A Road Map to a Miracle
We are drawing near the close of this series in our newsletters. The purpose has been to help us see how God led Nehemiah and the people of his day to a building miracle. The principles found in Nehemiah are good for all of us and can help us realize the path to experiencing the power of God.
We need that in our hearts, in our homes, and in our church. Today we come to Chapter 7. By this time, the wall is finished. But there are some words in this chapter which can speak to us. So, let’s look at just two issues from our text that are related to our situation.
Read Nehemiah 7th Chapter
There is a Call To Personal Participation
Each Christian is called to be personally involved in God’s work. Jesus did not just call the disciples to be saved; He called them to become fishers of men. In Matthew 9:9 we have the record of Matthew’s call to follow Christ. The word used by the Lord when He called Matthew means to be in union with, to accompany. The word for follow comes from the article, a, and from the word for road. Christ calls us to the road of service, which He turns in to a road of miracles!
Nehemiah was called into service, but then he was used by God to call others. I want you to see some important things here about the call of God to be personally involved in God’s work and will.
It Is An Individual Call
God speaks to all of us as individuals. There are some occasions when God uniquely calls upon a person for service. For example, God calls all of us to witness, but he has a unique call to some who are called to be evangelists and who are called to go forth and preach the evangelistic message. You and I are called to witness, but Billy Graham was called to be an evangelist.
Nehemiah received an individual call to go back and rebuild the wall at Jerusalem. Maybe God had another chosen for the job but that person rebuffed the call. God simply turned to another. God called until He found a man willing to obey.
When we get to heaven, it just may be that we will learn how many opportunities we have missed because we were too selfish, too busy, or too preoccupied to listen to God’s voice. Many are called but few are chosen. That simply means that many are called but few of them make themselves available for the work that God would have them perform.
It Is An Inspirational Call
God speaks through people to inspire other people to serve. Proverbs 27:17 states, “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” The last part of this phrase has an unusual Hebrew structure. It can well read, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man who is sharp can help another become employed and endure.” The idea in this passage is that one person can influence another for good works.
Nehemiah inspired many people by his willingness to follow the Lord. You and I can do the same. Our willingness to obey the Lord can serve as a model for other people.
I once heard about a wonderful stewardship testimony. It seems a church was planning to build and needed funds. In the midst of the campaign, an elderly lady came to the pastor and shared her heart. The pastor asked that her testimony be shared with the church. She told her story. Her husband had been dead for a number of years and her income was very limited. When her church decided to build, she began to pray about what she could do. She was praying one day when she noticed her wedding rings on her left hand. Just then a thought entered her mind. So, she took the rings down to the pawnshop and pawned them for some money. She then took the money to church and gave it to the building program. She explained that since her husband was with the Lord and she would be there with him soon, she did not need the rings anyway. When she testified before the church, there was hardly a dry eye in the fellowship. People were moved to tears. The next week the deacons of that church went out and bought the rings back from the pawnshop and the following Sunday they called her forward to present them back to her. She just stared at the rings. When encouraged to take them she replied, “I can’t take them. You see, I didn’t give them to you, I gave them to God.”
Needless to say, her devotion moved the entire church. They had no problem meeting their goal. Why? Because one person had sharpened another. The call of God had gone out through this woman. People were individually touched and divinely inspired.
As a church, God is calling us to do our best for His glory. He will speak to us individually. He will inspire us to give, to serve, to obey, to do His will. Some will do and others will not. Look at Nehemiah 7:70-71. “Some” of the people gave! It is estimated that 20% of the people give 80% of the money in the average church. Actually, George Barna has recently shown through surveys and studies that the figure is closer to 17% of the people give 83% of the money and 83% of the people give only 17% of the money. His studies show that giving since 1998 has gone down in percentage and per capita in the church. Imagine that! In 1999, when the market was soaring and money was plentiful, people actually gave less than in 1998. The same can be said for the year 2000. No wonder our economy is reversing. If God can bless this nation the way He did in the 1990s and the average church member actually gives God less, then it is only natural that the well is going to dry up!
There Needs to Be A Commitment To Personal Participation
God does not call us to work, pray, or give as a first priority. God calls us to follow Him. He calls us to trust His plan. He calls us to a deeper relationship with Him. God did not primarily call me to preach – He called me to obey His will for my life. It turned out that part of that plan was for me to be a pastor. My first commitment is not to pastoring, it is to God. Not understanding this principle is a mistake many young preachers make. You can be committed to the ministry without being committed to God. That is a disaster in the making.
The same can be said for Sunday School teachers, church musicians, deacons, etc. When the thing we are doing for the Lord is more important than the Lord we are doing it for, we are out of step with the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, if Christ is first and foremost in my life, He will not have any problem making me into the person and pastor He wants me to be. Jesus said, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” It is in following Him that the disciple becomes what God intends!
The same is true when you are building a wall or building a church building. The building is not the important thing. The money is not the important matter. Lordship is the important matter. That needs to be our emphasis. The important matter is FOLLOWING Him!
Every commitment to God must be personal. Salvation is like that. No one can be saved by someone else. A husband can pray for a wife or child, and a wife can pray for a lost husband or child. But, in the end, the individual must decide. It is not God’s will that anyone perish, so we know God wants that person saved. The church of Jesus Christ wants that person saved. The loved one wants that person saved. Even people in hell are praying for a loved one to be saved. Jesus revealed that in the story about Lazarus and the rich man. When the rich man went to hell, he prayed for 5 brothers who were still alive. He prayed that they would not come to hell. He prayed that someone would talk to them so they could believe. Yet, in the end, it is up to the individual to decide. It is an individual decision…either turn to Christ and be gloriously saved or remain lost.
A poor building contractor was a good friend to a wealthy businessman. The businessman commissioned his friend to build him a fine home. Prices and plans were agreed upon, and the contractor went to work. Thinking this was a good opportunity to make a fat profit, the builder decided to skimp on both the quality of the materials and the workmanship. After several months, the house was finished and turned over to the wealthy friend. At that point the business executive turned to his friend and said, “John, I’ve always wanted to do something for you, and I figured this was a good way to do it. You have built this house especially for me, but I know you have poured yourself into it. So now I want to give it back to you free and clear. I just hope you will enjoy living in it as much as I’ve enjoyed planning it for you.” [450 Stories from Life, Judson Press, 1947. Pages 214-215.]
It is decision time. What will you do with Jesus? What about your church membership? What are you going to do about serving your Lord through your church. If we simply love the Lord and obey Him in these matters, all will be well.
Peace and Grace
Pastor Bruce
Previous Newsletters
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010