Rebuilding the Broken Walls (Disciple Indeed, August 2011)

8/3/2019 Rebuilding the Broken Walls (Disciple Indeed, August 2011)

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The Disciples Indeed

s we continue our biographical study of Mr.Nehemiah it is important to again note that it isAnot the history or thestory of this servantof God

that is most crucial but what we can learn from himand apply to our lives. God does not lift up livesbefore us to merely satisfy our curiosity. No! Hewants us to learn for our lives from such lives eitherto warn us of some pitfalls or to show us what madeHim pleased with them so that wecan follow suit andalso pleaseHim.

So, for example, when we are looking atNehemiah and the rebuilding of the broken walls ofJerusalem our interest is not first about physicalwalls but about how we can practically apply whatwe are learning to our lives, families, relationships,ministries, etc., and please God. Several peoplesli ves, re lationships, marriages, businesses,vocations and service for the Lord have brokendown.Takeoneexample.

(Prov. 25:28)

There are some persons who are like citieswhose walls are broken down and so have no longerany defences. One thing that could cause thiskindofthing is lackof self control.Such lives have no longerany protective walls, bounds and barriers, etc., andhave become easy prey to all kinds of robbers,miscreants, wild animals, enemy troops, demons,etc. They need for the walls around their lives to berebuilt if they will not soon be completely ravagedand finished up. So if your life is in a mess, you have

become an easy prey to enemy attacks, you arebreaking down often, it is not well with your family,etc., then you must check whether the divineprotection around you has broken down. If so thenyou need to have it rebuilt quickly before youbecomedesolate completely.

So, as you read and study along with us youneed to be very sensitive. Much of what God will beshowing us will concern the Builders but from time totime He may speak of the building. You have to besensitive to know when He is speaking into your lifeor home, etc., so as to wait and take it in and berebuilt in whatever area so as to maximally benefitfrom this exercise. God will surely help you if youlook toHim.

We have seen Nehemiahs antecedents,pedigree and background. We have seen how Godgave him the burden he bore and how he wasreleased and obtained the provisions to go anddischarge that vision and burden. Now we willproceed and see how he faced the task.

FFBurden

the


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Rebuilding the Broken Walls


(Nehemiah 1:11-16).

Let us say it again that when a man has grownproperlyandbeenraised,given aburden/vision by God, isequipped and obtains provisionsfor the burden/vision, then hemust move into the mission. It isimportant to move into the taskonce it is known because time isof great essence. The king set

Nehemiah a time as the king ofHeaven will set you a time for your own assigned task. Jesusunderstood it well when Herefused to be distracted and toldHis disciples that:

(Jn. 9:4). Friend, there is aday given you to accomplish themission and it consists of seconds, minutes and hours .

Every second that passes, it issteadily ticking away and thenight is surely drawing nearer

It is not good to understand this statementonlywhen night has comeupon you - the night of oldage, the night of inability, the night that can becreated by circumstances and situations, etc. Somehave procrastinated going into the mission promptlyand saying they will go when they retire or when allthe conditions are right, etc., and discovered to theirchagrin that they could do only little or nothing intheir day. Nehemiah took a leave of absence andwent. Others resigned their jobs and some went on

the basis of tent-making. Whichever and whatever,you need to go and face why you are born, born-again and raised. You may have already delayedand wasted time and you must delay no further. At

this point there are usually too many considerationsthat will not let a man go. It is not a matter of reasonableness but whether you have been sent.(We will not here discuss the many reasons thatpersuade men that it is not yet time to go. They mayinclude responsibilities, career, family, daily bread,etc. However, in case you are grappling andstruggling with such reasons, we will be willing topray with you and give you counsel. However this isa point to be reminded to,

)So, asNehemiahwent, there isa need togo, yet

you mustnot jumpat the taskor makenoise about it.Nehemiah first went to survey/inspect/view the taskso as to know its scope, what will be involved, etc.,and he did it quietly and not in the public view. This is

where many have made amistake and lost out. They camewith fanfare and trumpets andcelebrations as if the task wasalready accomplished and theenemy got interested and raisedup such oppositions anddiscouragements, even through

very c lose people , tha teverything fizzled out.Thehymn writerwrote:I would not ask for earthly storeThou wilt my need supply;But I would covet, more andmoreThe clear and single eye,To see my duty face to face,And trust Thee, Lord, fordaily grace.O yes brother, many a time

the problem will not be earthlystore and supplies.The problem

isthat many donot see their duty faceto faceand socannot trust God for grace to accomplish it. Seeingyour duty face to face is very crucial if you will startand finish it. God will like to show it to you like Heshowed Jesus (Heb. 10:5-10); Moses (Exo. 3:7-8);Joshua (Josh. 1:4), and so on. Men like Elijah whoapparently jumpedon the task thinking itwas just tobring down rain and kill some prophets of Baal soonalso ran away from it and prolonged the pushing ofthe purposes of God. So, the LORD will like to showyou the scope, etc., of your duty but you must apply

for it and wait onHimuntilyousee it face to face, not

This is important. You donot start a kingdom work

with fanfare, trumpets,noise, celebrations,

ceremonies, launchings, etc.


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from afar. You need to be well acquainted with it, atleast thefirst phase of it.

Now to sound a note of warning: this survey isnot the type Moses sent the 12 spies to go into the

land of Canaan and do. No, it is not a survey out offear or unbelief. The person going into this musthave become fully persuaded about the task andhave confidence that the God sending him will goahead of him and use him to do it. Such people aresure that the task belongs to God and that victory isof Him. They just want to see the extent of the job,what will be involved, etc, so that they can makeallowance for all they will need and be able to shareconvincingly with those who willshare the work with them.Remember that what made the fivevirgins foolish (as against the five

wise ones) was nothing but thatthey did not take extra oil with theirlamps.They may have thought thatthe bridegroom was comingimmediately and when that did nothappen they ran out of oil and lostout. If you will not also run out of oil,o u t o f s t e a m , b e c o m elackadaisical, etc, you need to seeyourduty face to face.

Let us now look at howNehemiah didhisownsurvey:

When Nehemiah came toJerusalem, he spent 3 daysprobably resting, praying andplanning. He did not announce norbroadcast his coming nor blow atrumpet about what he came to do.The fourth day he arose at night(not in the day) and had only somefew men with him, maybe very personal staff. He didnot go todothe survey inpublicview. Hesaidhehadnot told any man what the LORD had laid upon hisheart to come to Jerusalem to do. He did not eventake any vehiclesexcept the beast he rode so asnot

to attract attention. That night he went round thewhole project in an orderly, detailed and descriptivemanner. He went out of the city

. (GNB). He went all round. At a point his horsecould not pass through because of the rubble so hehad toget into the valleyofKidronand continued.Hewent all round and came back the way he went out.So he had a complete and detailed picture of the

work. He saw all the rubbles, rubbish, extent of thewall all along its perimeter, etc. All along the leadersof the people, the priests, officials, or any of thosewho would takepart in the work, had not been toldof

what he was doing. Everything was quiet and keptsecret.Theywould be told later, when the timecamebut to begin with it must be kept secret to himselfuntil heknewthe scope and what isto be involvedsothat he could even sell the work convincingly tothose who would share in it.

This is important. You do not start a kingdomwork with fanfare, trumpets, noise, celebrations,ceremonies, launchings, etc. No, these are strange

to kingdom work. Many workshave suf fered set -backsbecause they were shared tooearly and the enemy just

punctured it through somec rit ic is ms, co un se ls, e tc .Moreover when a person to leada work does not have acomprehensive and thoroughvision and understanding of it hemay not be able to share itconvincingly with others who willbuy into it and he may notadequa te l y p repa re andstrategize for the work. So,kingdom work does not start with

announcements, letters, fanfare,ceremonies, etc. It usually startsquietly in Gods presence after asurvey (spiritual and physical)thatgets one acquainted with thetask, know its scope and haveasfull a picture of it as possible. Tojump into it or to start it by

chance like Samson, will only spell failure. Youmust take heed of this if you are planning to do welland discharge your trust. Bear it in your heart aloneat the beginning, seek to understand it and know itwell, rehearse it with the Lord, then go. This is not a

waste of time but very needful for speed andsuccess.


In the work of God men areinter-dependent. Each one

needs the other and eachneeds to play his role for the

other to work and workwell and maximally.


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.(Neh. 2:17-18)

Herewesee thatafterhis surveyNehemiahnowmobilized the people that partook of the work withhim.

Nobody ever serves God alone. God did notdesign His work to be done by one man alone.Nobody carries the Ark on his head but the Ark isalways borne on the shoulders of men. To dootherwisewill be toattract calamity like in thedaysofUzzah. Though He gives the vision/burden to oneman He does not permit anyone to

do His work alone. There is no mandesigned to be sufficient to carryany work of God alone. This is whyright from the Genesis when Hegave a man the task of ruling theearth for Him, He made him a wifeto be his helper and meant for himto have children to join him in theDivine task. Gods work is usuallydone by a partnership, a team andthe basic partnership is the family.This is why every man must beg

God earnestly to give him a goodwife, a suitable helper, to go withhim into the work of God. Theymust also train their familymembers to be part of that work.(First the natural family, but also thespiritual). This is the reason for theacute need of discipleship if Godwill have sons and daughters to layhands upon and team them up forHis work. Friend, you do not havethe capability nor the capacity tocarry Gods work on your head or shoulders alone.

To think like that is to be high-minded. You needothers to joinwithyou tosucceed.

Nehemiah knew he could not do it alone. Hepossibly could never succeed. He knew he wasseverely limited andneeded to get others to join himto accomplish themission. So, after he obtained thefull picture and got a firm grip of the work he calledpeople. Some of them were rulers, others masons,others carpenters, others metal workers, othersunskilled labourers, and so on.Each could take partin the work and make their own contributionsaccording to their talents and skills and gifts andequippings, etc. So Nehemiah called them and laid

the matter before them that they were in trouble andJerusalem was in ruins and thegates burnt with fire.Was it not obvious? No, they may have gotten soused to theruins and decadence that itwas taken for

granted. Someonehad toshare itwith them for themto really see it, especially someone who had seenthe whole picture and not just part of it. He theninvited them to

Moreover, he told them of his commission andauthorization by the LORD Whose hand was gooduponhim and alsowhat the kingsaid tohim.After hehad shared with them, God worked quickly and theyresponded promptly and enthusiastically tellingthemselves to arise to the work and strengthenedthemselves for the work. Thus Nehemiah mobilized

the people and the work got

underway adequately providedfor with all the human resourcesit needed. There was nobegging, cajole, intimidation,etc.Everyone joinedvoluntarily.

This is amazing! All thosemen had been there for yearsand done nothing. Some wereintimidated and afraid, some justliving from day to day with verylittle output. They only needed aNehemiah to come and arouse

them and soon their enormouspotentials were aroused and putto work and each found hisplace, became useful in thekingdom and became fulfilled. Inthe work of God men are inter-dependent. Each one needs theother and each needs to play hisrole for the other to work andwork well and maximally. It is likethe man that goes to cut downthe trees in the forest, the

transporter that takes it to the saw mill to be sawed

into members, the one that seasons the timber, thetimber merchant that sells the timber and thecarpenter that comes to buy it to make useful chairs,etc, are all interdependent. All of them depend oneach other and any of them can severely affect thework of the others. So is the work of God, eachaffects the other and can render him redundant ormake him look not useful. This is more true of keymen like Nehemiah. Men who could have donemuch for the kingdom can be lying around or occupied in some unnecessary things,or operatingat much less than installed capacity until such menarise. Many men who could have arisen and


It is wrong to conscriptsuch men or use

mercenaries. It is notgood to hire men and

fire them when they areno longer needed. Thebest way is to follow

the Lord Jesus and raisedisciples and forge

them into a team(s).


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strengthened themselves for the work of God wastetheir lives because they refused to arise and do whattheywereordained todo.

Again no man is sufficient for the work of God,

not to talkof being capable todo italone.God did notdesignmen like that. Every man iscreated insuchaway thathecan only takepart inthe workof God.So,the work of God requires teams. Here we seeNehemiah assemble his team for the rebuilding ofthe walls of Jerusalem. We will see that it was a verylarge team of men that God had already preparedand quickly came together when a leader appeared andcalled them. This is not usual. Ifwe lookat the Bible tocheck theteams that did the work of Godin their time and areas you will

see that Nehemiahs team wasexceptional. Noah used afamily team to build the Ark thatGod asked him to build. Moses,to take the children of Israelfrom Egypt to Canaan land;build the tabernacle and all itsfurnishings and institute theworship of God, used a team orteams of people from diversebackgrounds, age, gifts andcallings, etc. There was the

team of Hur and Aaron that heldup his hands on the mount;there was the team of the 70elders; the team of Bezaleel,Oholiab and the craftsmen whobuilt the tabernacle; the team ofMoses young men, etc. TheAaronic priests and the Leviteshad a team(s) under Aaron, thefirst high priest and was later organized into courses in thedays of David. The Lord Jesus built a team of 12Apostles and a team of disciples for His work of

discipling the nations and building His Church. Paulthe apostle followed in the steps of the Master bybuilding teams of disciples as he went to obey thecharge to disciple the nations and start localchurchesallover the then knownworld.

So for a man to successfully do the work of Godhe needs other mento co-labourwith him, especiallyif thatworkwill growandenlarge and outlive him. It iswrong to conscript such men or use mercenaries. Itis not good to hire men and fire them when they areno longer needed. The best way is to follow the LordJesus and raise disciples and forge them into ateam(s).Normally thereare no ready-made men ina

labour market for kingdom work. Each labourershould be sought of from the Lord, raised indiscipleship to look like Him and also discipledrelevantly into that particular work, then forged into a

team with others where each plays a specific roleand takesa particular part of the whole. It is becausethis takes timeand isquite tediousthat many avoid itand rather recruit men other ways and end upsuffering for it andachievinglittleor nothing.

Friend,youneedothers to serve Godeffectively.No matter how gifted, energetic and brilliant you are

you cannot do it alone and evenif you tried everything will finishwith your death and there will beno continuity. No matter howbrilliant you are, how powerfullygifted, etc., a oneman riot-squad

like Samson will not accomplishthe Divine task and will at bestcause some damage. So youmust settle down to face your discipleship and growth untoperfection in Christ. Then youneed to know or be led into whatyou are ordained to do in life.Thenyou must findout those thatGod wants to teamupwithyou oryou train men and build a teamwith them to serve with you.

Settle it inyour heart that you arenot meant to serve God aloneand pray to be helped to growand build a team or find your place in a team. To do otherwisewill be to waste your life andGods investments uponyouandprobably hinder some other brethren. Please consider thisvery well and God will give youunderstanding.


Each labourer should besought of from the Lord,raised in discipleship to

look like Him and alsodiscipled relevantly into

that particular work,then forged into a teamwith others where each

plays a specific role andtakes a particular part of

the whole.


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(Neh. 3:1-32).

(Please read the whole chapter before continuing).

The work of God definitelyne eds prayers, surveying ,planning, strategizing, trainingme n, re ce ivin g resou rce s,mobilizing men, teaming up men,etc. But if the work does not start

and become executed all of thatis a waste. It is like building ahouse. The architect takes thebrief from the client, designs thehouse, etc., but if the house isnever physically built butremains on paper a lot of energyand time is wasted. We need toever remember that the law offaith speaksthus:

(Jos. 1:3).

It is not every place that youplan to go or that you imagine orthat you talk about that becomesyours but the places

Exceptyou move in, go there and stepupon it, all theprayers, plans, etc., becomea waste. So after all the

background work, which are all very relevant, wemust move to site, move into the work and startdoing it if our faith is going to become tangible, areality, etc., and if men are going to benefit from andexperience the work. So after the surveying,planning, etc., we must go to the work, start,continue and accomplish it. (We will consider whatdoes not let men start, continue and finish later).Every work is in stages and/or phases and one hasto start and continue persistently to accomplish it.Sometimes you may notsee the next phase or stagevery clearly until you move in. So there will still beneed for prayers, planning, procuring of more

resources as you go along but there is a time whenyou mustmove inand start.

So,Nehemiah moved in to the work and started.The work was very expansive, there was much

rubbish and rubbles to clear and cart away, eachbrick or block had to be checked whether it was stillfit to be used or thrown away, etc., but the work hadto start and go on. Sometimes if you start looking atthedifficulties involved youwill notstart.

We will look at chapter 3 to learn some lessonsfor ourselves fromhow that workwas done:

This chapter contains thenames of all those who rebuilt thewall of Jerusalem. It is quite alengthy list of names of people ofdifferent backgrounds, differentcallings, different endowments,

different crafts, different ageranges and both males andfemales, labouring together tofulfill one common objective,united in heart and mind. Whateveryone did (or did not do),where they did it, how they did it,are honestly recorded. The firstidea I get from this is thateverything each of us is doing,why they are doing it, how theyare doing it, etc., is going on

record and will be revealed at thejudgement seat of Christ.It is not here alone that you

find this kind of list. For examplethe list of Davids mighty men isfound in I Chro. 11:11-12, then 20-47. At the end of most of thePauline epistles there is listedseveral brethren that he greetsand acknowledges. Again, thisshows that God will acknowledge

all thosewho doanything for Him, their motives,howthey did it, etc. It does not matter how small the thing

you do for God is. He takes note of it, records it andacknowledges you. He does not forget any labour oflove.

Moreover this list goes to confirm that nobody,no matter however brilliant, gifted or energeticserved God alone. It is wrong and highmindednessto posture as if you did it alone. No! So many otherstook part with you and God will acknowledge all ofthem. Even though we seek not to be known, Godwill acknowledge the least thing done for Him.Ambitious and arrogant men who are looking for aname and seeking popularity and fame are not fit forkingdom work. Yet God will recognize and in detail,


It is not every placethat you plan to go orthat you imagine or

that you talk aboutthat becomes yours but

the places the sole ofyour foot shall tread

upon.


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all His silent soldiers and labourers who have toiledearnestly with Him. This should encourage you toput in your best for Him and not to seek humancommendation and garlands.

And you must not see toomuch of the leader for it is notactually for him you arelabouring but for the Lord. If you lookatmen you willdo eyeservice but if you work as untothe Lordyou willdowell.

Like we have seen, thiswork was very vast but it wasstill thesame, notsmall piecesof works. Nehemiah himselfacknowledged that the workwas quite expansive

(Neh. 4:19). The work (notworks) was so great and largethat some would not haveknown others who were doingit in far away places. Thetendency is usually to seewhat you are doing as very bigand see that of your immediateneighbourandthink thatas the

work of God. No! The work ofGod on earth is very vast andonly the Pioneer of it (our LordJesus Christ) has a globalpicture of it. Each of us canonly see as far as he can seebut we should take note thatwhatweare doing isonlya tinypart of the whole. We are allpartakers of a holy calling andneed to understand that thereare manyothers wemay nevermeet in life who are doing the

same work. It is all about theMaster and Owner and not about us. We must notpossess what He gave to us by mercy as our empireand affix our names on it. Once we do this then theunity of purpose that the Lord expects will not bethere and the work will suffer and everybody will beon his own and there will be unnecessaryduplications, wastes, etc. This is the case on groundbutcouldbe addressed with a good understanding.

This does not suggest that there is nocoordination and leadership. The Head of the workis the Chief Coordinator and coordinates it fromheaven. Then He has set up leadership for His work

at different levels for effective coordination. Whenwe each find our place and desire to occupy iteffectively we shall come under the appropriate

leadership and there will be no

confusion in the workofGod.There are no super stars and

owners of ministries as we find today inGods work. There are elders, leaders,supervisors, etc., but they are not theowners of the works they are leading.Theymustnot liveand behave insuchaway as to provoke others to go and starttheir own. Not everyone is a pioneer,you can find space in the work of Godunder any platform the Lord puts you inand fulfil your ministry very well. Yourgifts is not the reason to go, and start

something. Unity is very important to domuchfor God.

As we have said every man is likelyto see his neighbours and may neversee those afar off.

The phrase keeps

repeating. Those ones areyour neighbours.They are theones youwill recognize and the ones likely toencourage you, help you, co-oporatewith you, etc., or offend you, provokeyou, contend and strive with you, etc. Ifwe do not have a proper understandingof the work of God this can cause strifeand may slow down the work of Godand hinder it. What does God expect?

(Phil. 2:2-5).


One way to mobilisemen for any work is

to go out there infront and get engaged

rather than makingannouncements,

coaxing men,promising them

heaven and earth orthreatening them.When followers seeleaders practicallyengaged they will

definitely go in andgive out their best.This is leadership by

example and an

effective way tomobilise men.


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Heexpects us to think alike,share the sameloveand haveone mindand purpose.This iswhy eachofus need to have a correct perspective of the work ofGod. We may not all do things the same way but it is

the sameworkand the sameMaster weare serving.Nothing should be done out of selfishness or pride.Rather we should be humble and esteem othersbetter than ourselves. We shall not be envious ofthem when they are doing well but rather thank Godand rejoice with them. We should not just beinterested in our own things and care less about thatof others. But we should beinterested in the things of othersand help them. We ought neverto compete but to complementeach other. Those who comparethemselves with others are fools.

We will not say sarcastic or derogatory things about othersand what theyare doing ifweseethat we are all doing the sameth ing . We need to takeadvantage of each others gifts,e n do wm en t s, b u i l d i ng s ,gadgets, etc., because they allcome from our Lord and for Hiswork, rather than work at crosspurpose. This will notbe possibleunless we have the mind of

Christ. Infact it is to be assumedthat those that are enlisted inkingdom work are disciples whohave denied self and have beenraised to maturity in His likenessand have His mind. The currentbreak-aways, fixing programmesto jam that of your neighbours,supplanting, trying to out-doeach other, boasting and pride in onesachievements in comparison to your neighbours,shows that weare immature, grieve the Lordandwillcause Revival to tarry. Unless we are united, push

together, stand shoulder-to-shoulder and strivetogether to see His work advance, see not self butkeep seeing Him and satisfied only to have Himhonoured, we will not do well and the work in ourhands will suffer. Only the enemy who loves us to bethuswillgloat and work tohinder our Lords work.

You may never have problem with those afar offbecause you may never know them. But you mustdo right for the Master with those nextunto you.Prayfor understanding so that both in thought, word anddeed you will do well and bring pleasure to theMaster.

The list of those that rebuilt the wall starts withEliashib the high priest. He built together with hisbrethren, the priests. They built the sheep gate. Thefact that the list starts with the high priest is

significantin myheart. I see God saying thatnobody,no matter the status is too big for the work of God.The high priestwas obviouslya big shot in Israel andone would have thought that he would not concernhimself with such mundane things as wall building.He could have stood aloof and been praying for thebrethren and blessing them. No, he went out there

and physically got engaged andhis brethren and fellow priestswent along. By this he showedthat nobody is too big to serveand do the work of God and alsolaid an example forothers.

One way to mobilise men forany work is to go out there infront and get engaged rather than making announcements,coerxing men, promising themheaven and earth or threateningthem. When followers seeleaders practically engaged theywill definitely go in and give outtheir best. This is leadership byexample and an effective way tom o b i l se me n . We mu s t

remember that the kingdom isservice oriented.OurMasterandking lived so and taught so. Atone point He had to call thedisciples who were fighting overpositions and informed themthat:

(Matt. 20:25-28)

Yes, it is in the world system and among theheathen that rulers and leaders and importantpeople throw their weight around and dominateothers. There, their high officials are power drunk


The yoke is taken upon theneck (life) and the burden

borne on the shoulders. Men

who have not taken Hisyoke and become meek andlowly and found rest for

their souls remain arrogantand high-minded and

cannot partake successfullyin bearing His burden.


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and love to show their power to the people. So if there is a communal work the princes, rulers andhigh officials are likely to be absent or standingaroundwith their hands in their pockets dictating and

calling the shots, share largesse and expect thepeople to be indebted to them and hail them andkowtow to them. Jesus told the disciples that amongthem it ought never to be so. In the kingdomwhosoever wants to be greatshould serve others and be theirservant. Whoever wants to befirst among us must serve therestof usand beour slave.JesusHimself demonstrated this; thatwas how He lived. He came notto be served but to serve othersto the point of giving His life a

ransom for many. If He servesus, washes our feet, etc, oughtnot we to copy Him and serve?Let us note that the way topromotion in the kingdom is byservice and being faithfulservants. Service and servant-hood is a distinctive of thekingdom and a lifestyle of Christs disciples. So whenleaders take the lead in servicethey are only doing the right thing

and being Christlike. Infactleaders and rulers should comefirst in any list of men thatlaboured together with God toadvance His kingdom. For pastors, elders and leaders tocall men out to work, addressand encourage them to workhard while they go to work sitback in their air-conditionedoffice drinking chilled wine andwatching a film is un-Christlike,contrary to the kingdom and

counter productive. Such will only produce brethrenwho do eye service and cannot be used toaggressively advance the kingdom. People raisedunder such a discipleship never make effectiveleaders and negate, rather than enhance, thekingdomand cannotbe trusted by the King.

This is why the commentary in verse 5 is so sadand an introduction of a very bad example andprinciple into the workofGod.

The Tekoites repaired(laboured) but ... This is a very sad one. TheTekoites worked without the motivation and

encouragement of their leading men. They behavedlike Gentile lords and not servants. Theconsequences of their action is not told but it couldnot have been salutory. When leadership is absent a

lot of evil could be done. Ambitious men could usurpleadership or men not yet ready can be forced intoposition and spoil things. The worst is that anarchyandconfusioncantake place.

These leading men werecalled nobles but they were notnoble at heart but small inside.Other versions I checkedsuggest that they would not workunder thesupervisors appointed.So many arrogant men behavelike this. Except they are madethe leader they will not serve

under any other person. Thesehave wrong hearts and are high-minded. They are selfish, self-centered and self consciousmen.

There may be several morereasons why these nobles (bigmen) did not want to soil their hands and missed the joy andblessing and reward of servingwith other brethren, but I takenote that it was they

did not put to the work of God. Ithought it is shoulders thatpeople and beasts of burdennormally use to carry burdens.But the KJV uses and I donot think it is a mistake. One caninjure his shoulder and yet livebut once the neck is cut life goes.Neck is synonymous with life.Men that have not surrenderedtheir necks for the yoke of Jesusand committed their lives to Himas their first and reasonable

service cannot bear His kingdom burdens. The LordJesusput it clearly:

(Matt. 11:29-30).

The yoke is taken upon the neck (life) and theburden borne on the shoulders. Men who have nottaken His yoke and become meek and lowly and


Those who are nobles bysituations of natural

birth, by reason of carnalcommandments and bydressing and physical

charisma and have notthe life and character of

Christ are not noblesindeed.


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f o u n d r e s t f o rt h e i r s o u l s r e m a i na r r o g a n t a n d h i g h -m i n d e d a n d c a n n o tp a r t a k e s u c c e s s f u l l y i nb e a r i n gH i sb u r d e n .

A l s o :

( R o m . 1 2 : 1 ) .

M e nw h oh a v en o tt h r o w nd o w nt h e i rl i v e s( n e c k s )i n a d e c i s i v ed e d i c a t i o nt o G o dh a v en o td o n et h e i rr e a s o n a b l es e r v i c ea n dm a y

d o n o t h i n go r d o u n r e a s o n a b l ethings. Such are usually stillc o n f o r m e dt o t h ew o r l da n dh e rw a y so f d o i n gt h i n g s ,u s u a l l yt h i n ko ft h e m s e l v e sm o r eh i g h l yt h a nt h e yo u g h ta n dd o n o tu n d e r s t a n dt h ew o r ko fG o dn o rt h eB o d yt h a td o e si t .S u c hn o r m a l l ys t a n da l o o ff r o mt h ew o r ko fG o df o rs e v e r a lr e a s o n sa n dl o s eo u ti n t h ee n dh a v i n gn or e w a r da t t h ej u d g e m e n ts e a to fC h r i s t .

F r i e n d ,t h e r ei s n o b i gm a ns y n d r o m ei nt h ew o r ko fG o df o rw ea r ea l lb r e t h r e n .T h es e n i o rb r e t h r e ns h o u l dg o f i r s ta n ds h o wa ne x a m p l et o t h ey o u n g e ro n e sa n di n s p i r et h e mt ot h r o wt h e i ra l li n t ot h ew o r ko fG o d . T h o s ew h oa r en o b l e sb y s i t u a t i o n so f n a t u r a lb i r t h ,b y r e a s o no fc ar na l c om ma nd me nt s a nd b y d re ss in g a ndp h y s i c a lc h a r i s m aa n d h a v en o t t h e l i f ea n dc h a r a c t e ro fC h r i s ta r en o tn o b l e si n d e e d .L e tu sn o tb e h a v el i k et h e s en o b l e so f Te k o aa n dc a u s et h ew o r ko fG o dt os u ff e rl o s so rn o tt oa d v a n c ea n db ed o n et h ew a yi to u g h tt o .

n T h ee n t i r ec h a p t e r3 o fN e h e m i a hc o n t a i na l i s to fa l lt h em e na n dw o m e nw h ol a b o u r e dt o g e t h e rt or e b u i l dt h ew a l l so fJ e r u s a l e m .T h e ya r ea l lb r e t h r e n ,s o m es e n i o ra n ds o m ej u n i o ra n dn oo n eh a da n ys p e c i a lt i t l es i n c et h e yw e r ea l lb r e t h r e n .T h ev e r s e sr e c o r df o ru sa b i to fi n f o r m a t i o na b o u te a c hp e r s o no rf a m i l ya n dw h a tt h e yd i da n dw h e r et h e yb u i l t .A sy o ug oo nt h ev e r s e sb e g i nt ol o o km o n o t o n o u su n t i ly o uc o m et ov e r s e2 0a n dt h e r ei sa d e s c r i p t i o nt h e r et h a ti sd i ff e r e n t .

(Neh. 3:20).

The commentary about Mr. Baruch the son ofZabbai says he The Word

has not occurred in any other verse or inany other persons testimony. It looks simple and

harmless and could easily bemissed but is quite an importantdetail that should not be passedover and makes a lot of difference. The addition of thatlittle word tells a lot. It describeshow he did his own. Earnestlywill ordinarily mean somethinglike intense/seriously. But the

word became so important to myheart that I had to check someother versions. I found words like-

Itmeans that Mr. Baruch wasenthusiastic about the work andso was passionate about it,worked hard at it andwas carefuland so did a thorough job. Itmeans that comparatively withothers he arrived at work earlier,

did it with joy and songs andactually enjoyed it, gave it his best and produced agood work (not sloppy). I note that the Ps. 100 saysto,

(not with murmuring,complaints and lack of joy).

So God is not only concerned with serving Himbut in how it is done - the motive, manner, etc. Toserve God without joy but with complaints, etc., is amisnomer and a misrepresentation because He isnot a task-master but a loving Lord who hasgraciously called us to share in His labours. Infact itisa mercy and has great privileges and is tobe done

zealously and joyously and with the whole heart toproduce the best. When Gods work becomes adrudgery and hard labour with your neck bent to oneside in self pity as if God is cheating you then it istime to quit. The LORD would rather that you stayaway than bring a bad odour to His work that willaffect the hearts of others negatively. The Scripturealso enjoins us thus:

I can imagine as you are going round thewall how the atmosphere will change as you get tothe portion where Mr. Baruch was labouring, singingand whistling away, greeting passers - by cheerfully


The LORD wouldrather that you stay

away than bring a badodour to His work thatwill affect the hearts of

others negatively.


11/12


and really enjoying his work for the LORD. One ofthe things to gain from the Lords work is to enjoy itandbe fulfilled.

Even the LORD took note of that detail and

stressed it for our learning. Friend, if you are doingthe work of God and your face is long and you aremoaning how you are cheated and how hard andstressful the work is then you are not doing well. Hisyoke is easy compared to Satans yoke that youused to bear. If it is becoming unbearable you needto quit because something has gone wrong. If youare now tired and draggingyour feet you may need to findtime to go apart and find somerest and regain your strengthand return with full vigour. Youneed to serve the LORD

earnestly and with zest, etc. Ifyou do God Himself will behappy and keep smiling uponyou givingyou a radiantface.

There are so much more tolearn from this chapter on howto do the work of God but time

and space will not allow us tocontinue here. However, wewill mention a few more issuesbutwillnot be threshing theminanydepth.

God uses men (both themale and the female) to do Hiswork. Majorly He uses His ownpeople as His servants.Sometimes He can useunbelievers, despite themselves, to do some of Hisstrangeworks like chastising Hispeople when they

become unfaithful. For example a Nebuchadnezzercan be His rod of judgement and Hecan call a CyrusHis servant and anointed when His own have goneinto captivity and He needs to turn their captivity. So,in the main, He uses His own for His kingdom work.There are some works in which He will not allowstrangers to partake of. For building His temple,altar(s), broken walls, and such like, He exclusivelyusesHis own.

So, if you are not redeemed, born-again andhave overcome sin and grown to some level of maturity He will not use you to build other lives. Apastor who is not born-again, for example, is not in

Gods service even though he may be officiatingservices. So you must make sure you are born-again, have denied yourself and are following Jesusin discipleship and growing to become like Him. A

man whose own life, home, etc., is broken downcannotbuildothers.

Gods workis given toa man and his wifeand theirfamily to do. Infact the basic team is that of a manand his family. Celibacy did not seem to be part ofthe original plan of God for those that are to serve

Him. Even though men canbecome eunuchs for Hiskingdomssakeandmakeor joina team of disciples, the basicteam on Gods mind in thebeginning was the family. So, in

the beginning He made a manand a woman and

So, it was the firstman and his wife and their children that God meant to doHis workonearth.

So, if a man is married andhis wife does not see eye to eyewith him or their children do not

identify with the work God hasgiven them, that is already a bigtrouble and at best if they serveGod meaningfully at all, theymay not produce much. So asyou build your personal life youmust also pay attention to yourmarriage and home if you mustbe allowed to be engagedmeaningfully and effectively inbuilding other lives. Infact the

first building, apart from yourself, is your home.Doing this well gives you the domestic qualification

for ministry and the accreditation to venture intopublic ministry. Pay heed to your home, especiallyforyouyoung ministers.

The testimony in verse 12 concerning

Is quite heartwarming to me. This ruler may have had daughtersonly and these girls stood with their father in hisportion. They must have been well brought up to dohard work and do it well. What a picture to see theseladies on the wall with their trowels alongside theirfather, identifying with him and making their own


So, if a man is married andhis wife does not see eye to

eye with him or their

children do not identifywith the work God has

given them, that is alreadya big trouble and at best if

they serve Godmeaningfully at all, theymay not produce much.


12/12


c o n t r i b u t i o n st ot h ek i n g d o m .W h a tw o n d e r f u lw i v e st h e yw i l lm a k ew h e nt h e ym a r r y. L e tt h e i rt e s t i m o n yc h a l l e n g ey o ua n di n s p i r ey o ut o b u i l dy o u rh o m es o l i d l y.|

F i n a l l y, y o uw i l ln o t i c et h a tt h e r ei sn oe m p h a s i so ne m o l u m e n t s ,s a l a r i e s ,r e t i r i n gt o u r i n ga d v a n c e s ,e t c .T h e r ei sn o t h i n ga b o u tp a y m e n t s ,i n d u c e m e n t s ,e t c .M e nc a m et ot h i sw o r kv o l u n t a r i l y. T h e yo ff e r e dt h e i rl i v e sa n dl o o k e dt o G o dw h oc a l l e dt h e mf o rt h e i ru p k e e p .S o m ec l o s e dt h es h o p st o t h ew o r k .T h e r ew e r et r a d e s m e nl i k eg o l d s m i t h s ,p e r f u m em a k e r s ,e t c . ,a m o n gt h e m .I a m s u r et h e ya t et o g e t h e r, f o rs t r e n g t h ,a st h e yw o r k e dt o g e t h e ra n dG o dp r o v i d e d .I ti sn o tt h a ts a l a r ya n da l l o w a n c e s ,e t c . ,i sa s i nb u tt h ec u r r e n te m p h a s i so nb e i n gp a i df o rG o ds w o r k ,w i t hv e r yh a r db a r g a i n sf o rf i l t h yl u c r e ,i ss t r a n g et ot h eh e a r to fG o d .J e s u ss a i dt h a t

w e s h o u l dn o tb e a n x i o u sa b o u tf o o d ,d r i n ka n dc l o t h e sb u ts h o u l ds e e kf i r s tH i sk i n g d o ma n da l lt h e s es h a l lb e a d d e du n t ou s .Yo u n e e dt o s h u nc o v e t o u s n e s s , b e l i e v e H i m ,t a s t e H i m a n ds e e t h a tt h eL o r di sg o o d .M o n e ym u s tn o tc o m ef i r s ti ny o u r

heart for the workofGod.

We need to emphasize that we have used thisrecord of the rebuilding of the broken down walls ofJerusalem only to learn how God builds lives,shattered and fragmented lives, through men.However note that it is your life, your family, yourrelationships, your business, your ministry, etc.,that must receive the first attention in this matter.When your life and your family, etc., are not builtyou do not have the base and basis to touch otherlives. A man that has not won his personal lifesbattles cannot be trusted to build other lives. Praythat God will help you first personally and then as

you understand and apply these principles you willsee shattered lives raised again for God and youwill join the generation called

God bless you and keep you and find youuseful in your life time.


Rebuilding the Broken Walls (Disciple Indeed, August 2011)

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