Text: Nehemiah 2:17-18 (KJV)
"Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me... And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work." (Nehemiah 2:17-18)
Good morning, church. Yesterday we talked about the good call, about waking up and putting on the whole armour of God. Today, on this Tuesday, we take the next step. Monday is the day we answer the call. Tuesday is the day we pick up the tools.
I. Be Honest About the Broken Walls (Truth)
Nehemiah did not pretend. He looked at the city and said, "Ye see the distress that we are in." Restoration never starts with a cover-up. It starts with the truth. Jesus said, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32).
Some of us are standing in front of broken walls right now. A lost job. A record that follows us into every interview. Years we wish we could get back. Bridges we burned ourselves. The devil wants you to hide those ruins. God wants you to name them, because what you hide, He cannot heal on your terms, but what you confess, He is faithful to cleanse. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).
At JC's T. R. A. P. House™, Truth is the first letter for a reason. We tell the truth about where we are so that God can show us the truth about where we are going.
II. The Good Hand of God Is Upon You (Restoration)
Notice what Nehemiah told the people next: "I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me." Before one stone was laid, he testified. He reminded them that God had already moved.
Brother, sister, the same hand is upon you. "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). That word "all" includes the ruins. God does not waste a burned gate. He says, "And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten" (Joel 2:25).
Restoration is not just feeling better on Sunday. Restoration is getting up on Tuesday with a reason to work. Scripture honors honest labor: "Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth" (Ephesians 4:28). Do you see that? God takes the hands that once tore down and makes them hands that build up and give away. That is Christian vocational rehabilitation. That is the gospel with work boots on.
III. Rise Up and Build, Together (Prayer and Work)
The people answered, "Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work." Nobody rebuilt that wall alone. Nehemiah chapter 3 lists family after family, each building the section in front of their own house.
That is how this ministry works. Somebody helps you with a resume, and you help the next person with a ride to the interview. Somebody prays with you before the job fair, and you pray with the next one after. "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2). That is why we say, Help Me Help You And Others.
And when the opposition came, and it will come, Nehemiah did two things at once: "Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night" (Nehemiah 4:9). They prayed, and they kept working. Some of them built with one hand and held a weapon in the other (Nehemiah 4:17). Prayer is not a substitute for work, and work is not a substitute for prayer. Pray like it depends on God, and work like you mean it.
So whatever you put your hand to today, a shift, a class, an application, a hard conversation, do it as worship. "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ" (Colossians 3:23-24).
IV. The Wall Will Be Finished
Here is the good news. "So the wall was finished... in fifty and two days. And it came to pass, that when all our enemies heard thereof... they perceived that this work was wrought of our God" (Nehemiah 6:15-16). When God restores you, people will not give you the credit. They will see that it was God.
"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6).
Invitation
If you have never trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, the rebuilding starts with Him. "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13). If you know Him, but your walls are down, come and let us pray with you today. And if God has already restored you, pick up a tool and help somebody else build.
Let us pray: Father, thank You for Your good hand upon us. Give us truth to see our ruins, faith to believe in restoration, and strength to rise up and build. Bless every hand that works today, and let our labor glorify You. In Jesus' name, Amen.
