The Village Church
Restoring Together - Audio
Father God, as we come to the preaching of your word, we need your spirit, Father, to move. And as I always pray, Lord, this is not about Alex, not about me, but it's always and constantly and forever about you. And so I pray that your spirit will remove us out of my pride, will my ego, my reputation, and Lord let my focus and my heart be a plane. When you get in all the glory, when you've been lifted up, when you've been honored, and I pray that wherever your people are dealing with this morning, whatever circumstances they're living in, I pray that your preach words will speak proof into their life, that they may be encouraged, challenged, who are built up, and then strengthened towards, in your grace, without power in your words, and crushed him up with amen. In his book Ministries of Mercy, the call of the Jericho Road, pastor Tim Keller states that the kingdom is the renewal of the whole world through the entrance of supernatural forces. As things are brought under Christ's rule and authority, they are restored to health, beauty, and freedom. This is something that all believers have to understand and constantly remind themselves of, that true restoration in this life comes only through Christ through Him. And as that happens, He renews us, He renews our broken world, and so we should want and desire to see lost people, the things that are broken, things that are simply self-sufficient and lost. We want to see those things brought under Christ's rule and authority, we should pray for that, all for the power of his gospel, by the work of his spirit. And this idea of being brought back under the Lord's rule and authority is not some modern concept, it's not something that I just came up with this week to put into a sermon, but the whole Bible, if you think about it, is about that. It's about Him bringing lost people to Himself in saving faith. Israel's return from exile, what we've been talking about in Nehemiah, is one example of the Lord bringing His people back. He brought them back to the city in which He has chosen to make His name well. What city is that? Jerusalem. And in this restoration process, the Lord also restored their worship, their community, their personal dignity. Remember where Isaiah's brother said to him? What did he tell them? What did Isaiah's brother say to him? Not Isaiah, but Nehemiah's brother. What did he say to him? Wrong guy. He said that people were in great trouble and shame. The people were in great trouble and shame. And the walls of Jerusalem were broken down, the gates destroyed by fire. So it wasn't just the restoration of the wall, the people themselves needed some restoration, personal restoration. Two weeks ago, we said Nehemiah, it was going to take Nehemiah's time consistency in presence to fulfill the Lord had called Him to do it. It wasn't going to happen overnight. It will take time consistency in presence. Why? But it was two factors that He had to consider. Two things He couldn't just look over and gloss over. One was the opposition. The second was the community, which is made up of land, the buildings, and most importantly, the people living in that community. So we saw Nehemiah take a mental note from the opposition. Who was the opposition? Sam Ballot and Tobias. And if you remember from that sermon, he never engaged him. He never said a thing to them. It was a mental note that they didn't like me and they hated the fact that I was here seeking the welfare of the Jews. So he took a minute note that there would be opposition to this work. Second, he had to consider the people in the land. What did he do? He went on an inspection of the wall. He couldn't just rely on second-hand information of his brother. So he went out in the middle of the night and looked at the damage, looked at the city, and everything that was needed. And he had to consider the people. You know why? Because he was going to need those people. He couldn't do it himself. But like the opposition, he did not engage the people. He didn't tell them yet that why he was there. He didn't tell them yet why he came to Jerusalem. He didn't tell them what the God has put upon his heart. He was waiting for the right time, waiting for the right moment to let them know why he was truly there. And this week, he does. This week, he finally speaks to the people. He finally lets them know why he is in Jerusalem. And as he does that, he also communicates to them, we need to do the restoration together. We need to restore together. He wants the people to help. It can't just be him. So if we have your Bibles, open them to near my chapter 2, beginning with verse 16. And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing. I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who would do the work. And I said to them, you see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies and ruins with its gates burned by fire. Come, let us build the wall, let us build the wall of Jerusalem that we may no longer suffer shame. And I told the people of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good. And also the words that King has spoken to me. And they said, let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for the good work. They strengthened their hands for the good work. So he finally engages the people. And the first thing we see here in terms of him wanting to restore the community together is that he wants their participation. He wants them to participate. He said, the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing. I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, and the officials who, and the rest who would do the work. He expected the people living in the community to have a hand in the restoration of the wall and their lives. Like I said last week, as I said a couple weeks ago, it would have been unhealthy for him to just go on in there and start imposing his own plan. And I did without even talking to the people, without even letting them know what was going on. That would have caused harm, I think. The people that lived there needed to participate in their own recovery. And not have me and my come in dictating everything that was going to be done. But he didn't even talk about talking to me as if they're not there. Me and my new people were in great trouble. He knew they were in shame. But how could he help them without causing further harm? You know, you can help people and still hurt people at the same time. Some of us have received that and some of us have done that. Right? Yes. So how is he going to be able to help them without hurting them? And one way is that he's going to let them participate in the restoration. That would help them to create some sense of ownership. Hey, we can do this together. Notice that his inclusion of them, it did not come from an elitist mindset. Top down on the boss. You listen to what I say. Now, it's coming from a bottom up approach. It's all inclusive, man. I'm here as one of you. Every person in the community can participate. It didn't matter where you were, your social status, or whatever you're dealing with. Everyone could help with the work. Who could help? Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and everybody in between. What does that mean? If you're a working man or woman, you can help. If you're the spiritual leader, pastor, you can help. Ministry leader, you can help. If you're someone, if you're a community leader, public figure in office, then you can help. You can only help. The expectation is that you will help. One group, was it going to do all the work? Well, the other group set up high and said, "Well, I don't want to get dirty today. I'll just let him do it." I sit here on the porch and drink. Who laid this routine? No. Everybody that lived in the community was expected to help, expected to participate. So the whole community was going to do it together, show the shoulder. Why? Why is that important? Because they all are equal, and I was a guy. They're all equal. Every Jewish person in that community at that time, and even all of us today, are created in the image of God. Everyone, everyone of them. And as such, they all have worth valuing dignity. They matter what their social status was. And they also had gifts and abilities and insight that could be useful in this restoration process. Nehemiah simply had a final way to tap into that talent and give without hurting the people in order to encourage them to participate. My father-in-law, he has visited him at school with my mother-in-law. Y'all probably admit him. He has a harvest service. Brother is in the church, his family, his friends. If there's a need and if he can help, then he's going to help. This is the type of man he is. And I remember him telling me about the times he will cut this lady's grass for her, free of charge. And as he cut the grass, her grown sons sat on the porch and watched him cut the grass for free for their mom. And when he told me that story, I couldn't help but say to myself that something's wrong with that picture. Why is it that these grown men were sat on the porch and watched my father-in-law cut their own mother's grass while they were living with their mother, but they were not helped? You see, is that mean on my part? No, it's not mean. They needed to participate in that work. It would have been good for them to be stewards and take ownership of what God has left from us. The property that God has left from us. That participation would have been good for them. It would have. I just finished reading a book called "When Helping Hurts." It's a book about how to alleviate poverty without hurting the poor yourself. Even though the book is about poverty, I believe the principles in that book can be applied to any ministry that you engage in in which people are hurting and suffering and dealing with great, difficult circumstances. One of the principles that I'll say in this book is don't do things for people that they can do for themselves. He says, memorize this, recite it under your breath all day long, wear it around your neck every day. Keep it on the forefront of your mind, for it will keep you from doing all sorts of harm. It will keep you from taking over. You see, whenever we engage an individual person or a group of people born through some difficult situations, we have to be willing to let that person sit at the table when it comes to providing help. You just can't go over and tell them this is what we're going to do for your life without even talking to the person about their life. Let them participate. This is true in the church and outside the church. If you have marriage problems, financial problems, vocational problems, addiction problems, or whatever it is, if you're not willing to participate, there ain't much I can do. There ain't much I can do if you don't want to participate in your own country because it's going to be like this. I can't fix nobody. I can't even fix myself, people. I need Jesus to do that. I can't fix your problem. Don't do things for people they can do for themselves. This was Nehemiah's approach. He expected the people to participate in a rebellion of the wall. That was the expectation. Otherwise, we simply impose on others and we can do more damage to them and to ourselves. Because eventually you're going to get tired of cutting the grass and seeing those guys still in the porch and not help. Eventually you're going to get tired. You're going to get discouraged and you're not going to help anymore. That's what's going to happen. You're going to end up saying stuff and doing stuff that hurt you and the hurt the other person because you go in with these unrealistic expectations. There has to be boundaries set and put in place. This is something I have to remind myself of every day because I have a Mr. Fix-It personality. If I see a knee and I try to fix it. The problem with that is sometimes I can take a couple of person's problems. Take ownership of it as if it's my own without even engaging another person. That can cause great harm in the long run. That's unhealthy. Many of you remember the story I told you about the time I spoke to a group of seven to eight great boys. Did I remember that? I told you how bad it was for me and how they didn't listen to me. They gave me a hard time. There's a look back over that I realized I could've done some things different myself. I went there with attitude that all these boys need to be fixed. They all were bad. They all were bad. They wouldn't listen to me. I went there with the wrong mindset. I went there with the wrong mindset. I think that came off. It was good for me that things went bad. It was good for me that my ego and pride was humble because it was when they went listen to me. I needed that. Looking back, I should've went there with a different mindset. Because each of those boys that was in that auditorium was creating an energy guide. I assumed that they were all bad. Nothing in their life was good. I had to go there and speak to them about characters if they didn't have them. That was shame on my point. Yes, some of them are dealing with difficult issues and situations. Everything in their life is not unhealthy and bad. You know why I did that? You know why I thought that way? I assumed because of the way they lived and went to school that they were the way they are. I assumed because they went to this school and lived in that particular neighborhood that all their life is broken. That's not right. That's not right on my part. I failed to take notice that even though they lived in that particular neighborhood and even though they went to a particular school, they still had dignity and self-worth in value because they're creating an energy guide. Because of that, not everything in their life is broken. There's something in there, something in and out that reflects God even though they're little differences. So I had the wrong folks. Every person that you're going to come in contact with in your life, wherever you go, is creating an energy guide. Now here's the thing. The image is shattered because of the fall, because of Genesis 3, but it's not completely destroyed. You realize that, don't you? Because if it was completely destroyed, that would be the Ruby a lot more evil than it is. You realize that, right? If we were truly as simple as we could be, the world would be a lot more evil than it is. God's common grace still extends to all mankind. Remember the sermon I preached on, Genesis 3, The Deception of the Gospel? Remember that even though Adam got kicked out of the garden, you do know that was a blessing too, right? What would have happened to Adam if he were to ate from the tree of life in his fallen state? What would have happened? He would have been sinful and fallen forever. So by God kicking him out, that too was a grace, even though it was a punishment. Even though it was a punishment. Because if he were to stay in the garden, he was going to eat from that tree. He was going to eat from it. I would eat from it. But God keeps him out, even though it was a punishment. I believe it was still a grace as well. So, I don't know why I'm trying to solve this thing. So here's another thing that the spirit kind of broke me of is, is status, wealth, material possessions does not equal health. Sometimes we think they do. Status, wealth, material possessions does not equal health. Nor does limited status, limited wealth, limited possessions equal health. Because if you have that mindset, all you're going to do is try to make people just like you. Once you have all the stuff I got, you'd be good. That's not true. If you have all those stuff, you'd still have a bad marriage. You'd still be a crappy parent. So, you can't look at stuff, status, and wealth as a sign of health. But that's your mindset. That's all you're going to be calling other people to. Those same things. Pointing them to the wrong direction. Pointing them to the wrong safety. You got to expect it to be bigger than that. It's bigger than us. You see, what builds and restores worth the value and dignity. It's not always focusing on everything that's wrong in the person's life. Think about it if you're in a situation. Every time we got together, all that deals, pointing out how bad of a dad you are. That's all, man. Sorry, dad. Is that building you up? If all I do is do that? What if I came to you and saw other qualities in you? Or how you are a good dad? And pointed those out, too. Does that build dignity in you, value in you? Yeah. I'm not going to gloss over the things that need to be better. But I need to be able to see some of the things that are going well. Not just everything that's bad. It has to be a balance. It is my point. It has to be a balance. Because you can have value, dignity and self-worth, despite circumstances. Despite what you don't have. You can still have those things. You still do have those things. People in Jerusalem, the time still had those things. Even though the city was broken down, even though they were in great trouble and shame, they still had those things. Because they created an image of God. Nehemiah had a final way to tap into those different talents that they already had. In order to get them to participate in their own restoration. From their brokenness. From the brokenness of their lives, the brokenness of the wall. And brothers and sisters, that's empowerment. Empowerment. That's what Nehemiah is going to do next. Empower the people. Empower those who are downcast. How is he going to do it? How is he going to empower the people to participate? Because he can't guilt them in doing it. Or demean them in doing it. There's a healthy way to do it. Without hurting the people you're trying to help. Verse 17. He said to them, "You see the trouble we are in. How Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come let us build a wall of Jerusalem that we may no longer suffer reproach or distress. I have told them and I told them on the hand of my God that had been upon me for good. And also the words the King has spoken to me." The first thing he does here is that he uses the correct pronoun. We. Us. Now I'm here and you're there. We and us. You see the trouble we are in. Think about it. Neil Meyer was living in Persia a few weeks ago. Now is he really in trouble? No, but he identifies with him. How Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come let us build the wall of Jerusalem together that we may no longer suffer reproach. He speaks to them as their equal. Not as someone far above him. Not as someone smarter than them. Not as someone much brighter than them. But we're equal. I have issues too. Just like you. I'm one of you. Because he wanted the people to walk with him. To learn with him. To fight with him. To labor with him in the process of restoration. We do it together. He relates to them. He relates to what they're going through. And where are they going through? One office says it's the distress, this grace that they're going through. The insecurity of what they're going through. That's right. There's two things that's going on here that he relates to. It's the physical and the spiritual restoration that's needed. The wall gives protection of the season. Physical. But it also is a spiritual brokenness. The shame, the trouble, the guilt that they feel, the spiritual stuff. And you have to relate to both. Because we all go through it. I do. Don't you? Or does it just mean? I'm out of Allen by myself. We all have need spiritual restoration. Even when you come to know Jesus. There's going to be times in your life where you need spiritual restoration. Or do you believe once you come to him everything's all good all the time. I don't need no restoration now. I'm good. No. You're still going to need that all the days of your life until you cross over the globe. And in the process, he also restores broken family, broken relationships. He does that. It don't happen overnight. But it happens. The power that God remembers. When Christ was a killer quote. And things are brought back under rule of Christ. They are restored to beauty, health, the cost of that. It does happen. So, what you also see here from the M.I. is that you don't have to have the same issues I have and the same problems I have to be able to engage me and relate to me. All you have to do is be mindful that you do have your own issues. And I'm always going to remind you of that, because you always forget you do. I forget I do. Who has issues? And when you forget that, that's the issue. I'm always going to remind myself of that. Because once you forget it, that's where you start praying other people. Licking down other people. As if you got it all together. So, you want to know to communicate to people that we're in this together. At the point. We want to walk together. We want to restore it together. We want to learn together. We want to fight together. We want to struggle together. And what does it look like? How do you get to a place where you can walk together? A place where you can actually restore together. A place where you can actually empower one another in the body. Or whether you're in the community. First thing we have to do, we have to curb our assumption. I said this two weeks ago. You have to curb it. Like I should have done when I spoke to a boy. Don't assume you know more about a person's situation than they do. Don't assume you know more about being homeless than the person who's homeless. See what I'm saying? Don't assume you know more about being maturely poor than the person who is maturely poor. Don't assume that. And don't assume a family is broken and unhealthy just because they don't look like your family. Or function like your family. Don't assume that every male that lives in a certain community is a deadbeat dad when you never engage that man to talk with you. You're just going on assumptions. Or are you guilty of that? I know I am. Don't let your assumptions and second-hand information determine your view of other people. Because we do. We do. Don't give to that. In ministry you give to that. I make judgments on certain pastors even though I don't even know the pastor personally. I go on on with other people to say about the pastor. Second-hand information. And we all do it. To everybody. Because if you don't curb your assumptions you will make a donkey out of yourself at some point. It hasn't happened yet but it's coming. To curb your assumptions about me. To curb your assumptions about what I know. To curb your assumptions about people in this community. To curb your assumptions about the people in your neighborhood. But there ain't all gravy there either. If you can be a fly on the wall then you'll know what's going on there. So if you're going to have assumptions here are some healthy assumptions you should have. We're all equally messed up. We're equally broken. We equally need Jesus. We equally need Jesus. We equally need spiritual and physical restoration. We equally need His grace every day. There ain't just one type of person in need of that. You need it and I need it. If I ever get to the point where I think you need more grace than me then I'm in trouble. I'm in trouble. You need grace, this is much as everybody else. Don't forget that. How does this type of thing empowers another person? It empowers because it lets them know they're not alone in the battle. Church has become a place where people hide the issue. Everybody in the church do the same thing and they don't even know it. I'm just the only one. The guy next to him saying the same thing. I'm just the only one. You know why they think that way because they deal with masks. Pretending that everything is all good when it's not. The honest about the stuff so that people wouldn't know man. I'm glad you know I'm not the only one. When I was interning at Church in Greenville, South Carolina, I saw the men's group called Therapea. Therapea is a great word that means healing. It was a accountability group that dealt with the issues that guys deal with. You know stuff that you guys, you know what those issues are. I don't need a list. If you're a guy, you know what I'm talking about. If you say you don't, then you're lying. One of the things that came up in the group when we first started meeting, was some of the guys would say, "I'm glad. I'm not the only one who struggles with these things." For so long, I thought I was. Listen, if you're here this morning and your life is not where you want it to be, if you're here this morning, you're dealing with all sorts of problems and issues. Your dreams hang to pan out. You're not alone. You're in a room full of other people. This is messed up as you. You're in a room full of other people. You're in a room full of other people. You're in a room full of other people. You're in a room full of other people. You're in a room full of other people. You're in a room full of other people. You're in a room full of other people. This is messed up as you. You're here with a room full of other people whose life is not turned out like they wanted to. Whose marriage still has to grow. Whose kids are not perfect. Whose job situation isn't perfect. You're not alone in the battle. We're in the battle together. Even in your darkest hour, there's still hope for you. I'm here with... I'm in constant need of restoration in my life. I don't have it all together. I never will have it all together. We need it together. We walk together. We struggle together. And we're going to be honest together. That and power. But you realize we're not as different as you think. We're not as different as you think. We're not. Now, Nehemiah, he just didn't empower the people by using direct pronouns. He also had a correct perspective, which is the most important thing here, like in verse 18. I told them the hand of my God that had been upon me for good. And also the words that the king has spoken to me. So once the correct perspective, the call to restore is a work of God. He's at work on behalf of his people. Nehemiah told them everything the Lord had done. Don't forget what Nehemiah went through to get to Jerusalem. And it wasn't just him doing it. The Lord was making a way. You remember that you hadn't forgotten the first part of the book, haven't you? Okay. This is what he's telling the people. How God moved. How God made that meeting with him and his brother and how he had the heart to do something. And how he prayed for four months that the Lord will make a way for him to talk to the king. And so he can ask to go to Jerusalem. And he told him to how God moved. How God granted him favor inside of the king. And how the king gave him every request that he made. Because God, does that work on his behalf? Verse 18 is Nehemiah testifying to the goodness of God that he has not forgotten his people. And by him being there is an example of that. Look at what Jesus did. Look at what your God done. Look at what he's done. Look at what he's getting ready to do for your behalf. Even though you're hurting, even though your situations are not what you want it to be, your God is at work. Even if you can't see it. Nehemiah standing there that day, it's a testimony of that fact. You see, the correct perspective, you've got to bring the gospel. That's the correct perspective. Testifying to the goodness of God in your own life. That's the perspective. Because it has to be more than just having a correct pronoun. The restoration source has to be tapped into and that's Jesus. It's not just me and you, not just us. Jesus is where we have to take each other. I have to point you to Christ. You have to point me to Christ. Otherwise, what are we doing? Can't look over that. That's my foundation. That's the source. That's the correct perspective. Remember Keller's quote? Kingdom is the renewal of the whole world through the entrance of supernatural forces. Do you have supernatural forces? Do you think our business statement and our money and all that stuff have natural forces? No, it doesn't. And things are brought on the who's ruling authority. Who's ruling authority? Christ, they are what, restored to health, beauty, and freedom. Which means if that ain't happening, then nothing's getting restored. I don't care what we do. Do you see why prayer is important now? That's why it's important. Jesus cares by every area of a person's life. The spiritual brokenness, the physical brokenness as well. He wants to bring restoration through all of them. First, a person has to kind of save his faith in Jesus. Oh, save his faith in Jesus. The entrance of a new relationship. God, restored relationship. Because I understand this. The first thing when you come to Jesus that he does, he restores you to your father. That's the first thing that gets restored. That's the first reconciliation, the most important one. Everything that flows on that is secondary to death. That's what the cross is. It's more than just him dying for your sins. He restored you to God that you can know God. And because of that, the good hand of your God is going to be upon you all the days of your life. And you can testify to that. When you share the gospel, testify to that. The good hand of my God is going to be upon me. This is what you've done for me. So you're connecting people to the source of restoration that is Jesus. And once the gospel grabs hold of a person, they will stand up and say, "Well, let us kind of fight together. Let us rise up. Let us strengthen our hands." That's because the gospel is at work. Not just because of Nehemiah, they gave a fancy speech. Don't lose sight even though what's happening with Nehemiah here is supernatural. Because the Lord has already been restoring them right. The restoration has already started. It started with sorribable. And with Ezra, Nehemiah has defined a peaceful with it all. So it's been going on. It's been happening. And it's happening in your life. Paul says in Philippians that he will begin a good work in you, in you, in you, in you, in you, in you, in you, in you, in you, in you, in you, in you. What do you carry it on to completion to their crisis? That's a problem. That nothing you go through is going to set what you can do. The fact that when you leave today, you're going to say some things, things, things, things that you can do. Proction, things. And Jesus is going to love you. He's still going to love you. If you're a new believer, there's going to be times when you struggle. There's going to be times when you fall short. Jesus died because of it. He died because of it. It's a battle. It's a struggle. We do it together. On April the 23rd, 1910, President Theodore Roosevelt gave a speech in Paris, France. And he called it the speech, the man in the arena. Listen to these words. He says, "It's not the credit who counts. Not the man who, who points out how the straw man stumbles, or the door or the d's, who could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who's actually in the arena, whose face is marked by dust and sweat and blood. Who strives bravely. Who heirs, who comes short again and again. Because there is no effort without error in short coming. But who actually strives to do the d's. Who knows great enthusiasms, great devotions. Who spends himself in the worthy cause. Who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement. And who at the worst if he fails. At least fails right there and greatly. So his place shall never be with those of cold and timid souls who need a no victory. Who need a no victory. You see, when you engage in any type of ministry. You're going to know victory and defeat. You're going to know it. You're going to make mistakes. I'm going to make mistakes. I'm probably going to say something that hurts one of you in a meeting. You're going to try this thing that hurts me in a meeting. That's just the part of doing life together. The more we do life together, the more feelings are going to get hurt. The more we're going to step on each other's toes sometimes. But that's just, that's not abnormal. That's normal. That's normal. And so go into this knowing that when you're in the arena, when you participate in the God's Kingdom, that's going to be different. That's why I can be sure to count the soul for you. And our families and this family here. Cause we're going to hurt one another. That's the way out. But we've got to be willing to extend grace. I've got to be willing to extend grace to you. To everybody. So, you're going to say some things that hurt me. I'll be mad for a while, but I'll reconcile with you. Don't worry. You should reconcile with me too. So, let us pray. Father God, I do thank you that you are constantly, constantly at work in our lives. I praise you that at the cause of Christ, that God, that you love us, you like us. I thank you that because of Him, Lord, that we would never, never, never be forsaken by you. No matter what we're going through, no matter what we're doing. I pray, Lord, that each and every one of us would truly know, truly mean, to live a gospel grace in a life. We would know what that's like. To know that we are accepted and spiteable. We are loved and spiteable. That's the power of Christ. That's the power of the gospel. And so, as we go out and engage and manage with, we go out as a family, help us not to lose sight of the great perspective. And that is Jesus, every day, all the time, for all eternity. No matter what we do, He is always at the center. I thank you for that Father, Christ's name.