All In
Vision: A Study on Nehemiah • Sermon • Submitted
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This morning, we come to the third week of our series about vision as we study Nehemiah chapter 3. So far, we’ve talked about the burden God laid on Nehemiah’s concerning the condition of Jerusalem’s wall. We learned that before making any attempt to return to seek permission from the Persian king (Art-a-zerk-sees), Nehemiah spends four months in prayer seeking out God’s approval. Last week, we learned that after receiving permission from the king, Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem to survey the destruction with his own eyes. Afterwards, he formulated a plan, and then cast the vision of what could be to the Jews who had returned from exile.
This morning, as we come to chapter three, we are going to see that it will take everyone working together for the vision to become a reality.
The 2008 Clemson football season was supposed to be the year the Tigers returned to national prominence. Tommy Bowden’s team entered the year ranked #8 in the country. But, midway through the season they found themselves with a 3-3 record. Following a Thursday night loss to Wake Forest, then Athletic Director, Terry Don Phillips decided it was time to make a change. On October 13, 2008 William Christopher Swinney (Dabo) was named the interim Head Football Coach for the Clemson Tigers. The program he inherited was not in total shambles, but it was not in a good place either.
This is a clip from Coach Swinney’s first press conference as Interim Head Coach.
Seven weeks later, on December 1, 2008, Dabo was officially named Head Coach. Dabo Swinney believed in his heart that greater days were ahead for the Clemson program, if they would just unite together. For the last twelve years, “All In’ has been the mantra for not only the Clemson football program, but the entire University. Since then, here are some things that have been accomplished:
Dabo’s Record — 134 wins and 31 losses (82% winning percentage)
2 National Championships
6 ACC Championships in a row
6 College Football Playoff Appearances in a row
The first team in modern history to go 15-0
Consistent ranking in the top 10 grade point averages for football players
Graduating men of character
So, how’d he do it? He did it by selling the entire University, from the President all the way down to the students, on vision of what Clemson University could look like if everyone went All in!
The only way we will ever see God’s purpose and vision for us as a church become reality is if each of us commit to going All In. Being All In means each one us believes wholeheartedly that God is moving us toward a greater future as one church, with a single vision of Magnifying Him, Multiplying Disciples, and Mobilizing for Missions. It means that we understand that together we can see the day when God is effectively using us to accomplish His purposes for us, and that we understand everybody in this room right now, watching at home, and those who will join our church in the future has a role to play in turning God’s vision for us into a reality.
Last week we asked the question, “Can You See It?” Once you can see what the future could look like, the next question becomes, how can it become a reality? This morning, we are going answer that question by looking at Nehemiah 3 to see what happens when everyone comes together and goes All In.
I. All In = Leaders Leading the Way (3:1)
I. All In = Leaders Leading the Way (3:1)
“Then (El-Iia-shib) the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and set its doors. They consecrated it as far as the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Tower of (Hun-Nail).”
Little is known about the Sheep Gate other than it led straight to the Temple. Scholars believe the Levites used this gate to bring in the sheep that were offered up to God as a sacrifice for the sins of Israel. What I believe is important to note this morning is the fact that Nehemiah lists the group of Levites first.
Again, as best we can tell, the Sheep Gate did not play a significant role in rebuilding the walls. In other words, the Sheep Gate was not a foundational piece of the wall that needed building before any other section of the wall could move forward. So why did Nehemiah find it necessary to begin his list of willing construction workers with the Priests?
I want to be careful by not translating something in this verse that isn’t there. With that said, I think it was important for Nehemiah to highlight the fact that these Ministers, who were set apart from everyone else by God, to carry out the required functions of Priests inside the Temple, joined in with the people of Israel to reconstruct the wall. (El-lia-shib) and the other priests were out front, leading the way in carrying out the plan that Nehemiah had devised because they knew God’s hand was upon Him. They knew it wasn’t Nehemiah’s plan. They knew it was God’s plan. Had they not trusted that Nehemiah was working under God’s direction, then chances are, no one else would have either. The result would have been the wall remaining as it was.
My role, as the under Shepherd of Monaghan Baptist Church, is to follow God in such a way that I can see where He, The Chief Shepherd, is working and lead all of us to join Him. My prayer is to be the kind of leader follows God wherever He is working and joining Him in that work. If I am a being an effective leader, I be alone.
(El-lia-shib) trusted that God was working through Nehemiah, so he knew he needed to follow his plan. Those who (El-lia-shib) shepherded trusted that he was following God and so they were okay following his lead.
My prayer is the same will be true for us as a church. That you will see me following God in such a way that you will be able to trust that you can come too! Not because you are following me, but because you’ll know that together we are following God where He’s working.
Nehemiah doesn’t only mention (El-lia-shib) in these first few verses, though. Notice he records that that “the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built the Sheep Gate.” (El-lia-shib) wasn’t working on the Sheep Gate alone. His “brothers the priests” were right there with him setting the example for others to follow.
For a vision to become reality, those in leadership roles must be heading in the same direction. In this case, (El-lia-shib) as the high priest was working with his team of ministers to reconstruct the Sheep Gate. If Carol, Chip, Danny, Rita, and I are not on the same page and working toward a shared vision, then nothing will ever get accomplished. If the five of us have our own agenda then nothing will ever get accomplished.
Just about every Monday morning at 10:30 our staff comes together for our staff meeting. We start out each meeting by praying for the prayer requests that we receive, then we spend time talking together about each of our ministry areas. The reason we do this is to ensure that we are on the same page and to see how we can collaborate as a team to help each other out in our ministry areas. Doing this goes a long way in making sure we stay aligned. Satan wants us to get out of alignment. Satan wants to cause confusion and to harm our communication. Satan wants to disrupt our team so that we fall into the trap of doing our own thing and having our own agenda. Thankfully, no one on our staff has fallen into that trap and we will continue to pray that none of us do. Instead, we will continually pray that God protects us and keeps us aligned. Because if we are not together, if we are doing our own thing, then we will never accomplish anything.
II. All In = Everyone Has a Role (3:2-32)
II. All In = Everyone Has a Role (3:2-32)
Beginning in verse one and continuing through verse 32, Nehemiah describes the fact that Jews from all over came together to rebuild the wall. Nehemiah’s master plan for rebuilding the 10 gates and 1.5 miles of walls is organized around having families work on the sections closest to their homes, community groups rebuilding portions in their districts, and professionals repairing segments that protect areas important to their vocations. Nehemiah records in chapter 6 verse 15 that it only took 52 days for the wall to be rebuilt. The job wasn’t left for the experts to do. It took the entire community coming together to complete the work. There were women and men from a variety of different occupations working together. You had priests, perfumers, politicians, temple servants, merchants, and goldsmiths working on their assigned portion of the gates and wall. Young and old. Everyone had a role in the work and they did it together.
“Then (El-lia-shib) the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and set its doors. They consecrated it as far as the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Tower of (Hun-Nail). And next to him the men of Jericho built. And next to them (Zack-Cur) the son of (em-iri) built.
The sons of (has-nah) built the Fish Gate. They laid its beams and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. 4 And next to them (Mear-moth) the son of Uriah, son of (hawk-es) repaired. And next to them (Mesh-alum) the son of (Bear-rick-iah), son of (Mesh-e-zabel) repaired. And next to them (Zah-duck) the son of (Bona) repaired. 5 And next to them the (Tea-coites) repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord.”
31 times in these 32 verses, Nehemiah says either “Next to” or “After” them. So the image we are given is that side by side, these folks from all walks of life are working as one unit to see that what was once a vision become reality.
If we are going to see a day when Magnifying God, Multiplying Disciples, and Mobilizing for Missions become a reality, then it is going to take every one of us here this morning, watching at home, and those who have yet to join us in our quest, working together as a unified church. Without solidarity and teamwork the vision will remain just that, a vision.
Nā Pali Coastline on Kauai — Dolphins Story
A few years ago, our family was blessed to travel to Hawaii for vacation. While there, we did a boat tour of the Nā Pali Coastline on Kauai. While on the tour, we pulled into a section of calm waters near the coast line and I’ll never forget the site of hundreds of spinner dolphins surrounding the boat. Some of the dolphins were showing out for us as the came up out of the water in a spin and back into the water they’d go. Some of the dolphins were calmly rolling in the water. The tour guide told us that the dolphins that were calmly rolling in the water were sleeping and the dolphins that were active were standing guard and watching for predators. He said that later on they would trade places.
That’s teamwork. They were working together to make sure one group was protected while the other rested, and later the ones doing the resting would become the security guards so the others could rest. They had a common goal of getting rest while being protected and they worked together to make sure the goal was accomplished.
That is exactly what God expects of us as His church. We have a common goal of Magnifying Him, Multiplying Disciples, and Mobilizing for Missions. To make that a reality, it is going to take each of us doing our part. We are going to need people to volunteer in the nursery so parents can volunteer as mentors for students or help with the AWANA ministry once it’s up and going. We are going to need people who are willing to volunteer to serve in the AWANA ministry, the Good News Club, Upwards Soccer, and mentors who are willing to help us once we are able to get a school going here at our church. We need people who are willing to go into apartment complexes and build relationships with people who live there and to lead Bible studies there at the complex. We need prayer warriors! We need leaders!
Vince Lombardi is considered one of the greatest football coaches to ever live. He once said, “Individual commitment to a group effort—that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” —Vince Lombardi
Henry Ford once said, “If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.” —Henry Ford
Helen Keller said, “Alone we can do little, together we can do so much.” —Helen Keller
Here’s what I hope you will take away from this morning’s message:
1. All of Us Are Expected to Contribute to God’s Work on the earth.
1. All of Us Are Expected to Contribute to God’s Work on the earth.
Paul says that, “we are [God’s] workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” —Eph. 2:10
We all have something to do! We all have a purpose! We all have a role to play in being used by God for the growth of His Kingdom.
We know this is true because of the fact that upon our accepting of Christ as our Lord and Savior, God gifted us with a Spiritual gift that could only come from Him.
Paul tells the Corinthians that “there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” —1 Cor. 12:4-11
God doesn’t give us those special spiritual gifts for us to keep them to ourselves and never use them. He gives them to us to use for His glory and to accomplish His purposes.
English Standard Version Chapter 4
10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:
God expects us all to contribute to His work!
2. We Are All In This Together.
2. We Are All In This Together.
The accomplishment of God’s vision for our church is not something that can be left to one person or one group of people. It is going to take us all working together.
Yes, we are individuals who share in a personal relationship with Christ. But even as individuals we are still apart of the a greater team. We all bring something to the team that helps move God’s vision for us personally and for our church as whole forward.
English Standard Version Chapter 12
12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
And when the body of Christ works together the way God designed it to, we are unstoppable!
Christian Standard Bible Chapter 4
From him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part.
1. How much of an impact can Monaghan Baptist Church have in our community, across our state and nation, and overseas if we all commit to using our God-given spiritual gifts to fulfill His purposes?
1. How much of an impact can Monaghan Baptist Church have in our community, across our state and nation, and overseas if we all commit to using our God-given spiritual gifts to fulfill His purposes?
2. How much of an impact can Monaghan Baptist Church have in our community, across our state and nation, and overseas if we all commit to working together as one body to fulfill God’s purpose for our church?
2. How much of an impact can Monaghan Baptist Church have in our community, across our state and nation, and overseas if we all commit to working together as one body to fulfill God’s purpose for our church?