I recently passed a personal milestone just over a month ago, 20 years as a disciple of the Lord Jesus.
It was the 31st of May, 1993.
I was sitting in the big shed on the Katoomba side, up at Katoomba, on the Christian Convention side in Katoomba.
And I remember it specifically as a Friday night.
It was cold, but I remember the words of John Wesley, my heart was strangely warmed as my chains fell off.
My heart was free and I rose and I went forth and followed him, the Lord Jesus.
And I've been exposed all of my life up until then to the Bible.
Prayer was pretty much a normal thing.
I even gave money to Christian organizations.
But up until that point, I had trusted in myself and not Jesus.
And the biggest and immediate change that happened in my life when I became a Christian was a love for Jesus' church.
It didn't exist up until that point.
I was suspicious and even judgmental of the church.
But a love for Christ went hand in hand with a love for Christ's church.
And I think the New Testament expects it.
Listen to how Paul puts it to the Ephesian church.
Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy,
cleansing her by the washing with water through the word.
And present her to himself as a radiant church without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish,
but holy and blameless.
The church that Christ loves is one of the key features of God's plan for time and eternity.
All who love the Lord Jesus Christ ought to love the church,
which is the object of Christ's love.
And so I would suggest from the New Testament that there is something wrong with professing Christians
who do not identify with the church and love it and invest themselves in it and carry its needs on their hearts.
Now when I say love for the church,
I don't mean love for the institutional church.
Just need to clarify that.
Those who love the church in its institutional form
will have an enthusiasm for its liturgy, ceremony, bureaucracy,
and the labor that keeps the wheels turning.
It will express itself in a strong interest in preservation,
maintenance, and the nurture within a closed group,
accompanied by an indifference,
or even an opposition to revival, evangelism, and conversions that ultimately drive change.
The church that I fell in love with is the New Testament picture of God's people
getting together on a regular basis to do the things that the church does.
To praise and pray,
to hear the word of God through preaching and teaching,
to practice fellowship and pastoral care with mutual encouragement and accountability,
to exalt and honor Jesus Christ,
specifically by word and song and sacrament,
to reach out locally and cross-culturally
in order to share Christ with people who need him.
A church that sees itself not as an institution,
but as Mission HQ
for the glory of God.
It's a love for the church that is expressed in a constant quest
for faithfulness and holiness and vitality
in our individual and corporate life.
A love that results in a deep care
for the faithfulness and holiness and obedience
and spiritual vitality and a missional effectiveness of the church.
A love that is committed to praying and planning and sacrificing
and laboring and praying again
for the reformation and revitalization of the people of God.
That is what the next 30 days of time to build is all about.
What is immediate obvious to most of us
is that we have a building project.
It's kind of obvious.
It's been in process for three years.
Today we are voting as a church
as to whether we will proceed or not.
And if we do,
and I've suggested that we should,
then one of the purposes
of the next 30 days of time to build
is to raise the almost $1 million
we need to fund the project.
But even if we vote not to proceed with the building project,
this stuff's staying here
and we're proceeding with time to build.
Because what is most important to me in time to build
is the building, reforming,
and revitalization of the church,
the people of God.
Which is why time to build has three purposes.
Three other purposes, I should say.
And that is spiritual growth across the church,
the building of fellowship,
and the building of gratitude.
Even as we seek to redevelop our facilities,
the church that Christ is building
is the community of men and women,
boys and girls,
who have been redeemed by God the Father
through the finished work of the Savior,
Jesus Christ, on the cross.
This building means hearts being changed
so that repentance and faith and obedience
become more and more the pattern of our lives.
And the evidence of such building work
will be the humility and purity
and love and zeal for God and His Word,
a devotion to pray,
a love for the people of God,
a deep passion for those who need Christ.
That is biblical church growth.
And Nehemiah will instruct us in the next 30 days
because Nehemiah is about building saints
even as he seeks to rebuild Jerusalem.
Nehemiah loves the glory of God
and the people of God
more than the place where they came together.
His passion is for the relationship
between God and His people,
not so much the walls of Jerusalem.
Nehemiah was governor in Jerusalem
for 13 years.
It took him 51 days to build the walls.
Nehemiah starts in chapter 1, verse 1,
thousands of kilometers away
from their homeland of God's people.
Nehemiah is writing in his diary
in the month of Kislev in the 20th year.
That's about 140 years
after the most devastating event
in the history of Israel.
An event that they were warned would happen,
but it didn't cause them
to reform their life together
in order to stop it from happening.
And if you've read the Old Testament,
then you would know
that God had formed a people for Himself.
He had called them by name.
He had given them His law.
He had given them a land.
He had made His presence
to dwell amongst them
in the temple in Jerusalem.
And as His special covenant people,
Israel was to shine as a light
to the world around
so that the nations around Israel
could see how brilliant it was
to live in friendship with Yahweh,
the God of Israel.
Israel instead turned away from Yahweh.
They followed other gods
and they made idols.
They loved their wealth and their luxury.
They despised the word of God.
And despite repeated warnings from God
through the prophets
that He would punish His people
for their rebellion,
they just kept turning their backs on Him.
So in 587 BC,
Jerusalem finally fell
to the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar
and it was utterly destroyed.
The elite of the people
were put in chains and dragged off.
The king's eyes were put out.
His wife was killed.
The temple itself,
the place of God's presence
with His people
was sacked and left in ruins.
It's difficult, I think,
to express the humiliation
and catastrophe
that this event was.
Not to minimize it,
but this is not like
the occupation of France by Germany.
This is not the annihilation
of a native culture
or the brutality
of ethnic cleansing.
It is as if Yahweh,
the God of Israel,
was dead.
God had attached His name
and His glory
to that place
and its temple
in Jerusalem.
And now all of the evidence
points to the fact
that He has abandoned
His promises.
The God who would never
abandon His promises.
And He must be dead.
And so for many,
the exile was the death of hope.
But after 70 years in exile,
God began to do a new thing
to draw His people
back to Jerusalem.
Nehemiah is one of God's people
still left in Babylon.
But He had risen
to the absolute pinnacle
of the Persian corporate ladder.
He was cupbearer to the king,
King Artaxerxes,
the most powerful man
in the planet in the day.
Nehemiah was the only person
in the kingdom
who had access to the king
every day
and several times a day.
He had to be
utterly trustworthy
and an impressive individual.
But his occupation
is not his preoccupation.
Nehemiah's interest
was not his career
nor himself.
It was the glory of God
and the people of God.
His heart lies
in his homeland.
God had started
to bring His people
back to Jerusalem
after 70 years of exile.
But in verse 2,
Nehemiah gets some bad news
from home.
Those who survived the exile
and are back in the province
are in great trouble
and disgrace.
The walls of Jerusalem
is broken down
and its gates
have been burned with fire.
And verse 4
is Nehemiah's response
to this news.
When I heard these things,
I sat down and wept.
For some days,
I mourned
and I fasted
and I prayed
before the God of heaven.
He sits down
and he weeps
and he mourns
and he fasts
and he prays
for the city.
Verse 4 indicates
that Nehemiah's grief
and distress
continued for some months.
Most likely,
he stayed in that position
or in that state
for at least
four months.
But his concern
is more than a ruined city.
It is what this ruined city
represents.
Jerusalem was to be
the center,
the light,
the hope for the nations
as God dwelt
amongst his much loved people.
But it is in ruins.
It is a disgrace.
His concern is more
about what it says
about God
and God's people.
The prayer that dominates
chapter 1
reveals that
his deepest sorrow
is over rebellion
and faithlessness
first and foremost
not over broken walls.
His prayer
first and foremost
looks to the character
of God,
the God that
it would appear
had died.
And he says,
O Lord God of heaven,
the great and awesome God
who keeps his covenant
of love with those
who love him
and obey his commands.
Israel's God
is a great
and awesome God
who is not
to be trifled with.
All the hosts
of the heavenly realm
bow in his presence.
This God
expects to be obeyed.
But he's also
a faithful God
who is committed
to his covenant
of love.
He is a God
who has made us
for himself,
who reveals his kindness
and mercy
and gentleness
to those he loves.
And it is
this knowledge
knowledge
of the character
of God
that leads him
first to confess sin
and secondly
to plead
the promises
of God.
And so in the middle
of verse 6
Nehemiah acknowledges
the failure
of God's people.
He says,
I confess the sins
we Israelites
including myself
and my father's house
have committed
against you.
We have acted
very wickedly
towards you.
We have not
obeyed the commands
decrees
and laws
that you gave
your servant
Moses.
Notice that there is
no us and them
accusation going on
here,
but he is completely
identifying himself
with the failure
of the people
of God.
And this little
prayer of confession
here is not just
some mere polite
concession
because as a culture
or as a church
we might admit
well no one's
really perfect
in the end.
Ezekiel 36
speaks of the time
when God would
bring his people
back from exile
and as part
of that returning
it says
in verse 31
of Ezekiel 36
then you'll remember
your evil ways
and wicked deeds
and you will
loathe yourselves
for your sins
and your detestable
practices.
Be ashamed
and disgraced
for your conduct
O house
of Israel.
And so his prayer
here is not just
some mere
acknowledgement
of oh well no one's
really perfect
in the end.
His contrition
is an intense
loathing
of sin.
and this is the same
contrition
and acknowledgement
and remorse
and loathing
of our sin
that the gospel
requires of us
when we come
to Christ.
Our grasp
of the wonder
of the mercy
of the Lord
Jesus
is directly
proportional
to our grasp
of the desperate
sinful state
that we are in.
superficial
grasp
of sin
leads to
superficial
grasp
of grace.
No mourning
for sin
leads to
no joy
in the gospel.
And if your
psychoanalysis
disagrees
with that
they're wrong.
They're wrong.
Sin
is at the
core of
Nehemiah's
problem
and Israel's
problem
and our
problem.
Every time
we disobey
God
we are seeking
to break
away from
him
and to put
a barrier
in our
fellowship
with him
and that
is why
Jerusalem
is in
ruins.
You see
Nehemiah
could have
prayed in
that moment
for God
to restore
Jerusalem
to its
former glory.
Let's have
a prayer
meeting
get together
let's pray
for those
walls in
Jerusalem.
Artaxerxes
could have
pulled out
his wallet
as he
did
but he
could have
pulled out
a bigger
wallet
pulled out
the treasure
chest
like some
Middle Eastern
prince
with lots
of oil
and built
a spectacular
building in
Jerusalem.
He could have
made the walls
bigger,
wider and
higher and
he could have
made Jerusalem
into a resort
town in the
Middle East
but it would
have meant
nothing.
It would
have looked
good
but it
would have
meant
nothing.
And we
can fix
up our
facilities
but they
will not
lead to
greater
intimacy
with Christ
or joy
as a
Christian
or to
God's
blessing
being poured
out upon
us.
repentance
and brokenness
of heart
before God
is the
only path
to intimacy
and communion
with the
God of
heaven.
Without the
repentance
there will
be no
return
to God.
There will
be no
return to
Jerusalem.
Nehemiah
knew that
the rebuilding
of the
people of
God
into the
people of
repentance
and faith
is where
the real
restoration
work needed
to be
done
and it
started
with him.
The second
part of
Nehemiah's
prayer is an
appeal to
God's
steadfast
love.
It's again
an appeal
to God's
character.
This is
where we
see he
is a
man of
faith
and of
faith in
the promises
of God.
If you
cast your
eye down
to verses
8 to
10,
Nehemiah
quotes the
promises of
God that
God had
made to
Moses in
Deuteronomy.
Deuteronomy
30 describes
exactly the
situation
Nehemiah and
the people of
God are in
right now.
And it
gives a
promise that
Nehemiah
remembers.
And here
it is.
Deuteronomy
chapter 30
verse 2.
When you and
your children
return to the
Lord your
God and
obey him
with all
of your
heart and
with all
of your
soul,
according to
everything that
I've commanded
you today,
then the
Lord your
God will
restore your
fortunes and
have compassion
on you and
gather you from
all the nations
from where you
are scattered.
And Nehemiah
knows that
they're right at
that point of
history that
Deuteronomy 30
is talking about.
And his
prayer to
God is
reminding God
of his
promise.
He has
faith that
when God
promises
something,
he will
do it.
That's
his
confidence.
It is
this
knowledge
and
confidence
that God
is awesome
and powerful
and faithful
to his
promises that
sees
Nehemiah
make
faithful,
wise,
gutsy
decisions for
the glory
of God.
His
confidence is
not in
himself as
the cup
bearer to
the king.
his
confidence is
not even
in King
Artaxerxes,
the most
powerful man
in the
planet.
Look at
the end of
chapter 1
and how he
expresses this
relationship.
Give your
servant success
today by
granting him
favour in
the presence
of this
man.
I was
cup bearer
to the
king.
He might
have had
unprecedented
influence in
the presence
of the most
powerful man
on the
planet.
But compared
to the
almighty God
of Israel,
he is
nothing more
than a
drinks boy
for the
king.
And
compared to
the mighty
God,
Artaxerxes,
the most
powerful man
on the
planet,
is simply
this man.
Nothing
more.
Nehemiah's
confidence is
in his
God.
You see it
again in
chapter 2
verse 4,
when the
king actually
asked Nehemiah
what he
wants,
what did
Nehemiah
do in
that moment?
He
prayed.
He'd been
doing it for
months, but
in that
moment, he
says, then I
prayed to the
God of
heaven.
And when
the king
grants him
his request
at the end
of chapter 2
verse 8,
we see his
faith and
confidence within
God.
He says,
because the
gracious hand
of God
was upon
me, the
king granted
my requests.
And when
he finally
tells the
leaders in
Jerusalem,
after a
little trip
around the
wall in
verse 18
of chapter 2,
that it was
time to
rebuild these
walls, he
reveals that
his first
confidence is
in God and
not the
official letter
which is in
his pocket
from the
most powerful
man in
the world.
He had
the same
letter in
his pocket
when the
three stooges,
Sambalat,
Tobiah and
Jeshim, mocked
them and
accused them of
rebelling a
king against
King Artaxerxes.
All he
needed to do
was whip out
the letter and
say, hang on
a bit, his
name's at the
bottom of this
letter saying
we're on his
business.
But in
chapter 2
verse 20, he
says the God
of heaven will
give us
success.
His confidence
is that when
God says he
will do
something as
he did in
Deuteronomy
chapter 30,
then he will
never abandon
his promises.
God is
faithful to
his covenant
commitment to
love his
people.
I can see
that Nehemiah
was a man of
faith in the
promises of
God.
I cannot see
anywhere in
this book
where he got a
specific word
from God
to get up
and to go
and rebuild
those walls
in Jerusalem.
He was
simply,
faithfully
acting on
what God
had promised
in his
word
centuries
before.
And that
is how the
walls of
Jerusalem got
built.
And that
is how God
builds his
people.
By acting
upon the
promises of
God.
in his
word.
2 Corinthians
1 says
that no
matter how
many promises
of God
there are,
they are
all yes
in the
Lord Jesus.
They're all
fulfilled and
completed in
the Lord
Jesus.
In Jesus,
we are
under a
new covenant
and God's
purposes no
longer center
around the
physical city
of Jerusalem
and the
nation of
Israel.
to get
to the
presence of
God,
we don't
need to
make a
pilgrimage
to a
temple in
Jerusalem
somewhere.
In fact,
Jesus said
of that
temple in
Jerusalem,
tear it
down and
in three
days I'm
going to
rebuild it.
Through
his death
and resurrection,
we now have
direct access
to God
through the
Lord Jesus
by the
Spirit.
He promises
us the
right standing
before God
and the
intimacy
before God
that Nehemiah
actually longed
for here.
Hear the
promise of
God in the
Bible from
1 John
1 9.
And when
Jesus says
it, when
the Bible
says it,
when God
says it,
it's true
and he'll
fulfill it.
And he
says if we
confess our
sins, he,
Jesus, is
faithful and
just and he
will forgive us
our sins and
purify us
from all
unrighteousness.
That's a
promise.
What Nehemiah
longed for,
we get in
Jesus.
He promises
to forgive us
and make us
right before
God.
And what's
more, Jesus
doesn't promise
those who
confess their
sin and
trust him a
land carved
out in
Palestine
somewhere.
Jesus
promises us
a new and
perfect and
eternal heavenly
home where
there will be
no need for
walls and
gates because
there will
never be a
threat that
can challenge
what he is
eternally built
for his
people.
And until
that great and
final day
when we see
him face
to face,
God promises
to give his
people a
foretaste of
our great
future in
the Lord
Jesus that
he has built
for us for
all of
eternity by
building together
up and out
his people,
the church,
on the person
of the Lord
Jesus Christ
and his
gospel.
That is
Jesus' promise
to us in
Matthew 16
in response
to Simon
Peter's
declaration
that Jesus
was the
Christ,
the son of
the living
God.
He says,
blessed are
you,
Simon son
of Jonah,
for this
was not
revealed to
you by
man,
but my
father in
heaven,
and on
this rock
I will
build my
church,
and the
gates of
Hades
will not
overcome
it.
Jesus
promises
in person
to build
his church,
and it
will triumph
over all
forms of
evil,
and death,
and wickedness,
and governments,
and the
media,
and everything
that will
want to
prevail against
the church,
cannot stop
the building
of God's
people.
That's the
promise of
God.
He will
build his
church as
the truth
about him,
as ridiculed
and mocked
it is,
is declared
and received
as people
respond to
Jesus in
repentance
and faith.
That's what
happened to
me 20
years ago.
He promised
not just to
leave us on
our own
sinful ways
as well,
but to
increasingly
transform us
into his
likeness as
his spirit
works through
his word
to bring
about
obedience.
So my
brothers and
sisters,
love the
Lord Jesus
and love
his church
by giving
yourself to
the building
up of his
people here
at St.
Paul's.
Know this,
we will
always be
flawed and
imperfect.
perfect.
We will
never meet
all the
expectations.
We will
always fall
short of
expectations.
I will
always fall
short of
your
expectations.
But that
should drive
us to the
Lord Jesus
in confession
and to give
us hope for
the future
day when
he calls
us to our
perfect home
with all
of his
church from
every tribe
and nation
and language
and generation.
We should
be looking
forward to
that perfect
day and
the decisions
we make
driving us
towards that
perfect day.
And so
today,
I want us
to vote yes
to proceeding
with the
redevelopment
of our
facilities.
But more
than anything,
I want us
to say yes
to allow God
to do a
radical
rebuilding
of our
individual
and corporate
life as
his people.
Where
repentance
and faith
become the
norm.
May his
vision for
his church
be the
driving
influence
in our
vision for
his church
and our
love for
his church.
Amen.