Lessons From The Wall

Josh Herrera

Shovel & Spear • Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago

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Nehemiah 7:1–4 ESV

Now when the wall had been built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, I gave my brother Hanani and Hananiah the governor of the castle charge over Jerusalem, for he was a more faithful and God-fearing man than many. And I said to them, “Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot. And while they are still standing guard, let them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, some at their guard posts and some in front of their own homes.” The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few, and no houses had been rebuilt.

Walls Without Watchmen

Introduction:

When we get to the seventh chapter of Nehemiah the work of building the walls was complete. As we have been learning over the last three months, this was an effort that started with Jewish families who left Babylon to return to Jerusalem and build unto themselves a city once again. The first wave was led by a man named Zerubbabel. The next wave was led by a man named Ezra. Here in this third wave Nehemiah leads a group of exiles back to Jerusalem to finish the job.

Someone say finish the job.

In 52 days he was able to complete the work of build the walls against much opposition. The situation was so bad that they had to build with a weapon in one hand and a tool in the other. This was not your typical building project.

Nonetheless they completed the work and we read in verse one that they hung the doors.

Now here is the reality that they were faced with and what they needed to overcome here in Nehemiah 7. They had walls, but they didn’t have watchmen.

A watchmen, very simply put, was a person who was on guard, protecting the city, the temple or the homes. This was a literal position, but in the scriptures we see this also used symbolically of prophets and priests. Today, it’s even appropriate to use this language to describe leadership and anyone who is looking over the people.

Here in Nehemiah 7, and to finish our study, I want us to look at how Nehemiah set watchmen.

Worship is our Defense

The first area that Nehemiah sought to defend was the temple. We read in verse 1 that he set the singers and the levites. Their place and their space was the temple.

I know that often times when we think of the singers and the levites we don’t think of watchmen, but they were not just their to sing, but they were also there to defend the temple. This is why when King David went to war the Levites went first. They were not just skilled in music, but they were also trained to defend.

Worship Is Our Weapon

You need to know that worship is powerful weapon in our hands. You need to know that when we lift our voices, clap our hands or let out a shout, it is not just to connect with God, but also to defend against the attacks of the enemy.

Your Voice Reflects Your Heart

Out of the abundance of the heart speaks the mouth. When we open up our mouth and begin to declare the goodness of God, it sends a signal back into our heart, reminding us of the goodness of God. Sometimes your heart isn’t in a good place, so you have to speak it anyway. Declare it anyway. I might not see it right now, but I’ll say it anyway.

David said, “I encourage myself in the Lord.” Sometimes, beyond how we feel, we need to lift up our voices and start to talk to ourselves.

Your Voice Shreds the Air

We read that in the Bible that one of the descriptions of our enemy is that he is the Prince of the Air; Ephesians 2:2. If he is the Prince of the Air, it’s important that we let out our voice and let the enemy know that we aren’t done fighting yet.

Every time we lift up our voice, we shred the air with our praise. We shred the air with our worship. We shred the air with our shouts. I know that for some of you, you aren’t used to raising your voices in a church. But there was a reason that throughout the Old Testament they let out a shout before entering into battle. It was a war cry. When they shouted they advanced and they fought with their enemy.

Your enemy is not playing games with you, so please stop playing games with him!

Worship is your line of communication with the almighty. Is worship prayer? Yes. Is it singing? Yes. Is it shouting? Yes. Can I worship in my car? Yes. Can I worship while I run? Yes.

God is omnipresent. He is everywhere at once, but you feel the weight of his presence when you invite him in.

Invite him into your day, throughout the day. Worship is your weapon.

Rulers Over the City

The second thing that Nehemiah did was set rulers over the City. We read that he selected Hanani and Hananiah leadership positions becuase of their closeness with God.

Your Closeness To God Positions You To Lead

I am a firm believer that as a Jesus follower, you should excel in leadership and authority wherever you go. Anything you put your hand to do should be blessed because you touched it!

Let me dive into this for just a few moments.

Your mission field is:

Your job

Your community

Your groups

I want you to start seeing your work as holy.

“Your work place is your primary place for spiritual growth” - Rich Villodas

What we do here is equipping, but what you do when you leave is doing.

We don’t equip you to become better at “doing church”, we equip you to become a Jesus follower who brings spiritual renewal and transformation wherever you go.

When you start seeing your work as holy, then how you work should be done with the highest quality and you are doing it as unto the Lord.

Now having said all of that, and now assuming that you are doing your work well, you now are set as a watchman to where you are.

More watchmen are needed into the fields!

Vision Precedes Access

When we get to the third verse, I want you to pay attention to the lesson. We read that Nehemiah said that the gates to the City were to remain closed until there was enough clarity to open them.

What You Give Access To Matters

Without vision, people cast off all restraint. Without vision, people perish.

When we don’t have a vision for our life we will open up the doors to ourselves to anyone or anything. Nehemiah tells the people:

When it’s hazy, keep the doors closed.

When it’s dark, keep the doors closed.

When it’s foggy, keep the doors closed.

Don’t give access to anyone or anything that is not in line with the vision of your life.

It is so important to have a clear vision for your life, but if you don’t, limit your access.

Don’t let people into your life that aren’t life-giving. Don’t let people into your heart if they don’t share your values.

I’m not saying to be stand-offish to people. I’m not saying not to be friendly. I’m saying that you need to know yourself and your vision so well that you will fiercely protect it!

Nehemiah know that rebuilding this city was decades in the making. They weren’t going to keep their gates open to anyone with any intention to waltz on it. They kept the gates closed until they had clarity.

In the same way, protect what God is doing in and through you. Don’t set yourself back because someone had cool shoes. Had a lot of followers. Had a presence.

I’ll never forget the time that someone I knew was going through a very difficult time in his marriage. I was counseling him to do everything he could to honor his vows, even if his spouse wasn’t. This wasn’t the time of retaliation. This was the time to honor his commitment to her and to God, even if she stopped. The challenge was he was also listening to someone else. A person who was now on his third of fourth marriage. This man was telling him to gas light this thing. I had to tell this person, you are listening to the wrong person. If you want to stay married, you probably should be listening to the person who is encouraging you to fight for your marriage, and not the person who is telling you to gas-light this thing.

Someone say clarity.

What Your Give Access To Matters.

A Watchman Over the Home

As Nehemiah finished setting the watchmen over the temple, over the walls and over the gates, he had one last place that he needed to touch.

Someone say, the homes.

Set Watch Over Your Home

Mom and Dad, you need to set the spiritual climate of your home. Listen to me, start challenging your kids and platforming them to succeed in life.

I’m not going to stand up here and say I have it all figured out, but can I just tell you that I could care less about my sons being cool. I could care less about my sons fitting in.

The last thing I want is for my son to fit in. The last thing I want is for my son to blend in. I am raising up leaders who will excel in every area of their life. At their age, it starts with school. They are going to be a person of high character at school. They are going to excel in their studies. They are going to do their absolute best effort in sports and team games. I don’t need them to be an All-Star, but show up and do your best for yourself and your team.

We are raising up our kids to fear the Lord. Joanna and Jaden are on a one year bible reading plan together. Yes, he’s 11 years old, but come December 31, my 11 year old son will have read the Bible together with his mother.

That matters more to me than my son having the best shoes.

That matters more to me than my son fitting in.

That matters more to me than my sons popularity.

Parents, don’t have your kids winning at the wrong things.

Where does it start? With you, Mom and Dad.

The example that you set by how you live, and what you achieve, will go extremely far in life.

I’ll never forget my family attending my father’s graduation when he got his BA. My Dad didn’t come from a family that prioritized education. My Dad grew up in a home without a father beginning in his teenage years. And yet somehow, my Father did his best to go to college. He started at the Junior College, and then went to San Jose State. Because he had little to no support he had to work full time to pay for college. It ended up with my Dad burning out while in college and dropping out of school becuase it was too heavy of a weight for him to carry.

But something that will forever stay with me was seeing my Dad finish what he started. My Dad went back to school while raising four boys, and finished his Bachelors Degree. I’ll never forget him hopping into his classmates BMW and speeding off to their ceremony. My family would be there to watch him graduate. What that did for me was set the example that finishing my under grad wasn’t even an option. It was an expectation. Becuase I saw the watchman of my home do it, I knew that I needed to also do it.

Raising your children is more about what is caught than what is taught.

Let them catch you doing extraordinary things.

Let them catch you being a person of integrity.

Let them catch you being a provider.

Let them catch you being a hard worker.

Let them catch you being a leader in the community.

Let them catch you being a leader in your church.

Becuase here’s the truth, they don’t catch just the good. They catch the bad too. So if you aren’t being intentional about what they see, they will see what you unintentionally didn’t want them to see.

Conclusion:

We learn some incredible tools here in Nehemiah;

Worship is your weapon

Your closeness to God positions you to lead

What you give access to matters

Set watch over your home

I think somewhere in here God is speaking to you. If he is, I invite you to let God begin to do the deep work in your life. We need to let God do the transformative work in our life.

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