Get the Job Done: Advancing the Kingdom of God
Begin with the end in mind…we’ll be concluding our time together today around the Lord’s table…this ‘meal’, yes, where we remember Jesus but also confronts us with where we stand spiritually, today, before the Lord, there can be no remembering without that effect
…the cup and the bread that reminds us of what Jesus has done for us, but also to reflect on who we are in him, to ask the question are my eyes on him, singularly focussed on him or am I distracted by something or someone else, do I call him Lord yet not really follow him as Lord…pick that up later…
There’s a line in today’s passage I want to suggest is one of the most defining of Nehemiah. It tells us a lot about the man…”I am doing a great work, I cannot come down…”
Right here in this statement…speaks of Nehemiah’s commitment, his heart for God and identity in God, the certainty of his role and calling…
… “I’m doing what God has called me to do and I will not be distracted from it”
In this book of books (the Bible) we have all the evidence; it provides all the clues to reconcile any doubt, any uncertainty, and any distraction from who we are and what we’re called to do
You see we can be doing plenty of nice things, good things, and seemingly generous things but are they the right things, the “great things”, the “kingdom” things, the things that worship and glorify the Lord?
Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem are names we have become familiar with…and for all the wrong reasons!
We will all know people, or have known people, who for whatever reason, when things are going awesome, we’re making great progress in life, we believe God is doing something great in the church or that God has put a vision in our hearts for a worthy mission cause…people who say, “it’ll never work”…”no, no can’t be done”, “that will cost too much”, “you don’t have time for that”…“why wasn’t I asked to be involved…”
Sometimes people will take it next level and use whatever tactics necessary to get their way, putting doubt in the minds of others by negative and critical speak. Convincing themselves along the way, that they’ve been placed there by God
…their “fruit” is leaving a trail of hurt, discouraged and disillusioned people in their wake….
…almost sounds fictitious, doesn’t it? Speak from experience…
That’s the modern-day equivalent of what Nehemiah was confronted with…and his stance was I’m not having a bar of it!
Let me remind us that the enemy (yes the Devil) loves to see Mission-progress…regress. And we can be assured where there are advances been made there will be attempts from the enemy, through other people, often Christians, to regress the work of God
I find it very interesting that in chapter 5 we see a little internal strife among the people, and that we hear very little about, Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem – perhaps it is because the devil didn’t need to bother with God’s people when they were causing enough trouble among themselves?
So the project is all but complete yet these three and their companions were still intent on attempting to disrupt the work
…I want you to note that Nehemiah’s enemies very deliberately wanted to attack because the project was almost complete
What do I mean? If there was ever a moment for complacency and or compromise this would be it…”she’s being a big job mate, glad we got through that tough patch, we’ll slide into the finish, and it’ll all be sorted…”
…do we recall when it was that David let his guard down and left his heart unguarded? At a time when he thought he was at strongest, he fell…resulting in his writing of Psalm 51
…they mocked and ridiculed…, and questioned the viability of the project “What is this you are doing?”…(2:19) “What they are building—even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of stones!” (4:3)…they became angry and were greatly incensed (4:1)
An avalanche of criticism…but in the face of all that we can learn from the posture, the prayer and the attitude of Nehemiah…summary:
…2:18 “the gracious hand of my God on me”
…2:20 “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding”
…4:4a “Hear us, our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads.”
…4:9 “But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.”
…4:14 (fav) “After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”
The writer wanted to leave this book’s readers under no illusion that though the people faced opposition of all kinds, on all sides (reality), there was/is no doubt what was required to stay on point and who was sovereign over this mission, and people…we need not be distracted from what we’re called to do. And what we do are the great things, the kingdom things!
With that in mind, I’d like to explore three points from the scripture I believe are required to advance the kingdom of God…
- Priorities
The message from Sanballat: “Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono.” Nehemiah responds: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” 4 Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer.
Four times, using the same method, they attempted to get Nehemiah to meet them outside the city, on their ground, on their terms…but Nehemiah knew they were scheming and therefore refused their offer. Their lack of integrity in previous dealings gave Nehemiah no reason to trust them, and he wasn’t about to compromise his standards or allow his integrity to come into question by giving in
Nehemiah remained above reproach. We could say he was guarding his heart; his spirituality took priority, over politely accepting the invitation. …remaining in Jerusalem to oversee the completion of the project was of a greater (“kingdom”) priority, Nehemiah did not want to waste vital project time on something of less a priority.
The apostle Paul himself said ‘Satan masquerades as an angel of light’ (2 Cor. 11)…in other words, the enemy will give the appearance that something looks good and is appealing but has zero kingdom value
There are a few of you I’ve met with over the last year who will be familiar with a simple framework I shared with you, that I adopted many years ago for determining God’s priorities….it comes from applying Nehemiah’s response…and it’s simply this:
…what course of action advances the kingdom of God, versus what prohibits it?
… Or what loves the Lord and what doesn’t?
Nehemiah, in the wisdom of the Lord, understood the right thing, no matter how good and appealing it sounded, was to not be distracted, not allow himself to be deceived into something that’s not of the Lord…but to complete the task God had called him to do.
Cyril Barber says, “His ability to see the issues clearly and stand firm under pressure safeguarded him from succumbing to the wiles of his adversaries.”
Applying this text doesn’t give us licence to ignore what others say, decline every invitation, or not take on board the wisdom of others.
…the message is: know when we’re potentially being sucked in, discern what is not of the kingdom, and learn what is of the Spirit and what is not (reject it)
…learn what holds back rather than advances God’s’ work
…learn what to say no to, to say yes to the Lord, yes to his vision and mission for us.
Discipleship demands as we grow to a level of maturity and confidence in the Lord we’re able to make these distinctions
Remembering all the while it’s not about my priorities and expecting God to ‘fit in’…it’s determining God’s priorities for us, and saying YES Lord, I’ll do that…it is as John the Baptist said: “He must increase and I must …(P) decrease” That’s in our hearts and lives Jesus increasing, and the me, the us, decreasing.
“I am doing a great work, and I cannot come down”
- Valuing Others (Building Others Up)
On a fifth attempt to compromise Nehemiah a letter is sent this time to slander him. It was a further threat to report Nehemiah if he refused to cooperate.
You’ll note the letter Nehemiah received was unsealed, an open letter, that spoke of a conspiracy of plans to revolt, of appointing prophets and Nehemiah becoming king…3 pretty significant but fictitious lies and the key line in the scripture “Geshem says it is true”, so it was to Nehemiah to disprove the claims…
Dirty tactics… ‘you follow through with my agenda, or I’ll make life extremely difficult for you, doing whatever it takes’…Zero integrity, fuelled by a quest for power and control to disrupt and dismantle God’s work…Fake News!
Let’s look again at Nehemiah’s response to applying this: I sent him this reply: “Nothing like what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head.” Nehemiah (denied) repudiated…the false rumour immediately
Let me speak to 2 things I think get in the way of Valuing Others. Firstly, that of…
- Reputation/s (the beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something)
I mentioned 2 weeks ago, that often the easier thing to do is criticize than to build up, that has to do with our coping mechanisms. But rather than criticise and pull down others’ reputations, like we see Sanballat doing from the scripture, why can’t we take a posture that builds up, that prefers the other person above ourselves and encourages them.
The first piece of advice I was given as a young Christian about to get married was, your job is to make her (Karyn) look good…always!
“Oh it doesn’t come naturally to me”, it’s not meant to, but Jesus wants us to anyway!
The more damaging thing occurring here is the scheming behind the scenes. A ‘belief’ about Nehemiah was being formed in the minds of those opposing him, and they were gathering others to those false views…this is what power and control do…they simply weren’t true but were demeaning and damaging to his reputation nonetheless.
This account shows us how easy it is to form a negative and critical view of someone, behind their back, spreading that view among others, and not giving the person the opportunity to speak to the matter. One application is: whatever we’re prepared to say about someone when they’re not present we ought to be able to say when they’re present…
Why? Because gossip and rumours gather exaggeration and inaccuracy.
The story is told of a young man during the middle ages who went to a monk saying “I’ve sinned by telling slanderous statements about someone. What should I do now? The Monk replied, “put a feather on every doorstep in town. The young man did it. He then returned to the monk wondering if there was anything else he should do. The monk said, “go back and pick up all the feathers” The young man replied, “that’s impossible! By now the wind will have blown them all over town”
To which the monk replied “So has your slanderous word become impossible to retrieve”
Listen to what Charles Swindoll says about rumours in the life of believers: “I am personally convinced that the number one enemy of Christian unity is the tongue. It is not drink, it is not drugs, it is not poor homes, it is not inflation, it is not the television, it is not even a bad church programme, it’s the tongue”.
Here’s how Paul addressed a similar matter with the church at Ephesus…(Eph. 4:29f)
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
…Get rid of all…bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice”
We need to realise one other factor to in applying this: If we’re talking about someone else behind their back inappropriately, to a person of similar discernment and perception as Nehemiah? They will see straight away the need to stop or withdraw from the conversation and that will show the lack of spirituality in your own heart… the embarrassment of raising it in the first place.
…build up rather than tear down…2nd hindrance to valuing…
- Threatened by others’ success.
We’re familiar with the fact that Nehemiah’s three main opponents did what they did because they stood to lose position, status or power, politically, religiously, and socially. They had one agenda, it wasn’t Nehemiah’s and it certainly wasn’t Gods.
They were out for themselves and because they were, Nehemiah’s work was a threat to them.
Are we good at celebrating others achievements, doing well and growing spiritually? Do we push back on our own insecurities and feeling threatened by encouraging others? When we see others doing well, let’s see that for what it is, not giving ourselves any reason to be threatened by their great work.
The Christian walk is not an opportunity for power and control and selfish ambition, it is for me to help you and you me to grow in Christ, to love God and serve him faithfully
Paul wrote to the church at Philippi: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others” (Phil. 2)
- Keep God’s Standard
Nehemiah said to Shemaiah when he was being tempted to compromise his standards…. “Should a man like me run away? Or should someone like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go!”…in the process, taking a stand for what he believed was right in the Lord, what was truth and what was of benefit to the city and its people
Nehemiah knew that God had not sent Shemaiah (v. 12) and that his “prophecy” was inconsistent with the word and law of God
How? Because Nehemiah was not a priest, he was a layman, and therefore under OT law not allowed into the inner portions of the temple (Num. 18:7)
God does not forbid something and tell us to do it
…and here’s the resulting factor…because Nehemiah stuck to his guns…
16 When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.
One commentator I read said “the operation was a triumph of concentration amidst every kind of distraction”
Here’s what I get from this passage: God does not alter his requirements of us dependant on the circumstances we find ourselves in. Gods’ moral, ethical and spiritual requirements of us aren’t determined by what seems and feel right to me…We alter our standards to honour him, in all circumstances…
In 1 Peter 1:13-16, Peter writes to believers, 13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy because I am holy.”
God, who is Holy, that’s his standard, desires we obey him, that we love him and love others at all times, not because it suits us, but because he has asked us to
We make decisions that honour him, Conduct ourselves in a manner that honours him…lifting ourselves constantly to his standard for us…
He (Christ) died for us …what is our response?
The Christian life is a pursuit of Christlikeness, of being like Christ, of being and becoming holy. In that pursuit we don’t appeal to what we can’t do, but rather by the Holy Spirit, working in us, what we can do…
…Ross you’re talking about salvation by works, no, no I’m not
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. (Eph. 2:8f)
God through the person of Jesus or through his grace and mercy toward us hasn’t abandoned his call on us to be Holy… Paul defined this pursuit like this: “forgetting what is behind, straining toward what is ahead” Straining = stretching intensely forward
That God is holy is our primary motivation for straining to live holy. Being holy is our response to His being holy and saving us, and making a way to be in eternity with him.
We live in a day surrounded by complex needs and situations. This conversation about our being holy, keeping Gods standard is not just an individual or corporate matter, it very much allows for what happens in our communities. That is where the true litmus test is, that is where “our faith will be proved genuine” (1 Peter 1:7).
Like Nehemiah, who was…uncompromising, clear on his values, clear on his position, we need to be encouraged to lift and keep lifting our standard to Gods
It’s in the community we live holy, and as we do, we have to find a way and a language that effectively communicates holy, not an us and them thing, not an arrogant we’re-better-than you thing, but in the love and grace, but also in the truth of the person of Jesus.
We’re torch-bearers of God’s holiness, ambassadors of Jesus. This community and city needs Christians who are salt and light. Not people who fake it…or speak horribly about each other…
…just maybe…like those in today’s scripture, the people in this city will realise and acknowledge the work of God (6:16)
Here are 3 takeaways, critical to Getting the “Job” Done…
TAKEAWAYS
Determine to Prioritise
Determine to Value Others
Determine to keep God’s Standard