Nehemiah 3:5-27

⁵ Next were the people from Tekoa, though their leaders refused to work with the construction supervisors.⁶ The Old City Gate was repaired by Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah. They laid the beams, set up its doors, and installed its bolts and bars.⁷ Next to them were Melatiah from Gibeon, Jadon from Meronoth, people from Gibeon, and people from Mizpah, the headquarters of the governor of the province west of the Euphrates River. ⁸ Next was Uzziel son of Harhaiah, a goldsmith by trade, who also worked on the wall. Beyond him was Hananiah, a manufacturer of perfumes. They left out a section of Jerusalem as they built the Broad Wall. ⁹ Rephaiah son of Hur, the leader of half the district of Jerusalem, was next to them on the wall. ¹⁰ Next Jedaiah son of Harumaph repaired the wall across from his own house, and next to him was Hattush son of Hashabneiah. ¹¹ Then came Malkijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-moab, who repaired another section of the wall and the Tower of the Ovens. ¹² Shallum son of Hallohesh and his daughters repaired the next section. He was the leader of the other half of the district of Jerusalem.¹³ The Valley Gate was repaired by the people from Zanoah, led by Hanun. They set up its doors and installed its bolts and bars. They also repaired the 1,500 feet of wall to the Dung Gate.¹⁴ The Dung Gate was repaired by Malkijah son of Recab, the leader of the Beth-hakkerem district. He rebuilt it, set up its doors, and installed its bolts and bars.¹⁵ The Fountain Gate was repaired by Shallum son of Col-hozeh, the leader of the Mizpah district. He rebuilt it, roofed it, set up its doors, and installed its bolts and bars. Then he repaired the wall of the pool of Siloam near the king’s garden, and he rebuilt the wall as far as the stairs that descend from the City of David.¹⁶ Next to him was Nehemiah son of Azbuk, the leader of half the district of Beth-zur. He rebuilt the wall from a place across from the tombs of David’s family as far as the water reservoir and the House of the Warriors.¹⁷ Next to him, repairs were made by a group of Levites working under the supervision of Rehum son of Bani. Then came Hashabiah, the leader of half the district of Keilah, who supervised the building of the wall on behalf of his own district. ¹⁸ Next down the line were his countrymen led by Binnui son of Henadad, the leader of the other half of the district of Keilah.¹⁹ Next to them, Ezer son of Jeshua, the leader of Mizpah, repaired another section of wall across from the ascent to the armory near the angle in the wall.²⁰ Next to him was Baruch son of Zabbai, who zealously repaired an additional section from the angle to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest.²¹ Meremoth son of Uriah and grandson of Hakkoz rebuilt another section of the wall extending from the door of Eliashib’s house to the end of the house.²² The next repairs were made by the priests from the surrounding region. ²³ After them, Benjamin and Hasshub repaired the section across from their house, and Azariah son of Maaseiah and grandson of Ananiah repaired the section across from his house. ²⁴ Next was Binnui son of Henadad, who rebuilt another section of the wall from Azariah’s house to the angle and the corner. ²⁵ Palal son of Uzai carried on the work from a point opposite the angle and the tower that projects up from the king’s upper house beside the court of the guard. Next to him were Pedaiah son of Parosh, ²⁶ with the Temple servants living on the hill of Ophel, who repaired the wall as far as a point across from the Water Gate to the east and the projecting tower. ²⁷ Then came the people of Tekoa, who repaired another section across from the great projecting tower and over to the wall of Ophel.

The fifth principle we see is that we need to:

5. Be faithful Even when others Fail – Vs 5, 27

Don’t let the slacking of others cause you to stop serving. In every church there will always be those who do more than their fair share. While there will always be spectators in the church there will also be servants. The question is which are you, are you a slacker or a servant? Remember the men from Tekoa? Not only did they finished their section of the wall, even though their rulers refused to help, but verse 27 tells us: “Next to them, the men of Tekoa repaired another section…”Not only did they refuse to follow the lazy example of their leaders, but they chose to go the extra mile. There are several others in the passage that not only completed the work assigned to them but then lent a helping hand to others. There’s a tendency within most of us to finish the work we volunteered for and then stop, and stretch out our arms and say, “It was great to do the Lord’s work, but I’m finished now” instead of looking around and seeing who else needs help. There are those who are selfish and never start, those who serve and work on their wall and then there are those who sacrifice, they don’t just work on their wall they are willing to lend a helping hand to others. Often, we let the failures of those who refuse to follow through not just affect but infect our serving. This leads to frustration and either serving with a bitter heart or bailing ourselves. Don’t focus on the failure of others focus on the faithfulness of the Father.

6. Some service stinks – Vs 14

Some worked on the Dung gate, this was where the refuse left the city. This is what we could call the poop deck of the ship. This is the gate we all need but no one wants to work on. Everyone wants to repair the Tower of the Ovens (v. 11) where the bread of Jerusalem was baked. It’s easy to find workers for the Fountain Gate or when work on the wall next to the King’s garden needs done. But who’s going to fix the Dung Gate. Look Ministry can be messy, but someone has to repair the Dung Gate! There are still dung gates in ministry today, who is going to serve in the nursery and dealing with dirty diapers. Who picks up the drunk and brings them home? Who goes to share Jesus in the jail? Look sometimes ministry is messy, I don’t like having to deal with the dung gate but if no one does we end up with a city full of filth. But there is also a second reason to work on the dung gate, not only to remove the refuge but also to provide protection. If we don’t build and bar the gate, we leave ourselves wide open to attack. Some of you need to work on your dung gate because if you don’t your life is going to start to stink.

7. Pursue God’s Purpose with Passion – Vs 20

In this entire chapter, there is only one guy mentioned who worked zealously. Look at verse 20: “Next to him, Baruch son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section…”The Hebrew word means “to burn or glow.” He didn’t just serve; he was on fire for the Father. This is amazing because in 4:6 we read that “the people worked with all their heart.” Everyone was working hard, but in a crowd of committed construction workers, Baruch stood out from the rest. We need people who will say, “I don’t care what others are doing, I’m going to do my very best.” He didn’t just make the Glory of God his purpose he made it his passion. It’s not just about hard work it’s about heart work. Some of you are hardworking servants but you are serving out of servility not servanthood.

Servility servers out of Obligation, it’s a I have to serve, where servanthood serves out of obedience, I want to serve.

Servility is motivated by what others see and say if I serve, servanthood is motivated by what God sees and says

Servility serves with an attitude of me first, servanthood serves with an attitude of God first

Servility serves out of a spirit of pride, Servanthood serves out of a spirit of Humility

The results of servility are self-seeking, where servanthood is God glorifying.

Each person was given personal responsibility for their part of the wall. That forced them to do a good job because if they just did a half job on their part of the wall and had a weak wall then that would be where the attack would come and it would cost them their families as well as the lives of others. When we don’t work on our wall, we don’t just end up with a weak wall we put the whole family in jeopardy.

Nehemiah 3:2-12

² People from the town of Jericho worked next to them, and beyond them was Zaccur son of Imri. ³ The Fish Gate was built by the sons of Hassenaah. They laid the beams, set up its doors, and installed its bolts and bars. ⁴ Meremoth son of Uriah and grandson of Hakkoz repaired the next section of wall. Beside him were Meshullam son of Berekiah and grandson of Meshezabel, and then Zadok son of Baana. ⁵ Next were the people from Tekoa, though their leaders refused to work with the construction supervisors. ⁶ The Old City Gate^[a] was repaired by Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah. They laid the beams, set up its doors, and installed its bolts and bars.⁷ Next to them were Melatiah from Gibeon, Jadon from Meronoth, people from Gibeon, and people from Mizpah, the headquarters of the governor of the province west of the Euphrates River.^[b] 8 Next was Uzziel son of Harhaiah, a goldsmith by trade, who also worked on the wall. Beyond him was Hananiah, a manufacturer of perfumes. They left out a section of Jerusalem as they built the Broad Wall.^{[c] 9} Rephaiah son of Hur, the leader of half the district of Jerusalem, was next to them on the wall. ¹⁰ Next Jedaiah son of Harumaph repaired the wall across from his own house, and next to him was Hattush son of Hashabneiah. ¹¹ Then came Malkijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-moab, who repaired another section of the wall and the Tower of the Ovens. ¹² Shallum son of Hallohesh and his daughters repaired the next section. He was the leader of the other half of the district of Jerusalem.

After seeing how Pastors should set the pace the second thing, we see is that:

2. Some worked as families – Vs 3, 12

In verse 3 and 12 we see sons and daughters working on the wall. The problem today is that we are not serving as families. We are letting our kids watch us do the work. When my kids were little my wife Angel would go up to the nursing home and sing to the residence and it would have been easy to get a babysitter and leave the kids at home, but she took them with, she included them in ministry. You know most of those grandmas didn’t get to hold their great grandbabies, but they got to hold our babies, and for them that ministered to their hearts. Later as they got a little older, I would take them when I had a hospital call. Many times, they were the ones who would pray over the people that were sick. There is no better way to grow closer as a family than to serve together. Some of you are frustrated with your kids, because they are self-centered brats, they are rude and disrespectful but often we as parents are the ones creating the problem. While we complain about our kids being selfish we need to realize that that’s the message we have been modeling. They are just imitating what they have seen. We let our kids sit and watch instead of serve and work, we cater to their every want and whim, creating a selfish heart. So, let me ask you are you cultivating selfishness or service. Don’t just show your kids how to serve invite them to join you. Families that serve together stay together. Dads don’t dismiss your daughters. In verse 12 we meet a man who understood the value of working women. Throughout the centuries God has valued and invited women to build his church. Jesus was born because Mary was willing to surrender and say yes to God. She understood the ministry of motherhood. Men we need to see women as valuable vessel in God’s kingdom. Many times women do more of the work in the church than men but if you read your bible you will discover that this is nothing new, look at all the women who served and ministered to Jesus during his earthly ministry and the many women who were at the cross while there was only one man. Do you value the work of women? Does your family find ways to serve the Lord together?

3. There will always be those that serve and those that sit – Vs 5

Tekoa was a town about eleven miles from Jerusalem, and while the regular people of Tekoa were willing to commute and work the wealthy rulers refused. What kept them from participating in God’s work, pride, they wouldn’t be placed under a supervisor. As rich rulers when there was work being done in their town, they were the supervisors and others did the work. They weren’t just lazy leaders they were lording leaders who looked down on others. They were too proud to submit themselves to the supervisors of the job. They were too important to get their hands dirty. In order to serve some of you are going to have to get over self. Pride prevents a lot of people from participating in God’s work. We are not called to be spectators but participators. Are you going to sit or serve? Instead of letting pride sideline you start letting the privilege of participating in God’s kingdom motivate you to serve.

4. It’s not about your ability but your availability – Vs 8

God uses all kinds of people, Verse 8 tells us that God used a goldsmith and a perfume maker to rebuild the wall. God didn’t need a thousand masons and carpenters, he needed ordinary people who were willing to work. Remember the Ark was built by amateurs, the titanic was built by professionals. When it comes to the Almighty how available are you? These people are the opposite from those who say, “I’m too good to do this kind of work.” These are the people who say, “I might not be good at this but if it’s for God I’m game.” The goldsmith could have said I don’t do that kind of work, that’s for common people I’m a real craftsman. I can’t afford to risk get these hands skinned up working on a wall, the kind of work I do is skilled labor not servant labor. While prideful hearts kept the rulers from participating, hearts of humility caused gifted artisans to lend a help hand. It’s not about you position it’s about participating in God’s plan.  What about you are you sitting or serving? Are you making it about your ability or your availability?