Come Let Us Rebuild the Walls
Neh 2:17-18
Don McLaughlin tells a story about a friend of his in
Atlanta. This friend had bought an old
police cruiser that had a very big engine in it. He soon found it was hard to keep to the
speed limit with that big engine. One
Sunday he was running late for church and was a key member in a skit they were
doing, so he put that big engine to use.
Unfortunately, for him another police cruiser, this one still in use by
the police, happened to be running traffic.
He got a ticket. The man asked
Don if he would go to court with him because Don had a lot of court experience
from his youth. Don agreed. The friend asked if the amount he had on him
would be enough to pay for the ticket.
When Don heard what speed he was clocked at, he suggested they double
that amount. So they headed over to the
bank to get cash for the ticket, and then to the courthouse.
Person after person goes before the judge and they all offer explanations as to why they broke the
law. Finally, this man stands before the
judge and the question was asked of him.
“What’s your explanation for why you broke the speed limit?” The man looked at the judge and said, “No
explanations your honor, just excuses.”
No explanations, just excuses. That’s what it boils down to doesn’t it. When we
stand before the judgment seat, the only thing we can say when asked, “why
didn’t you…?” is no explanations, just excuses.
Why haven’t you rebuilt the walls of your family? Why haven’t you rebuilt the walls of your
community? Why haven’t you rebuilt the
walls of your church? No explanations,
God, just excuses.
PRAYER
I.
COME Let Us Rebuild the Wall
A.
Prelude
1.
READ Neh 2:11-20.
2.
There are several things happening in this
passage that I want to begin to look at.
3.
Nehemiah makes it very clear that the Jews
needed to, and were expected to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
4.
It was up to them and them alone to get the job
done.
5.
It was on their shoulders if they failed.
6.
The same can be said of God’s people today.
7.
It’s up to us to rebuild the walls, to bring the
world around us back to God’s glory.
8.
It’s on our shoulders to get the job done, and
it’s on our shoulders if we fail to do the job.
B.
Come
1.
The other part of this text is the time.
2.
We often forget how long time goes by as we read
the OT.
3.
Nehemiah didn’t grow up in Jerusalem and then
pop back after a short time in Babylon.
4.
He had never seen his homeland.
a)
About 140 years had passed since Jerusalem had
been destroyed.
b)
Over 90 years had passed since the first group
was allowed to go back and begin to rebuild the temple.
c)
Nehemiah was carrying a dream given him by his
forefathers.
5.
Can you imagine being part of that first group
that went back to Jerusalem?
a)
The younger generation knew nothing of what the
city was like.
b)
Their parents probably hadn’t seen it either.
c)
But the grandparents had. Grandpa, tell me again about the temple. Tell me again about how wonderful Jerusalem
is.
d)
Imagine the excitement as they journeyed back to
their homeland.
e)
They cross that last hill and Jerusalem is in
sight.
C.
Bitter reality sets in.
a)
The temple is gone, the city is gone, the walls are demolished.
b)
Jerusalem is a pile of rubble.
c)
Now the excitement is gone, and the reality of
having to scratch out a living in the rubble hits them full force.
2.
There’s no time or energy for rebuilding. They are simply fighting for survival.
3.
For 93 years they learn to live among the ruins.
4.
That’s where we left off last time.
5.
The ruins of our lives. Satan constantly whispering to us “It won’t
ever get better. Get used to living in
the ruins”
D.
What do we do?
1.
We are here, we have come, but we been hit with
the reality of the ruins and we have become used to living there.
2.
What can we do?
It’s too big of a job for us.
II.
Come Let US Rebuild the Walls
A.
Jews
1.
It’s pretty obvious but who is the us Nehemiah is talking about?
a)
The Jews themselves.
b)
The very people living in the ruins
2.
They had to decide it’s time to shake off the
apathy and get to work.
B.
US
1.
We need to do the same thing.
2.
Have we suffered some losses? Yes.
3.
Has the economy been hard on us? Yes
4.
Would it be easy to say we can’t grow, we can’t do this or that, and just sit in the ruins?
Yes.
5.
Yes we could, but we won’t
6.
We’ll be just like the Jews of Nehemiah’s time
and we will step up and start rebuilding the walls.
C.
Lesson from Chapter 3
1.
Look at Chapter 3. READ 3:1-5
2.
Are you getting the picture? The rest of the chapter is the very same
thought over and over again.
3.
The people started working. Every one of them.
4.
Not just the laborers, not just the leaders,
everyone
a)
Leaders, Nobles, Priests, …
b)
Men, women, merchants, artisans, commoners
5.
It takes everyone working to get the work done.
a)
Elders, deacons, preachers, teachers….
b)
Men, women, old, young, rich, poor, married,
single, white, black, asian,
6.
In vs 1 Eliashib started the work, vs 2
his neighbors joined in, in vs
20 others ZEALOUSLY repaired the wall.
Where? In front
of Eliashib’s home.
7.
Everyone was involved and everyone helped each
other.
III.
Come Let Us REBUILD the Walls
A.
Talking is useless
1.
They could have talked about the need to rebuild
the walls until they were blue in the face and nothing would have happened.
2.
They could have appointed committees to study
the need and nothing would have happened.
3.
They could have created the perfect plan, but
nothing would have happened until the first person picked up a stone and
started getting to work.
B.
Lesson from Chapter 3
1.
IN this chapter vs 1 –
Eliashib went to work
2.
V 6 – repairs made
3.
Vs 11 – repaired
4.
Vs 15 – repaired
5.
Vs 17 – repairs made
6.
It didn’t get done by talking about it, it got done by stacking rocks.
C.
Let’s start rebuilding
1.
We need to start stacking rocks
2.
We need to use the tools God has given us to get
his message out.
3.
We need to quit waiting for someone else to step
up, and WE need to step up and step out.
4.
Invite your friends to small group, invite them
to the parenting classes, invite them to study the Bible with you, Share Jesus
with them,
5.
Let’s find ways to get the message out to our
families, our community and beyond.
6.
Let’s quit talking and start working.
7.
When we decide we done living in the ruins, the
God of Heaven will give us success.
8.
Listen to 6:15-16
9.
Nehemiah proves what can happen when we focus on
God’s will rather than man’s opinion of us.
10.
Nehemiah proves what can happen when we all set
our minds to rebuild the walls.
11.
Come let us rebuild the walls