How God Works

A month ago I went to visit a friend's church in Manchester. It's an old church, built in 1880 so unlike our church there's a lot more plaques, pews and pulpits going on. Right at the back of the church there's a plaque remembering the very first minister who planted the church. You'd expect to find that in church. But to the left there was another plaque remembering another man who was not a minister, but was heavily involved in setting up the church at the time. He was one of the wardens or on the church council at the time.

It was a good reminder that God doesn't just use the important men history remembers to do his work, he uses everyday believers to do his work. That church couldn't have been planted all those years ago by just the minister, it took a team of people.

We're going to see that tonight in Nehemiah 11-12. We're going to see that God works out his redemptive purposes through his people. Not just a few individuals but through all of his people.

At this point in salvation history God is working out his redemptive purposes though Jerusalem. Jerusalem was meant to be the place where God's people could meet with God in his temple. Jerusalem was meant to be the place where God's people were safe. The trouble was that because God had judged his people for their sin. Now they faced danger and disgrace. The temple had been destroyed. There was no access to God. The walls of Jerusalem were in ruins. There was no safety. Yet in his kindness God had worked through Ezra to rebuild the temple. And as we've been hearing over the last few weeks, God was working through Nehemiah to rebuild the walls.

The walls were restored. The trouble was population was not restored. And it's hard to defend a city with few inhabitants. Nehemiah 7:4 outlines the issue:

"Now the city was large and spacious, but there were few people in it, and the houses had not yet been rebuilt."

The city is not yet secure. But God is at work through his people, and that's my first point. If you'd like to pick up a blue Bible we'll turn to page 350 to pick up the action. Come with me to 11:1-2 where we'll see how God is at work to restore his city:

"1 Now the leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem. The rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of every ten of them to live in Jerusalem, the holy city, while the remaining nine were to stay in their own towns. 2 The people commended all who volunteered to live in Jerusalem."

Nehemiah has the Jews in the surrounding towns cast lots to see who will return to Jerusalem. By casting lots Nehemiah leaves it to the will of God to see who will return to Jerusalem. Now it seems that those who were selected went willingly, they were volunteers. Or perhaps, the volunteers were additional to those who were selected by lot. Either way, this group go willingly. And they are commended for their willingness to go. Why are they commended? Because what they were doing was costly.

It doesn't take much to imagine. Just as moving to Leeds would be a big deal for us, so leaving one of the surrounding towns to go to Jerusalem would have been a big deal for the Jews. It meant a new home, a new job, and quite probably a building job too.

Imagine having to move to Leeds, but the city is half empty, you also have to build your own place and the city might well be attacked. It's not exactly an attractive relocation package on the face of it!

So is there any indication why these Jews went voluntarily? The clue might be in verse 1, they were going to Jerusalem, the "holy city". As battered by invaders as it was, Jerusalem was where God was at work in the world. Because of that the volunteers were willing to put God's programme over their own programme.

So we have verses 5-36 a list of those who lived in Jerusalem and its outlying settlements in Judah. These are the everyday people God used to restore his holy city. We get a feel for them in the words used to describe them in verses 6 and 14. In verse 6 these men are called "able", which is translated, "valiant" in the ESV. Similarly in verse 14, the ESV calls 128 priests, "mighty men of valour." It suggests not just the regular men, but the priests might be involved in the defence of the city! What they did in leaving their comfy homes, to make a new home in Jerusalem was valiant. It was costly. It was risky. It was messy! These lists are full of ordinary folks who put God's programme above their own programme.

What's the application for me and you? We too are to put God's programme above our own programme. Back then Jerusalem was the centre of God's work; today the local church is the centre of God's work of making the gospel known. So what might it look like to move to Jerusalem today? It might mean moving. I've got a friend who has just moved house to support his church's new church plant. He's not a minister, he's just an ordinary member of the church, but he's volunteered to make the move to help the church reach the local community with the gospel.

But there are ways we can move to Jerusalem, so to speak, in our ordinary lives. It means doing the costly, risky, messy jobs. Leading at Sunday School bears a cost. Tidying up the kitchen after Sunday morning is messy. Leaving our comfort zone to serve in a new ministry is risky. Giving up your Wednesday night to encourage others at home group each week is costly.

But it's hard. Where do we find the resources to do costly, risky, messy things? God's given us the ultimate resource in the gospel. Jesus was the most valiant man who ever lived. He said to his Father, "not my will, but your will be done." He was the one who said he did not "come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

When it feels hard to put God's programme above your own programme, look to Jesus. Consider the one who literally went to Jerusalem and died on a cross for your sin. If you know his costly love, then you have a resource to show costly love to others too.

So we see in these lists that God works through his people to restore his city. And we see in the next set of lists that God works through his people to restore his temple too. Ezra had rebuilt the temple, but here we have a list of the priests to serve in it. In fact it seems to be a list of two generations of priests serving in the temple. 12:1-9 is a list of the priests in the time of Zerubabbel, one of the first returnees we heard about in Ezra. From 12:12-21, we have a list of the priests in the time of Joiakim, either the or a subsequent generation. These lists represent around 100 years service in the temple.

What do we take away from this list? We see true worship of God passing from one generation to the next. It's a reminder that God works out his redemptive purposes through his people, from generation to generation.

The Overseas Missionary Fellowship, a mission agency working in East Asia, has just celebrated its 150th anniversary. It was started by Hudson Taylor in 1865 in China who recruited 25 people to come to China with him. Five generations later the work started by one man and his team has grown to an organization of 1400 people working across Asia. Do you see it's a lovely illustration of how God works out his redemptive purposes through his people, and down the generations? The hero down the generations is always God. We have a direct link to Nehemiah, and the likes of Taylor. You see Nehemiah's God is our God. Hudson Taylor's God is our God. So be encouraged, God is still at work, and God is still with us.

How will the Jews respond to what God has done through them to rebuild the walls and temple? They respond with joy. That leads us to my second point tonight: God's people rejoice in God's work. Come with me to verse 27 to see what kind of party they throw:

"27 At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, the Levites were sought out from where they lived and were brought to Jerusalem to celebrate joyfully the dedication with songs of thanksgiving and with the music of cymbals, harps and lyres. 28 The musicians also were brought together from the region around Jerusalem—from the villages of the Netophathites, 29 from Beth Gilgal, and from the area of Geba and Azmaveth, for the musicians had built villages for themselves around Jerusalem. 30 When the priests and Levites had purified themselves ceremonially, they purified the people, the gates and the wall."

First of all we see they are careful about how they celebrate. They want the party to have maximum effect so they plan: the Levites are sought out, the musicians are rounded up. Sometimes we frown on planning in our gatherings as a bit unspiritual, but church gatherings are for celebration! And planning helps us get the most out of our gatherings so don't frown on it. The Jews certainly didn't! Secondly we see in verse 30 that the Priests not only purify themselves, but the people and the wall too. They are acknowledging that this is God's city, and they are God's people set apart to worship him.

Once they've done that Nehemiah sends out two groups of musicians, priests and leaders to process around the wall and meet together at the temple. Why? Look at verse 31:

31 I had the leaders of Judah go up on top of[e] the wall. I also assigned two large choirs to give thanks.

They go onto the wall to give thanks. But why on the wall? As they process on the walls they remember all that God has done through them. The procession isn't about their achievement, but God's enabling power. Imagine as they process they're reminded of all God has done. As they walk the walls they're reminded that God has removed the danger and disgrace of exile. God had redeemed them! You can imagine their thoughts went like this:

"Hey, do you remember when we came on horse back to scout out the walls? They were in a terrible state then!"
"I remember building this section of the wall while carrying my sword."
"Remember when Nehemiah stationed us by that gate to guard the city from Sanballat?"
"Do you know what? God has been truly kind to us. Praise God for all he has done!"

Retracing God's work through them could only trigger thanks to God.
For God works out his redemptive purposes through his people. What does it mean for us?

Well, I wonder sometimes we should be quicker to remember how God has been faithful to us in the past both individually and corporately. Individually, we've got to recognise the ways God is kind to us. It might be the kind word of a friend, a line in a book that speaks to us, or a sermon that stops us from doing something silly. Let's day by day get into a habit of recognising and telling each other of God's wonderful deeds in our lives.

On a church level, we don't have many remembrance plaques, after all we're only 8 years old! But we've got one which reminds us of the date we started, and it's a good reminder of God's faithfulness to us down those years. That's the reason why we celebrate our birthday each year, not because it's about us, rather it's about what God has done.

The two groups processing meet up in the temple. What happens? Well, let's look at verse 43. Look out for the repeated words:

" And on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away."

They offer sacrifices to God. And the word repeated 4 times: joy. God gave them great joy. The people rejoiced because God had given them walls to be secure. He'd given them a temple to meet with him. God had worked out his redemptive purposes through them!

You might think that's jolly nice for them in Jerusalem, but what about me in Gateshead? We have reason to be glad too. Even more reason. Jerusalem, the place of safety and access, was fulfilled in Jesus. God ultimately worked out his redemptive purposes in Jesus, the true Israel. Jesus is the place where we are truly safe. Jesus is the place where we truly meet God.

But Nehemiah's Jerusalem also pointed to the heavenly Jerusalem where heaven will come down to earth. So if you are trusting in Jesus today, you can rejoice because you are safe in Jesus. You are in a relationship with God. And one day you will live with God in the heavenly Jerusalem.

That joy moves you to serve. That kind of gladness in the gospel that gets under your skin drives everyday worship. That putting of God's programme before out own programme. We see that service again at the end of the chapter.

There needed to be financial provision for the regular temple services. And the writer draws our attention to how all Israel put God's programme above their programme. Look with me at verse 47:

"So in the days of Zerubbabel and of Nehemiah, all Israel contributed the daily portions for the musicians and the gatekeepers. They also set aside the portion for the other Levites, and the Levites set aside the portion for the descendants of Aaron."

All the Israelites contribute costly grain, wine and oil to keep the temple open. Again it's a lovely picture of how God uses all of his people to work out his redemptive purposes. It's also a lovely picture of how putting God's programme above our own costs in some way. But it's worth it. Let me finish with this.

Two weeks ago I was in York. I was walking on the medieval city walls. There was a great view of the minister. Everyone was taking photos. But the Jews in Jerusalem had a greater view as they walked the walls. They remember how God had worked through them to rebuild the temple and the city walls. God had saved them from danger and disgrace. But there is an even more beautiful view coming.

One day, God will bring his people onto a wall, so to speak, to look across the heavenly new Jerusalem. That city will be radiant with the glory of what Jesus has done to redeem his people from danger and disgrace. You see following Jesus is completely worth it!

God works out his redemptive purposes through his people. So let's put his programme above our own. Let's rejoice in our redeemer, Jesus.