The State of the Church, 2005

Examining the Walls

Nehemiah

January is a natural time for review, isn’t it?  Virtually everyone takes at least a minimal amount of time to look over the events of the past year.  We face a seemingly endless litany of:

Ø      stories of the year

Ø      those we lost in the past year

Ø      pictures of the year

Ø      song of the year

Ø      movie of the year,

and on it goes.  And it’s good to do that. 

It’s also a time of personal reflection.  We tend look over the past year, and do a bit of inventory. 

Was it a good year, or bad?  Am I happier than a year ago?  Am I in better, or worse shape than a year ago?  Have I learned new lessons?  Have I grown emotionally, physically and spiritually? 

It’s also a time when we are presented with official reviews – an no, I don’t mean the official reviews when the ref goes and looks at an instant replay during an NFL game – I’m talking about the kind of official review that is presented by business and government officials to update the people on the state of affairs.  It wont be long before you will be hearing about a series of speeches – The State of the County, The State of the City, The State of the State, and, most well known of them all, The State of the Union.  The idea is to give a review of the year just past, yes, but also to lay out a vision for the year to come.

Today, I want us to do the same here at Gateway Community Church.  I want us to do an honest evaluation of where we have come, and receive a new sense of where God wants us to go.

There were some great high points in the year just passed.  We have seen God do great things with the AWANA program – as young children, sometimes in excess of 50 of them, have come for times fun, but more importantly good, solid Biblical teaching.  These children, many of them from families that do not attend church – represent the future of Gateway Community Church.  As they grow and mature, we have the opportunity and responsibility to ground them firmly in the Word of God.  The hard work of a great team of volunteers is perhaps the most vital work of the church.  We need to be supporting them with our prayers, finances and efforts.

We were blessed in the year just past to see many people respond to receive Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.  Over 30 people indicated that they wanted to begin a new walk with Jesus this year, or begin anew a walk that had wandered far from God.  A few of us were part of a mission trip to Mexico that saw nearly 400 decisions for Jesus in a week.  While we are grateful for each person who made that decision, those numbers should motivate us in two very important ways – first, we must take seriously our commitment to follow up with new believers, encouraging and helping them along in their walk. Our goal is not to put notches in our Bibles at how many people say a prayer, but to make disciples. That is why this church exists – to be moving each and every one of us along on the never-ending-journey of discipleship.  If you have been a believer for 30 years or 30 days, the mission is the same – to day by day become more and more like Christ.

Secondly, we must pray all the more fervently that God will greatly eclipse those numbers in the year to come.  I am so thankful to God for each person who makes a decision to follow Him, but we must reach more!  Let’s pray for 30 decisions a month, not a year!  Let’s be open and available to God for increased opportunities to share with our neighbors and co-workers what God is doing in our lives, and invite them to follow Him, too.

There have been other highlights in the year past that we can give God thanks for.  The improvements that are taking place in our Spiritual Gift assessment and ministry matching efforts; the church library and resource center has grown tremendously, and the praise and worship arts ministries are expanding; small group Bible studies continue to be added and expand;  – God has blessed us with wonderful, talented leaders in each area, and we give Him praise! 

I share all of that with because we indeed have much to be thankful for – God has blessed us with a good, solid core – people who love the Lord, who want to do His will, and are committed to His work here.  That is a huge blessing for which I am personally thankful!

I share all of that because 2004 was, without question, our most difficult year to date.  Our attendance is down from a year ago, our finances are in crisis, and, most importantly, our momentum has slowed to a near – standstill.  As I look over the landscape of our church, I must tell you in all sincerity, that the State of our church is perilous.  I believe that we are at the most critical juncture in the nearly 10-year history of this work.  Whether this church is still here a year from now hinges on the steps that are take over the course of the next few weeks and months. 

I don’t tell you that to discourage you, or scare you away, or to try to manipulate you to do something out of desperation.  I share that information with you because I believe it is an accurate statement of the truth, and I believe it is exactly where we need to be for God to do what He wants to do!  God loves to give hope to the hopeless, and He displays his best when things seem to be at their worst.

Open your Bibles with me to the Old Testament book of Nehemiah.  Nehemiah is found before Psalms, and after I & II Samuel, Kings and Chronicles, which outline the history of the nation of Israel as they became a nation, went through periods of great triumph and failure under a long list of kings, finally ending up conquered and oppressed by the Babylonians and Persians.  Then comes three great books of Jewish History – Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.  These three books talk about a period of history about 500 years before the birth of Christ.  The people of Israel had been taken captive to the capitals of their oppressors.  Generations of Jews had been born in foreign lands, not allowed to return to their homeland.  All of this had been prophesied by Daniel Isaiah and Jeremiah, where God had promised that one day they would be permitted to return to Jerusalem.  King Artaxerxes, of Persia, had allowed that return to begin.

Nehemiah was a Jewish servant in the palace of the king of Persia.  He was a trusted servant, he tells us in the last verse of chapter 1 that he was the cupbearer to the king.  Chuck Swindoll says that,  “He tasted the king’s food and wine before it ever touched the lips of the king.  It was a position of great responsibility.  The cupbearer of that day was thought to be the person, like no other except perhaps the king’s wife, who had the closest communion with the king.”

In the opening words of Nehemiah’s book, we find that his brother, Hanani, had just returned from Jerusalem, the old capital city of Israel.  Nehemiah couldn’t wait to hear what it was like, so he got together with him and wanted to get all the details – “What was it like, was the temple there, how are the people who have been returning?”  What he heard disturbed him.  The walls of the city were destroyed – the gates burned with fire.  In that day, a city without walls wasn’t a city at all.  With no defenses, the people were vulnerable.  The temple had been rebuilt, under Ezra, but with no wall, there was no way to defend it.

In verse 4 of chapter 1, Nehemiah writes, “When I heard these things, I sat down and wept.  For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.”  In the days after September 11, our nation mourned over the loss, the destruction and the vulnerability we felt.  Many in this country mourned and fasted and prayed.  Nehemiah did the same.   

Let me read for you chapter 2 of Nehemiah’s book:

1 Early the following spring, ^F3 during the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes' reign, I was serving the king his wine. I had never appeared sad in his presence before this time. 2 So the king asked me, "Why are you so sad? You aren't sick, are you? You look like a man with deep troubles."Then I was badly frightened, 3 but I replied, "Long live the king! Why shouldn't I be sad? For the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and the gates have been burned down." 4 The king asked, "Well, how can I help you?"With a prayer to the God of heaven, 5 I replied, "If it please Your Majesty and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried." 6 The king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked, "How long will you be gone? When will you return?" So the king agreed, and I set a date for my departure. 7 I also said to the king, "If it please Your Majesty, give me letters to the governors of the province west of the Euphrates River, instructing them to let me travel safely through their territories on my way to Judah. 8 And please send a letter to Asaph, the manager of the king's forest, instructing him to give me timber. I will need it to make beams for the gates of the Temple fortress, for the city walls, and for a house for myself." And the king granted these requests, because the gracious hand of God was on me.

Let’s stop there for a moment.  I want us to notice several things about this story.

First, Nehemiah covered this entire period of his life in prayer.  There is a four month span between his Hanani’s report of the destruction of Jerusalem, and the time when Nehemiah was able to share his burden with the king.  During that time, Nehemiah was consumed with his burden – he mourned and fasted and prayed.  It affected even the way he looked – the king could tell that he was upset.  He prayed again to God in verse 4.  After the king asked, “What do you want?” Nehemiah writes, “Then I prayed to the God of heaven…”  Before he said a word to the king, he breathed a prayer to God.

I want you to notice something else, too.  Nehemiah was afraid.  In verse 2, after the king asked him what was wrong, he says, “I was very much afraid.”  Not only was he discouraged about the poor condition of God’s city, now he was afraid!  And not just a little afraid, he was “very much afraid!”  I don’t mind telling you, folks, I’ve been afraid over these past few months.  I’m human, I get scared when we’re dipping into our savings to pay the bills, when people stop coming, and the flame seems to be fading.  I don’t like the idea of failure, and I get scared.  But look at the rest Nehemiah’s journal sentence – “I was very much afraid, but…” 

He was afraid – BUT!  BUT he trusted God.  BUT he had prayed!  BUT he moved ahead in spite of the fear!  I’m afraid too,  I don’t have all the answers, I don’t know how this will all work out, BUT – I trust God, I am praying, and I am going to move ahead in spite of the fear!

And look what happened to Nehemiah – He shared his burden with the king, and verse 8 says, “And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests.”  The king gave him permission, supplies and even army officers and cavalry for protection!  Nehemiah had taken the first big step.

Now he had to do the real work – he had to actually go to Jerusalem and get the walls rebuilt.  Beginning with verse 11, Nehemiah tells us what happened when he got to the city. 

9 When I came to the governors of the province west of the Euphrates River, I delivered the king's letters to them. The king, I should add, had sent along army officers and horsemen to protect me. 10 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of my arrival, they were very angry that someone had come who was interested in helping Israel. 11 Three days after my arrival at Jerusalem, 12 I slipped out during the night, taking only a few others with me. I had not told anyone about the plans God had put in my heart for Jerusalem. We took no pack animals with us, except the donkey that I myself was riding. 13 I went out through the Valley Gate, past the Jackal's Well, ^F4 and over to the Dung Gate to inspect the broken walls and burned gates. 14 Then I went to the Fountain Gate and to the King's Pool, but my donkey couldn't get through the rubble. 15 So I went up the Kidron Valley ^F5 instead, inspecting the wall before I turned back and entered again at the Valley Gate. 16 The city officials did not know I had been out there or what I was doing, for I had not yet said anything to anyone about my plans. I had not yet spoken to the religious and political leaders, the officials, or anyone else in the administration. 17 But now I said to them, "You know full well the tragedy of our city. It lies in ruins, and its gates are burned. Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and rid ourselves of this disgrace!" 18 Then I told them about how the gracious hand of God had been on me, and about my conversation with the king.They replied at once, "Good! Let's rebuild the wall!" So they began the good work. 19 But when Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab heard of our plan, they scoffed contemptuously. "What are you doing, rebelling against the king like this?" they asked. 20 But I replied, "The God of heaven will help us succeed. We his servants will start rebuilding this wall. But you have no stake or claim in Jerusalem."[i]

Let’s take note of a few things here.

There was resistance.  We are introduced to Sanballat the Horonite (not Horiconite!), Tobiah the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arab, all three of whom will be doing all they can to discourage Nehemiah and the people of Jerusalem from their work.  In the days and weeks to come, they accuse him of treachery, they make fun of their work, they organize the other people in the area against the Jews to kill them, they convince the king that Nehemiah is breaking the law, they even tried to discredit him among his own people.

But these outsiders were not the only ones who resisted.  There were Israelites who didn’t help along the way, too.  In chapter 3, verse 5, we see that some of the nobles thought they were to good to do the work.  In chapter 5 we find out that some of the people in the city were being oppressive to their fellow Jews by charging them outrageous interest on loans, and refusing to help the poor and hungry.  They even evicted some of the people and took possession of their homes!

It is not easy to rebuild.  There will always be resistance – from outside and from within.  Not everyone will want to help; some will help but complain the whole time – some will even outright oppose the efforts to move forward – In each case, Nehemiah went back to God.  He prayed, “Now strengthen my hands,” and kept on working.

There was honest evaluation.  One of the first things Nehemiah did was get an up-close look at the extent of the damage.  He went out at night with a few others to examine the walls.  All up and down the walls they went.  At some places, they couldn’t even get through because of the wreckage – but they went to every corner of the city.

We need to do the same – there’s lots of work to be done – but we won’t get anything accomplished if we don’t look at every part critically to determine what needs to be done, and how to do it.  We need to see what’s working and what’s not.  If it is – how can we support it?  What can be learned from it?  If something’s not working – Why not?  Can the work be salvaged?  Should it be done at all?  In Nehemiah’s case, in some spots there was so much rubble they couldn’t do the work of rebuilding – where do we need to clean up some rubble in our church?  What is in the way of our effective ministry?

These will need to be days of honest and critical evaluation.  In the final analysis, Nehemiah got the leaders of Jerusalem together and said, “You see the trouble we are in, Jerusalem lies in ruins…”  He didn’t sugar coat it at all, and neither should we. 

There was faith.  Nehemiah followed up the assessment with these words of faith:

“Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem,

And we will no longer be in disgrace.”

I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me

And what the king had said to me.  (vs 17&18)

Nehemiah called the people to do what seemed beyond their capacity – he called them to take a giant step of faith – to do a work that they knew needed to be done – to do something that would restore a testimony of God’s faithfulness to His people in their homeland.  It was a call to stretch – they would have to sacrifice financially, give of their time and energy, and make this a priority in their lives.  He called them to do the seeming impossible – because that is what faith is. 

And he shared with them the testimony of what God had done up to that point – how he had put the burden on his heart, how He had changed the heart of the king – he recounted to them the evidence that God was at work, and called them to join him in that work.

There was response.  In verse 18, the people replied, “Let us start rebuilding.”  And they began this good work.

As I look over the state of our church today, I am sometimes brought to tears, and sometimes I am afraid.  We can go on like we are – living among the ruins, holding out as long as we can – or we can begin to answer the call of God – We can begin to pray, and fast.  We can trust God in spite of our fears.  We can face the resistance from outside and inside with courage and determination.  We can do an honest evaluation of the situation, and be willing to do what is necessary.  We can dare to dream God-sized dreams, and trust him in faith to do more than we can ask or imagine.  We can do all those things – but there must be a response. 

When we respond in faith, there is nothing God can’t do.  Fast forward with me 52 days – to chapter 6, verse 15.  Nehemiah says, “So the wall was completed on the 25^th of Elul, in 52 days,  When all our enemies heard about this and all the surrounding nations saw it, our enemies lost their self confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.”

Fifty-two days!  In just fifty-two days these poor dirt farmers and sheep-herders had rebuilt the walls of what was a pretty major city in its day!  It was so amazing that the surrounding people knew instinctively that it was miraculous!  They knew that it was a God thing because it would have been impossible without God’s help.

God had promised a return to Jerusalem to Daniel, Isaiah and the other prophets.  Some of the verses we read at Christmas were part of that promise [Isaiah 9:6ff].  The people returned.  The Walls were rebuilt.  The Messiah came.  And that same Messiah has promised, “I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not overcome it!”  God is building His church, it’s a promise – but like the people of Israel, we can’t sit back and wait for God to build it – He chooses to build it by using His people, who trust Him to do miraculous, even impossible things!

God has been so faithful over the past 9 years.  Hundreds of lives have been touched by His ministry here - but He wants to do so much more!  We have only begun to reach this area with the gospel of Christ! 

Can we trust God to do amazing things in the next 52 days – in the next 52 weeks? 

Ø      To not only solve our financial problems – but restore the savings we have had to use?

Ø      To add a dynamic youth program and a substantive men’s ministry?

Ø      To increase our evangelistic effectiveness and reach more people?

Ø      To do things that we can’t even ask or imagine?

YES!  We can trust Him – We can pray and fast – But we need to also pick up a brick, and help build the walls…

Ladies and gentlemen, will you join me in rebuilding this church?  Will you join me in trusting God for a movement of His Spirit that will have the surrounding area amazed by the work, and will put our enemy back on his heals because it will be so great that they will know that God had to do it?  Will you join me in 52 days of prayer, asking for 52 weeks of miracles?

Come, let us rebuild the walls…