A Study in Nehemiah Week 3

 

Earliest use of "Israel"

(Get your Bible and follow along as we study. In this case, just read all of chapter 7)

Chapter 7

Record keeping in the church has come into disrepute. Reading Nehemiah 7 one cannot avoid the conclusion that God’s leaders should be exceptional record keepers. In fact, much of the Bible is about record keeping. It is, in fact, the record of God’s character, His love for His creation and His plan for its redemption.

God relishes numbers. He wrote a whole book called “Numbers.” In it He spends a lot of time describing how Israel’s tents were laid out on the plains. Why would he do such a thing? Well, think of their layout, then think about what Balam saw when he went to curse Israel. God had been careful to show that they were laid out in the shape of a cross. Balam could not curse them.

In this book we have already seen how Nehemiah carefully and deliberately organized the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. He delegated and he led. His mission was thereby accomplished.

In Chapter 7 we see more evidence of a leader organizing Jerusalem for growth. We see the porters, the singers, the Levites (assistants to the priests) and the co-“mayors” (one for governmental leadership, the other for protection).

We see that God, through Nehemiah, wanted His people to increase in number. Nehemiah found a register of the genealogy of the people and with it he designed a plan to populate Jerusalem. What if those record had not been kept?

It is so important to God that His people keep a record of His involvement in their lives that He lists those who were to increase the Population of Jerusalem. He embarks on what might be considered a boring list of names and leadership positions. But if you really understand what God is doing, it suddenly reveals His unsurpassable “genius.”

In our churches we used to keep records, just like God expects us to do. For instance in Sunday School we used to take attendance, check on tardiness (any idea why? There is a reason; a good one. Can you think of what it might be?), check on studying the lesson, on daily Bible reading, on giving, on worship attendance and “visitation.”

Someone who did not know their Bible or the character of the God we serve, decided that this emphasis on record keeping was somehow “unspiritual.” In effect they said, “Who cares?” Well, God cares, that’s who cares.

Group leaders (such as Sunday School teachers) should have an objective idea of the spiritual development of their class. Do some members need encouragement to be more regular in attendance? Do some need to understand the importance of not being disruptive? Do some need to know what’s going to be discussed in class before the class takes place?

Maybe some need to be encouraged to read God’s Word more regularly. They certainly should be encouraged to join together in worship. Many may need encouragement to give as the Lord lays on their hearts. And we should all be visiting the lost, the home-bound, the sick and those with other needs. Is all of that happening in your church? How do you know?

Why do we disparage what God has ordained? Few of us have considered organization, record keeping, progress checking and the like as spiritual.

Newsflash! God has demonstrated that record keeping is important! Careful record keeping results in Godly growth.

He has given us a record of His plan of salvation in the Bible. What would we do without it? If we believe Jesus is God and that He organized creation (John 1:1ff), and if we believe we are to be His followers, does it not behoove us to follow his example of keeping good records?

Joseph's Blessings In Prison

Genesis 39:23 tells us, "The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did." Even in prison Joseph experienced the Lord's blessing. His administrative skills were noticed by the prison warden and he was put in charge of all prison operations.

One of the most important skills missing from far too many churches is the skill of administration. Administration is a gift that the Holy Spirit gives for the purpose of enabling God's work to be done in an orderly, effective manner. Often the task of administration in the Bride of Christ is left up to the pastor, even though it is not one of the Biblical responsibilities of the pastor.

Too often, what the Bible says is considered "impractical," so churches tend to substitute their own concept of how to organize, quite apart from the Biblical model. After all, we believe the Bible is the Word of God, is inspired, is inerrant and is authoritative EXCEPT WHEN IT IS NOT PRACTICAL TO FOLLOW IT.

WRONG!

The Holy Spirit gives the gift of administration for a reason. Christ expects His Bride to plan, coordinate, implement and evaluate His work to ensure its effectiveness.

Many seem to think, "Oh, well. It's only the church. God is forgiving and if we mess up, He will not really care."

ONLY THE CHURCH? HOW DARE WE THINK THAT WAY! The church is to be an offering to God, not a series of popular or entertaining functions. We must place the Bride of Christ in as high esteem as Christ did. He DIED for His bride!

The church's task is to lead people to Christ, to provide effective worship, to train new believers in correct doctrine, to help more mature members grow in Christ, to provide meaningful fellowship and to engage in specific missions education and activity locally and around the world.

That's an awful lot for a pastor to take on at the same time that he tries to accomplish his Bible given duties of prayer, preaching the gospel and ministering to the ongoing needs of his congregation.

Every church needs to come to grips with the need for proper, Godly administration, and someone should serve as the pastor's "right-hand-man" in accomplishing it. It is the administrator's job to take the pressures of day-to-day tasks out of the hands of the pastor in order to allow him to do the job he is called to do. That job is NOT the job of administration.

Churches should seek someone with the kind of administrative skills Joseph had. They should seek someone who can "relieve the warden of his work load," just as Joseph did. Through prayer and careful searching, the Holy Spirit can lead the church to an effective administrator.

Wherever Your Church Is, It Is Where It Has Been Led and Where You Have Allowed It to Be Led

Is your church growing? Is it shrinking? Is it maintaining the status quo? Wherever it is, it has been led there by the pastor, the staff and the lay leaders.

If your church is growing, give praise to the Lord for leadership that knows where it is going and knows how to get there.

If it is shrinking, pray that the Lord will inspire the pastor, staff and lay leaders to have an awakening as to what has to be done to turn it around.

If your church is maintaining the status quo, it is stagnant. It is Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22).

A church might well remain "small" and not be stagnant. If it is baptizing many and spawning a lot of new works, it is being the church God wants it to be.

God has given us a blueprint for growth in His Word. His blueprint is organization and order.

The Word of God is filled with organization and order. In Genesis He organized the order of creation. In the universe He organized atoms, molecules, moons, planets and stars. In Numbers He organized the tents of Israel in the shape of a cross, such that Balaam could not curse them. In Kings He organized the building of the temple. In Nehemiah He organized the building of the wall of Jerusalem.

The fact of Christ's birth, life, death and resurrection for the salvation of those who would place their faith in, and only in, his finished work at the cross of Calvary was ordered and organized from before the beginning of time.

God is not the author of confusion, but of peace. God is a God of order and organization. If you follow some other kind of God, you don't follow God at all.