for our church. I believe that just as Nehemiah saw the need of his nation, we just need to look around us and see the need as well. There are crumbling ruins that surround us. Ruined lives, ruined families, ruined neighborhoods, cities and even a ruined nation. They are ruined not by politics or welfare or drugs but by something much more basic to our nature. The ruin of lives now and eternally is sin. It is the root cause of the terrible loss of so much we should care for. Sin that separates us from God and from God’s blessings. Sin that can only be overcome by God’s grace and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I’m not creating a new program I’m simply trying to remind all of us that if we are saved then we are called by God to be rebuilders by telling others of Jesus Christ, His sinless life, His death on the cross, taking our place and His resurrection from the grave that proved sin and death could not hold Him.

Do you know that grace today? Have you been rebuilt in the power of God’s love? If not then today is the day to experience the power of grace.

If you have been saved, then I stand here today to tell you that you are also called, called to be a rebuilder in God’s work of saving lives and through those lives, families and through those families, communities and through those communities, a nation. Let it begin today by going to God and asking Him to begin that work through your service and sacrifice today.