Build: Returning

October 25, 2022

Series: Build

Book: Nehemiah

Bible Passage: Nehemiah 7:1-73

Before we started North Village Church I worked in larger churches where you would sit in a room until someone said, “We’re ready for you.”  Then I would walk out on a stage.  I would teach the bible.  I would pray.  I would go back to my safe little room, and that would be my role on a Sunday morning.

After a few years the Lord started stirring in my heart, “I want to be with the people.  I don’t want to hide in a room behind the stage.  I wanted to be shoulder to shoulder with the body of Christ” so the Lord led us to start North Village Church in north central Austin.  About 9-months into the life of North Village Church and being with the people I started to think to myself, “I miss that safe little room.”

Why?  It’s because people are messy.  Tasks are easy.  Tasks are clear.  Tasks have a beginning and an end.  But people are complicated.  People have different personality types.  People have different communication styles.

Some people are more personal than others.  Some people want you to ask about the most detailed parts of their life and some people want you to keep your distance.  Some people want direct communication, and some people are uncomfortable with direct communication.

People are complicated in marriage.  People are complicated in friendships.  People are complicated in families.  People are complicated at work.  People are complicated in the local church.

In our passage this morning we are going to see something similar.  In our passage of Nehemiah 7 we see the wall and the gates have been completed but it’s easier to build a wall than it is to build up the people living inside the wall, so that this morning we are going to see three sub-points; 1. The Role of Leadership.  2.  The Role of Boundaries.  3. The Role of the People.  Let’s look at our first sub-point; 1. The Role of Leadership.

  1. The Role of Leadership.

Nehemiah 7:1, “1 Now when the wall was rebuilt and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers and the singers and the Levites were appointed,

If you are new this morning, then you need to know the book of Nehemiah is in the Old Testament.  The book of Nehemiah is about the history of Israel.  The person Nehemiah is living in a foreign land when Nehemiah hears of the broken-down walls and burned down gates of Jerusalem, that’s Nehemiah chapter 1.

In chapters 2-6 of Nehemiah, we see Nehemiah gather resources, go to Jerusalem, rally the people, rebuild the wall, take on opposition from without, within and all around, so that last Sunday we saw the culmination of all their efforts as the wall is completed.

Nehemiah 6:15, “15 So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of the month Elul, in fifty-two days.”

The length of the wall is about 2.5 miles.  It stood about 40 feet tall and about 8 feet wide, and it was completed in 52 days, which is amazing.  You might think the book of Nehemiah should end in chapter 6 but in chapter 7 we see it’s a lot harder to build up a people than it is to build up a wall and it’s because working with people is messy, which is why the role of leadership is so important.  Look at verse 1 again:

Nehemiah 7:1, “1 7 Now when the wall was rebuilt and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers and the singers and the Levites were appointed,

Nehemiah completed the wall and appointed leaders within the city.  The gatekeepers were usually posted at the temple gate but because of the vulnerability of the city and the hostility in the area Nehemiah establishes gatekeepers at the walls of the city because every city needs to be aware of who enters the city and who exits the city.

The singers in the city would have been those who lead the people in worship, because at the heart of what Nehemiah is doing is to build up a people who worship the God of Scripture.

The Levites were descendants of Levi, and the Levites were to assist the priests in the preservation of God’s Word, because the people of God need to know God’s Word.  The people of God need to hear God’s Word.  The people of God need to teach God’s Word.  The people of God need to sing God’s Word, enjoy God’s Word, so that we know God is creator, we are sinners, and the hope we have in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.  That’s why the role of leadership is so important.  Look at verse 2:

Nehemiah 7:2, “2 then I put Hanani my brother, and Hananiah the commander of the fortress, in charge of Jerusalem, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many.”

We don’t know a ton about Hanani and Hananaiah but we see these two men are known for two clear characteristics; being faithful men and fearing the Lord.  Can you think of any two better characteristics?

Everyone wants to do great things in life, but God’s Word teaches us to be faithful with the little things first.  Luke 16, he who is faithful with little will be faithful with much.  Therefore, no matter stage we are in life, no matter what resources we have been given, let us not get distracted by the job we don’t have, the friends we don’t have, the spouse we don’t have, the children we don’t have, the resources we don’t have, but instead let us rejoice at what we do have and be faithful.

The Lord has given us Himself, let us be faithful to grow in our relationship with the Lord.  The Lord has given us His Word, let us be faithful to get into His Word.  The Lord has given us a place to live in Austin, TX, let us be faithful to take care of that place.  If the Lord has given us a job, marriage, children, friends, then let us be faithful to those areas.  He who is faithful with little will be faithful with much.

And we want to be men and women who fear the Lord.  Please don’t minimize the fear of the Lord to awe and reverence.  It is awe and reverence, but it is also fear.  If I called you on the phone and whispered into the phone, “Fear me.”  It would be scary, therefore, why would we not have a fear of the One who holds all of creation in His hands?

It is the God of Scripture who brought judgment in the flood.  It is the God of Scripture who brough judgment at Sodom and Gomorrah.  It is the God of Scripture who dropped Ananias and Saphira to the floor when they lied in the book of Acts.  It is the Apostle John who dropped on his face like a dead man when he stood before the glory of Jesus.  Therefore, might we be men and women who fear the Lord.

Nehemiah knows you can have walls and gates but if you don’t have leaders in the city who are committed to the Lord then it’s all in vain.  This is true in Nehemiah’s day, and this is true in our day today.  This is true as a country.  This is true as a state.  This is true as a city.   This is true as a local church.  This is true at the family level, and the reason we have the problems we have today is because we don’t have men and women who are faithful and fear the Lord.

Our culture wants to create this illusion that people can just love each other and nothing else matters.  Our culture wants to create this myth that we should accept people no matter what and everything will fall into place.  Our culture wants to cast this vision that all truth is relative, and we should all just do what is right in our own eyes but that doesn’t work practically.

No, a city, country, church, friends and family are all shaped by its leaders at every level, therefore, every man, woman, and child this morning needs to be thinking about the types of leaders we are today and the types of leaders we are becoming.  Are we growing in faithfulness with the little things?  Are we growing in our fear of the Lord?  Let’s look at our second sub-point; 2. The Role of Boundaries.

  1. The Role of Boundaries.

Nehemiah 7:3, “3 Then I said to them, “Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot, and while they are standing guard, let them shut and bolt the doors. Also appoint guards from the inhabitants of Jerusalem, each at his post, and each in front of his own house.”

In the context of verse 3 we see Nehemiah giving direction on how to utilize the wall and the gates from a practical perspective.  You would typically open the gates at sunrise and close the gates at sunset, but Nehemiah instructs them to wait “until the sun is hot” so as to establish clear boundaries for the city.

You can’t just put-up walls and gates and then never use them.  There must be some kind of order when people enter and exit.  There have to be guards that decide who gets in and who doesn’t. The city of Jerusalem needs clear boundaries, because again, the book of Nehemiah isn’t about building a wall but about building up a people and the people need to know what’s okay and what’s not okay.

Again, this is difficult for our culture today because this type of language sounds insensitive or exclusive, but the reality is if you are going to build something strong, secure, and stable then there must be boundaries.

We see boundaries at the store when we go shopping.  There are requirements of entry like “no shoes, no shirt, no service.”  There are rules that you have to purchase an item.  You can’t walk out of the store with anything you want.  There are hours when the store is open and when the store is closed.  There are boundaries.

We see boundaries at the airport.  We can’t just Uber an airplane to show up at our house.  Wouldn’t that be awesome?  We have to show up early for our flight.  We have to go through security.  We have to take off our shoes and go through an x-ray machine.

Why?  It’s because everybody knows every organization, large or small, macro or micro must have clear boundaries.  This is true 2500 years ago in Jerusalem as Nehemiah establishes the people, and this is true in our lives today.

In our church family in north Austin we are open to all people, but we aren’t wanting to become all people.  We have boundaries determined by God’s Word as to what it means to be a part of our church family and we communicate those boundaries as gracious as we can but also as clear as we can, because we are looking to build up a people for God’s glory.

Even at the family level our family has four values that we rally around as a family.  It is our way of communicating to our children what it means to be a part of our family.  It isn’t five people giving their opinion of what we are trying to accomplish as a family.  No, we have the role of leadership in our family that communicates boundaries.

Even at the friendship level this happens organically.  In every circle of friends there are implied boundaries that you can’t cross.  I have three friends from high school that I still talk to today and there are unspoken boundaries with one another.  There are topics you can’t talk about.  There are buttons you can’t push.

Our culture wants to imply that boundaries are offensive.  Our culture wants to imply that if you really loved people, you wouldn’t have boundaries of what is acceptable and what isn’t acceptable, but every organization, church, family, or circle of friends has boundaries.

Do you think when the NBA was established, they just took the first 5 people to make up a team?  No, they were looking for a type of person.  Do you think I could go to the headquarters of Mothers Against Drunk Driving in Irving, TX and say, “I love to drink and drive.”  Can I join this group?  Do you think Harvey Weinstein could lead the #metoo movement?

No, there are clear boundaries, therefore, we would do well to identify those boundaries in our life and communicate those boundaries as graciously as possible.  Let’s look at our last sub-point; 3.  The Role of the People.

  1. The Role of the People.

Nehemiah 7:4, “4 Now the city was large and spacious, but the people in it were few and the houses were not built.”

In the context of Nehemiah 7 the city of Jerusalem had been destroyed.  There were people who returned with Ezra to rebuild the temple, but they are mostly living in the surrounding areas, so that the houses in the city of Jerusalem were non-existent.

It’s possible that we don’t see the emotional weight of those words, but God’s plan is for Jerusalem to be established and inhabited.  In 400 years from this point Jesus, God in the flesh, is going to enter into Jerusalem and the people are going to cry out, “Hosanna, Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” but for all that to happen there needs to be a people who inhabit the city.  Does that make sense?  Look at verses 5-7:

Nehemiah 7:5-7, “5 Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogies. Then I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up first in which I found the following record: 6 These are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his city, 7 who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah. The number of men of the people of Israel:”

The context of verses 5-7 are the names of the people who came with Ezra to rebuild the temple.  You can read this same list of names in Ezra 2 and the reason these names are important is because Nehemiah is tracing their genealogy, so that the city of Jerusalem is built with Jewish people.

And again, in our culture today this might sound odd, unnecessary, or exclusive but again we have to remember that Nehemiah is laying the foundation for a city that is going to fulfill the promises of the Old Testament as all peoples of the earth are blessed through the nation of Israel (Genesis 12), so the foundation of the people is important.

Therefore, as we look to build up a people in our church family, immediate family, circle of friends, city, state, or country, we must ask ourselves, “What type of person am I becoming?  What type of people am I surrounding myself with?  Are they the type of people I want to become?”

There might be a part of us that pushes back and says, “Isn’t that being judgmental?  Shouldn’t we accept all people?”  Yes, in our church family in north Austin we want to be open to all people, but we don’t want to become all people.  Does that make sense?

We want to be a people who believe the God of Scripture is the creator of all things.  We want to be a people who believe we are sinners in desperate need for a Savior.  We want to be a people who believe Jesus is the eternal God, visible of the invisible who was born of a virgin, lived a perfect life, and takes our sin at the cross and conquers our sin in the resurrection so that we might have life in Him.   Are you that person?

But we don’t want to just stop with our beliefs as a church family.  We don’t want to simply be a people who are aspirational.  We want to be a people who are growing in our faithfulness.  We want to be a people who are faithful in the little.

We want to be a people who open the Scriptures every day.  We want to be a people who work faithfully as though unto the Lord. We want to be a people who tend to our family and friends.  We want to be a people who serve others.  We want to be a people who look out not only our interests but also the interests of others.  Are you that person?  Are you growing into that person?

Then we say to all people, “Come!”  Let us build up a community of people who are chasing those things.  Let us become a people who are growing in our fear of the Lord.  Let us become a people who love that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1).  Let us become a people who enjoy obeying the Lord.

Nehemiah 7 is describing a people who are building up a city, but Revelation 21 teaches us that when we are in Christ, we too are a people who are building up a heavenly city.  Just as Nehemiah was in Susa, the capital of Persia, we see that Nehemiah’s heart was for a city that was to come.  Does that make sense?

In the same way, we are in Austin, the capital of Texas but this city isn’t our home.  Our heart is for the heavenly city that is to come.  While we are in this city, we are doing the best we can to bless this city, but this city was never meant to satisfy the inner longings of our soul.

In fact, Hebrews 13 teaches us that while we are in this city we are going to groan, we are going to suffer, we are going to struggle as we take part in the sufferings of Christ, but we suffer with joy because we know this city was never meant to meet the inner cravings of our soul, but there is a heavenly city that will meet every inner craving of our soul.  Does that make sense?

Sometimes I hear the follower of Jesus dream about getting some land, getting away from people, getting away from the hustle and bustle of this world but I think in those moments we have forgotten the heavenly city that is to come.

Are we not meant to be let down by this city?  Are we not meant to prioritize our lives according to the heavenly city that is to come?  Is that not what we studied in Philippians when the Apostle Paul refers to those who are in Christ as “heavenly citizens?”

And are we not to long for that heavenly city with joy as we live, work, raise children, spend money, take naps, build gardens, share meals, not as a people for this city but as a people whose eyes are lifted to the heavenly city that is to come?

Just as Nehemiah is reading through a list of names, Revelation 21 teaches us there is another list of names and if we want to enter that city then we must confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord.  The city is big enough, but your name must be on the list.

If you’ve never trust in Jesus, then do that this morning.  Enter into the family of God, so that we might be a people who are set free to endure the challenges we face today with joy because our hope is in the heavenly city that is to come.