A Personal Commitment / Going Public / Nehemiah 2:17-3:32
The Bible Cover and the Residency
Well, welcome. My name is Mike. It is great to be with you guys, and I imagine it’s a rarity for you to see a pastor walk into a pulpit with such an item as this. Yeah, it’s a floral Bible cover. It’s awesome. I’m the multi-site director here at The Well. I also have the privilege of team teaching the residency program with Rick Taylor, Jared Rumley, Shaye Sumblin, and Brad Bell. We kind of parse it up and go through the work we do. It’s at six in the morning, four days a week. It’s pretty intense and, honestly, it’s nuts. The people who show up are crazy—either totally caffeinated or rolling out of bed trying to brush their teeth on the way.
We want to make sure they show up on time, so we have incentives for them. When you are late, you get the Bible cover. Well, this last weekend, we were up at our retreat, and we were having some team-building fun together. I said, “Hey, the group that wins can choose whoever they would like to give the Bible cover to. It’s a freebie.” Well, my “whoever” was different than their “whoever,” and they chose me. So, being a man of integrity and a man of my word, I’m highly embarrassed, but I’m nonetheless here. So, there’s my Bible, there’s my Bible cover, and now we will get into the text.
From Private Vision to Going Public
Turn with me, if you will, to the book of Nehemiah. We’re going to continue where we left off two weeks ago. Jared did a phenomenal job of walking us through the text we’re continuing today. Last week, we pushed pause in the series to have each pastor speak to issues at their own campus, and they did a marvelous job. If you’re new with us, we’ve been studying the journey of a man answering God’s call. We’ve called it a “holy discontent”—this thing that God has birthed in this guy’s life.
Nehemiah was living in Susa, in captivity, after his nation Israel had been taken over years prior. He was serving underneath a non-Christian king. When Nehemiah heard about the condition of his people and the broken-down walls of Jerusalem, his heart broke. Chapter one says he literally wept and mourned for days, begging God to do something. In those moments, God began to stir something in him. It started as a seed: “God, I think you want me to do something.”
He asked for an audience with his boss, King Artaxerxes, one of the most powerful and volatile men in the world. This was a king who once had a river flogged because it destroyed his bridge and had a man cut in half for asking for a military exemption. This is the guy Nehemiah had to ask for permission to go rebuild a city the king didn’t necessarily care about. But God opened the door. The king gave him the green light, supplies, letters of safe passage, and even an army. Nehemiah took the three-to-four-month journey to Jerusalem and spent time inspecting the ruins in secret. He was taking inventory and allowing God to continue to fuel that passion. Now, we reach a point in the story where Nehemiah has been private, keeping his vision close to his chest, and he knows he needs to go public. He needs to reveal what God has been doing.
If we’re honest, I think every one of us understands that tension. I think of a guy named Blake Mycoskie. He was just an average Joe who went on vacation to Argentina to play polo and hang out with his buddies. While he was there, he came across villages where kids were living in extreme poverty. He realized that none of these kids had shoes. There were fifteen-year-olds who had never put on a pair of shoes, their feet covered in cuts and disease because they had no protection. He watched a shoe drive where people donated old, tattered, useless shoes that didn’t fit, and he realized he could do something better. He decided to make a simple shoe local to the Argentinians and sell them with a “one-for-one” model. That was the birth of TOMS shoes.
On the day he launched his website, the New York Times featured him, and he sold 2,200 pairs of shoes immediately. He only had 180 shoes in his apartment! He had to rush to make more. Eventually, they went back to Argentina and hand-delivered 10,000 shoes. Today, they’ve given away hundreds of thousands of shoes in Ethiopia, South Africa, and beyond. But this story hinged on a moment where Blake sat alone and asked, “How in the world can I see such a need and not do something about it?” Nehemiah is at that same crossroads.
Component 1: Defining the Problem
In Nehemiah 2:16, it says the officials did not know where he had gone or what he was doing. He hadn’t told the priests, the nobles, or the workers yet. But now, he gathers four strategic groups: the Jews living in those conditions, the religious leaders, the nobles (the heads of families), and the officials who had come with him from Persia. He stands before them and lays it out.
Nehemiah 2:17-18 (NASB)
Then I said to them, ‘You see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a reproach.’ I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me and also about the king’s words which he had spoken to me. Then they said, ‘Let us arise and build.’ So they put their hands to the good [work].
Notice the four components of his communication here. First, he identifies the problem. He says, “You see the trouble we are in.” These people had been living in these ruins for over 140 years. They had become apathetic; the brokenness had just become normal to them. Nehemiah says, “No, that’s not okay.” He calls them out of apathy to see the condition of God’s city.
This is a critical lesson for us: what seems obvious to you is not always obvious to everyone else. You have to paint your vision and your holy discontent in a way that others understand why it is a moral imperative. Blake Mycoskie wasn’t the first guy to see kids without shoes, but he was the first to say, “This is a problem, and I’m going to fix it.”
Why did this problem still exist after 140 years? I think there was a “how” problem and a “fear” problem. No one knew how to get their arms around a project of this magnitude. But God had strategically placed Nehemiah in a position where he could unlock doors no one else could. He had favor with the king, a blank check for timber, and letters of safe passage.
You have to ask yourself: what strategic opportunities do you have simply because of where God has put you? I have a friend who was recently asked to resign from his church. He was devastated, but he realized God was birthing something new. He moved to Chicago to plant a church, and he told me, “I never would have done it had God not first pulled me out of my comfort zone.” God has you where you are for a reason.
Then there is the fear. It took an extraordinary amount of courage for Nehemiah to say, “I’m going to fix it.” Andy Stanley, who has some incredible insights on leadership, says that recognizing the need for change does not define leadership; leaders are the ones who have the courage to act on what they see. Courage is not the absence of fear. I bet Nehemiah was scared to death to go public, but he did it anyway. If we wait until fear is gone, we will never allow God to do what He wants to do. The Well wouldn’t be here today if Brad Bell hadn’t quit his job while his wife was six months pregnant, with no health insurance and no paycheck, because he knew God was calling him to start this church.
Component 2: Offering a Solution
After identifying the problem, Nehemiah moves to the solution. He says, “Come, let us build the wall.” It’s not rocket science, but it provides clarity. The problem engages the mind, but the solution engages the heart. He’s asking them to imagine a city that is no longer a disgrace, where they are protected from their enemies and can enjoy community.
This solution defined success: rebuilding the wall. It also defined what they were not going to do. There were a thousand other things that needed to happen in Jerusalem, but Nehemiah kept them focused. Organizations often get paralyzed because they try to do everything and end up doing nothing well. In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins notes that great companies make as much use of “stop-doing” lists as “to-do” lists.
As you wrestle with your holy discontent, you need to think through what you are going to say “no” to. What are the distractions that might be “good” opportunities but aren’t the “God” opportunity He has called you to focus on?
Component 3: Communicating the “Why”
Nehemiah then gives them the “why.” He says, “…that we may no longer suffer derision.” He pulls their vision away from just bricks and mortar and connects it to the glory of God. If the city is a disgrace, God’s name is being defamed. He might have had the words of Jeremiah in mind, where God warned that His people would become a taunt and a curse if they turned away.
Jeremiah 24:9 (NASB)
’I will make them a terror [and an] evil for all the kingdoms of the earth, as a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse in all places where I will scatter them.
Nehemiah recognized that this was bigger than a wall. Can you articulate why the thing God is stirring in you matters to Him? You might say, “Well, Nehemiah had a clear biblical mandate.” But he felt the call the same way we do. He saw an issue and felt a burden.
I see people in our church doing this every day. I think of Jenny Plum, who looks at poverty-stricken neighborhoods and says, “This lack of education is not okay.” I think of Lucas Stockdale, who stays awake at night thinking about people who don’t know Christ. I think of Glenn Satterberg, who stepped out of apathy to lead. I think of Dawn Renwick, who wants to see broken relationships healed. I think of the woman who wants to be a mentor to younger girls because she doesn’t want them to step on the same landmines she did. All of these people have connected their “why” to God’s heart.
Component 4: Explaining the “Why Now”
Finally, Nehemiah explains the “why now.” He tells them the story of how God’s hand had been upon him and what the king had said. He points to the providence of God. Doors are opening, resources are arriving, and the timing is right. He basically says, “God is moving now, so we have to move now.”
When he finishes, the people respond in verse 18: “Let us rise up and build.”
The Response: Rising Up to Build
Of course, as soon as they start, opposition shows up. Sanballat and Tobiah arrive to mock them, but Nehemiah presses through. Then, in chapter three, we get this amazing “Hall of Fame” of builders. It’s a list of regular people doing the work. You have priests who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty. You have guys who brought their daughters to work to help build the section in front of their house.
Nehemiah 3:1-32 (NASB)
Then Eliashib the high priest arose with his brothers the priests and built the Sheep Gate; they consecrated it and hung its doors. They consecrated the wall to the Tower of the Hundred [and] the Tower of Hananel. Next to him the men of Jericho built, and next to them Zaccur the son of Imri built. Now the sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate; they laid its beams and hung its doors with its bolts and bars. Next to them Meremoth the son of Uriah the son of Hakkoz made repairs. And next to him Meshullam the son of Berechiah the son of Meshezabel made repairs. And next to him Zadok the son of Baana [also] made repairs. Moreover, next to him the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not support the work of their masters. Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired the Old Gate; they laid its beams and hung its doors with its bolts and its bars. Next to them Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, also made repairs for the official seat of the governor [of the province] beyond the River. Next to him Uzziel the son of Harhaiah of the goldsmiths made repairs. And next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, made repairs, and they restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall. Next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, the official of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs. Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph made repairs opposite his house. And next to him Hattush the son of Hashabneiah made repairs. Malchijah the son of Harim and Hasshub the son of Pahath-moab repaired another section and the Tower of Furnaces. Next to him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, the official of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs, he and his daughters. Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They built it and hung its doors with its bolts and its bars, and a thousand cubits of the wall to the Refuse Gate. Malchijah the son of Rechab, the official of the district of Beth-haccherem repaired the Refuse Gate. He built it and hung its doors with its bolts and its bars. Shallum the son of Col-hozeh, the official of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate. He built it, covered it and hung its doors with its bolts and its bars, and the wall of the Pool of Shelah at the king’s garden as far as the steps that descend from the city of David. After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, official of half the district of Beth-zur, made repairs as far as [a point] opposite the tombs of David, and as far as the artificial pool and the house of the mighty men. After him the Levites carried out repairs [under] Rehum the son of Bani. Next to him Hashabiah, the official of half the district of Keilah, carried out repairs for his district. After him their brothers carried out repairs [under] Bavvai the son of Henadad, official of [the other] half of the district of Keilah. Next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, the official of Mizpah, repaired another section in front of the ascent of the armory at the Angle. After him Baruch the son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section, from the Angle to the doorway of the house of Eliashib the high priest. After him Meremoth the son of Uriah the son of Hakkoz repaired another section, from the doorway of Eliashib’s house even as far as the end of his house. After him the priests, the men of the valley, carried out repairs. After them Benjamin and Hasshub carried out repairs in front of their house. After them Azariah the son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah, carried out repairs beside his house. After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah as far as the Angle and as far as the corner. Palal the son of Uzai [made repairs] in front of the Angle and the tower projecting from the upper house of the king, which is by the court of the guard. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh [made repairs]. The temple servants living in Ophel [made repairs] as far as the front of the Water Gate toward the east and the projecting tower. After them the Tekoites repaired another section in front of the great projecting tower and as far as the wall of Ophel. Above the Horse Gate the priests carried out repairs, each in front of his house. After them Zadok the son of Immer carried out repairs in front of his house. And after him Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, carried out repairs. After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. After him Meshullam the son of Berechiah carried out repairs in front of his own quarters. After him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, carried out repairs as far as the house of the temple servants and of the merchants, in front of the Inspection Gate and as far as the upper room of the corner. Between the upper room of the corner and the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and the merchants carried out repairs.
Not everyone joined in. Verse five mentions the Tekoites worked, but their nobles wouldn’t “stoop to serve their Lord.” Sometimes the people you expect to be by your side won’t be there. Nehemiah didn’t let that discourage him; he allowed God to use whoever was willing. Some built “zealously,” going above and beyond the call of duty. It’s a beautiful picture of a community united by a shared vision.
A Challenge for Your Holy Discontent
As I look at us today, I see two groups of people. First, there are the “haves”—those of you who know what your holy discontent is. My challenge to you is this: can you articulate the four components? Can you clearly state the problem, the solution, the “why,” and the “why now”? If you can’t do that in thirty seconds, you might still need to wait in “verse 16.” You need to get clarity before you go public.
Then there are the “have-nots”—those of you who feel a stirring but aren’t sure what it is yet. I want to encourage you to keep seeking. Consider what God may be doing in your life and your unique position.
Father, we thank you for a guy like Nehemiah. He wasn’t a priest or a prophet; he was just a regular Joe with a job, serving and going through life like the rest of us. But he was willing to go all in, regardless of the personal or career cost. I pray that we would be willing to do the same. May we take that courageous step to stare fear in the face and trust You. We believe that You will resource what You have called us to do. Move in the hearts of the men and women in this place. Ultimately, these visions aren’t ours; they’re Yours. We are here to be used by You. In Christ’s name, Amen.