| “A CONCERTED EFFORT” 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; 27; Nehemiah 3 & 4, selected verses Olivet Covenant Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, PA © Rev. Linda Jaymes, 9/27/09 |
It doesn’t seem possible but we are quickly approaching the end of September, the month that marks the traditional
beginning of the program year for schools and churches alike. Here at Olivet we have just started a new Wednesday Night
Bible Study and today Sunday School for all ages begins again. As your pastor I would be remiss if I did not remind you that as
members of Christ’s body we are called to a life-long commitment to growing in Christ—growing in knowledge of Him, faith in
Him and love for Him. In Ephesians 4 the Apostle Paul reminds us that the Church has been commissioned “…to prepare
God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in
the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
One way to do that is to take advantage of these opportunities for study, and our new program year at Olivet is a great time
to do just that. It is through the study of God’s word that we really grow in our faith and learn to serve Christ in the world
around us. But all of that takes commitment. Fulfilling our Christian calling is hard work. In fact, it’s a lifelong building
project, if you will. And unless we do that work together, with each one doing his or her part, the reality is that we will never
be the church that God has called us to be. And so today, as a way of kicking off the fall program, I want to focus on two
scripture passages that teach us a number of things about how the people of God can best live up to our calling as a church, the
Body of Christ.
Today’s New Testament lesson from 1 Corinthians is one we always read when we ordain and install elders and deacons
every year, so it should be familiar to us all. Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth is full of very concrete, practical advice on
how to be the Church, advice that church desperately needed. The church in Corinth had a great many problems and
challenges to deal with, but the Apostle Paul believed that if that group of Christians would commit to persevering in their faith,
they would succeed in living out their calling to serve God in the midst of the very pagan society around them. And so for that
reason alone, this letter should be very meaningful to us, as Christian influence in our nation continues to wane.
Paul reminds us that the Church Universal, as well as every local church, is made up of a variety of people. We aren’t
carbon copies of each other. The downside of that fact is that our differences sometimes cause friction, disagreement and
misunderstanding—more reasons why being the Church is hard work! It takes a commitment to tolerance, forgiveness and
unconditional love to keep us together in spite of those differences. But the upside of our diversity—and this far outweighs the
downside—is that each of us brings with us into the community of faith a variety of wonderful gifts. These gifts are meant to
be used not for our own gratification but for the common good—for building up the Body—to make it stronger, wiser, more
loving and compassionate; better equipped and prepared to live up to our shared mission of preaching and teaching the Gospel
and making disciples of all nations.
Paul emphasizes that although there are different ways of serving and different jobs to be done within the church, it is God
whom we glorify and serve in our work and it is the Spirit who gives us the gifts to accomplish it all. Paul mentions a number
of gifts, although his list is by no means all inclusive. He tells us that some of us have a particular message of wisdom or
knowledge to share with the body; some have a particularly strong faith; some may have gifts of prophecy or healing or other
miraculous powers; some may even speak in tongues or be able to interpret tongues.
Elsewhere in his letters Paul mentions other gifts that God has given to the Church; gifts of teaching, preaching, serving,
encouraging, generosity, leadership, mercy and evangelism. We could add to this list gifts in the areas of administration,
financial management, artistic design, organization, music, facility management and so on. It really doesn’t matter what your
particular gifts are; in God’s opinion, one gift isn’t any better than the next. The Spirit hasn’t given us gifts to use as bragging
rights or to “lord” them over others. What really matters is that we don’t let them go to waste but use them to God’s glory!
What really matters is that we appreciate each other’s gifts as much as our own. What really matters is that we understand that
every member is a part of the body and has a place in it. So if anyone drops out or not using his or her gift within the Body of
Christ, it results in a gap—a hole—a broken link in the chain of mission and ministry.
Very simply, the more the parts or members of Christ’s Body exercise or use their gifts within the church, the healthier and
more effective that church will be. And I would add that the smaller the church, the more critical it is for every single member
to be plugged in and actively working, using those gifts to build up the body and serve the Lord. In fact, when the work is
great and the workers are few, very often those workers have to extend themselves even beyond their particular gifts and learn
to do work that may not come easy to them.
Take the example we see in today’s Old Testament lesson. Today’s lesson from Nehemiah takes place near the end of
Israel’s Babylonian captivity, perhaps some twenty years after king Cyrus of Persia captured Babylon and issued a decree
permitting the Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem. God had spoken to Cyrus and appointed him to rebuild the temple in
Jerusalem, and so Cyrus issued a decree encouraging the exiles to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild. Not only that, Cyrus also
gave the exiles all the articles from the Temple that had been confiscated and brought to Babylon after the fall of Jerusalem,
some 70 years earlier.
Approximately 42,000 people from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, as well as more than 7,000 servants, singers and all
their animals returned to Jerusalem, settled back into the towns that their families had previously occupied, and proceeded to
rebuild the Temple, beginning with the altar. Unfortunately, while this rebuilding was going on, the Israelites began to face
opposition from the people living around them. These were non-Jews who had been sent in to repopulate the land 70 years
earlier, along with some Jews who had remained in the land and had married Gentile women. In those seventy years, these
people who had remained in Israel had not “kept the faith,” so to speak, nor did they welcome the thought that the land they had
acquired during that time would be retaken by its former owners.
In fact, these folks stirred up so much trouble through gossip and untrue reports back to the king of Persia that the
rebuilding efforts came to a halt for sixteen years. During those years a new king had taken the throne of Persia and it took a
long time to find the original decree that Cyrus had issued, the decree which gave Israel permission to rebuild. Eventually, the
Israelites were able to resume their work and finish the Temple. A great celebration was held to dedicate the Temple and the
Passover was celebrated once again, after a lapse of 70 years.
But the Temple wasn’t the only thing that needed rebuilding. The walls of Jerusalem, which had also been destroyed when
the Jews went into captivity in Babylon, were nothing but a pile of rubble. And so when Nehemiah, one of the Jews still in
captivity, found out that so much of the city of Jerusalem was still in ruins, he persuaded the latest Persian king to allow him to
return and help with this new building project. Soon after arriving in Jerusalem, Nehemiah did a thorough inspection of the
walls and then met with the Jewish people, the priests, the nobles and officials and challenged them to come together and
rebuild. Scripture tells us that they were in agreement and soon began this good work.
But don’t you know it—the people around them started making trouble again. This time, however, the trouble inspired the
Israelites to “dig in” and commit themselves wholeheartedly to the work. The scripture account of that work is lengthy and
very detailed, and so we heard only excerpts from the story this morning. In fact, even the parts I read probably sounded
redundant. But I think if I lift out some of the details from the verses I read, we will see how important they were for the
rebuilding of the wall as well as how they apply to the work and ministry of the church today.
First, we should notice that the people rebuilding the walls formed an unbroken chain. Nehemiah gives us a very clear
account of every family or group that participated in the rebuilding project and how, in every case, each family or group took
responsibility for a section of the wall, a section immediately adjacent or next to that of another family or group. There were no
gaps in the wall as they built, no chance for the enemy to break through and destroy what had just been built or to harm those
doing the work. In fact, you may have noticed that as the building progressed and the opposition grew stronger the Israelites
took up their swords in one hand while they worked with the other. It must have slowed down the rebuilding—working with
one arm is not easy or fast—but it made it possible for the work to go on. The Israelites understood Paul’s principle that every
part of the “body” was critical to the work if this project was going to succeed. The people themselves formed an unbroken
chain around the city as they worked, until the wall was finished and could provide the solid protection they needed.
The second thing I want to point out in these verses is the way everyone helped—except for a handful of aristocrats, the
nobles of Tekoa. We aren’t told how many were in this group or whether they had a good excuse for not helping. Maybe they
thought they were too good for manual labor or unwilling to take orders from someone from the lower class. Whatever the
reason was, they have gone down in history for being unwilling to “put their shoulders to the work under their supervisors.”
But everyone else in the city and even some outside the city helped with the rebuilding. This is just part of the list recorded by
Nehemiah:
• The high priest and his fellow priests
• The governor of Trans-Euphrates
• The goldsmiths and perfume makers
• The ruler of the district of Beth Hakkerem
• The ruler of the district of Mizpah
• The ruler of the half-district of Beth Zur
• The Levites
• The rulers of both half-disrticts of Keilah
• The priests from surrounding regions
• The temple servants
• The men of Tekoa
• The guard at the East Gate
• The merchants
• The daughters of Shallum
I think this very varied list shows us that although we may work best when using our gifts, even in the Church there are
times when we have to do things that we are not gifted to do! I find it hard to believe that all the priests and Levites and
governors and goldsmiths and merchants and women were particularly gifted stone masons! But the situation required that
everyone participate and do the work. And p.s., my own experience tells me that very often, most of us can learn to be good at
if not gifted at many kinds of work if only we are willing to put our shoulders to it and learn how to do it!
The third thing we can learn from this passage is that enthusiasm for the work is very beneficial. It can even be
contagious. According to Nehemiah a man named Baruch “zealously” repaired one of the sections of the wall, and my guess is
that the reason Nehemiah mentions it is because this man was an inspiration to the people working near him. In chapter 4 we
are also told that the work was accomplished because “the people worked at it with all their heart.” These principles hold true
in regard to the work of the Church. Enthusiasm goes a long way to encourage those around us. An enthusiastic attitude
toward the work helps others to develop enthusiasm for it as well. And when we do something wholeheartedly, there is a better
chance we will get it done and get it done well.
The fourth thing to notice is that as the work progressed and the opposition grew, the Israelites prayed to their God and
posted a guard, day and night. They prayed and they acted. They did what they were able to do and trusted God for the rest.
This is a good reminder that faith and action go hand in hand and always have, both in Old Testament times and still today.
Jesus expects the same of his Church, and there must be a balance between waiting on God in prayer and acting, even while we
wait.
Last but not least Nehemiah reminds us that the Lord’s work is never easy. He tells us that the Israelites worked “…from
the first light of dawn until the stars came out.” That’s a very long day to be doing very hard work. And some of those same
workers even did double duty; after working all day they had to guard the wall at night; they didn’t even have the luxury of
changing their clothes during that time. So we must not kid ourselves and think that the work of the Church or even being the
Church is a walk in the park. It’s hard work. The hours are long. Sometimes the opposition may be great and the work dirty.
And that is why everyone must help. That is why God has put such a variety of people in every church. That is why the Spirit
has given us a variety of gifts. Though the work may be hard, those the Lord calls the Lord also equips to get the work done.
Just as it was for the Israelites rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, only through a concerted effort will the work of the Church
be accomplished. Only when everyone pitches in to do his or her part—and sometimes more than his or her part—will the
Church be what Christ intends. We live in a time of increasing opposition to the very things we are trying to build, so let us
therefore learn the lessons that Paul and Nehemiah are teaching us in God’s Word. May we commit ourselves to the work at
hand with all our heart and a concerted effort, trusting that the God who began a good work in us will bring it to completion at
the day of Jesus Christ.
Let us pray.
beginning of the program year for schools and churches alike. Here at Olivet we have just started a new Wednesday Night
Bible Study and today Sunday School for all ages begins again. As your pastor I would be remiss if I did not remind you that as
members of Christ’s body we are called to a life-long commitment to growing in Christ—growing in knowledge of Him, faith in
Him and love for Him. In Ephesians 4 the Apostle Paul reminds us that the Church has been commissioned “…to prepare
God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in
the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
One way to do that is to take advantage of these opportunities for study, and our new program year at Olivet is a great time
to do just that. It is through the study of God’s word that we really grow in our faith and learn to serve Christ in the world
around us. But all of that takes commitment. Fulfilling our Christian calling is hard work. In fact, it’s a lifelong building
project, if you will. And unless we do that work together, with each one doing his or her part, the reality is that we will never
be the church that God has called us to be. And so today, as a way of kicking off the fall program, I want to focus on two
scripture passages that teach us a number of things about how the people of God can best live up to our calling as a church, the
Body of Christ.
Today’s New Testament lesson from 1 Corinthians is one we always read when we ordain and install elders and deacons
every year, so it should be familiar to us all. Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth is full of very concrete, practical advice on
how to be the Church, advice that church desperately needed. The church in Corinth had a great many problems and
challenges to deal with, but the Apostle Paul believed that if that group of Christians would commit to persevering in their faith,
they would succeed in living out their calling to serve God in the midst of the very pagan society around them. And so for that
reason alone, this letter should be very meaningful to us, as Christian influence in our nation continues to wane.
Paul reminds us that the Church Universal, as well as every local church, is made up of a variety of people. We aren’t
carbon copies of each other. The downside of that fact is that our differences sometimes cause friction, disagreement and
misunderstanding—more reasons why being the Church is hard work! It takes a commitment to tolerance, forgiveness and
unconditional love to keep us together in spite of those differences. But the upside of our diversity—and this far outweighs the
downside—is that each of us brings with us into the community of faith a variety of wonderful gifts. These gifts are meant to
be used not for our own gratification but for the common good—for building up the Body—to make it stronger, wiser, more
loving and compassionate; better equipped and prepared to live up to our shared mission of preaching and teaching the Gospel
and making disciples of all nations.
Paul emphasizes that although there are different ways of serving and different jobs to be done within the church, it is God
whom we glorify and serve in our work and it is the Spirit who gives us the gifts to accomplish it all. Paul mentions a number
of gifts, although his list is by no means all inclusive. He tells us that some of us have a particular message of wisdom or
knowledge to share with the body; some have a particularly strong faith; some may have gifts of prophecy or healing or other
miraculous powers; some may even speak in tongues or be able to interpret tongues.
Elsewhere in his letters Paul mentions other gifts that God has given to the Church; gifts of teaching, preaching, serving,
encouraging, generosity, leadership, mercy and evangelism. We could add to this list gifts in the areas of administration,
financial management, artistic design, organization, music, facility management and so on. It really doesn’t matter what your
particular gifts are; in God’s opinion, one gift isn’t any better than the next. The Spirit hasn’t given us gifts to use as bragging
rights or to “lord” them over others. What really matters is that we don’t let them go to waste but use them to God’s glory!
What really matters is that we appreciate each other’s gifts as much as our own. What really matters is that we understand that
every member is a part of the body and has a place in it. So if anyone drops out or not using his or her gift within the Body of
Christ, it results in a gap—a hole—a broken link in the chain of mission and ministry.
Very simply, the more the parts or members of Christ’s Body exercise or use their gifts within the church, the healthier and
more effective that church will be. And I would add that the smaller the church, the more critical it is for every single member
to be plugged in and actively working, using those gifts to build up the body and serve the Lord. In fact, when the work is
great and the workers are few, very often those workers have to extend themselves even beyond their particular gifts and learn
to do work that may not come easy to them.
Take the example we see in today’s Old Testament lesson. Today’s lesson from Nehemiah takes place near the end of
Israel’s Babylonian captivity, perhaps some twenty years after king Cyrus of Persia captured Babylon and issued a decree
permitting the Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem. God had spoken to Cyrus and appointed him to rebuild the temple in
Jerusalem, and so Cyrus issued a decree encouraging the exiles to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild. Not only that, Cyrus also
gave the exiles all the articles from the Temple that had been confiscated and brought to Babylon after the fall of Jerusalem,
some 70 years earlier.
Approximately 42,000 people from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, as well as more than 7,000 servants, singers and all
their animals returned to Jerusalem, settled back into the towns that their families had previously occupied, and proceeded to
rebuild the Temple, beginning with the altar. Unfortunately, while this rebuilding was going on, the Israelites began to face
opposition from the people living around them. These were non-Jews who had been sent in to repopulate the land 70 years
earlier, along with some Jews who had remained in the land and had married Gentile women. In those seventy years, these
people who had remained in Israel had not “kept the faith,” so to speak, nor did they welcome the thought that the land they had
acquired during that time would be retaken by its former owners.
In fact, these folks stirred up so much trouble through gossip and untrue reports back to the king of Persia that the
rebuilding efforts came to a halt for sixteen years. During those years a new king had taken the throne of Persia and it took a
long time to find the original decree that Cyrus had issued, the decree which gave Israel permission to rebuild. Eventually, the
Israelites were able to resume their work and finish the Temple. A great celebration was held to dedicate the Temple and the
Passover was celebrated once again, after a lapse of 70 years.
But the Temple wasn’t the only thing that needed rebuilding. The walls of Jerusalem, which had also been destroyed when
the Jews went into captivity in Babylon, were nothing but a pile of rubble. And so when Nehemiah, one of the Jews still in
captivity, found out that so much of the city of Jerusalem was still in ruins, he persuaded the latest Persian king to allow him to
return and help with this new building project. Soon after arriving in Jerusalem, Nehemiah did a thorough inspection of the
walls and then met with the Jewish people, the priests, the nobles and officials and challenged them to come together and
rebuild. Scripture tells us that they were in agreement and soon began this good work.
But don’t you know it—the people around them started making trouble again. This time, however, the trouble inspired the
Israelites to “dig in” and commit themselves wholeheartedly to the work. The scripture account of that work is lengthy and
very detailed, and so we heard only excerpts from the story this morning. In fact, even the parts I read probably sounded
redundant. But I think if I lift out some of the details from the verses I read, we will see how important they were for the
rebuilding of the wall as well as how they apply to the work and ministry of the church today.
First, we should notice that the people rebuilding the walls formed an unbroken chain. Nehemiah gives us a very clear
account of every family or group that participated in the rebuilding project and how, in every case, each family or group took
responsibility for a section of the wall, a section immediately adjacent or next to that of another family or group. There were no
gaps in the wall as they built, no chance for the enemy to break through and destroy what had just been built or to harm those
doing the work. In fact, you may have noticed that as the building progressed and the opposition grew stronger the Israelites
took up their swords in one hand while they worked with the other. It must have slowed down the rebuilding—working with
one arm is not easy or fast—but it made it possible for the work to go on. The Israelites understood Paul’s principle that every
part of the “body” was critical to the work if this project was going to succeed. The people themselves formed an unbroken
chain around the city as they worked, until the wall was finished and could provide the solid protection they needed.
The second thing I want to point out in these verses is the way everyone helped—except for a handful of aristocrats, the
nobles of Tekoa. We aren’t told how many were in this group or whether they had a good excuse for not helping. Maybe they
thought they were too good for manual labor or unwilling to take orders from someone from the lower class. Whatever the
reason was, they have gone down in history for being unwilling to “put their shoulders to the work under their supervisors.”
But everyone else in the city and even some outside the city helped with the rebuilding. This is just part of the list recorded by
Nehemiah:
• The high priest and his fellow priests
• The governor of Trans-Euphrates
• The goldsmiths and perfume makers
• The ruler of the district of Beth Hakkerem
• The ruler of the district of Mizpah
• The ruler of the half-district of Beth Zur
• The Levites
• The rulers of both half-disrticts of Keilah
• The priests from surrounding regions
• The temple servants
• The men of Tekoa
• The guard at the East Gate
• The merchants
• The daughters of Shallum
I think this very varied list shows us that although we may work best when using our gifts, even in the Church there are
times when we have to do things that we are not gifted to do! I find it hard to believe that all the priests and Levites and
governors and goldsmiths and merchants and women were particularly gifted stone masons! But the situation required that
everyone participate and do the work. And p.s., my own experience tells me that very often, most of us can learn to be good at
if not gifted at many kinds of work if only we are willing to put our shoulders to it and learn how to do it!
The third thing we can learn from this passage is that enthusiasm for the work is very beneficial. It can even be
contagious. According to Nehemiah a man named Baruch “zealously” repaired one of the sections of the wall, and my guess is
that the reason Nehemiah mentions it is because this man was an inspiration to the people working near him. In chapter 4 we
are also told that the work was accomplished because “the people worked at it with all their heart.” These principles hold true
in regard to the work of the Church. Enthusiasm goes a long way to encourage those around us. An enthusiastic attitude
toward the work helps others to develop enthusiasm for it as well. And when we do something wholeheartedly, there is a better
chance we will get it done and get it done well.
The fourth thing to notice is that as the work progressed and the opposition grew, the Israelites prayed to their God and
posted a guard, day and night. They prayed and they acted. They did what they were able to do and trusted God for the rest.
This is a good reminder that faith and action go hand in hand and always have, both in Old Testament times and still today.
Jesus expects the same of his Church, and there must be a balance between waiting on God in prayer and acting, even while we
wait.
Last but not least Nehemiah reminds us that the Lord’s work is never easy. He tells us that the Israelites worked “…from
the first light of dawn until the stars came out.” That’s a very long day to be doing very hard work. And some of those same
workers even did double duty; after working all day they had to guard the wall at night; they didn’t even have the luxury of
changing their clothes during that time. So we must not kid ourselves and think that the work of the Church or even being the
Church is a walk in the park. It’s hard work. The hours are long. Sometimes the opposition may be great and the work dirty.
And that is why everyone must help. That is why God has put such a variety of people in every church. That is why the Spirit
has given us a variety of gifts. Though the work may be hard, those the Lord calls the Lord also equips to get the work done.
Just as it was for the Israelites rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, only through a concerted effort will the work of the Church
be accomplished. Only when everyone pitches in to do his or her part—and sometimes more than his or her part—will the
Church be what Christ intends. We live in a time of increasing opposition to the very things we are trying to build, so let us
therefore learn the lessons that Paul and Nehemiah are teaching us in God’s Word. May we commit ourselves to the work at
hand with all our heart and a concerted effort, trusting that the God who began a good work in us will bring it to completion at
the day of Jesus Christ.
Let us pray.
