“Let us start rebuilding.” (1) (Nehemiah 2:11-16)

 “Let us start rebuilding.” (1)

 

 

[Nehemiah 2:11-16]

 

 

Gordon Macdonald's book “Rebuilding Your Broken World” tells us what kind of people God is using to expand His kingdom.  He is none other than people like Simon Peter, who failed God.  God uses them as His instruments in His kingdom expansion ministry.  Pastor MacDonald said three important things that happened in the “Sea of Tiberias” (Jn.21:1), centering on the words of John chapter 21:

 

(1)   Jesus came into Peter's world.

 

The rebuilder Jesus knew that Peter was too wounded to start on his own.  In other words, after Jesus died on the cross, Jesus appeared to Peter (and the other disciples), who had returned to his old job as a fisherman in disappointment and discouragement, and asked, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” (v. 5).  And when Jesus said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some” (v. 6), Peter obeyed.  In doing so, 153 fish were caught, and John said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” (v. 7).  Upon hearing this, Peter jumped into the sea and swam toward the beach.  What did he really expect Jesus would say?  Did he expect Jesus say such words to him: "I'm here to say goodbye" or "Peter, I've been working really hard to make you a good apostle, but unfortunately you seem to be falling short" or "Where, let's sit down and talk a little bit about what you did wrong that night."  But Jesus said nothing.  Jesus was just preparing breakfast over a charcoal fire.  It is His grace that Jesus was preparing breakfast for the crowd of losers.  The gracious Lord came to the Sea of Tiberias to find Peter.

 

(2)   Jesus gave a chance to replace Peter’s three denials.

 

He gave me three opportunities to honestly confess his love for the Lord again.  Jesus did not rebuke a word, but instead asked Peter the same question three times: ‘Do you love me?’ (vv. 15-17).  At that time, Peter confessed three times, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you’ (vv. 15-17).

 

(3)   Jesus reaffirmed the mission he gave to His disciples Peter.

 

Every time Peter confessed his love for Jesus three times, the words Jesus told Peter, ‘Feed my lambs,” “Take care of my sheep,” and “Feed my sheep”.  The first mission he received was still valid.  Peter was not abandoned.  He was restored.  His collapsed world was rebuilt (McDonald).

 

                    The mission that is still valid, what is the mission the Lord has given to you and me?  What is the sense of mission that needs to be restored?  Centering on the words of Nehemiah 2:11-16, under the title “Let us start rebuilding.” (1), I would like to meditate on a sense of duty, the first of the three elements necessary for rebuilding the city of Jerusalem.  In the midst of this, I hope and pray that we can be rekindled in the mission the Lord has given us.

 

                First, we must have a sense of duty.

 

                Look at Nehemiah 2:12 – “I set out during the night with a few men. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on.”  If we look at churches or Christian organizations these days, there is something called a mission statement.  The mission statement of Victory Presbyterian Church, which I serve, is to expand the kingdom of God by raising up the leaders who pursue a Christ-centered vision.  More specifically, we could refer to our church's statement of purpose: ‘Find and discover potential leaders, nurture them into worship-witnesses who worship God, and train them into committed disciples of Christ, mature lay leaders.’  Are you and I risking our lives for the motto or statement of purpose of the church we are serving and devoting ourselves to achieving that goal?  Do you think it's worth it?

 

What was Nehemiah's mission?  It was to rebuild the city of Jerusalem.

 

Nehemiah, who is helped by God's gracious hand (2:8), left the Medo-Persian palace of Susa with the letters of King Artaxerxes and now arrived in Jerusalem (v. 11).  After Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem and was quiet for three days (v. 12).  The Bible says nothing in particular that he did anything to rebuild the city of Jerusalem in three days.  We can guess in light of verse 10 why Nehemiah stayed quiet for three days without doing anything.  Because of his enemies Sanballat and Tobiah, Nehemiah did not hastily jump into rebuilding the city of Jerusalem when he arrived in Jerusalem.  If, as soon as he arrived in Jerusalem, he had busily revealed that he would take down the city of Jerusalem in front of the enemies' eyes, it would not have been a wise move.  We must listen to Matthew 10:16 – “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”  We must be as wise as snakes.  The reason is that our enemies are always waiting to attack us.  Then, when Nehemiah wisely arrived in Jerusalem for three days, we can imagine what he would have done while remaining quiet in light of his past life.  That is what he must have been praying for.  Besides praying, what did Nehemiah, a man of prayer, do during those three days in silence?  Henri Nouwen's “The only necessary thing: living a prayerful life” has this to say about silence: ‘Silence means the heart of the mind and body.  It is a rest in the presence of God.  This is very frightening.  It's like giving up control over your own actions and thoughts.  It's not me doing creative things, it's being quiet so that creative things happen to me.  …  When there is no silence, the Holy Spirit dies within us, and we are left alone, cold and weary, deprived of all creative energy for life.  When there is no silence, we will become victims of people who are off center and constantly demand our attention’ (Nouwen).  I think Nehemiah, a man of prayer, must have found true rest while staying in front of God and praying for three days.  In rebuilding the Jerusalem temple, he may have prayed for God's creative work to happen first in himself.  What was the result of those three days of quiet time?  Nehemiah 2:12 says this: “…  what my God had put in my heart ….”  During the three days that he stayed in the presence of the Lord in silence, the Lord was working creatively in Nehemiah's heart.  Its purpose was for Jerusalem.  Dr. Yoon-sun Park said: ‘The time people work is precious, but the time they spend quietly is also important.  In this way, when a believer is quiet, he prays to God and receives inspiration.  When we work, we mainly deal with humans, and when we rest quietly, we deal with God’ (Park).

 

What did Nehemiah do after praying for 3 days?  At night he secretly inspected the city of Jerusalem.  In other words, he toured the site in advance before rebuilding the city of Jerusalem.  A long time ago, a letter came from the city when we inspected the fence of our house.  It was about removing all the fences in front of the house.  After receiving the letter, I asked a brother in our church for help.  At that time, the brother came and tore it all off, but he told me to remove even the pillars.  So, I went and bought a saw and cut it off with the other brothers.  At the urban environment level, perhaps the fence in front of the house is removed to decorate the city beautifully.  In today's text, Nehemiah 2:13, we can see that Nehemiah also inspected the ruined city of Jerusalem: “By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire.”  In Nehemiah 1:2-3, when Hanani, a couple of brothers from Judah, was asked about the condition of Jerusalem, they had already told Nehemiah, “The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”  However, in 2:13, we see Nehemiah personally inspecting and confirming the words of his brothers.  Rather than doubting the reports of the brothers, this is what he wanted to see myself and make a final plan.  Pastor John White said: ‘Hope in God doesn't mean you don't need detailed information and research.  Nehemiah will need to find out for himself, and this is another principle to follow when trying to be efficient. …  Of course, the Holy Spirit can, and often does, foresee problems we have no way of knowing about, but it would be irresponsible for us not to look into it ourselves’ (White).

 

Here we have to think a little about what Nehemiah began to do because what God had put in his heart (v. 12).  Here, we Christians need to think about what “work” means.  When it comes to “work,” many people will think of “workaholic.”  This is because this era in which we live is at risk of workaholic.  If we look at the Internet article titled ‘Self-diagnosis and treatment of workaholism,’ written by Professor Lee Hong-sik (Psychiatry) of Yonsei University College of Medicine, there are 10 lists of self-diagnosis methods for workaholism: (1) No matter how late I go to bed, I wake up early in the morning, (2) I make a list of my daily to-dos, (3) I can't bear to take a break, (4) I spread a stack of papers next to me at mealtime, (5) I am said to be energetic and competitive at work, (6) I work on weekends and holidays, (7) I am ready to work whenever and wherever I need to, (8) I have a lot of work, so it is difficult to take a vacation, (9) Even after work, I worry about tomorrow's work. (10) I really enjoy my work (Internet).  What is “work” really?  We must look for the answer to this question in the Bible.  Pastor James Packer says 3 things:

 

(1)    When the Bible says "work", it is not talking about the work or job.

 

The Bible doesn't say "work" just to make money and benefit ourselves.  Work in the Bible is always goal oriented.  It means putting the end in perspective and moving it into action.

 

(2)   The Bible views life as a rhythm of work and rest and does not separate spiritual and temporal work as if they were two separate functions.

 

Rather, the Bible teaches us to plan and live our lives in unity.  In other words, since we do everything for the glory of God, we must not separate the worldly from the holy.

 

(3)   What the Bible makes clear is the fact that God made us to do work.

 

That is why Paul exhorts us to strive to work with your hands (1 Thess.4:11) and says, “If a man will not work, he shall not eat” (2 Thess. 3:10).

 

                Nehemiah's responsible actions reflect his sense of duty.  A leader who burns with a sense of mission, he never lives in a dream world.  He confronts the facts honestly and also accepts good or bad news.  Nehemiah saw more at night than the residents saw during the day.  Nehemiah saw potential as well as problems while inspecting the city of Jerusalem at night.  This is what made Nehemiah a leader.

 

                Pastor John Johnston, under the heading ‘David in the World of Goliath,’ said: ‘The pastor of a small church can easily develop a defeatist and delusional strategy.  The result is a defensive aggression that maximizes stress and a serious sensitivity that creates an unrealistic sense of guilt.  Despite the voices echoing the theme of 'bigger is better', leaders and members of small churches should not be discouraged.  The temptation to despair must yield to a renewed spirit, a rekindled sense of purpose and mission’ (Johnston).  Let us all surrender to a burning sense of purpose and mission like Nehemiah, a man of prayer and a man who wants to make the king prosper.  Let's ignite our sense of duty to expand the kingdom of God by raising and sending out workers like the 300 soldiers of Gideon who have a sense of purpose and a Christ-centered dream to rebuild the church, which is the body of the Lord!