NEHEMIAH 3
YEAH, TEAM!
(Response to an insurance company)
"I am writing in response to your request for additional
information. In block #3 of the accident form, I put "trying to do the job alone" as the cause of my accident. You said in your letter that I should explain more fully, and I trust that the following details will be sufficient.
“I am a bricklayer by trade. On the date of the accident I
was working alone on the roof of a new six story building. When I completed my work, I found that I had about 500 pounds of brick left over. Rather than carry the bricks down by hand, I decided to lower them in a barrel by using a pulley which fortunately was attached to the side of the building at the 6th floor.
“Securing the rope at ground level, I went up to the roof, swung the barrel out, and loaded the bricks into it. Then I went back to the ground and untied the rope, holding it tightly to insure a slow descent of the 500 pounds of brick. You will note in block #11 of the accident report that I weigh 135 pounds. But to by surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope.
“Needless to say, I proceeded at a rather rapid rate up the side of the building. In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming down. This explains the fractured skull, and broken collar bone. Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were 2 knuckles deep into the pulley. Fortunately, by this time, I had regained my presence of mind, and was able to hold tightly to the rope, in spite of my pain. At approximately the same time, however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground, and the bottom fell out of the barrel.
“Devoid of the weight of the bricks, the barrel then weighed
approximately 50 pounds. I refer you again to my weight in block #11. As you might imagine, I began a rapid descent down the side of the building. In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for the two fractured ankles, and the lacerations of my legs, and lower body area. The encounter with the barrel slowed me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell onto the pile of bricks, and fortunately only three vertebrae were cracked.
“I am sorry to report, however, that as I lay there on the
bricks, in pain . . . unable to stand . . . and watching the
empty barrel six stories above me . . . I again lost my presence
of mind and let go of the rope. The empty barrel weighed more than the rope, so it came back down on me, and broke both my legs.” Source Unknown
Do you remember what this man said his problem was? He was trying to do it alone. If this man had had help, we would not have received such a good laugh.
I chose the humorous approach to remind us that teamwork is an important part of our lives. People often work best when they work together! God has designed the church to be a place where there is a team effort!
Romans 12:3-8: For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
In Nehemiah 3, we have a great example of Nehemiah leading the Israelites in a great team effort! It was their working together which made a real difference. Often, when we hit a list of names in the Bible, we are tempted not to struggle with pronunciations, but move on to the next chapter, If we do that with this chapter, we will miss some real lessons about cooperation, which I believe, God wants us to have. In this chapter we see the success of the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem was a result of people working together as a team!
In Nehemiah 3 I see 3 principles about teamwork worth remembering.
MANY WERE ASSIGNED AND ASSUMED RESPONSIBILITY
MANY ACTED RESPONSIBLY
MANY ASSOCIATED REALISTICALLY
You might recall that the problem was the destroyed walls of Jerusalem. When Nehemiah, the king's cupbearer had heard about them, he started to pray, and made himself available to go back to Jerusalem.
In chapter 2 we saw that Nehemiah made an appeal to the King, and he was allowed to go to Jerusalem for a specific period of time in order to see that the walls were rebuilt.
He arrived in Jerusalem, and quietly surveyed the damage one evening. Then, he told the Jews about his plans.
READ NEHEMIAH 2:17-18
MANY WERE ASSIGNED AND ASSUMED RESPONSIBILITY
This building project meant rebuilding about 2 1/2 miles of wall, plus the gates to the city. This was a huge amount of work.
Nehemiah wisely chose to divide the work into doable sections.
The result was 41 or 42 smaller building projects going on within the larger project of wall building.
This meant that not everyone was concerned about detail on every part of the project. Each person, and the group which that person led was responsible for the details on his or her section.
Delegation within the church is also important. More gets done when people are responsible in different areas.
J.D. and Doug and Brenda - Youth
Many Sunday School teachers.
The Trustees - The grounds
The Deacons - Finances
The Elders - Spiritual things
Lydia - Good New Club
Dottie, Brenda, Cheryl – Small Blessings
Sandy and Dottie - Special Music
Amber and Jan – Jr. and Senior Choirs
You get the idea!
Of course, it is easy to miss something, if things are not thought out, planned, and assigned.
James Montgomery Boice - "On one occasion, theologian Carl F.H. Henry was invited to a northwestern university to give lectures on Christianity. His host was an energetic young man named Doug Coe, who has since done marvelous work among government leaders in our nation's capital. Coe had a vision for reaching the university. He put together a planning committee, chose a theme, contacted his speaker, picked a date and reserved the hall. But when the day came and Henry and Coe were together backstage before the first lecture, Coe looked out through the curtain and was stunned. There was no one there. Why? He forgot to advertise the event. So instead of the great meetings he envisioned, his committee held a small Bible study with Henry presiding." If only he had thought of an advertising committee! James Montgomery Boice, Nehemiah: Learning to Lead (Grand Rapids, Michigan, Fleming H. Revell, 1990), pp. 61-62
You may wonder why other people or I might ask you to participate in things. It is because we will only get things done as we have willing helpers. The job of maintaining this church, having programs, and reaching out into the community is too great for just one or two people, or even 9 or 10.
So, in Nehemiah 3 there is a great list of people who were assigned and accepted the assignments.
Can you imagine the great sense of belonging here?
Each person knew what his role was!
Each person know that he or she was part of the project.
Unfortunately, not everyone in church feels like they belong.
This is true of every church.
There are some that come who don't feel part of it.
A lot times people do not feel like they belong, because they have not sought nor been assigned something to do within the church.
They do not what there role is in "the big picture".
If you should happen to feel that way, I'd love to try to help you get that issue resolved and help you find something that will be your "nitch".
Did everyone participate in Nehemiah's day? No! READ VS. 5.
One group, the Tekoites participated in spite of the fact that their leaders refused to cooperate. And in spite of this, they finished their assigned task and then did more. READ VS. 27.
Not everyone in a church is going to cooperate.
But let's make sure it's someone else sitting on the sidelines and not you.
MANY WERE ASSIGNED AND ASSUMED RESPONSIBILITY
MANY ACTED RESPONSIBLY
There are several different individuals and groups mentioned.
These people were not professional wall builders.
These were not all people used to doing construction or hard manual labor. But no matter what their background, they got in and worked hard, acting responsibly.
Let's look at some of the people and groups involved.
· THE PRIESTS - Vs. 1
The priests, of course were the religious leaders.
It would have been very easy for them to say, "Oh, I'm too busy."
But instead, they got into it, beginning with the high priest himself. There are other places in this chapter where the priests are also mentioned as building a portion of the wall.
I believe that we all have our jobs, but that church leaders, especially the pastor, should not be afraid to get in there and help where he can. This is an example to others as well.
There is an interesting aside in vs. 1. Please note that the priests sanctified, or consecrated their work to God when they finished it.
Whatever we do in Christianity, whether it be witnessing, or building, or cleaning, or sharing, or teaching or preaching or cooking, or helping should be dedicated to God. It should be done to bring honor and glory to God.
Colossians 3:17 - And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
Colossians 3:23 - And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
· OUT OF TOWNERS
Vs. 2 - The people from Jericho are mentioned. Later people of other cities will be mentioned.
It would have been very easy for Jews who did not live close by to make excuses. They could have said, "We have our own city to take care of." They could have said, "It's too far to travel." Instead they pitched right in and helped!
It's encouraging when people who are not members of a church don't let membership stop them from helping.
If a person doesn't feel they can be members of a church there are still ways they can be of assistance. They can give. They can pray. They help on workdays. They can participate in sportsmen’s, father/son and mother/daughter banquets.
Here are some the people who participated in the wall building at Jerusalem:
· Craftsmen
Vs. 8, 31, 32 - Perfume makers and goldsmiths are mentioned.
The Goldsmiths, especially could have claimed that hard work would damage their hands. But instead they pitched right in.
There are many skilled people, who are being used in all sorts of ways in all sorts of churches.
· Government officials.
Vss. 9,12, 14, 15 - Rulers got involved. The Bible tells us of many government officials who had an impact in their service for the Lord, including, Joseph, David, and Daniel.
Up in Fonda New York, one of our active members was the Mayor of the town we lived in.
· Women - Vs. 12
Not all the ladies worked on the project, but some did.
This reminds me that there is room for Godly women in the work of the church.
Where would be without the ladies who teach, sing, play instruments, witness and often do things the men won't do?
And let me tell you, that women's involvement in foreign missions has been key.
· Bachelors - Vs. 23
Evidently, here were two single guys who got out and got to work.
· Police - Vs. 26
The keeper of the gate here, was the equivalent of a security official or policeman.
· Merchants - Vs. 32
Here were your shop keepers, your businessmen.
They could have made excuses about needing to tend shop but they pitched right in.
One of the reasons why this wall building project went so well, was because people got in there and worked hard!
MANY WERE ASSIGNED AND ASSUMED RESPONSIBILITY
MANY ACTED RESPONSIBLY
MANY ASSOCIATED REALISTICALLY
What do I mean by that?
They worked together.
They were a team.
There were 41-42 small building projects going on.
There was more than one person on each project and those at each project had to cooperate.
Also, people needed to coordinate with those on their right and those on their left.
If they didn't work together, the walls would not have fit together.
All these people, rich and poor, professional and common laborers, would have been working together to fulfill one goal. They wanted to see the walls of Jerusalem up!
We here in the church come from many different backgrounds, and have many different jobs.
We should, however, have one thing in common, we want to build a church for the Lord Jesus Christ which pleases Him.
We can only do this as we cooperate by working together.
Another thought here. As you read through, you will notice that people worked near their homes. They worked on the walls near their houses.
You know that they would want to take care of the area that is closest to them, and make sure it is strong.
As we labor in the church, we will find ourselves working on what is nearest and dearest to ourselves. We work best when we have a personal interest in what is going on.
Another thing to note is that Nehemiah gives lots of credit.
He tells you who was involved.
I think it is important for us to recognize what people are doing and to thank them for their efforts.
That shouldn't be the reason people work, but we should still give credit where credit is due.
And in all of this, we see nothing of Nehemiah.
What was he doing?
He was supervising.
He was encouraging.
He was making sure the job would get done.
MANY WERE ASSIGNED AND ASSUMED RESPONSIBILITY
MANY ACTED RESPONSIBLY
MANY ASSOCIATED REALISTICALLY
So what is your status?
Are you ready to be assigned and to assume responsibility?
Are you ready to act responsibly to get the job done?