Revival and rebuilding the church.
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Revival and reconstruction of the Church.
TV program about implosions, the destruction of buildings using a few charges of dynamite. The cost of the dynamite and experts is nothing in comparison with the cost of the building.
- Wars and disasters, like the recent ones, have also proved that the cost of rebuilding is much higher than the cost of destroying.
- There’s a similarity with personal life and with the church. To destroy a life or a ministry takes lesser effort than to build it or rebuild it.
When it is time to rebuild.
Background:
- The walls were destroyed and the Temple was burned because of the people’s disobedience. God had given them many warnings but they did not listen…
- God, in His mercy, used king Cyrus to allow some people to go back to Judea to rebuild. They did it for some weeks then stopped the work.
- The reconstruction was abandoned because the people’s greed and spiritual conformism. God then entrusted Nehemiah to lead the people to finish the job.
Read Neh 2:11-20
Acknowledge the magnitude of the task.
Acknowledge the magnitude of the task.
Evaluate the seriousness of the damages.
Evaluate the seriousness of the damages.
Nehemiah 2:17a (NASB95)
Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates burned by fire...
- Not only they were at the mercy of the enemy, but also the condition of the city was a shame, and a disgrace.
- Nehemiah had to confront them with the problem. No problem will be ever solved unless you recognize it as such.
Illust. Alcoholics
Let’s evaluate: Material damages and Spiritual damages
You alone cannot do the job:
You alone cannot do the job:
“Let us rebuild”
Nehemiah 2:17b (NASB95)
Then I said to them,... “Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a reproach.”
- In the case of the church, it’s not the pastor or leaders job to do it. They wanted to do it, but they couldn’t do it alone. It takes the participation of all.
Depend of the Holy Spirit.
Depend of the Holy Spirit.
Eze 37:1-10
Revival is the not the work of man, but of the Spirit.
The Spirit revives those that are willing to submit to Him.
If the church is not revived is because the believers live in disobedience.
Seek support from a few good people.
Seek support from a few good people.
So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days. And I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. I did not tell anyone what my God was putting into my mind to do for Jerusalem and there was no animal with me except the animal on which I was riding.
- A good principle for life: Surround yourself with wise people who will help you succeed. Illust. Andrew Carnegie
“Where there is no guidance the people fall, But in abundance of counselors there is victory.” Proverbs 11:14
- I think Nehemiah chose the faithful leaders.
List: Who are your few good men?
Close the doors to the enemy.
Close the doors to the enemy.
So I went out at night by the Valley Gate in the direction of the Dragon’s Well and on to the Refuse Gate, inspecting the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were consumed by fire. Then I passed on to the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was no place for my mount to pass. So I went up at night by the ravine and inspected the wall. Then I entered the Valley Gate again and returned.
- There were open gaps where the enemy could enter in. They had to close them as soon as possible. Those were urgent areas…
- Sometimes we make the mistake of reinforcing our strong areas instead of the weak ones. The enemy will not enter thru the strong ones.
How do we close the doors to the enemy?
Rebuilding the walls takes everyone’s effort.
Rebuilding the walls takes everyone’s effort.
The leaders were giving the example.
Next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, the official of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs.
Next to him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, the official of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs, he and his daughters.
- Being a leader is a responsibility that cannot be taken lightly. Leaders teach by example not by knowledge. Leaders must be able to say to the people: “Do as you see me doing”…
What are the areas to correct among the leaders?
All the families doing their part.
All the families doing their part.
- All the members of all the families were doing their part: men, women, sons, and daughters.
- Paul compared the church to a body in which each part must do its proper working to cause the growth of the body.
How many o which families?
What do they do? What could they do?
The people working beyond their talents.
The people working beyond their talents.
Then Eliashib the high priest arose with his brothers the priests and built the Sheep Gate; they consecrated it and hung its doors. They consecrated the wall to the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel.
Next to him Uzziel the son of Harhaiah of the goldsmiths made repairs. And next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, made repairs, and they restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.
- We cannot limit ourselves to do only the things we like or for which we have the talents. We must go the extra mile.
Rebuild with faith and enthusiasm.
Rebuild with faith and enthusiasm.
After him Baruch the son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section, from the Angle to the doorway of the house of Eliashib the high priest.
Remember that God is with us.
Remember that God is with us.
I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me and also about the king’s words which he had spoken to me. Then they said, “Let us arise and build.” So they put their hands to the good work.
King Ahaz allowed the people of Judah to be unfaithful to the Lord. When the Edomites came against Judah, Ahaz, instead of seeking God for help, asked the Assyrians to help him. He depended on man, not on God; but things did not go as he expected:
So Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him.
Let’s do the work thinking positively.
Let’s do the work thinking positively.
Nehemiah 2:20a (NASB95)
So I answered them and said to them, “The God of heaven will give us success; therefore we His servants will arise and build,...
How can we encourage them to to believe that “Sí, se puede?
The people must focus on the task.
The people must focus on the task.
So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
- (animo:leb= heart, mind, will). They put their heart into the work.
- Worldly occupations may become a hindrance to the task of building up the church. They consume our time, energy, money, and desires to the point that almost nothing is left for the church.
“Let not business, pleasure, or the support of a party so engage attention, as that Zion and her welfare shall be nothing to you.” (Matthew Henry)
- There’s more production when there is focus.
What are the essential areas? What are the secondary areas?
Opposition will always be present.
Opposition will always be present.
There are always a few who oppose it.
There are always a few who oppose it.
But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard it, they mocked us and despised us and said, “What is this thing you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”
Illust. President’s Inaugural (few protesters)
- Sanballat, Tobiah (The Lord is my good), and Geshem (rain, shower)
- Some subordinates did not support their leaders. 3:5
Who are those that oppose the work in your church?
They conspired to stop the work and to cause disturbance.
They conspired to stop the work and to cause disturbance.
Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repair of the walls of Jerusalem went on, and that the breaches began to be closed, they were very angry. All of them conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause a disturbance in it.
- Heb. “qashar” = bind, league together” They made an opposition team.
- 4:1 Sanballat was very mad! Why? Because things did not go their way. The people did not do what they wanted.
They tried to demoralize the builders.
They tried to demoralize the builders.
Do not forgive their iniquity and let not their sin be blotted out before You, for they have demoralized the builders.
- Discouragement is one the devil’s favorite weapons. Its consequences are devastating in people’s and organizations lives.
What should we do with them?
The opposition should not have portion in the fruit.
The opposition should not have portion in the fruit.
Nehemiah 2:20b (NASB95)
So I answered them and said to them,... “we His servants will arise and build, but you have no portion, right or memorial in Jerusalem.”
“For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies.” 2 Thessalonians 3:10-11