Nehemiah 2:17 – “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem
lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild
the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace… Let us start
rebuilding.”
You wouldn’t need to make much of an argument to say that
many current-day ‘Christians’ are in a similar state as Jerusalem was during
Nehemiah’s time. Simply put, we’re a hot mess. This church says this, and this
church argues that. This pastor committed this and this pastor did that. Oh, and
let’s not forget what happens when you walk into some church buildings. You
might have entered with intentions of having an encounter with God, but quickly
learned that you stepped into the most tantalizing soap opera, dripping with
drama, gossip, and you name it. There is great division, not only between
churches, but between members. Besides and beyond that, many Christians have
forgotten what it means to follow Christ. Holiness has been watered down to
attending church on Easter Sunday and purity has been minimized to masturbating
only once a week. How can God’s Kingdom possibly move forward if we continue
like this?
Nehemiah saw Jerusalem in this desperate condition and recalled
the covenant God had made to His people years before and held tightly to that
promise; “but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your
exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and
bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.” (Nehemiah
1:9) That same promise remains true for us, both corporately as a church and
personally as individuals.
Will we turn back to God and obey His commands? Will we
return to our First Love or will we continue to prostitute ourselves for
temporary satisfaction? Will we let go of our intellect and even our
experiences, so that God’s truth will reign supreme in our doctrine? Will we
let go of our egos and humble ourselves so that God can exalt us for His glory
alone? Will we let go of our grudges so that we can love our neighbor the way
we ought to, that way, the world will see and know that indeed, God is with us?
Will we put our petty differences to the side and unite so that God may be
glorified? Will we accept the challenge of rebuilding our walls?
It won’t be easy and the challenges will be many. Even Nehemiah
and the Jews that gathered to rebuild the wall met opposition; “But when
Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Gershem the Arab heard
about it, they mocked and ridiculed us.” (Nehemiah 2:19) People will despise us
before we even begin to take action. The Jews simply GATHERED TO REBUILD and
they were already being laughed at. They hadn’t even started building yet.
Doesn’t this sound familiar. Like the time you told your friends you were
giving your life to Christ and they laughed and said, “you…YOU… you’re giving
your life to Christ, HAAAAA, yeah right!”
And that’s just the beginning. Wait til you start making
moves; “when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry
and was greatly incensed (enraged). He ridiculed the Jews… Can they bring the
stones back to life from those heaps of rubble – burned as they are…What they
are building – even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of
stones?” (Nehemiah 4:1-3) When you start taking action, the shots that are
fired will expose your weak points. “So you wanna live for Christ now? After
you done slept with everybody and they mama, now you wanna be saved? Jesus
don’t want you honey, you might as well stay on the dark side.” Your enemies
will try to convince you that its impossible to change. They’ll remind you of
your “glory” days in death and tell you that even God can’t do anything with
you.
Sorry if you thought it stopped there, it actually gets
real when they start seeing signs of progress; “But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the
Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashbod heard that the repairs to
Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were
angry. They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir
up trouble against it.” (Nehemiah 4:7-8) When your frenemies see progress,
that’s when they start coming for your neck. They’ve given up trying to
discourage you because that clearly didn’t work. The only thing left is to get
in your way and stop you. This opposition can come in many different forms.
Let’s not take some of those intense Nigerian movies as mere comedy. Spiritual
attacks are more real than many of us believe them to be. Be very careful whose
food you eat and take the grace you say beforehand seriously. Right when things
are about to change for the better, the enemy has a tendency to attack the
hardest. Beware of temptations to fall back into your old ways. Remember where
that lifestyle left you, and how unsatisfying that pleasure was. Keep fighting
the good fight.
Although we look around and see ruin everywhere, God has
not forgotten about his people. He is gathering them into His presence, those
that will return to Him and obey His commands (Nehemiah 1:9). Get Ready
Peace & Love,
David
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