January 27, 2008
On the Road to Renewal with Nehemiah— A Heart for Renewal a
sermon on Nehemiah 1 by David C. Mauldin Westminster Presbyterian Church,
Mobile, Alabama
This sermon comes with no fancy introduction, rather a series of
questions—four of them. (1) Who was Nehemiah? (2) What does he have to do with
church renewal? (3) What exactly do I mean by renewal? And (4) what can we do to
renew our church and our own personal commitment to God? The organization is
simple. I’ll answer each of these in order. First, who was Nehemiah? If you
don’t know about Nehemiah, it is high time you were introduced. He is one of the
great heroes of the Bible, though he usually receives far less attention than he
deserves. He was not a prophet, a priest, or a patriarch. He was an organizer
and a bureaucrat. Nehemiah was God’s servant who finally got Israel back on her
feet after the exile. His zeal for God’s glory and his love for God’s people led
him to give up an important job and a comfortable life to take on a task so
difficult it would have been impossible without God’s constant intervention. Let
me set the scene for you. As you know, God’s people lost everything in 587 B.C.
That was the year the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and the temple. They also
took captive everyone who was educated or skilled and deported them to Babylon.
Overnight God’s people lost their independence, their home, their king, and
their temple—everything that gave them identity and connected them to God. It
was a terrible test of faith. In fact they might have lost their faith entirely
but for the prophets, who had predicted exile and were now promising a return
someday. God had not rejected his people permanently. He was disciplining and
pruning, but someday he would restore his people. The Babylonians were tough,
but the Persians proved tougher. They defeated Babylon and took over its empire.
The Persians had a policy of resettling peoples displaced by the Babylonians. In
accordance with this policy, Cyrus, king of Persia, issued a decree allowing
Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. The prophets had spoken
truth! This, however, was merely the beginning of return and reconstruction. It
proved to be a long, difficult process, resisted at every point by neighboring
peoples with a vested interest in keeping Israel down. The first wave of exiles
returned following Cyrus’s decree in 538 B.C., but the temple was not rebuilt
until 518.
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Sixty years later, in 458, Ezra brought another wave of exiles back, and
conditions were not much improved. The walls protecting Jerusalem had still not
been repaired. The population was small and scattered. Religious devotion and
community cohesion were in a sorry condition. In our scripture reading this
morning, Nehemiah was distressed to hear about the trouble and shame God’s
people suffered. The reported attack could not have been what the Babylonians
did. More than a hundred years had passed since that had happened. It wasn’t
news. This had to be something more recent. God’s people had come home, but
everything was still a mess. This was the report Nehemiah received, and it
pained him. He felt a desire and a call to do something about it. He began to
explore that call. Figuring out the precise chronology of the books of Ezra and
Nehemiah is difficult, but it is fairly certain that Nehemiah went to Jerusalem
in 445 B.C. In all likelihood Ezra had attempted reconstruction just 13 years
earlier and had failed. So the situation is this: a monumental task of
reconstruction, which no one had been able to achieve in the 93 years since the
official end of exile—and Nehemiah believes he is called to do it. At the risk
of spoiling the ending for you, he was called, and he got the job done. He gave
up his job as cup bearer to the king—which was not a menial job but one of great
trust, respect, and influence. He went to Jerusalem, organized the efforts,
overcame resistance, and led the people to rebuild the walls, renew worship, and
renew community and religious life. Nehemiah did all this—or rather, God used
Nehemiah to do all this. Nehemiah offers us a great example of leadership. We
will see how he organized the work and how everyone in the community took part.
He also offers an example of faith. He believed he was doing God’s will, and he
never waivered. His love for God and God’s people should inspire us. Every other
consideration was secondary, and because he had a heart like that he was used
powerfully by God. By the way, when you read the book in the Bible named for
Nehemiah, you are reading his personal memoirs. Chapters 1-7 and 13 are his own
reflections; chapters 8-12 are official records he added to his work. I hope you
appreciate how rare this is in the Bible. Most of the biblical record was
written much later than the events described, based on oral tradition, official
records, and that sort of thing. In the case of some of the prophets, their
words were recorded by friends and followers, but little by the prophets
themselves. The gospels of course were not written by Jesus. Paul’s letters are
the closest we get to personal memoirs in the New Testament. So Nehemiah is a
special book. Nehemiah invites us into his experience so that we can marvel at
the things God did. We ought to pay careful attention to how Nehemiah discerned
his call and to his prayer life. That then is Nehemiah. We will be spending the
next three weeks with him as we move toward our Refresh & Renew event at the end
of February. You may be wondering,
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“Why?” This is our second question: What does Nehemiah have to do with
congregational renewal? On one hand, the task God appointed Nehemiah seems quite
different from congregational renewal. Nehemiah’s first order of business was
repairing the defensive walls around Jerusalem. That’s a project for the Army
Corps of Engineers, not a church. Our Refresh & Renew event has nothing to do
with a building program. His circumstances, his tools, and his task are all
different from ours. But on the other hand, there are important connections. To
begin, Nehemiah’s job was to renew God’s people. That is what we want as well.
In the Old Testament God’s people were defined by race and geography. They were
the people of Israel, rooted in the Promised Land, with worship centered in the
temple in Jerusalem. Rebuilding Jerusalem was important because it meant so much
to the identity of God’s people. When Jesus came, the boundaries defining God’s
people changed—just as God had promised all along they would. Now people of
every race and land can be part of God’s people. What matters is faith in Jesus
Christ. But some things remain the same. God had a people then, and God has a
people now. Building up God’s people then required political organization and
bricks and mortar. Building up God’s people now is done by the Word of God and
the Holy Spirit. But deep down congregational renewal is the same thing Nehemiah
did. Another reason Nehemiah is a good guide to congregational renewal is, we
need to be like him to get the job done. Specifically we need his confidence in
God and his heart for God’s people. When he heard about conditions in Jerusalem,
he sat down and wept and mourned for days. He burned with passion for God and
love for God’s people. Do you have that passion? That love? What does it mean to
love the church? Is it (a) loving the institution, the building, the traditions,
and so on; (b) loving the people; or (c) loving what we do—prayer and praise,
preaching and teaching, fellowship, service, and mission? Is it (d) all of the
above? Worship and mission are more important than buildings or traditions, but
I think we can say it is all of the above. Do you love this church? The people
here? The way Presbyterians do things? The heart we have for God? Our special
calling as a congregation—the work we do? Our children? Do you love this church
so much that you want us to be and do everything God desires for us? Do you want
to see growth, not just in terms of numbers and budgets, but of holiness and
love? I have always believed that our job is to listen to God together and try
to grow more Christ-like and to obey when he sends us out to others. If we do
those things, God will take care of numbers. As I read the book of Nehemiah and
reflect on where we are as a church, I think we are in better shape than
Nehemiah found Jerusalem to be. One of the blessings of the
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renewal event we had for the officers back last fall was this realization. Joe
Woods, who came to lead it, marveled at our cohesion and faith and all that we
are doing. He said that’s not always the case. Sometimes a congregation forgets
what it means to be the church of Jesus Christ. And we have not. Our walls are
intact. We have financial stability. We don’t have everything we want, not by a
long shot, but we get by. We have settled leadership. We have a solid core of
people who love God and use their gifts for ministry. We have even made
significant repairs and improvements to the facility. I hope for renewal not to
achieve these basic things, but because I feel God has brought us to a good
place and now he wants to launch us to new heights. He wants to bring us all to
deeper faith and commitment. He wants many people who are currently on the
margins of the church to hear his call and find their place of service. He wants
us to get excited about mission. This is a wonderful church—my favorite by far
of any church I have ever known—but loving it does not mean we get comfortable
and hope it never changes. It means we go where God calls. We need Nehemiah’s
love for the church. We also need his trust in God. Look at his prayer in our
scripture reading. Nehemiah knew God as the transcendent Creator of all things.
If God wanted something done, it would be done. Nehemiah knew that no matter how
impossible his task seemed, all that was necessary was God. With God all things
are possible. If we as a church do not believe this, there is no hope for us.
Nehemiah also knew God as the covenant-making, promise-fulfilling God of Israel.
God loves his people. He has made promises, and all his promises are good.
Everything that stands in the way of his promises, everything that seems to
count against them—it is all nothing compared with God’s sovereign power. God’s
Word is trustworthy and true. As we look for renewal, we look to God’s promises.
Jesus has promised to receive all who come to him in faith and give them power
to become God’s children. He has promised he will never leave us or forsake us.
He has promised to empower us by his Holy Spirit. He has promised to do great
things through us if we are faithful in doing his work. He has promised new
life, abundant life, and hearts set free. He has not promised us an easy ride or
good times or success as the world might define it. But he has promised us the
most important thing: himself. To know him is to be transformed. Nehemiah knew
God is faithful. Do we have that same confidence in the power of God’s Word and
Spirit to change lives and churches? A final reason Nehemiah has something to
say to us about congregational renewal is, as he found out, God does the
critical work. Nehemiah succeeded where others had failed because God’s hand was
on the work. God made it happen. As I have said before, when it comes to a fresh
new beginning in our personal lives or for our church, all we can do is pray and
listen and do the things we already know for sure God wants us to do. Beyond
that, we rely on a fresh blowing of God’s Spirit. God gives his people life.
Christ builds his church and causes it to grow. He is the vine; we are the
branches. Our
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faithfulness matters. It is necessary, but it is not sufficient. Only God has
the power we need. Very well, I hope you have stayed with me through our first
two questions. The third one is: What exactly do I mean by renewal? Ever since
the beginning of the new year, I have been preaching toward our Refresh & Renew
event. I preached Zacchaeus and asked if you believe God can really change
people. Can he change you? I preached about our need for rest. After all, it is
Refresh & Renew. It is hard to hear God’s call when you are on the brink of
burnout. Last week I preached repentance. All these themes aim at personal
renewal. Today I am preaching about renewing the church. Which is it? Obviously
it is both. It has to be because the two are really the same thing, because we
are the church. When a person comes to faith in Christ, when a Christian gets
excited about her faith, the individual is transformed or grows, and the church
is renewed in the process. Every person who is part of us is a gift from God to
the whole. When one suffers, we all suffer. And when one rejoices, we all
rejoice. Try to imagine a church energized and fired up for mission without
individuals who are passionate about the gospel. Impossible! But when people get
excited about the truth of Christianity and when people experience God’s
healing, renewing power in their lives, the whole church is affected. The
enthusiasm is contagious. It is like momentum in sports. One thing feeds
another. This is why when we talk about renewal, we mean what God is doing both
in your life as an individual and our life together as a congregation. Do not
get confused and think we only want to reach people in order to make the church
grow. That’s getting it backward. The right way is: We want a faithful church so
we can reach people God loves and calls. You see, we, the people, are the
church. God has brought us together. Christ builds the church. He builds it by
changing lives and drawing people to himself. We are doing this for the same
reason we do most everything: Because God loves people. He wants to have a
relationship with them. And once that is in place, he wants to see them grow—in
faith, in strength, in holiness, in beauty—until they reach full Christian
maturity and become like Christ. We never reach that on this side of death, but
remarkable progress is possible. And it is wonderful, when God’s grace changes
your heart! You have to experience it to understand. To love Jesus is to love
his people. We see this in Nehemiah, how his love for God and his concern for
God’s people were just different sides of the same coin. If you love God and he
has called you to this place, you have to love our children and our older
members and our African families and our elders and the people who only show up
every once in a while and even that nerdy guy who preaches every Sunday—everyone
who calls this church home. Christ loves his church. He builds it, grows it, and
renews it. He does all this by changing people one heart at a time. But, and you
see how this all comes together: He created the church in the first place
because he loves people and
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wants to reach them and nurture them. The church exists for the people God
loves, and as his love operates in them they become the church. That is God’s
plan. That is how he works. That is why renewal is important. Finally, question
number four: What can we do? For the answer we look to Nehemiah. The first thing
we have to do is care. Ask yourself: Do you have Nehemiah’s passion for God’s
glory? Do you have his love for God’s people—the church? When he heard the news
from Jerusalem, he was devastated. He cared. I’m not asking you to be
devastated. Our church is not in such bad shape as that. But I do ask you to
care. No, that’s not quite right. God asks you to care. He wants you to care
about the people you see around you here today, and others who are not for
various reasons. He asks you to care about the ministry of this church—its
worship, its service to those in need, the ways it finds to share the Good News
about Jesus with others. He asks you to care about our missionary family, the
Morgans and their work in Bangladesh and their son who has cancer. He asks you
to care about the little ones in our midst: How will they learn about God? Who
will give them a compelling witness to the truth of our faith? Each of us should
say, “I will!” God asks you to care about the condition of our finances and our
building. Why? Because these practical things serve our mission. God asks you to
care that this church has a passionate commitment to Christian truth, along with
a loving, compassionate heart. Who does God hold responsible? All of us. We will
soon see how Jerusalem’s wall was rebuilt. Nehemiah did not do it himself, nor
did the elders. Everyone did. But it all starts with your heart for God and
God’s people. Do you have Nehemiah’s passion? And, do you have his faith?
Concerned for the welfare of Jerusalem, Nehemiah went to God in prayer. I have
already described how his prayer shows us his faith. He believed that with God
all things are possible. And he trusted God to keep his promises. And he prayed.
We need to pray the same way he did. First of all in faith. Second, we need to
ask God for what we want. Not for a church our neighbors will envy, but rather a
church God will be pleased with, a church to which God can lead people whom he
is calling. Pray for renewed energy and commitment. Pray for specific people,
especially people on the margins of the congregation, to her God’s call—whether
that is to become a Christian or to use their gifts or simply to learn to trust
God through the hard times. Pray for God to do it. But then … and for some
reason there is always a “but then” … do the other thing Nehemiah did. Ask God
to use you in the work however he will. Next Sunday the sermon will explore what
we can learn from Nehemiah about hearing God’s call properly. How do you know
what God wants you to do? One of the things I hope will come out of our Refresh
& Renew event is that many people will wake up and realize how God has gifted
them for ministry. And they will begin using those gifts. We have already seen
this happen in the past few years. It is exciting. Each of us must put
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ourselves into God’s hands and say, “Your church has a mission. Make it happen.
And whatever you want me to do as a part of that, I will do.” Nehemiah is a
terrific guide to renewal. With just a handful of people like him, God could
change the world. Imagine what God might do here. Amen. rev_mauldin@yahoo.com