Nehemiah: Building Something Together
Nehemiah 6:15-7:73
Throwing Down the Gauntlet...and Stepping Up in Love
So I’m going to get right to it this morning. Over the past few weeks, we have talked about Nehemiah, an Old Testament hero not because of the miracles he did or because of the amazing teaching that he had but because he was a regular person just like you and I who decided he was going to put God first. And that decision led him down a path from comfort to discomfort. He felt called to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem so that people could once again live, work, serve, play, and worship God in the city. It wasn’t easy. For almost 150 years, others had taken on this monster task and failed or abandoned the job -- yet Nehemiah was resolute. Critics tried to stop him and even kill him; his workers and countrymen tried to tap out; even the “godly” people of his country tried to deceive him to get him to give up -- yet Nehemiah was determined. Because when God calls us to do something, we have to make a choice: We either obey or disobey. That’s it. Only two options.
God has called Origins to something. He called us not just to start a church but to be salt and light in decay and darkness. He called us to partner with him to change statistics of lostness, indifference to church and the things of God, and a general spirit of apathy in our city. At times I perhaps have held Origins perhaps in gridlock by not asking you to do more than I have. I haven’t wanted to burden you or didn’t want to ask too much of you. And I have crippled you. And for that I am sorry. But today I am asking you, “Rise up.” I am going to ask you today that if this is your church, maybe for the first time in your life, that you pursue a significant level of buy-in with serving here on Sundays and during the week, engaging the community as well as your neighbors and those who God has strategically placed in your path, in giving financially, and in stepping up and being men and women of God.
I’m not naive. I know some of you may be offended and may even bail. That’s okay. At the end of today, one of two things has to happen for God to get maximum glory in your life, in Origins, and in Downtown. You are going to have a chance at the end to sign up for some stuff, to share ideas, to make some commitments today. If you write nothing down, if you refuse to serve and labor, I will take that as your confession that this is not your church. No more free rides. I will encourage you to find a place where you will serve, invest, invite, give, and grow. But almost all of you -- I hope every one of you because I love you and want to labor with you and watch you grow -- are going to make some commitments and are going to engage as owners in Origins, and I promise your lives will never be the same.
So before we get started, let’s pray.
If you’ve got a Bible, let’s read starting in Nehemiah 6:15 and go forward:
15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days (In the interest of time, I am just going to give the sermon notes as we talk through the passage today. They finished the wall. He doesn’t describe at length. All we know is that what no one else in almost 150 years could do, Nehemiah did in 52 days, less than 8 weeks. Why was he so able when everyone else failed? He had a good plan, assembled a great team, would not be distracted or deterred, and stayed single-mindedly determined as he worked really hard). 16 And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God (The wall wasn’t a miracle, not something that couldn’t be done. It just became obvious that there was something to this. Some stuff can only get done if God shows up. I can testify to this. Natalie and I moved to Greenville and knew not one soul. Origins -- for me -- is something only God could do. You collectively are the seal of his presence. You are proof that God was in this. To this point, this has all been done by God using a great plan, a great team, a single-minded focus, a lot of hard work). 17 Moreover, in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah's letters came to them. 18 For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah: and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah as his wife. 19 Also they spoke of his good deeds in my presence and reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to make me afraid (Unlike Nehemiah, Tobiah is Jewish enough to be connected, and people feel bound to keep him in the loop. He is Jewish when its advantageous and does his own thing when its advantageous. The rebuilding of the wall is not to his advantage, so he is mad. A lot of so-called “Christians” are like this. They love Jesus if it will get them out of hell, give them social standing, and make them feel good about themselves. The moment someone asks them to give, show up, take a stand, put away a habit, they say they’re “not being fed” and bail. Thankfully, I never have believed and do not today believe most of you feel that way. But today we will formalize some of that commitment. There’s no use for Tobiah’s if people want to do a great work of God for God. If we want God to use our church, your life, your marriage, our businesses, our whatever -- we had better be all in and ready to pay the price. Can’t charge the gates of hell with someone who isn’t all in. Tobiah wasn’t. Nehemiah was).
1 Now when the wall had been built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed (People got involved in the ministry; Nehemiah asked for volunteers and people stepped up. A couple of things. Those who could sing didn’t need to be keeping the gates, and the gatekeepers didn’t need to be singing. My last pastor insulted me once and said, “I’m glad to see you’re as bad a singer as I am.” I bowed up before I realized he was right. God didn’t call me to sing; he called me to love and shepherd you guys, to teach the Bible, and to spend time with people far from Jesus. God has shaped you uniquely and today at the end you can sign up to do something. Everyone needs to be doing something because everyone is gifted to serve somehow. Understand this too. The gatekeepers, hopefully, grew up to do newer and bigger things. Some of you are going to serve God one way now but will one day take on more and more -- that’s part of growing up and becoming a disciple), 2 I gave my brother Hanani and Hananiah the governor of the castle charge over Jerusalem, for he was a more faithful and God-fearing man than many. 3 And I said to them, “Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot. And while they are still standing guard, let them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, some at their guard posts and some in front of their own homes.” 4 The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few, and no houses had been rebuilt (So the city has all the structures in place but now they have to get the people in there. This is about where we are as Origins. After we finish reading this passage, I am going to share several seismic shifts in our structure going forward. Our church is “wider and larger” than it was a year ago so now we are in a better place to share Jesus with more people and invite people to come worship him with us).
5 Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogy. And I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up at the first, and I found written in it (I’m going to skip several verses but the gist of verses 6 through 65 is that Nehemiah lists by profession the people who went into exile and are now back near Jerusalem. Verse 66)
66 The whole assembly together was 42,360, 67 besides their male and female servants, of whom there were 7,337. And they had 245 singers, male and female. 68 Their horses were 736, their mules 245, 69 their camels 435, and their donkeys 6,720 (They counted everybody. They knew who was there; every face had a name to Nehemiah, and every name had a story. Same with you guys. I love you all so much and am so proud to be pastor of this church. I don’t look out and see Origins but I see Chase, Chad, Kyle, Taylor, Abram, Joel, Abi, Jessie, Samantha, Alison, Natalie. And I don’t just see Downtown Greenville, and I hope you don’t either, but I see Daryl, Zack, Jennifer, Lauren, Chuck, Josh, Maddie, Ryan, Susanne, Ric, and so many others. We do this so they can make their way to Jesus. We count people because people count. You matter).
70 Now some of the heads of fathers' houses gave to the work (About to take a great offering to give to a great work of God). The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 darics of gold, 50 basins, 30 priests' garments and 500 minas of silver (That’s a lot. I’m no archaeologist or accountant, but that’s a boatload of money. The guy with loads of resources chose to be generous and sacrificial for the glory of God). 71 And some of the heads of fathers' houses gave into the treasury of the work 20,000 darics of gold and 2,200 minas of silver (That also is a lot. More people being sacrificial). 72 And what the rest of the people gave was 20,000 darics of gold, 2,000 minas of silver, and 67 priests' garments (This isn’t rich people giving; this is everyone. They couldn’t give as much as the governor individually, but they gave -- all of them -- to the work, and together they did more than even the wealthiest person. The first church I served in had a man who literally gave over 50% of the church’s tithes and offerings. He made a fortune in Coca Cola stock decades before. He gave and everyone knew it. So when there was a need, everyone looked to him and he gave of his wealth and love for Jesus. Thankfully, we don’t at Origins have any one person or family like that. We make it because so many of you give not out of your wealth but in faith and in love for Jesus).
73 So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all Israel, lived in their towns. And when the seventh month had come, the people of Israel were in their towns (They did the job, they gave of their money, and they were able to go home -- the work of the wall is done. In the weeks ahead, Nehemiah’s work will shift from God using him to work on a wall to God using him to work with people).
So what does all of this mean for us? Here can be your points from this passage: (1) Everyone worked and they built the wall; there has to be a significant level of buy-in among God’s people to do a God-sized work. You need to be at work for God’s glory -- not to earn his love but because we have received his love. (2) Everyone served; the church is a body (not a building or an organization) and every part of the body has to serve and work with the body for it to function properly. You need to be serving. (3) Everyone gave; we can accomplish more together for God’s glory than any one of us can individually. You need to be giving.
I want to share with you today several things that are about to go down and how this story in Jerusalem 2500 years ago parallels our story as a church. Nehemiah started with very few and a disorganized people, gathered and used a handful of folks to rebuild the wall, and now is about to open the doors of the city for the masses to come in to live, work, and worship God. When we moved here we had a few disorganized people with a vision. You have stepped up and we are rebuilding the wall. Today is the day we hammer out final details and commit to open the doors and let the masses come hear about Jesus at Origins. At the end you will have a chance to commit and sign up for some stuff. Let’s start with Loving the City, then Love One Another, then Love God. I know you will have questions. Here we go:
Love the City Week. The week before Easter, starting on Friday, March 30, we are going to call Love the City Week (#LovetheCity). Over the course of that week, I want us to make as many Gospel contacts as possible. By “Gospel contacts” I mean serving someone or doing something for someone because you love Jesus and in order to tell them what God has done in your life, invite them to worship with us on April 8, or leave them a business card inviting them to come April 8. This can be done as individuals, families, a few friends, or Community Groups. I know some Community Groups have brainstormed ways to serve together; this is your time. I am not telling you how. I want every Community Group to serve together in at least one way. And I want us to make anywhere from 200 to 500 Gospel contacts with people, inviting at least 200 to worship with us that day. Serve Pendleton Place, local artists, your neighbors, local businesses, or anyone of several other places. Just serve and invite. And let me also say that I don’t think we can all serve or invite just once and make it happen. Its going to take serving and inviting together and individually. Biggest thing we have ever undertaken as a church. For three years we have served and served and never invited. Now, for the first time, we are going to risk and serve and invite. So at the end today, if you will serve, write your name down. And if you know how you will serve, write that as well. Now, briefly, let me speak the truth in love: I know some of you are going to want to critique what others are doing; that’s not what this is about. Just serve.
Community Groups. As I shared with everyone last Sunday, we are temporarily shutting down the Tuesday Group. In a few weeks, we will relaunch with Evan and Anna Johnson as leaders of that group. They will begin the week of April 15. For the two weeks before that, all Community Groups will not meet. The week before Easter, I want groups to serve. I want to free you to serve at least one night of the week and preferably more. So no Community Groups the week of April 1. If you need to take the week before that to plan for serving together, I am good with that and completely affirm it. The week after Easter there will be no Community Groups either. I want us to celebrate and prepare for what God has done and is about to do. The week after, groups will start back and go until Memorial Day. As we relaunch Community Groups, I want you to be in one. Origins was never created to be a Sunday church. In fact, we never wanted to have Sunday “church” but wanted instead to create a place where the different Community Groups could gather together to celebrate and encourage each other. That’s why this isn’t called worship or church but Gathering. So I need you in a group, and you need to be in a group. At the end, you will have a chance to sign up for a group that I want you to commit to attend at least 5 out of the 6 weeks from Easter to Memorial Day. A 6-week commitment. So you can sign up to be in a Community Group by signing your name to the day and group that you plan to be part of. If you know nothing of any of the groups and have no preference, just put your name by any of the days and we will get you put in a group in the days ahead.
Nursery Multiplying. If you haven’t noticed, Origins has become a baby factory. This means several things. First, it means that your marriages must be good or your birth control must be bad -- either way, I am excited for you all. Second, it means our church is expanding via the children’s area. For a while, this was no issue. Now it is. 5 year-olds and 5 week-olds don’t need to be together. So Brittney, Abi, and Natalie are recommending that we divide the children starting Sunday, April 1. To make that happen, we will have a Childcare Training Time next Sunday morning, the 25th, after the Gathering. They want babies to do what babies do: sleep, cry, poop, pee, be changed, listen to soft music, and be read stories about Jesus every Sunday. They want older children to hear a Bible story, do a craft, sing songs about Jesus (led by one of you -- our new Children’s Worship Leader who God is burdening and you will step up and serve), and grow spiritually to a day where they are ready to accept Jesus. They have an idea about “staffing” the nursery, but we need more volunteers as more kids come. No, it doesn’t have to be all women. Yes, men can serve. Yes, I firmly believe that if you are a parent, it is your privilege and obligation to be on a rotation to help with kids. I need your help. If many of you will sign up, no one person will have to do it all the time. Which leads to my next challenge...
More People Serving. Every Sunday -- every Sunday -- several of you do an amazing job volunteering, serving Jesus. For a year now, Kyle Laue has overseen tear down after we finish. For over a year, Mike Anscomb has helped set up almost every Sunday and -- in recent days -- has been helped by Jake, Matthew, Namon, and Chad. To make Gatherings happen takes people. We need more to help with that and to learn to do it; we need more to learn to run ProPresenter; we need more Greeters and Hospitality folks; we need more people to tear down -- though we don’t need everyone thinking, “I’ll do tear down so I don’t have to get there early.” I need you to step up. I’ve had a realization: We can not continue to operate like a church and do what God wants us to do in Downtown. We have to shift to thinking and acting as a church plant with you as a church plant team. So today at the end, I want you to sign up to serve God’s people on Sundays as an act of love for Jesus himself, and you can sign up for set-up, children (and we will run a background check on you), greeting and hospitality, technology, tear-down, and -- if Abram is willing -- coffee...because my wife can’t do it anymore with two babies. How would God have you serve him here?
Easter Sunday Location. Now about Easter. The most people we have ever had on a Sunday is 60. I am praying for 100 on Easter. At least 100. If you all come along with the Origins “regulars,” that will be 60. If each of you invites one person and half of them come, that’s 90. And I believe that if we give out 200 to 500 cards, one in every 10 of those people will come. We can’t meet here like this with 100 people. I tried my best to relocate us that day but either a door was shut or the open door would be foolish stewardship of resources. So on Easter Sunday, we will have two Gatherings. We will gather for worship at 9:30 and 11:00. Jason Enlow is going to paint, Taylor is singing, we are shooting a video about hope and victory in Christ, and I am sharing the story of Jesus’ Resurrection and the difference it makes. Going to be the greatest day of worship we’ve had. Our hearts are going to be set on fire, and people we know and new friends are going to come to accept Jesus that day. That’s 21 days away. What if -- for 21 days -- we all served, prayed, invited, believed God to do something huge? How incredible could that be?
Easter Sunday Offering. At the end of that Sunday, we are taking an offering. Biggest one day offering we have ever received is about $3,500. I can promise you no one family can give that amount. So here’s what I am asking you to do in faith and obedience. I want you -- on that day -- to give at least a 10% offering to God. Write out what you make in a month or a week or whatever and move the decimal point one space to the left and give that. So if you make $3,000 a month, I want you to give $300 that day. If you make $600 a week, I want you to give $60. I want you to figure out what makes you comfortable and give a little more. Some of you have come a long time -- a long time -- and have never given to Origins. That Sunday is going to be your day. If you have kids, I want you to give the offering with your kids or let them give too. Why? Because they need to see Dad and Mom confess with their actions that God provides health, a job, the ability to earn money and live and that Dad and Mom trust Jesus. Some of you may say, “I get paid first of the month and give first of the month.” If that’s your conviction, do that...if you want to hold it for April 8, I am good with that. When we wrote up the budget we had a real budget and a dream budget. We need to do some stuff in the dream budget but need more to do it. I believe many of you are going to give that Sunday and then keep giving afterwards. God is going to use Easter’s offering and what you will give in the weeks following Easter to do great stuff. And like the regular folk giving in Nehemiah 7, I need you to give -- especially on that day.
Two Gatherings Starting Easter. This is the big change. Starting April 8, we are going to two worship Gatherings at Spill the Beans. The Relocation Team, after meeting, praying, exploring options, has decided that this is where we need to stay for multiple reasons. I’ve talked with Taylor, Abi, Brittney, and Abram, and we are all on board and ready to do the work required. The main reason is that we believe God wants us to love, serve, and bless our city and start churches, and we can’t do that if we are tying up a ton of money in renting space. Objections. “We will be two churches.” No we won’t. It’ll be the same worship service just at 2 different times. And in reality I hope we operate as 4 churches...each Community Group as a little church. “I won’t get to see my friends in the other group.” I am asking two Community Group leaders to come to the early and two to come to the late, and if you want to be with those in your group, come to that one. If not, come make some new friends. The times will be 9:30 and 11:00. You will have from 10:30 to 11:00 to converse and “do life” even if you’re in separate services. “It’ll feel small.” I remember a Sunday where there were 18 and I thought revival was happening. I am okay with dropping back, pruning, to experience more growth. “I don’t think we need to do it.” Yes we do. There is such a thing as the 80% rule. At 80% capacity people stop inviting friends because it feels full. We are at 80%. This room can seat about 75 people uncomfortably, 60 comfortably. We have had as many as 48 adults on a Sunday in here. 80%. I don’t believe that God wants us to settle for being a church of 50 while people around us in our Downtown die apart from Jesus. So today at the end, you will have a chance to sign up for the early or the late Gathering so we can see how it will come out. You aren’t bound to go to that one every Sunday or even ever, but it will help me see what we are looking at each week. Meeting here will save on rent and allow us to invest God’s resources that you give in hiring staff, saving to plant churches, investing in God’s work that is already happening, and better loving the city.
New Worship Leader. Sadly, Sunday May 6 will be Taylor’s last Sunday. He has done a great job for 10 months as worship leader but is moving to Charleston with the Tarlatans to pursue their music. So we are looking for a new person. Pray for this new person -- and we have a “job description” and are putting some feelers out there -- that we will find each other. We are asking for interested candidates with musical ability, love for Jesus, love for Origins, and vision for our city to come serve; if that’s you or if you know of someone, pass their contact info along to me. But we are in transition. And I believe God is going to provide.
New Elder Candidate. Finally, after a long season of prayer and conversing, Matthew and Abi Elrod committed this week for Matthew to be an elder candidate in Origins. So he, like Jon Poole, is going through the process to become an elder in Origins. In the interest of time, I am not going to share much more than that today, but I do want to pray for Matthew and Abi and ask that you do the same today and in the days to come, and then I want to allow you time to sign up to serve, be in a Community Group, and volunteer.
Our best days are ahead. The day they finished the wall and took the offering wasn’t the culmination for Jerusalem and Nehemiah. It was a celebration point, opening the door to more life change and more souls saved. The offering and the commitments paved the way for more. I am excited about Love the City week and what is going to come of it. I am excited about Easter. I am excited about April 15, the week after Easter. And I am excited to see how God is going to work in you and through you as you are obedient to him. This is not an ending but a beginning.
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