A MIND TO WORK
#125 A MIND TO WORK
Scripture Nehemiah 4:1-6, 15 NIV Orig. 3-10-63 (1-79)
Rewr. 4-12-88
Passage: [a] 1When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, 2 and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, “What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?” 3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, “What they are building—even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of stones!” 4 Hear us, our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. 5 Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of[b] the builders. 6 So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.
15 When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to our own work.
Purpose: Using the occasion of the resettlement of Jerusalem to remind my people of the need to resettle our communities with the exercise of faith.
Keywords: Dedication God’s Purpose Work Energy
Introduction
We are watching with interest the proceedings in Panama. We know that for some of our countrymen the stakes are high indeed. Some Americans have invested everything they have in the country that tenuously oversees the great Panama Canal.
Just a few years ago there was a similar circumstance in Iran. Because of our oil interest, there were many Americans, and Louisianans, who had made that Middle East, Muslim country, their home. Almost overnight they had to leave. Some interviewed in the media indicated they were leaving behind everything they owned: homes, cars, furniture, even bank accounts. Those possessions were no longer worth the risk of holding on to them. Most of these same people had taken those jobs years before, precisely because they promised lucrative material return.
The departure of the Hebrews from Babylon was similar. Though it was 2500 years earlier, it was from a site perhaps no more than 300 miles away. They too had to decide about pulling up stakes and departing. They had to walk away from many evidences of material prosperity.
It was in Babylon that the Jews discovered what excellent tradesmen they were. A few had become so wealthy that they refused to leave. Many, most actually, remembered that they were the guardians of faith in the one holy and living God. They must leave all and return to Jerusalem, because to its environs the Messiah would return. Thus, with such a mind they set themselves to the tasks of return. They had “a mind to work.”
I. It Is with a Mind to Work That Hardships Must Be Faced. V2:17 “Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire; come, let us build up the walls of Jerusalem.” 2:19 [their enemies] “laughed . . . to scorn, and despised [them] . . . and said, ‘will ye rebel against the king?’”
4:8 “And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.”
Where there is this intent to serve, limitations do not distract. Success does not rest upon numbers alone. There were some Jews still in the country from before captivity. According to Ezra 2, 49,697 returned, including servants. Only 245 mules returned, but more than 6,000 donkeys. Others of their people would join them from time to time. Ezra was a priest, a religious leader who led in law and building the temple. The Temple was 20 years in building. A half century later Nehemiah would discover it still without unanimity.
There must be distinction between Jew and Samaritan for this unique national character to emerge. There was going to be opposition. They had to know who they were, and how the will of God related to them.
I knew a young man in seminary with a serious physical disability. He wanted to be a pastor. Much stood in the way. Would a church of “whole” people call him as pastor? He became a pastor in Fort Worth of a church of people with disabilities. He knew himself, and how he fit into the will of God.
Today, also, whatever the hardship is, commitment in the Lord is the solution. Nehemiah was given the key to the king’s storehouse. 2:8 “A letter unto Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest that he may give me timber.“ But by hard work this resource was used. 2:18b “So they strengthened their hands for this good work.”
If I could always choose my church hardship, it would be financial every time. People with a love for the Lord will rally around financial need. Big budgets don’t necessarily go with compassionate hearts. We are always better off with people who have little to give besides love, because they have “a mind to work.” People who give of their possessions are not easily led to give of themselves. It would do all of us well to consider how advantaged we are.
How to live on $100 a year: Get rid of all your furniture except one chair and one table. Throw out all TV sets, lamps and radios. Dispose of all of your clothing but your oldest dress or suit; one pair of shoes may be kept for the head of the family. Shut off the water, gas, electricity. Remove all appliances from the kitchen, keep . . . a small bag of flour, some sugar, salt, a few moldy potatoes, a handful of onion, some dried beans. Take away the house and move the family into the toolshed. Your neighborhood will be a shantytown. Move the nearest medical help ten miles away . . .a midwife. Get rid of your car. Forget about newspapers, magazines, books. You won’t miss them because you must also give up literacy. Count your emergency fund at $5. . . . No bank books, pension plans, insurance policies. Cultivate three acres as a tenant farmer. You can expect $100 to $300 a year in good years for cash crops. Pay a third to the landlord, at least a tenth to the money lender. Plan to take off 20 to 30 years in life expectancy. Millions do. . . , in fact, half of the people in our world actually live on $100 a year.” (Pulpit Helps – January 1979)
If you had to get by on less, could you still exercise your faith at your present level?
II. It Is with a Mind to Work That We Accomplish the Purpose of God. 4:6 “So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.”
Up to now, theirs had been a work of furious futility. They knew too little of themselves. They discounted God as a viable presence. They were intimidated by the godlessness around them.
But in responding to the vocal challenges around them they were victorious. Ezra 6:14 “And the elders of the Jews builded and prospered, through the prophesy of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo.” Haggai 2:9 “The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, saith Jehovah of hosts; and in this place will I give peace.”
We also must deal with our extremities in coming to terms with the purpose of God. Our most basic excuse is “I don’t have time!” We find time for what we want. We waste huge segments on things that do not profit: Fill out a timesheet sometime; how much TV you watch might surprise you.
We also claim not to know how as an excuse. Some of the things that we take great pleasure in were first devised by people who didn’t know how. Some of the things that we are singularly competent in now, we once knew nothing about. Edison knew nothing of electricity. Bell knew not about telephones. Wilbur and Orville couldn’t fly no matter how hard they flapped their arms.
When God’s purpose becomes our purpose, we are no longer hindered by human weakness, but instead we are stimulated by divine strength. The best beginning place is in salvation. The Psalmist’s question was asked in 116:12 “What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me?” His answer, 116:13 “I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord.
Whatever it is to which we put our hand, if it is of value, we seek to accomplish it in God’s purpose. It was God’s wall. He would see to it. Thou must be of the mind to work.