No Sanity Required
No Sanity Required is a weekly podcast hosted by Brody Holloway and Snowbird Outfitters. Each week, we engage culture and personal stories with a Gospel-driven perspective. Our mission is to equip the Church to pierce the darkness with the light of Christ by sharing the vision, ideas, and passions God has used to carry us through 26 years of student ministry. Find more content at swoutfitters.com.
No Sanity Required
Practical Lessons for the Church from Nehemiah 3 | Beyond the Flannelgraph
In this episode, Brody gives some updates from SWO, reads encouraging podcast reviews, and offers advice on how to approach difficult family conversations.
Brody dives into Nehemiah 3, exploring the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls. He shares key lessons like servant leadership, unity in the church, and how we should repair and rebuild in our own lives. Brody also talks about conflict, working together as a community, and how the church should stand out in the world.
Tune in for a mix of personal thoughts and practical biblical lessons for your walk with Jesus.
Please leave a review on Apple or Spotify to help improve No Sanity Required and help others grow in their faith.
Click here to get our Colossians Bible study.
Hey, in this episode of no Sanity Required we're going to kind of be all over the place just because I've got several things I want to do. I want to give you some updates on what's going on at SWO, talk about some things that are coming up, some updates on things that have just happened. I then want to read, I want to go through some of the reviews people have left. We're always asking you to leave reviews and we've had some really encouraging reviews. I want to share those with our listeners. And then I've had some emails and letters, actual handwritten letter, one of them from a listener who's also a friend of the ministry, who's actually served at SWO for a season a young lady and then some email correspondence. So I'm going to share a bunch of that. So kind of two parts to this episode, I guess three parts. We're going to look at a quick update what's going on at SWO. We're going to read some reviews and just some encouraging words and some emails that have come in, and then I'm going to go through Nehemiah, chapter 3.
Speaker 1:Today's episode we're going to say is a Beyond the Flannel Graph episode, and so when we come back and get into that, I'll explain for our new listeners what that is. We haven't done one of those in a little while and we'll explain what that is. Awesome feedback from the last episode, my conversation with Rob Conte. So thank y'all for the feedback that we got from that, and so today we're going to put some of that into practice. Just going to dive into the word of God, we're going to walk through Nehemiah, chapter three, and I'll explain how we landed at that in just a few minutes. So thanks for joining us. Welcome to no Sanity Required.
Speaker 2:Welcome to no Sanity Required from the ministry of Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters. A podcast about the Bible culture and stories from around the globe.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 1:So I have got a little bit of a scratchy throat, so I've got a bottle of water here. I think it'll be all right and you'll be to. To nsr. Let me explain to you. We kind of we don't have formal categories here, but we do. We, you know, in in the intro we say that this is a podcast about the bible and culture and stories from around the globe, and when we talk about the bible there's a couple of sort of like subcategories that we'll put stuff in.
Speaker 1:So we'll do episodes where we walk through Bible stories, what we would call narratives or stories from the scripture, and usually those are stories that are real familiar. Sometimes they're not. We've done some stories like the. Uh, there's a story that we did about a prophet in Kings, in 1 Kings, who he got. He was real faithful to the Lord and then he just kind of had a lapse in judgment and it cost him his life, and so it's a story that's probably a little bit unfamiliar with most people. And so we did that in the Beyond the Flannel Graph series. And then we've done, you know, we've looked at people like King David Joseph very familiar stories from the gospel, narratives of Jesus, and where we come up with the name Beyond the Flannel Graph is when I was a kid.
Speaker 1:Those of you that are old enough a lot of you are not probably old enough to know about this, but when I was little there was something in Sunday school called flannel graph and it was basically a construction paper cutout puppet show kind of thing that went on in Sunday school classes and you had kind of you had this like a bulletin board that had a piece of flannel or felt over it and then the teacher would put up little construction paper cutouts of characters from the story. And it's funny because I remember and I might be wrong, but my recollection is all of the people in the construction paper cutouts were white. And I remember getting older and realizing most of these people are Arab, middle Eastern, you know, palestinian, african, so that was funny. And then Jesus was always a white boy, a white guy, in those stories. So that was funny. And then Jesus was always a white boy, a white guy, in those stories. So that was funny. But anyway, not not being critical, just funny, just interesting. And maybe the people that were putting that stuff together we're trying to contextualize it to to mountain white, mountain culture, I don't know, I don't know, but I realized that a lot of that was very shallow. So I don't want to be critical of it. It was very shallow, but it was also, as a little boy, what introduced me to stories from scripture. And so the Beyond the Flannel Graph episodes are where we take a biblical story and we really drill into it and try to go a little deeper. So we're going to do that today. We're going to do it with the book of Nehemiah, nehemiah chapter 3 specifically, and I'm excited about that.
Speaker 1:Now, the other thing that I want to do is I want to give you an update on what's going on at SWO. Real quick, we are winding down our winter season. One on it Swo real quick, we are winding down our winter season. We've had, uh, we've, we've been through three winter swos. Uh, three, four, three man, I get confused, but we've, we've been through three winter swos. I think we've been through our college. We had our college conference, um, which Rob and I talked about in the last episode. We've had, uh, what's coming up is our pure and holy retreat. We've got that. That's, and that's a winter SWO conference with, with an emphasis or a highlight on sexuality and relationships, and then that'll be followed by in mid February, on president's day weekend, by our final winter SWO, and then I've got some travel in there.
Speaker 1:And then we've got, let's see, our spring retreat, which is a single event, a one-weekend event, it's a student ministry event and we've got our Men's Be Strong Conference coming up in March and then that will be followed in April by our Women's Respond Conference which, by the way, we've been talking about this but our adult conferences typically fill up later. But if you're not signed up to come to Be Strong Men's Conference in March or Respond Women's Conference in April, get signed up for that because we still have space, let me see. Uh, I don't remember what our availability is, but I know we still got a good bit of space and but those will fill up. Uh, we always end up, I think. I think we still have for our be strong conference, let's see, we're right around. We've, we're about 80% full right now, um, and so it will fill that up and end up with with, um, probably a waiting list. So I would encourage you to to get plugged into that. I respond women's conference is only about 50% full right now. But again, those comp, those, those adult conferences fill up late, so make sure you come to to an adult conference this year If you're one of our adult listeners. Um, even if you're someone who comes with students as a leader, those adult conferences are so encouraging. So just a reminder that those are coming up.
Speaker 1:We've seen incredible response this summer, this past winter, over the course of this winter, which we're in the middle of right now, and we've seen students' lives be really impacted. We've been teaching through the book of Philippians and when we're done with winter SWO, all those teaching sessions will be posted on the SWO uh teaching podcast and that's just the uh snowboard wilderness outfitters podcast, which is you find that the same place, you find this, this podcast, and it's just all of our teaching content. But then we'll come back on this NSR platform and we'll do a couple episodes where we walk through the teaching of. We'll do a little bit deeper dive on the stuff that we taught and worked through at Winterswove. So, yeah, it's been awesome as we've gone through Philippians. It's such an incredible book and the response has been incredible. I'm really thankful for that.
Speaker 1:I want to read a few reviews that are very encouraging, and so I want to share those with you. Okay, so the first review that I want to read. It says this is titled so Encouraging and Biblically Sound and this is from Kaylee in Colorado. It says our church from Denver, colorado, sends students to SWO every summer. They absolutely love it.
Speaker 1:Nsr is an amazing way for the rest of us to get a tiny glimpse into the humble and accurate teachings that happen there. I learn new things and feel encouraged with each episode. As a young parent and a family ministry staff member, nsr has been a great resource for myself personally and the families of our church. So thank you, kaylee from Denver, colorado. I know that church and love. Those people had the opportunity to be out there and actually share on a Sunday morning this past fall. Awesome, awesome church and very encouraging. Thank you, kaylee. Kaylee, if you'll reach out to us through the email or text, send us a text or a message we will get you some SWO swag because we read your review on the episode here. That'd be awesome.
Speaker 1:Okay, next, this is from Isaiah. It says I love NSR. Brody heads up an amazing ministry that has had a big impact on my life from sixth grade through marriage. They have ministered to me. Thankful for this ministry as I listen to NSR every week. So, isaiah, you are listening to this, no doubt in my mind, because you say here that you listen to it every week. So thank you for that review. If you'll hit us up, we're going to get you some swag. Get Isaiah a new hat. We you for that review. If you'll hit us up, we're going to get you some swag. Get Isaiah a new hat. We got some really cool new hats coming out and so we'll get one over to him.
Speaker 1:Uh next, uh, this one is just simply titled practical, and it says very practical godly broadcast. And I don't know if that might've meant to say podcast, but it says very practical, godly broadcast, very helpful information for an, for an uneducated person. I think formal education is what they're talking about here. And that's from. I Am With Croft, so thank you. I Am Thank you so much. I Am With Croft for that review, really grateful. If you'll reach out to us, we'll give you some SWO swag. It's going to be awesome.
Speaker 1:And let's read one more here. This is from JP. It just says thank you, says this has been of such help to me. Thank you for your dedication to reading from God's word, the Bible. I listen to you on the way to work and sometimes after I read the Bible after work instead of a documentary. I've had to surround myself with God in my off hours because I feel like my whole life is on fire. So thank you for helping in a great way with God's grace and mercy getting me through each day praying for you and your staff. That's from JP56465. So, jp, thank you, and, jp, if you'll reach out to us via email or text, we will hook you up. We will hook you up. I want to read. So there's some really encouraging encouraging reviews. That's on the Apple podcast platform.
Speaker 1:Now let me read a section of this was a lengthy letter that we got that I got personally. It says I've been enjoying it and I'm just going to read an excerpt. I've been enjoying the recent family episodes on NSR. I had some thoughts and questions from man. This is faded, real bad. It was written in pencil and it's a handwritten letter. I had some thoughts and questions from part one of building a Christ-centered family. Okay, so this was a series we did back at the end of last year. I wasn't sure where to send them, so I apologize if this isn't the best way to reach you.
Speaker 1:I've always admired your family and the culture y'all have created with your home, one where the Lord is the foundation and where everyone is truly present. Honestly, it's different from the environment I grew up in. In many ways this is tricky because I know my family is wonderful and I love them. But the older I get, the more I realize that, if the Lord blesses me with my own family, one day I want our home life to look much different than mine looked. I simply want more for my life as far as faith, family and marriage go. That being said, I don't think the Lord wants me to wait until I have my own family to be a light in the places he has me now, specifically at home. If I want to bear fruit in my future home, job and relationships, I know I need to sow seeds. I know I need to sow seeds now, right where I'm at.
Speaker 1:But how do I do this if my parents don't share the same vision? How do I practically integrate those Romans 12 principles if my parents aren't actively living, on mission, so to say? I want to be a light and encouragement to them, but it's hard to find effective ways to do that without seeming judgmental or pushy man. This is so good, pauls, thank you. I'm not going to say this person's name because I know her and I actually know her family Not real well, but I know them. So I don't want Not real well, but I know them. So I don't want to say her name, but I just I do want to say and our team will reach out to her separately, but thank you for sharing this.
Speaker 1:I think this is something that a lot of our listeners might be able to resonate with. This is very good and, I think, insightful, and I think it took a lot of discernment and courage to write this. I want to be alive in an encouragement of them, but it's hard to find effective ways to do so without seeming pushy or judgmental. I feel frustrated when I come home from school where I have wonderful community so this person's a college student where I have wonderful community and people I can have meaningful spiritual conversations with to a setting where there's no real depth to our conversations and where screens keep us isolated from each other. I think a lot of families really spend a lot of time on Facebook and Instagram and see a lot of times I'm paused here on the letter, by the way uh, see a lot of families where everyone's sitting around on their own phone but not really communicating with each other. Um, I can't exactly tell them to turn the TV off or put their phones away. Can I pause?
Speaker 1:Let me answer that question by saying I think that you could have a conversation, maybe not in the heat of the moment you don't want to, and maybe not in the heat of the moment say, hey, turn a TV off and put your phones away, but maybe in the heat of the moment, if it's blatantly obvious that you're being ignored and you're a human being hanging out with your family and your parents are ignoring you, then maybe say hey, guys, I've been home for this whole afternoon or this whole evening and the TV's been on the whole time and the phone's been nonstop. Or maybe you don't have the conversation. Then Maybe it's something you come back to in a time where you just ask hey, can we sit down over a meal and talk about some things I have on my heart and I think you do have to share. You need to share your heart with them about this, because the question there, that last sentence, was I can't exactly tell them to turn the TV off or put their phones away, and I think you can. You just want to be gentle and try not to be accusatory, or you know they're they're probably going to have the tendency to become defensive. It's human nature to become defensive. So be gentle with how you do that, and I think you absolutely can can do that. Gentle with how you do that, and I think you absolutely can can do that. Um, so might be time to have a conversation to just say, hey, when I come home, could we just not turn anything on and just play a game together? Or I'll tell you sometimes just to sit and be together.
Speaker 1:Um, as I'm recording this, uh, yesterday we were, uh my family was all together. We've had uh, we've had kilby, my daughter, who's going to be on an episode. They're going back here soon to africa. They've been home for the holidays and stayed over and stayed the month of january, which I'm so grateful for. Got to spend a lot of time with my granddaughter. Man, it's been awesome, it's been so good. They're getting ready to head back and every day we're trying to make the most of the time we've got, and yesterday my mom and my folks were there.
Speaker 1:My mom and stepdad were there, which I say stepdad, but he's the only granddad my kids have and know, so I hate to use that word. My folks were there at the house and then, uh, laylee was there she had driven in from school. She only goes to school an hour and a half away. That's my, my middle daughter, um, and then kill me and greg, and then me and tucker wasn't there, our oldest son, but, um, kids were just all kind of there together and for probably two hours we just sat. We're just in the house just talking and goofing off and laughing, and it was just so wonderful, so good man, it was so good. We just sat and spent time together. We didn't play board games, we didn't turn on the TV, nobody was on their phones, and it was just so refreshing and good. So it's definitely worth talking about. Just so refreshing and good, so it's definitely worth talking about. Okay, let's, let's uh, let's wrap up this letter. That is so good.
Speaker 1:I find myself putting up walls with my parents because of this disconnect and I often feel defeated and hardhearted towards them. Attempts at spiritual or even day-to-day conversations often fall flat or result in hurt feelings, so I find it hard to let them in on. What's going on in my heart and life. Is this just how it has to be? Unless they grow in their faith, will I always have to maintain those boundaries to avoid disappointment? How can I push them in a loving and gracious way? Man, let's pause again. Those are great questions. So is this just how it's going to be?
Speaker 1:She asks, and I would say no, I think, because your parents are professing Christians. I think you can press into that and and you need to have a conversation with them, and I think it needs to be a conversation where you set aside a time and you make it clear to them hey, I want to have some serious talk with y'all. I'm an adult now, I'm no longer a child and I've got some things that just have on my heart, and I think you start that conversation by expressing how much you love them, how much you appreciate them. I would start by saying thank y'all for loving me so well. Thank you for raising me and the nurture and the admonition of the Lord, thank you for having me in church and and teaching me who God is and pointing me that way. You know so.
Speaker 1:So don't start off with anything that feels critical. Start off with appreciation and positivity and then, I think shift cause the question there was. Well, I always have to maintain those boundaries to avoid disappointment, so shift towards um, guys, I just I got to share what's on my heart. I feel like we're shallow. We can only go to a very shallow depth when it comes to real conversation about what's going on in my heart and where the Lord is in our family. I feel like you know, and you just kind of share your heart, but do it gently, because you said how can I push them in a loving and gracious way? And I think that's how you do it. But now here's the thing that I think you've got to know about post a conversation like this. So, after you have this conversation, there's something that I think you've got to prepare your heart to do, and that is don't rehash it with them, don't bring it back up. And so a couple of very important points here. If you need to sit down this goes for any of our listeners If you need to sit down and have a conversation with your parents or with a spouse Now we're talking about people who profess to be Christians If you have parents that aren't believers, then this doesn't apply to you.
Speaker 1:It would be a different conversation. But this person has a mom and a dad who attend church for the most part, most weeks. They profess to be Christians, they say the blessing over the meals, et cetera, but there's not a lot of depth, et cetera, but there's not a lot of depth. And so when you have this conversation, you have to remove your own expectations. And you have this conversation for three reasons, and I want to put it in this order because this will temper your expectations.
Speaker 1:You're not first having this conversation for your own self. You're having it first and foremost to honor the Lord. Second, because you care about your parents and you want them to have a deeper, more meaningful relationship with the Lord. And then, third, you are third in this so I can get some things off my chest, or so I can maybe move beyond some disappointment I'm having. Then, if they don't respond the right, the way that you're hoping they will, then you're just setting yourself up for further disappointment. Anytime we approach something in a more self-preservation kind of mindset or way, then we set ourselves up for disappointment because we're establishing expectations that may not be met. So I hope that makes sense. So have the conversation but be ready to walk away from it when you're done and not revisit If they don't respond.
Speaker 1:Well, then you've done what you needed to do to be faithful to the Lord, because what's stirring this in your heart, I believe, is a sincere love for the Lord and you want them to grow in their faith, and so that, ultimately, is between them and Jesus, it's between them and the Holy spirit, but you can speak into that. So so, uh, she she wraps up by saying I guess I'm seeking advice on how to live my life life fully surrendered to the Lord and fully present and engaged at home, if my parents don't share that same vision yet. So last question I'll answer here is how do you then you've got this intense love for the Lord, this intense love for scripture? You're growing, you're going places in your own walk with Jesus. How do you, if they're not on the same page, how do you, how do you interact with them? Is what that last question is, cause I think a lot of us, we know what this is like, where you're so serious about, uh, your walk with the Lord and it's the thing that that motivates and drives you in every part of your life.
Speaker 1:Um, but how do you, how do you grow in relationship with others that aren't growing in relationship with Jesus. Because there's a principle, I think, in the Christian experience which is the more you grow in your relationship with Jesus, the more you grow in your walk with Christ, then the more meaningful your relationships with other people that are growing are going to be, and then the less meaningful your relationships with people that aren't growing are going to be. So for an example would be um, you got, you got two brothers and they're super close and they're young adults, you know they're 18 to 20, 21, somewhere in there, and they've they grew up together, they're a year or two apart, really close, and then one of them really begins to pursue Christ and the other one is a kind of marginal Christian, and what happens is the one that's really pursuing Christ is going to find deeper, more meaningful relationships with other people that are pursuing Christ, and maybe his relationship with his brother. It's not that it stops being meaningful, it just doesn't have the same depth. And so it almost feels like you grow a little bit apart from your brother and you grow more deep relationships with brothers in Christ, and so that would be an example.
Speaker 1:I've seen that happen a lot. So maybe you know, I think of two cousins that grew up really close they're the same age, I think, a couple months apart played ball together once you know, did everything together growing up. Played ball together once you know, did everything together growing up, constantly staying over at each other's houses um, just super close. They're cousins but they're best friends. One of them pursued and and both were christians, but one of them really pursued christ and the other one not so much once they hit adulthood and they just kind of grew apart. Now that's different from if, again, if you have a family member that's not a Christian, they're lost and they don't profess to be a Christian.
Speaker 1:I almost feel like that can be a little easier because you can find commonality in things that are not the things of the Lord. You know, favorite sports team or a hobby, something like that. So anyway, it can be tough. This is a very difficult thing, especially when you're dealing with your parents, where you want to stay engaged, but the depth of your relationship with Christ sort of has gone to a place that theirs hasn't. And that's not being judgmental or condescending, that's just the reality. So I would say, just be gentle and accept that there may not be quite the depth you're hoping for in those relationships. Give them an opportunity to hear your heart, but do it gently and don't set expectations that will be unmet and then just know. The reality is that the more you walk with Jesus, the deeper you press into the things of the Lord. Then you're going to turn to other people who have that same commitment and that's where your deepest relationships are going to be.
Speaker 1:She closes. Thank you, guys, for the work you do and the love you have for the Lord and his people. You've shown me that the Christian faith really is a practical, day-to-day thing that should impact every aspect of my life Living, every aspect of my living. Y'all are awesome. And then she said I'm so excited that you get to celebrate the holidays with Kilby Greg and baby Alma. I've loved all the pictures I think she's talking about through, probably, social media Merry Christmas.
Speaker 1:So this came in just before Christmas and, sorry, I'm just now getting to it. We are just so busy and and so a lot of this is overdue because of the the lineup that we've had. So thank you to that person. She knows who she is and she listens, and I want to say to her that we, the Holloway family, love you and the Snowbird family love you and you do have meaningful relationships here that will will always be here and uh. So swing by the house sometime when you're in in the area, swing by when you're in Andrews or when you come to a SWO event. Let's connect and hopefully you can come to one. I haven't seen you in a while, but thank you for the letter. I hope this was an encouragement, not just to you but to others that might've been listening.
Speaker 1:Okay, all right, let's, uh, let's pause right here and I'm going to, um, organize some things here, some notes and things, and I want to walk you through this Nehemiah three stuff that um, uh, it's funny I'm recording this a day before I'm going to be speaking on these things, but you're going to be hearing it sometime after I've spoken. So, um, you're getting to basically hear my practice run, um, but by the time you listen to it, it'll all be said and done. So, anyway, let's, uh, let's turn, let's, let's pivot, shift directions a little bit, and now let's get into Nehemiah three. Okay, so, nehemiah three. Let me set the stage as, even as we've come off these uh, last couple of weeks of talking about the importance of scripture and how we study it. It's important to take Nehemiah three in context.
Speaker 1:So, super fast background to what we're getting ready to get into is this there was an ancient civilization. It was a nation that had established the greatest government in the world, the greatest kingship in the world, the greatest system of worship the world had ever seen, the greatest influence and spread to the rest of the world, and that ancient civilization was called Israel. Israel was a nation that God raised up out of the other nations of the earth so that through that nation, he would bring salvation to all nations. And so that's the story of the Old Testament of the Bible. And there was a time where those people that made up that nation turned away from God and, as a result, they disobeyed God's laws, his instruction, they broke away from the form of government he had established, they broke away from the system of worship he had established. They stopped obeying him, they stopped listening to him he had established. They stopped obeying him, they stopped listening to him and, as a result, just as God had promised, these people came under the hand of God's judgment, and what that judgment looked like was that they lost their autonomy and power and influence as a nation. They became a nation of slaves to other greater, more powerful nations. The problem is, these other greater, more powerful nations were pagan, they were not Christian or they did not worship the one true God. And so one of those nations was a world power called Persia.
Speaker 1:Think of from about 700, 800 BC, through a couple hundred years, a few hundred years after the time of Christ, so for about over a thousand years the world had a succession of empires that sort of ruled and dominated the first one. There was one empire called the Assyrian Empire. They were like the Mongols, they were barbaric and kind of crazy. They just ruled and reigned over other people, and that was the first nation that started to bring God's judgment on Israel. And that was like 700 years before Christ. And then about 100 years later, about 100 years later, they fell to the Babylonian Empire and that empire then began to rule and govern over God's people. And that's where you can read about some of that in the story of Daniel, the book of Daniel. But that was a short-lived empire or world power. Now, they were very sophisticated and advanced for that time, but then they collapsed and they fell to the Persian empire.
Speaker 1:You may have heard remember back in school, the Medo-Persian, the Medo-Persian empire, the Medes and Persians, and then they ruled for a good bit longer and they continued to oppress God's people. But it was during that time that God started to restore and reestablish a few things with his people, but what he would do is he would not reestablish their governmental prominence. So, in other words, under the Persian empire, god's people were allowed to begin to worship their God the way they were commanded by their God to worship. They weren't allowed to establish a king and a government and a military and to reestablish themselves as a nation, but they were allowed to reestablish their system of worship. And that Persian empire eventually would fall to the Greek empire, which would eventually split and fragment and divide, and then the world would see the rise of the Roman empire, which is the empire that was in place when Jesus came into the world.
Speaker 1:So we're going to jump into this story in Nehemiah. Nehemiah takes place when that third kingdom, the Persian empire, was in power, and what had happened during that time is that Jewish people had been assimilated under Babylonian empire and Persian empire Kings. They had been assimilated into Babylonian life or Persian life, and so, for instance, daniel, under the Babylonian empire, became um, the secretary of education and then, when the Persian empire took over, he was such a gifted guy that he became the chief justice of what would be their version of the Supreme court, and so he had very influential positions. But he was a Jewish guy, but he was in the Babylonian and Persian empires. Well, Nehemiah was a guy who, like Esther, had a very influential position in the Persian empire. You remember the story of Queen Esther, which we're going to do one of these days. We're going to do a Beyond the Flannel graph on Queen Esther. She was a Jewish girl that became queen.
Speaker 1:Nehemiah was a Jewish dude that became the cupbearer to the king, which means he tested the king's food and drink to make sure he wasn't being poisoned the king's food and drink to make sure he wasn't being poisoned. Back then there was so much that went on where kings would be double-crossed and executed and there were coups and there were rebellions and people were jockeying for positions. So there's all these stories from all kinds of different empires and dynasties and monarchies where one person becomes King by killing off their siblings or something like that. You know that you there's so many old stories of of that. Look like that, and so this King. He had, uh, what most Kings would have. He had a cup bearer which was a taste tester for his food and drink, and this guy, nehemiah, was the taste tester. So this guy, nehemiah, was the taste tester. So this guy, nehemiah, had a very prominent role with this Persian king.
Speaker 1:And Nehemiah goes to this Persian king and he is so downcast because he has heard that the city of his people, the capital city of his people, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of miles away, 800 miles away, the city of Jerusalem is in ruins. The wall that protected the city has collapsed, it's fallen, they've been ransacked and attacked and there's just disorder and chaos. And it's kind of like if you think about what's going on in Haiti right now or in parts of Sudan, kind of like if you think about what's going on in Haiti right now or in parts of Sudan, it's chaos. I read last week where Rwanda had invaded the Congo and there's just crazy fighting in the streets and you end up with sort of this warlord anarchy and that was happening around Jerusalem and there was no stability for the people. And so Nehemiah was devastated by this.
Speaker 1:I mean, he was just wrecked, he couldn't hide it and the King knows it, he recognizes it, and so he says hey, what do you, what do you want to do? And Nehemiah says I need okay, I'm gonna speak my heart here I want to go and and and rebuild the wall and establish some security for the people of Jerusalem these are my people and for us to be able to worship and experience the way of life we believe that Yahweh has called us to. I need to go back and do this work. And so the king says yeah, yeah, we'll do it. As a matter of fact, how much time you need? And it's going to be several years. So the king gives Nehemiah several years of leave, he gives him documentation that will protect him as he travels through the empire and that he'll have work orders to be protected as he does the work. No one can speak against the king's orders. And so Nehemiah goes back. He gets back to the city, he sort of evaluates what needs to be done and he mobilizes the team, and then the people of Israel come together and they begin to work to rebuild the wall around the city of Jerusalem. Once that wall is up, it will represent that God has reestablished worship and certain aspects of Jewish life, and it would give them hope that God was still in control even though the people had come under judgment and no longer had total autonomy. So that's sort of the setup in control even though the people had come under judgment and no longer had total autonomy. So that's sort of the setup. And so Nehemiah 3 is an incredible chapter, because it is the chapter that begins the story of the people putting their hands to the work and beginning to rebuild the wall, and so I want to work through it and give you I don't know like five principles that I think will be helpful for us as believers in 2025 this week. Um, so we'll work through it.
Speaker 1:Nehemiah, chapter three uh, beginning in verse one, it says then Eliashib or Eliashib I don't know how you pronounce his name the high priest rose up with his brothers, the priests, and they built the sheep gate, they consecrated it and set its doors. They consecrated it as far as the tower of the hundred and as far as the tower of Hananel. So first thing that happens is the priests begin the work. This guy, eliashib, was the grandson of Jeshua, who had overseen the temple construction in Israel. So this guy was not just a high priest, but he came from. He probably had some age on him at this point, but he also had an incredible ancestry, um, but I want you to notice that he gets in on the manual labor and he takes his team, and these priests don't have any sense of pride or entitlement. Um, this is servant leadership.
Speaker 1:So the priests begin the work and they work to reestablish what's called the sheep gate, and they not only work to establish and rebuild the sheep gate, but they consecrate it, which means, before they start the work on the rest of the wall, they build the gate that was used to bring the sacrificial animals into the city and they dedicate this to the Lord. So I think there's a statement the sheep gate is set apart and dedicated to the Lord by the priests who establish the work of rebuilding this, this wall. That's the first thing that happens, and the statement is hey, we're going to do this and we're going to honor the Lord and the priest, uh, lead the way, and I just love this. And so then it says in verse two next to the men, next to him, the men of Jericho built, and next to him, uh, zachar the son of Emory built. So you got people from Jericho that come in and start building in this. Now, what this does is this shows you that if you look at a map, you've got the city of Jerusalem and as we work through this story, people from around Jerusalem are going to come together to help the people in Jerusalem build the city. So the work was not only done by people who lived within the city.
Speaker 1:You know, jericho is a significant I mean there's several stories that happened in Jericho. You've got the walls of Jericho that fell down hundreds of years before this story that we're reading. But then also Jesus goes to Jericho. That's where the story of Zacchaeus happens. So Jericho was pretty close to Jerusalem. It was just kind of an outlying city just outside of Jerusalem. But to me it's significant because there's a human tendency to just want to be involved in the things that benefit you directly. But I love this because this is a powerful principle. One of the effects of following Jesus is you're going to have a desire to help others directly and to do things in your own life that are going to impact the greater work of the kingdom of Jesus, and so the people of Jericho sort of display that, which is. I love that.
Speaker 1:And then the work continues.
Speaker 1:The sons of Hasenah built the fish gate. They laid its beams, set its doors, its bolts, its bars. Next to them, merimoth, the son of Uriah, son of Hachaz, repaired, and next to them, meshulam, the son of Berechiah, son of Meshezebel, repaired. And next to him, zadok, the son of Banna, repaired. So something now jumps out that I want to point out, and that is this the word repaired is being used now and that becomes the theme of the chapter.
Speaker 1:Now there's another place where the word rebuild or restored will be used, and those are two different words with two different significance. There's there's significance in both of those that I want to point out, but the word repaired is used here and it and it's kind of the main theme of the chapter. So here's a, here's a definition for what that word repaired means in the scripture. It means to make firm or make strong. It doesn't necessarily mean that everything's being put back the way it was. So, if you could kind of imagine, they may not be building the wall back to its former glory in terms of architecture and beauty and the trim work, and what they're doing is they're they're, they're making it firm and strong. So there are no frills, no fancy schmancy. No frills, no fancy schmancy. Let's build a wall that serves a purpose, to enable us to return to obeying and following the Lord in the way that we live within this city. So I think that's significant.
Speaker 1:You've got a couple guys' names mentioned there Maramoth and Malkijah. Those are guys that show up in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, that had a significant role um in in in Jewish life in the city of Jerusalem, and that guy, merrimoth, will actually repair another section down in verse 21. Um, so you've got people from different walks of life now coming to work with the priest, their repair and they're they're really fortifying sections of the wall, even though they may not put it back to the way it was ornamentally or architecturally, as far as what it looks like, but they're establishing a strong wall. They're there. This is no frills. They're putting it back with with bolts and bars and and, and a strong structure is going in place with bolts and bars and and, and a strong structure is going in place.
Speaker 1:And one of the things that uh stands out to me now for versus in is that no one here has a sense of entitlement. There's not a mindset of entitlement. You don't have the priest saying, well, we only do priestly things. You don't have this guy Merrimoth, um, and this guy Malakai, just saying well, we, we're pretty important people here. You know, ezra can vouch for us. We're not going to do this kind of work. We need the labor force to do this and we've got to do other things that are more religious by nature or governmental by nature. It's just everybody's jumping in and doing the work. There's no sense of entitlement. I think that's significant.
Speaker 1:And then in verse 5, it says that Techoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve the Lord. So you've got conflict from within. Now, as you study the book of Nehemiah, there was conflict from the outside. There was a couple of guys that that led, sort of a coalition of people that opposed to the work, so much so that eventually the people that are rebuilding the wall will have to rebuild with their swords at hand. So while they're mudding and laying brick, they're armed, ready to fight in case the conflict from the outside comes, and they have to fight for the project, the work that they're doing, for the project, the work that they're doing. But here you've got internal conflict, which I think is a pretty important principle and reminder that even in really solid ministries, even in really solid churches it's not uncommon to have to overcome internal resistance and conflict, and here it's not just conflict. I think you've got something like either laziness and arrogance, where more of the work and burden is being put on some because others won't pull their own weight, or I don't know, there's different theories on this or you've got legitimate conflict internally where someone's trying to undermine the work I'm not sure, but one or the other In the MI3,. The way this is playing out is that the way they overcome it is that everyone just puts their heads down. They just grind away at the work. They don't stop and complain, get caught up in the drama that these men might have created. They just stay focused and I love that. So they continue working.
Speaker 1:Verse 6, they put together the city gate. Verse 7, some more people are being named individually, but there's also some folks in verse 7. It says the Gibeonite, melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Maranathite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, the seat of the governor of the province beyond the river. So now you've got people from a good ways outside of the city that have. Apparently there's a provincial palace maybe, where the Persian governor would stay when he was in the province of the region. The people from that city have come to help as well. So again, you've got people from all around coming to help. So a really cool picture of how, when God puts a task in front of people, if everyone will take part in the common work that God's called them to, so much can be accomplished.
Speaker 1:And then get to verse 8, and we get into a goldsmith and a perfume manufacturer. This is cool. It says Uziel, the son of Harahiah, goldsmiths repaired. Next to him, hananiah, one of the perfumers, repaired, and they restored Jerusalem as far as the broad wall. So you've got a group of guys that do the next section. These are guys who were merchants, they were from the trades, they were local tradesmen, business owners, merchants, and they're getting involved, doing their part. And I love it because at this point what we've got is we've got everyone is kind of pitching in, no matter what their background is. And it's interesting because in verse eight something jumps out. It says they restored Jerusalem as far as the broad wall.
Speaker 1:We said earlier, sometimes you repair but sometimes you rebuild, and that's what's happening here. The terminology in verse 8 is that as they're rebuilding this portion of the wall, they actually reroute it. And I think what happens is they move the wall in, so they shrink the size of the city a little bit, but they bring the wall into a more strategic high ground. And so they're recognizing, hey, we need to be efficient and strategic. And so they rebuild a section of the wall. And so, again, sometimes we're repairing, sometimes we're rebuilding.
Speaker 1:I think there's some really good application that we could just pause and say, hey, in your life are there times where you need to repair, are there times where you need to rebuild? You know, you think of, uh, relationships that are damaged. Can we, can we put that back through the work of reconciliation, or do I need to rebuild it altogether? You know areas of our lives where typically, um, we just need the Lord to do a work. You know, in our lives, and anyway, that's just kind of those two words stand out to me repair versus rebuild.
Speaker 1:Okay, then in verse nine we get the first uh, this guy's like a I would call him a town count, a city councilman, or a commissioner, a County commissioner. His name's refi, and it says that next time, refi, the son of her, the ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired. So you've got, you'll see this over the rest of the chapter. County commissioners, mayors, rulers of separate parts of the city all come together to do their part. And then, verse 10, this guy, jediah, the son of haramath, repaired opposite his house. So now you got people starting to work just in their front yard. They're, they're, they're working right around their house. Verse 11 you got a group of guys that finish their section and then they move, grab their tools, move on and help some, some guys on another section, verse 12 you've got a guy who's working with his daughters. So you've got just different snippets of Jewish life where people from every walk of life again are jumping in and doing the work.
Speaker 1:And then you get to verse 13. It says Hanun and the inhabitants of Zenoa repaired the valley gate. They rebuilt it and set its doors, its bolts and its bars and repaired a thousand cubits of the wall as far as the dung gate. So Hannon's team repaired this huge portion. This guy, hannon, or Hannon, is a huge portion of the wall, probably 500 yards long. You're talking five football fields. And then the other thing is, these guys didn't live there, they came from outside of town. So, like verses 9 through 12, you've got people just kind of doing the section right in front of their house and then verse 13,. You've got guys coming from all around, from way outside of the city and they come in and they repair 500 yard section. So you know, we saw a while ago you got a group of guys that move and rebuild an entirely new section of the wall. These guys probably were just repairing a large section of the wall because of how much work they got done in the same amount of time, massive portion of the wall these guys came in and helped to repair.
Speaker 1:It makes me think of something. There's a couple of things that stand out to me based on kind of where we are in western North Carolina with all the flooding that just happened. We had, you know, last fall we had crazy floods here that were the effect of a hurricane that went through like south Georgia, north Florida, and what we got was massive flooding. You know, a lot of people said the hurricane hit us. I don't. I don't mean I don't know if a hurricane can hit the mountains North Carolina, but I know it rained like crazy. I mean whole sides of mountains washed away and we got out and started when, when all the you know, the water sort of subsided and I mean it was crazy. I've never seen anything like it there.
Speaker 1:The Pigeon River runs through the town of Canton, where my brother and a bunch of my brother I got a brother and a sister and several cousins that live in Canton and Clyde, north Carolina and where the Pigeon River runs through that town. The Pigeon River was up 26 feet, so you figure that out. You know, if the banks are 10 feet higher than the river normally, then above the banks you had 16 feet of water across the. You know. So it was to the it was. It was in the attics of homes. It was crazy. Like you know, a lot of us I'm sure saw some of that on social media or on the news or whatever. This is crazy, just terrible, terrible flood damage and had to wait till all that water subsided.
Speaker 1:Then we went over and started working just to and not even rebuilding just getting mud out of houses, trying to get people to a position where then they could rebuild. And now the rebuilding has started. It's been an ongoing work on one project, but we spent a month just getting mud out of houses and ripping insulation out from under mobile homes. We went into a couple of trailer parks and the SWO team was just ripping and gutting and dealing with just a massive cleanup effort.
Speaker 1:And something that stood out to me was the cooperation of these communities. Everybody was pitching in. We met people from Mississippi and Colorado and Virginia and Missouri that had come down. I have a friend from Kansas that said, hey, what can I do? And he purchased a side-by-side UTV so that we could take it to one mountain community so that they could distribute firewood to people, because so much people's wood sheds have been washed and they had lost their firewood. These people lived along rivers and creeks and then it's going to be five months before they could get power back to these these communities, some of them because of where they were located just crazy. But seeing everybody pitch in and you see what people can accomplish when there's no pride and everybody's willing to pitch in.
Speaker 1:Now it's funny because there's also always going to be people that are trying to work an angle to profit off of something like this and we saw some of that too. There's one area called Green Mountain which is in Yancey County, north Carolina, north of Asheville, and it got several friends up there, a pastor friend, timmy Burnett, who has members that live up in that area and we were joking one day because some folks were up there. You know people, people were I mean 99% of people were were there to help. But you got that one group of people that are trying to cause problems or profit off of the calamity and there's a self-appointed militia up there. These guys call themselves like the green mountain, maybe the green mountain militia, I don't remember, but my buddy called them the gravy seals. He says bunch of good old boys. They're the gravy seals instead of the Navy seals. They're up there defending, you know, the homes that have been devastated.
Speaker 1:But you heard about a lot of the stories are all over the place during the flooding where there are people that were using that to rob and pillage and loot, but the majority of people were coming together to work and something that stood out to me is people who are Christians were working together in the most cooperative and beautiful way. It's really cool. I saw one group of believers that were volunteers. I went by a house one day and came back by that same house two days later and it looked completely different. They had gutted, cleaned, restored and were already back to rebuilding it and it was just cool to see what 15 men and women who love the Lord and were committed to helping just some random people that they said we're going to help this house, these are the people we're going to help. So it was a really cool cooperative effort and I don't know that's what made me think of it. There was sections of this wall as you're reading the MI3, like these guys that just built a 500 foot section or repaired a 500 foot section. You're like man, that's crazy how fast they did that. But there were.
Speaker 1:After that flood, I drove through an area one day where I thought it'll be months, if not years, before this is all put back. Roads washed out, you had that four wheel drive and then you had to take secondary roads and logging roads to get around. And I'm telling you, in three weeks time you could drive through there. They had restored the road and they had gotten. It was just crazy seeing how fast people were working around the clock. So that's what it made me think of. It's kind of like a fresh recent example or illustration to me. And so got all these people just working, working, working, working.
Speaker 1:And then verse 16, another um commissioner, one of the city commissioners, um and then from after verse 16, it seems to shift from um and and focus more on people's homes and like local things, the the first part of the chapter is the big projects, big sections of the wall, the gates that are being rehung, and then it shifts over from about verse 17 to the end of the chapter. It gets more into just the tedious work of restoring people's homes, local landmarks, things like that. And when it's all said and done, what it seems like happens is the wall of the city is restored and or repaired, but it is shrunk in size and circumference and diameter. So you've got a sure, strong, smaller section of the city that's in come, you know, encompassed by this wall, but it's consecrated to the Lord. When it's all said and done and they're able to, I mean in verses 17 through 21, you've got the Levites, who are the priests, and another city commissioner that all come together to do this massive portion of the work. I mean I think how encouraging it would have been to see these pastors and priests and leaders in there doing the work alongside of uneducated people. And then you've got, even in verse 22, these surrounding areas, these rural pastors this is after him the priests, the men of the surrounding area repaired. So something I saw during this work, hurricane relief work was pastors and leaders and churches from all around the country came in. And I appreciate that verse 22, where these rural pastors and priests came to help, because, as a rural pastor in a small rural community that's dominated by high levels of southern Appalachian poverty, this kind of resonates with me. These people were just everybody's doing their part and and there's power in that the Lord blesses it and uses it. And so I think that you know what you get in this Nehemiah three story is a picture of how Christ wants the church to serve the community, and that's what they did here and that's what we've been able to see over the last um, you know, the last few months since the flooding happened.
Speaker 1:But anyway, I want to, I want to give you some things that stand out to me. So this is what I really want to get at with Nehemiah three. I want to get to to seven principles. Let's see seven. Did I write down seven? I got seven. Seven principles, seven things that stand out. So if you're a Christian, a Christ follower, you're a child of God. Let me give you seven things to think about.
Speaker 1:First, the spiritual leader set the example of the work. So in the first verse you've got the priests I mean this really well-known priest, eliashib, who's the grandson of Jeshua this is like this is a big-time family in Israelite life and they set the example by doing the work. And in doing the work they established the Sheep Gate, which is the gate that kind of represents salvation for Israel and sacrifice and is pointing people to Jesus, and so that's the most important part of this project for the people. Next, the second thing is that people from every category and walk of life helped out, not just the work of ministry professionals. So the first two points to me are you've got the pastors and priests doing the work, and there's a lesson in that, in that they're not entitled, they don't think, oh, I just stay in my office and prepare sermons. You know the old misnomer that preachers and pastors only work one day a week, which is crazy. But then you've got them putting their hand to the work and leading by example. It's true servant leadership. So the first component to a healthy community effort um, whether that's community community or the church community is that the spiritual leaders set the example of the work. But then the second community is that the spiritual leaders set the example of the work.
Speaker 1:But then the second thing is that people from every category and walk of life helped out. It's not just the work of ministry professionals, everybody pitches in. You've got local rulers and commissioners and councilmen, and then it even. It even seems like the the Persian empire probably used local Jews to govern different districts and regions and I think those people would have had a a lot of opportunity for um to be entitled. You know what I mean. Like if, if the Persian empire said to you hey, we're going to give you a nice house to live in and we're going to give you a pretty good little salary and we need you to keep order and you're part of, you're part of the empire which is in this section of the city of Jerusalem. Just kind of keep things, that guy would would easily be able to have a sense of entitlement. But we don't see that here. Everybody's pitching in.
Speaker 1:The third thing is along those lines is the unity of the people. By not having a sense of entitlement. Everyone was sort of unified in this work, saying what can I do, how can I help, and I think that's like true unity in the body of Christ will lead to cooperation and work together. And people, you know we're going to work together. We'll use our. We'll use our gifts and talents, god's talents that he's given us, to help one another to be better, to do better. We'll be united in the mission. You go read Romans 12, three through eight. It starts let love be genuine, um have brotherly affection, outdo one another in showing honor, and it's like this really cool picture of cooperation in the body of Christ. So people, not only do they not have a sense of entitlement, but instead they have a sense of unity. How can I work for the greater mission, the greater good? I think there's a lesson in that Number four.
Speaker 1:We considered that the idea of repair versus rebuild. Sometimes we need to repair what's in our lives, what's broken. Other times we need to start over, need a fresh start. Maybe maybe you've gone through a completely destructive marriage and and now you're a divorced person, kind of going what, what do I do? Where do I go? You need to, you got to start over. You're going to start over, you're going to rebuild, but but then maybe there's someone else who, your marriage is not in a good place and you both need to commit, to work through some things, and you need to work to repair your marriage, and maybe it's just one of you is listening to this and the question will be what can you do to repair what's broken? Or maybe you need to work to repair a relationship in your life that that is damaged? Um, sometimes we need to work to repair a relationship in your life that is damaged. Sometimes we need to repair, sometimes we need to rebuild.
Speaker 1:And then the next thing is there's three more is we need to expect conflict? If we're going to be obedient to do the work of the Lord, there's going to be conflict. In verse 5, we saw that there was internal conflict, but then, as we unpack the rest of the book of nehemiah, there's a good bit of external conflict. So you need internal unity and external support, because there's going to be internal conflict and external conflict, and so conflict is going to be there. Just expect that you're going to face conflict in your life as christians. One of the beautiful things that that we have is the ability, the wisdom, the direction, instruction in scripture to deal with conflict, to address conflict, conflict resolution is something that's um, that's available to us as believers. We have instruction in scripture. So what we have is we have instruction on how to deal with conflict, but we also have the Holy spirit in us to guide us through the dealing, the conflict resolution. So expect conflict, don't freak out when there's conflict. That's part of life, that's just part of that's how it works.
Speaker 1:Number six Um. So I said there's seven, there's six, I'm doing six Um, and so the last one number six is God's name is not mentioned anywhere in Nehemiah chapter three, rather Not in the book of Nehemiah, but in Nehemiah chapter three. So as we go through this chapter where they're rebuilding, we never see the name of God mentioned. So this makes me think of this sort of balance in the body of christ, or in the christian experience, not the body of christ.
Speaker 1:In your life as a christian, you can hold to a high view of the sovereignty of god and still believe that god works through the hands and hearts and obedience of people who are willing to do the task that he puts in front of us. So it's kind of like we pray, trusting in the sovereignty of God. So we pray and ask God to do things because we believe he has sovereignty and providence and authority to do things, but then we get to work because we believe he's put responsibility on our shoulders. And so there's this. There's this thing that you see in the MI three, where the people are working hard to do the work, but they're not working pointlessly. They're working because they believe God's called them to it and that by his sovereignty he's going to bring about the result that that he intends to bring about.
Speaker 1:So, uh, let me, let me read. I'm going to close this chapter by reading from a commentator. This guy's name is Mervin Brenneman, new American Commentary, and I love what he says. Just to kind of wrap all this up and give us some application, despite its mundane appearance, because if you read through that chapter, I'm not going to lie. It's 32 verses where it's like so-and-so built this part of the wall, so-and-so repaired this part of the wall, so-and-so had daughters and they worked on this part of the wall. It seems mundane, but the chapter is more than a construction record.
Speaker 1:Although the walls and gates would serve a military purpose and we'll see that if you go on to Nehemiah, chapter 4, you'll see that the book's concern for separation from pagan influence suggests it had symbolic significance. You read, read about that in Nehemiah 13, verses 19 through 22,. Rather than simply providing security, the walls encouraged in the people of God a sense of identity and distinctiveness. So here's what it all comes down to the wall represents identity and distinctiveness and a degree of separation from the world. They're living in the midst of the Persian Empire, but there's a distinctiveness and a separation from the Persian Empire. Their restoration also represented a reversal of the humiliation of defeat and destruction suffered because of Israel's sin. Like the restored temple, the rebuilt walls would assure the Jews of God's redemptive presence among them.
Speaker 1:For the Christian, however, the continuing demonstration of God's powerful and loving presence is the cross, and so what he's saying in his point of application is in the midst of this pagan culture, this pagan empire called the Persian empire. God's people are living within the Persian empire, but the wall represents distinction, distinctiveness and separation from the world. You see this in Corinthians, when Paul writes to the Corinthians in that pagan city where they were completely surrounded by pagan worship Come out from among them and be separate, commit no unclean things, surrender yourself, consecrate yourself unto the Lord, be holy as he is holy. This is what the scripture will teach, and so one of the greatest principles for the Christian is to know. We live in a fallen and broken world. This world is not our home. We live in a fallen and broken world. This world is not our home. We live, we live in the darkness and I and man, you see Christians freak out. Like you know, we've just come through an election cycle.
Speaker 1:You go back 2023 and 24. It seemed like Christians are freaking out left and right. Um, because the world is is so messed up and we don't trust government and we don't Listen. The Jewish people were living under Persian rule. They lived in the world, but God restored this distinctiveness. God's people will always be separate from the world. There's a distinction, there's a distinctiveness. We got to be careful that we don't try to make ourselves oddly separate from the world. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:I heard a recent preacher prominent preacher say he wished President Trump would stop cussing and I thought, well, I get what he's saying, but do we need to say stuff like that out loud? You know, I don't know if the guy, I don't know if I've heard different opinions about if Trump is a Christian, an actual born-again Christian, or not. I don't know about if Trump is a Christian, an actual born-again Christian, or not. I don't know, but we can't start implying that people that are not part of the body of Christ behave like they're in the body of Christ. Listen, we live in a fallen world and as Christians, we need to focus on living in the world but not being of the world. Loving the world for what we offer the world, not for what the world offers us. I think that's a distinctive in the building of the wall that we see there Now.
Speaker 1:Brenneman continues this chapter and this is where we'll wrap it up. I know it's been a long episode, but I knew it was going to be. I warned you. So Brenneman continues. This chapter also contains important teachings for Christians today. Here's some things that it contains.
Speaker 1:One reason the work progressed was that everyone took part, from rulers and temple personnel to merchants and citizens with their families. Even the people from the villages who lived a distance from Jerusalem also helped. They felt part of the community, even though they personally received fewer direct benefits. Mcconville suggests that their cooperation on the wall is one of the Old Testament's finest pictures of the ideal of Israelite brotherhood. Even their enemies were amazed at the results, in order not only to survive but also to be effective in the midst of opposition from a hostile secular culture.
Speaker 1:The church must exhibit a cooperative spirit. Another reason for the Jews' success was Nehemiah's wise delegation of labor. He knew how to choose leaders, delegate authority and also many built the part nearest their own house. A leader must take into account family and incentive factors in planning and delegating responsibility. Take into account family and incentive factors in planning and delegating responsibility. So got all this wrapped up in this like things that we can apply today is that faithful biblical leadership in the local church is the delegation of responsibility, the preservation of families. But how do we get families involved? You've got all these things that are displayed in the MI3 that I think can be helpful for us.
Speaker 1:So, cooperating together as Christians, let's work together to impact the culture. Let's build a sort of sanctuary. Let's put up the wall like the church should represent some degree of separation from the world, security in the world. The church ought to represent a place where the body of Christ might come together and not only worship and fellowship together, but experience, like when you come to church on Sunday or you go to youth group on Wednesday night or small group in someone's home. That should be a time and a moment where you're stepping out of the world and into sort of this special sanctuary of fellowship and friendship and brotherhood where you encourage one another, help one another and then you work together to say what's the mission of the church and how are we going to impact our community? How are we going to go reach people? How are we going to take the influence and spread of the gospel into the world? So in the church we're on mission together. We're working together. There's conflict resolution. Sometimes there's conflict from the outside, sometimes there's conflict from the inside. Sometimes you can reconcile that conflict, sometimes you got to move on and leave something behind. But always the church is on mission and we come together in church on Sundays and in home groups and community groups and fellowship. We sit around a meal together.
Speaker 1:Whatever there's an opportunity for us to genuinely truly be united in fellowship with God's people, with the goal of, I think, the three big goals. Number one honoring the Lord, bringing glory and honor to the Lord and reflecting what the kingdom looks like, what eternity is going to be like. Number two, encouraging one another and building up the church and establishing a place where there's sanctuary, there's separation and distinction from the world. That is healthy and good, not condescending and judgmental, but where we genuinely can experience some freedom from just the stress and pressure of the world around us and not be completely consumed by and threatened by the chaos of the world. Us and not be completely consumed by and threatened by the chaos of the world. And then, number three, a place where we launch the work of the mission of Jesus into the world. You know, god's called us to be separate, to come out of the world, but he's also called us to impact the world, to shape the world, to change the world, to love the world with the love of Jesus.
Speaker 1:Those are the things I think that we learn from this incredible story. Do you need to repair, do you need to rebuild? And, as a church, what are you going to do to encourage one another, to build community and to impact the world in a way that brings glory and honor to God? Hope you got something out of this. Beyond the flannel graph, we're going beyond the surface meaning and trying to look at a story, a narrative in scripture, and learn from it.
Speaker 1:It's been really helpful for me and I really want to implement some of this stuff in my own life and then also just rethinking how I view church and the impact that we can have in our community. So that's that Love and appreciate all of you, the fact that you listen, reading those at the beginning of this thing, reading those reviews and emails and letters and things like that Just that's why we keep doing it. We know God's called us to it, but we also know that it's being effective and we're seeing a greater and broader spread and impact. Impact the results that we're getting back from these different platforms that the podcast has shared on have been staggering and shocking, and so I'm excited that God's using it. Hope it's an encouragement to you this week. So let's be the church, let's impact the world with the gospel and glorify Christ in doing it, and we'll see you next week.
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