May 2024 - Midtown Church

Kingdom Building / Disciple Building

God is always building, and so are His people. God builds His people and significant structures that serve to build HIS people. Here @ Midtown church we are in the disciple building business. We believe Kingdom Building [Jesus Christ’s Kingdom] is basically ‘Disciple Building’.

God’s pattern throughout Scripture is HE builds through individuals and community. Then: Israel / The Hebrews. Now: Jesus’ Body / The Church. In Scripture we see both: individual responsibility & communal responsibility: OWNERSHIP.

Building a wall is a process, a sequential process. So is disciple building. Building something begins with Vision then it requires Planing regarding Materials and Labor… THEN: Construction. The planning and people and building materials are all in place, let the building begin! But no matter how many people collaborate or work together, each person must do their individual part for the building project to be successful.

The Kingdom Building Principals we will see:

United Purpose FROM GOD through His Called Leader! The Building Plan: What needed to be repaired or rebuilt? God Given Priorities. Preparation & uniting the people was done before construction began: sequence. Individual Response AND Communal Response / Everyone Pitched in [non-laborers]. Spiritual Leaders [Priests] Led by EXAMPLE & Personally Initiated Action [Labored]. Real People who worked where they lived & where they didn’t live. There are always some who don’t participate, don’t let that stop You! V.5

We will also look at the significance of particular Gates, their history & use.

LAST WEEK: Nehemiah 2: 17-18 [ESV]

Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” And I told the of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.

THE INVITATION TO JOIN GOD IN WHAT HE WAS DOING!!!

NEHEMIAH 3:1-14 [NASB1995]

1 Then Eliashib the high priest arose with his brothers the priests and built the Sheep Gate; they consecrated it and hung its doors. They consecrated the wall to the Tower of Meah [100] and the Tower of Hananeel. 2 Next to him [The High Priest] the men of Jericho built, and next to them Zaccur the son of Imri built.

Spiritual Leaders lead through and with PEOPLE
Leadership is active in the work
They worked where they lived / worked [Temple Area]
THEY CONSECRATED GATES! [things that serve God]

3 Now the sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate; they laid its beams and hung its doors with its bolts and bars. 4 Next to them Meremoth the son of Uriah the son of Hakkoz made repairs. And next to him Meshullam the son of Berechiah the son of Meshezabel made repairs.

Moving west [area of threat / need for protection]
Primary use of Gate: Where fish came from the Mediterranean Sea

And next to him Zadok the son of Baan also made repairs. 5 Moreover, next to him the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not support the work of their masters.

The Tekoite common folk worked, but not ‘The Nobels’
Since the fall, there is no perfect unity

6 Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired the Old Gate; they laid its beams and hung its doors with its bolts and its bars. 7 Next to them Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, also made repairs for the official seat of the governor of the province beyond the River.

Old Gate near Governor’s Seat
No specific use for the Old Gate
People from other places joined their family in building
Only construction that was not part of the wall or a gate was Governor’s House

8 Next to him Uzziel the son of Harhaiah of the goldsmiths made repairs. And next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, made repairs, and they restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall. 9 Next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, the official of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs. 10 Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph made repairs opposite his house. And next to him Hattush the son of Hashabneiah made repairs.

People who were not used to working in construction pitching in
High city officials doing manual labor along side nobodies
Individuals taking personal responsibility for their part
While individuals do their part, they also act in unity and cooperative community

11 Malchijah the son of Harim and Hasshub the son of Pahath-moab repaired another section and the Tower of Furnaces. 12 Next to him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, the official of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs, he and his daughters.

Not just city officials themselves, but they are bringing family…FEMALE family
There was a lot of wall between the Old Gate and The Vally Gate
They needed all the help they could get!

13 Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They built it and hung its doors with its bolts and its bars, and a thousand cubits of the wall to the Dung Gate. 14 Malchijah the son of Rechab, the official of the district of Beth-haccherem repaired the Dung Gate. He built it and hung its doors with its bolts and its bars.

People from out of town
Valley Gate led to Valley south West of the city [no specific use]
Nehemiah used this gate to get out so it was passable…
Dung Gate: removal of refuse.
These two gates were close to each other [different uses]

Observation:

The High Priest ‘Arose’ and with his Brother Priests and began to build [Sheep Gate]

Reflection:

When kingdom building is from God, leadership takes part in the actual work

Observation:

Individuals are named and their parents identified

Reflection:

When God moves in a group it is also about individual, real people

Observation:

Even in such a God ordained building project there was no perfect unity

Reflection:

Nehemiah didn’t let possible division slow him down, neither should we

Observation:

Time was taken to repair a fitting home for their God appointed leader

Reflection:

They valued the leadership God had given them and acted accordingly

Observation:

God’s people who didn’t work with their hands join in the manual labor

Reflection:

When it’s God’s work, you don’t only do what you do well, you do what’s needed

QUESTIONS:

Do You have a vision for what You should be involved in building for the kingdom?

Why is this Memoir included in both Judaism and Christian Scriptures?

What place should ‘Building’ and ‘Rebuilding’ play in the Body of Christ?

What about Nehemiah Typifies the coming Messiah? [450 yrs later]

So where is Jesus in the Book of Nehemiah?

Nehemiah 2:10-20

Nehemiah is a man who has a problem put on his heart. God gives Nehemiah a desire to see his people restored in Jerusalem and protected.

In the passage today we’ll read Nehemiah doing several things:
– he surveys Jerusalem and the damage
– makes a plan
– invites others to join
– holds fast to his convictions and the truth in the face of opposition.

10 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.

• Satan would love for this to be a social club. A box for you to check.

11 So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. 12 Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode.

13 I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire.

• We’ve got a picture of the city and the wall that ran around it. We have a decent idea of where these places are that Nehemiah is taking about, and it says that he inspected the areas that had been broken down and destroyed by fire.
• Indeed it has been destroyed, Daniel attests to this:
• “You [God] have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem.” -Daniel 9:12

14 Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass. 15 Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned.

• Nehemiah tells us the animal, probably a donkey or something similar could not pass through the gates. I think what he’s saying is the structure is so ruined, he had to dismount and climb under the rubble.
• vs 15, he inspects the wall, looking at it with his own eyes, and throughout it he’s making a plan. Assessing the situation. Reminds me of Jesus telling those who wanted to follow him to count the cost.
o For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ – Luke 14:28
• He knows what God put on his heart, and he is preparing to do it, but he’s making sure he understands the assignment.

16 And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work.
17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.”

• He then approaches the people with an invitation, a call to action.
• They are in some serious trouble. A city without a wall is not a city.
• It is an important thing he is calling them to do. It might seem strange today, there is no wall around your house or the city of Atlanta, but it was important then.
• God gives an invitation to join, but doesn’t need them. He is going to get this job done, but they get a chance to participate. A chance to be obedient.

18 And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.

• He tells them it isn’t of himself but a calling and plan from God. He isn’t asking them to follow his idea. He wants to do what God is asking him, and is asking them to join in.
• The response of the people is encouraging, they are in to it! And more than that, it says they prepared. They didn’t just run out there and say “god will give me the strength”.
• They made sure they were ready.

19 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”

• They clearly care quite deeply about what is going on, the work that Nehemiah is proposing to do.
• They try to snip the idea in the bud by bringing an accusation. “You are going against the king”
• This is a very serious accusation, something that would bring about death, disloyalty could be seen as treason or insurrection.

20 Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.”

• They are coming with lies and deception. Satan is the father of lies. Nehemiah doesn’t engage or dignify them with a retort. He knows it’s a lie, they probably know it’s a lie. He doesn’t cast pearls before swine, does not get distracted.
• There is no rebutting the claim, even though he knows it’s not true, he has permission. only the truth boldly proclaimed. The lord “will make us prosper.”
• Nehemiah also makes it clear that they will not have any portion of the work they are doing. They don’t get anything to do with it. No middle ground. There are the people who are for it, and those against it.

key principles:
– God’s people are invited in to participate.
– God’s people accept the responsibility
– God’s people prepare for the work there is to do.
– God’s people have confidence.
– God’s people expect opposition

So how do we apply this? This is not a parable. It’s a narrative.
God first calls Nehemiah to participate and now the people get the chance to join in as well.

Nehemiah Pt. 4: Each of Us & All Of Us

Nehemiah Pt. 3: The Invitation