There is no question that Nehemiah was a great leader for the season of Jerusalem’s rebuilding after the Babylonian exile ended.
His passion for his God, his beloved Jerusalem and for his people was obvious in how he conducted himself and sought to persuade others.
It wasn’t Nehemiah’s leadership, however, that got the city walls built again, however.
What accomplished that task, instead, was the humble, hard work of countless families who rejected the blame game for past problems and willlingly bent their backs and scraped their knuckles in order to restore the dignity and defensibility of their city.
I’ve heard and I’ve preached repeatedly on Nehemiah’s outstanding vision and divinely inspired ability to stir his people’s hearts.
What moved my heart this morning, however, when I read Nehemiah 1-3 in the One-Year Bible was the abundance of initiative demonstrated by family after family toward rebuilding the walls.
In fact, other than one group of men who thought they were too good to get their hands dirty, the prevailing attitude was disciplined and directed.
Both men and women were involved in the work.
Jerusalem wouldn’t be restored just because the leader eloquently laid out the reasons for doing so.
It was restored because the rank and file understood that each had a vital role in the process. If one family didn’t do their part, then the enemy could still have a way into the city despite the good efforts of everybody else.
I encourage you to read the book of Nehemiah in your Bible. It’s easy, inspiring stuff that you’ll be able to readily apply to a number of situations in your life.
I also want to encourage you to see the significance of the above truths as they relate to your congregational life.
When it comes to work getting done, it ultimately doesn’t matter how effective your pastor/preacher/minister is with the scriptures and with motivational methodology. If you aren’t willing to help to “build the walls” of your congregation’s spiritual identity and resistance to spiritual falsehood, then you actually become the weak spot in the wall.
The Enemy we know as Satan is no fool. He’ll examine closely each family’s work in building up the wall and he’ll soon see the weak spots.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed! And that’s where he’ll attack.
Many of us with years of church experience have seen this happen again and again.
The attacks might be through direct frontal assault such as collapsing health or marriages, or it might be through more subtle means such as showering a family “wall” with corrosive, concocted lies that sadly are embraced as truth and infectiously passed through the congregation in the form of divisive gossip.
You’re smart. You can see how this line of thought goes. You are perhaps seeing this garbage in your congregation now.
I thank God that countless families worked hard to boost the defenses and dignity of Jerusalem during the days of Nehemiah.
I thank God that countless families are doing the same thing today in their congregations.
For the Enemy is still active in trying to destroy the work and the people of God.
If you know a church family that is not succeeding in their responsibility to help build the walls of the congregation, please pray for God’s leading in how you might encourage them or even show them how they might succeed in doing what God has called them to do.
Pray that God will open a door for you to have that family help you sometime to build up your section of the wall, whether it be in starting a home fellowship group or planning a community outreach event or handling all the set-up and clean-up work for a Women of faith weekend at your church building.
Don’t look for a cop-out on this one, my friend.
You were saved to do good works, Ephesians 2:10 tells us.
And helping to strengthen your congregation’s spiritual walls is a core mission in God’s purpose for your life.
As always, I love you
Martin
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