Nehemiah (Part 3 of 9) - Everyone Working Together

When the walls at Jerusalem were built Nehemiah was careful to record the name of every person who helped so that future generations would know. He did this to bring glory to God because He knew that it was God who had brought them together. Our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life and because of this God has a plan for our lives. We are here to bring glory to His name.

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Chapters 1 and 2 told of the strength of Nehemiah’s relationship with God. His prayers were genuine and heart-felt. I know that many of you have identified with that in your own lives. The prompting of God causing us to pray recently has solely been to show you how timely His answers have been or will be. Chapter 3 is all to do with the record of those who built the walls of Jerusalem. There were ten gates in Jerusalem: the sheep gate, the fish gate, the old gate, the valley gate, the dung gate, the fountain gate, the water gate, the horse gate, the east gate and the inspection gate. The gates had to be repaired and so did the walls in between the gates and there were only a certain number of people who were able to do that. Here and there, in chapter three, it becomes apparent how delegated jobs to the people.

Nehemiah 3:1-4

First three verses we come across the fish gate and the sheep gate. The sheep gate had something about it because it was sanctified and was built by the priests. It is very significant that our lives are grounded in the faith of God and what He has done for us. He is the door of the sheepfold. The priest here is recorded specifically by Nehemiah.

Nehemiah 3:4-5

You get the gist of this. There’s a sense in which there’s a joint effort going on here. I want to emphasize the fact that everyone mentioned in this chapter was pulling the same weight. They were aware of the fact that they were doing something that was not welcome by the fraternity, but they knew this was something they had to do. It was like a sort of scrum in a rugby match where the players bind tightly together. The binding together was a distinct purpose born of God. Unfortunately, in v.4 the Tekoites put not their necks to the work of their Lord. The Tekoites were the nobles. There’s something sad and unnerving about the situation where you have a number of people, seventy-two listed here, joined together as one and yet a few decided not to put their necks to the work of the Lord.

Nehemiah 3:6-8

All sorts of occupations. It’s very easy to translate this into our own situation. Each one of us has our own abilities. When we come in here there’s a common bond – the faith of Jesus Christ. We are brothers and sisters in Him. There’s a sense in which where we are at the moment going forward fulfilling God’s purposes for His church. It’s time for us to link up together going forward.

Nehemiah was very aware that family by family they joined together as one.

Nehemiah 3:9-12

There are families involved here; Shallum and his daughters. It came to the point that they were building with a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other hand. There was a task they had to do; opposition was not going to stop them. At each gate there was a group of people getting on with what God wanted them to do, it was specific for each person. To the end that the walls would be built. Young and old were involved, there was nobody on the side lines. Everyone together. It must have been a sight to see.

As I thought about these names that are recorded here I began to think about your name and where your name is already recorded. I just want to look at a few scriptures relating to that.

Luke 10:17-20

When Jesus spoke to the seventy He empowered them. The work that God has for you you will do as unto Him, it’s His church. The tasks that He has for us will bring glory to Him. As we lift up His name collectively, so it is He will draw others to Himself. We should not just rejoice in the work that we are going to be getting on with, we should rejoice because our names are written in heaven.

Isaiah 4:2-3

Your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. With your name written there, as a result of what Jesus Christ has done for you, you know that our position is secure, seated in the heavenlies. We are seated with Him in the heavenlies. Why? So that we can walk in the ways He has prepared for us and so that we can make a stand for Him. It is as if we are collectively on top of a hill and the enemy of our souls is always trying to come up the hill, and the armour we put on is purely defensive. We are not going down the hill to fight, we are merely defending. Your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life so that you will bring glory to His name. Each of us has a work to do.

Hebrews 12:18-25

This is the time when our work is to be co-workers with Him. Sharing the good news of the Gospel with others, so that they can become part of His church worldwide. Our situation is secure in Him through His wonderful grace. He wants us to, both individually and corporately, reach out to others in need. It is His love in us reaching out to others. We are here to glorify Him.

Revelation 21:25-27

That’s where security is. Your name is in the Lamb’s Book of Life. For the glory that was set before Him He endured the cross. That glory was His church, the heavenly Jerusalem. Tonight I’m confirming to you that your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. As a result of that there is a work for you to do. That’s not something we have to work out, we just have to lift His name up. Our lives are going to be a testimony to what He has done. We know the power of sin broken in our lives. There are people waiting for us to share the gospel with them. Our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

You can imagine Nehemiah carefully recording every name of every person who worked on that wall, because everyone had put their hand to their plough and he believed it was important for future generations to see who had done the work. Nehemiah knew that what he was recording was bringing glory to God because it was God that had brought them together.

Ephesians 4:13-16

Jesus Christ is in charge of His church, He knows what He’s doing. This year we are going to see miraculous things, we are going to see people met. Now is the time when collectively we need to draw together because the enemy of our souls will try to stop us. As, in Nehemiah’s time, there is a specific work which God has for each of you here to do. He is already showing you what that work is. My responsibility before God is to identify and steer, by God’s Holy Spirit, to what collectively we can do. We can have a huge impact on many people in many ways. Is that to build us up? No. It’s to share the wonderful good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We will fulfil God’s purpose in this place no matter what loud noises occur off-stage. We will set ourselves to the work that God has given us each to do. When Nehemiah started recording these names I’m sure He was meticulous in recording every single person that got involved. The reason for reading the section in Ephesians is all to do with v. 16: “From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.” We shall be known by the love that we have for one another.

Our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. It will be that as we go forward together the glory will be to His name. We will see, undoubtedly, that it has been God who has brought things about. The way we have been protected since March last year has definitely been Him. He has things prepared that we will walk into for His glory.

Everything Revolves Around Him

God is not going to walk away from what He has started in your life. The initiator of the faith that you have is Jesus. The one who will take you right through your life until you see Jesus face to face, is Jesus. The whole world exists and goes forward because of Him. Everything but everything revolves around Him.

I want to look at some verses which are talking about the end of time and what will happen. These verses in Revelation 21 talk about New Jerusalem, or the Bride of Christ, or New Jerusalem as a bride adorned for her husband. I’m reading these verses in Revelation because I want to place in your mind where everything in time is moving towards and we will come down to the specifics in your life and my life towards that end.

Revelation 21:1,10,23,27

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It matters that your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life because all of time is going forward towards New Jerusalem. It’s as if I have in my pocket a passport saying “Citizen of New Jerusalem, Citizen of Heaven.” I’m just passing through here.

Hebrews 11:1

On Friday we looked at how faith was fundamental to all the heroes of faith listed throughout this chapter.

Hebrews 11:33 – 38

It’s a tremendous catalogue of what people did, in faith, through faith, in God. This planet wasn’t worthy of such people.

Hebrews 11:39 – 40

In other words everything revolves around Jesus Christ. The Old Testament and New Testament are all one in God. The fulcrum, the centrality of time and eternity being Jesus Christ. Everything revolves around Him. The fact that you’re breathing, the fact that you see such wonders of creation; it all revolves around Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 12:1 – 2

I want to examine these two verses.

You’re in race, I’m in a race. That doesn’t mean we elbow each other out of the way. It’s not a competition. But there’s a race because there’s a definite goal. The aim is definite, we’re looking unto Jesus. Jesus lives inside me by His Holy Spirit and everything revolves around Him. My aim is Jesus.

I want to please Him. I want to live my life as He wants me to live it. The race is set before us. God has appointed that pathway, that lane that we’re running in, and His hand is upon your life. This means that you, by the love of God, have had faith put into your heart. And He will increase that faith. This race is not a sprint.

You might be thinking, hang on, I’ve already been saved from sin, I know about Calvary. But you know that it’s still possible to focus on things that are wrong. When you set off on a race in the Olympics you don’t start with a rucksack, you don’t stray into other lanes, you are focussed on your lane with nothing else restricting you.

2 Corinthians 7:1

So I don’t get involved with a friend who’s going the wrong way. Nothing’s going to pull me away.

1 John 3:2 – 3

So this passport in my pocket which says “Citizen of Heaven: Peter Linnecar” brings with it responsibilities before God. I’ve been set free so that I can make the right choices in life to go the right way. And He’s put the power in me that I can live the right way.

And in the race, you know that if you run with patience, that distance will be covered until such time as you see Him face to face.

Hebrews 12:1

That isn’t a cloud of people watching you, it’s a cloud of witnesses to the Power of God, people who have proved God, and have known God’s power through faith.

Hebrews 11:6

It isn’t that God dangles a carrot of faith in front of you and just as you’re about to take it He whips it away. God plants faith in a person. It may be for some that it’s a case of getting to an end of yourself. If this is the way it is for you, then it’s God that brought that about. Without faith you cannot please God.

Ephesians 1:9 – 10

Everything revolves around Jesus Christ

To repeat, everything revolves around Jesus Christ. Everything in your life which is of importance is what involves Him. This means that your focus, your outlook, revolves around Him. What does God want for me in my life? What job I do, who I marry, everything revolves around Him. So if I’m straying from my lane then I won’t progress in the race. Sometimes we meander from our lane and God has to bring you back to where you were before. God loves me.

Hebrews 12:2

Hebrews 1:1 – 4

That’s why I said on Friday, those heroes in Hebrews were all looking forward; they couldn’t look back to Jesus’ first coming as we can. We’re looking at it in a different way. We know what happened. Jesus came. We know that He died on the cross; we know that He was raised from the dead. So if you think He’s forgotten about you, He hasn’t.

There’s no planning or committee meeting going on in heaven. Christ sat down. It was finished. The work on the Cross was finished. There’s no mistaking or miscalculation. On 10th September the plug goes on at Cerne in Switzerland where these particles will collide as they try to discover the origin of matter. We know that the origin of matter is Him. And what we’re discovering is more and more and more how much He loves us.

Hebrews 12:3

We’re talking about a man who was here for all eternity. He could do anything, He was God, Son of God, and yet He was pinned like a butterfly in a tray.

Matthew 27:39 – 43

With one blink of a millisecond God could have wiped them out. He didn’t.

Mark 15:31 – 32

Luke 23:35 – 37

You know as well as I do that if you’re not a Christian your reaction to that would have been one of vengeance and anger. If you’d have had the power, if I’d have had the power, we’d have just flicked them out. But God’s love is greater than anything man can comprehend.

You know He put up with all that because He loved you. You were, in a sense, on His mind at that point. Because it says the joy that was set before Him. That joy is New Jerusalem and the Church. For the joy that was set before Him, He went through that for you and me. And when He was mocked He didn’t throw it back. But He committed Himself to God who is a righteous judge.

And in the next few verses He explains that God organises the circumstances of your life. Everything is organised so that as you go through life you discover more and more that you can trust God to provide for everything for you.

There came a time when He put faith in your heart and you know the way you’re going. If you’re trying to pull someone away from the pathway that they’re trying to live – don’t.

Hebrews 12:5 – 6

Don’t be surprised, if you stray from the path, that circumstances arise which force you to get back on track.

Hebrews 12:5 – 9

There is a way of life I’m going to live which is pleasing to Him. “No one’s going to tell me what to do” – fine, how about God?

Hebrews 12:10 – 13

I have a choice in my reaction to circumstances in life. I can meander and become bitter and allow that to affect others. Or I can run with patience the race realising that everything that has happened in life is for my good, and this will yield the fruit of righteousness in my life.

We should work together, helping each other, running this race patiently. Whether we’ve known each other for 30 years or three weeks we should always help each other. And woe betide this church if people come to visit and we don’t welcome them.

Whatever you need in your life God has the answer lined up, He’s heard your prayer. No prayer is just a vague hope, God hears, He knows. He’s there, He knows.

The focus of my life doesn’t depend on works but I can’t expect God to bless me if my intention in life is not to focus on Him in the way I run my race. God loves me and is a God of love. He had you in His heart before the world began. Time and eternity are no big deal for Him. Everything begins and ends with Him.

Hebrews 12:8 – 13

You’re here because of what God is speaking to you. I know He is. It’s a wonderful thing. And as we hear more of what’s going on elsewhere, God’s there. What will be your response? I think a good response would be, “Yes, this is me; this is where I’m at.” You may realise that you’ve been meandering; it’s time to get back in God’s way. He’s given you the faith to believe in your future in Him. He’s the author, originator, He’s started His work in you and He’ll complete it. His work is that when you see Him you’ll be like Him.

Now He’s conquered death and is seated at the right hand of God and He’s sent His Holy Spirit, and He’s here.