The Implementation (Building Lives #3)

My mom taught me to say sorry whenever I did something wrong. So even though I have not done anything wrong that I know of, I am going to start this sermon with an apology.

I know that breaks one of the unwritten rules of public speaking — never open with an apology, it starts you off on the wrong foot. So why am I doing it?

Today is week three of our series in Nehemiah, and if you are part of this church family you know we are running a capital campaign to raise the funds for a down payment so we can purchase the building we have been leasing for three years. And today is the day I actually ask you to start praying about what you should give — cheerfully, willingly, and sacrificially.

In weeks one and two we never asked for any money. Today we do.

And then two things hit me.

First, we have a visiting worship team with us this morning. I was a music major, and I absolutely would have jumped at an opportunity like that in college. And I can imagine showing up to a church, getting ready to lead, and hearing the pastor announce he is going to ask for money. I would cringe inside. So to our guests: thank you, that was wonderful, I am looking forward to the rest of it — and I am sorry.

Second, it is Mother’s Day. All around the globe pastors are preaching warm, encouraging sermons about the glory and value of motherhood. And I am going to talk about money. So if you came in expecting one of those, I am sorry.

But then I got to thinking — maybe I should not be all that sorry.

Because what I want for you is not that you give this church a lot of money. What I want is for you to know Jesus and follow him. And following him means following him in every area of life.

And so often the very last area people surrender to Jesus is their wallet. They will give time. They will give energy. They will give wisdom. They will learn the Bible inside and out. But letting God into your bank account is another thing entirely.

So maybe God intentionally wanted you here for this. Maybe today is actually going to encourage you and help your faith.

What I hope you hear is that this is not about extracting a lot of money for this church. This is about you giving to God. If that gift comes here, wonderful — we believe we are on an important mission. But if it needs to go somewhere else, do that. Because I think God wants to use you to help change the world, and today might get you a little closer to that.

Fair Warning: This Chapter Is Boring

We are in Nehemiah 3, and before I read, I want to warn you: it is boring.

I am probably going to trip over some of these names and places. I have practiced them, and I make no guarantees. Also, if you struggle with insomnia, this is the passage you pull out at bedtime. You will be out by verse 16.

So why would Nehemiah do this?

If you have been with us in this series, chapter 1 started strong. We met Nehemiah. The tension was set up beautifully. He learns the walls of Jerusalem are still rubble a century after the Babylonians invaded — which is humiliating, because people in that era often assumed a god ruled over a geographic region, so a key Israelite city with broken-down walls implied a weak God. It also meant the people living there were unprotected. This became a deep burden for him, and he sensed God saying, I am going to use you to rebuild these walls.

Then in chapter 2 Nehemiah gets an opportunity to present his plan to the king. The king senses something is going on, asks him about it, Nehemiah takes a risk and shares — and the king backs the idea and sends him. Nehemiah arrives in Jerusalem with the resources he needs, takes time to develop a plan, and presents that plan to the people.

So now it is time to build.

And he starts with a list of names.

If this were a streaming series, we would have a great pilot, a second episode that really moves the story along — and then episode three is just the credits rolling.

Why would he interrupt everything with something this tedious? Because he is doing something genuinely important.

The Text: Nehemiah 3:1–8

“Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and set its doors. They consecrated it as far as the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Tower of Hananel. And next to him the men of Jericho built. And next to them Zaccur the son of Imri built.

The sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate. They laid its beams and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. And next to them Meremoth the son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz, repaired. Next to them Meshullam the son of Berechiah, son of Meshezabel, repaired. Next to them Zadok the son of Baana repaired. And next to them the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord.

Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired the Gate of Yeshanah. They laid its beams and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars… Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, goldsmiths, repaired. Next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, repaired, and they restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.”

I think you get the idea. This runs the entire chapter — thirty-two verses of nothing but names and places and what each group did. There is not even a concluding sentence at the end.

The Ones Who Would Not Stoop

Throughout history, across cultures, and right up into our own day, there have always been people who consider themselves too good, too important, too dignified to do the little things.

Too important to dig in the dirt. To carry the box. To sit and listen to someone’s problems. They will not soil themselves with that sort of work.

It was no different in Nehemiah’s day. Did you catch it in verse 5? “And next to them the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord.”

There were nobles who thought they were far too good to be involved in repairing a wall.

But here is the thing. If you read the whole chapter, you discover they are the only ones.

Look Who Actually Showed Up

As you work through the list, you start noticing the extraordinary range of people involved.

Just in the eight verses we read: verse 1 gives us the high priest — probably the most prominent man in the culture apart from Nehemiah, who is now governor. And he does not just show up himself; he brings all the priests with him.

Down in verse 8 you find a goldsmith. And also a perfumer — a merchant.

Keep going and you find farmers. Soldiers. The rich. The poor. Everyone, except a handful of nobles.

Have you ever heard of the 80/20 rule? Eighty percent of the work gets done by twenty percent of the people. If you have ever served on a PTA board, you know exactly what I am talking about. Or a student organization — it feels like a handful of people do everything. It happens in churches too.

Some of you know I am a member of our local service club. Our national mission is the elimination of child abuse, and every year we raise over twenty-five thousand dollars that we donate to regional organizations working toward that. Our group is genuinely healthy and has a great reputation in town, and I think I know why.

We do not operate on the 80/20 rule. We operate closer to an 80/80 rule — eighty percent of the work done by eighty percent of the people. Honestly, I could probably argue it is a hundred percent of the work done by a hundred percent of the people. We run many different fundraisers, we have many committees, we give a lot of awards — and it all happens because different people take different areas. And it works.

That is exactly what is happening in Nehemiah 3. It is not twenty percent, or only the important people, or only the carpenters and masons. It took everybody.

Everyone Was Involved — But Not Identically

Knowing it took everybody does not mean everyone did the same amount of work.

As you read through, you find some people building towers. Some focused on gates. Some repairing sections of wall. And notice the verbs: some sections say they built, others say they repaired.

That makes me think there were areas where the Babylonians had completely collapsed the walls — nothing left, starting from scratch. And other places where stones remained and there was something to work with.

Also, if you look at a map of Jerusalem, it is not a nice flat plain. It is built on a hill. So some people had to work around sloping ground and likely had to prepare the terrain before they could build at all.

Everyone was involved. The work was not identical.

The Giving Pyramid

We see this same principle in life, and even in capital campaigns. It is why colleges, nonprofits, and churches often use something called a giving pyramid — the largest gift at the top, working down through progressively smaller amounts.

When I was a kid I assumed the only gifts that really mattered were at the top. Because whenever you heard about a donation on the news, it was always the big one. I remember hearing years ago about an elementary school janitor who lived so simply that he saved over a million dollars and donated it at retirement to the school where he had worked. It made headline news — because it was a million dollars. Walk onto any college campus and there are buildings named after the people who gave enormous gifts.

So it is understandable that I grew up thinking only the big gifts counted.

But when my wife and I felt God calling us to serve as missionaries in Venezuela, and later to help start a new church, we had to raise support. And I caught on quickly that it was not just the big gifts that mattered. Every gift mattered.

Last fall during our series on giving, I shared about a man from my hometown who was locally infamous for his poverty. My wife and I had the chance to share about God’s call to Venezuela at one of the churches there, and he was in the room. After hearing us, he decided not only to join our prayer team but to support us financially.

He supported us at one dollar a month.

And that one dollar meant more to me than some of the twenties and fifties we received. Because some of the people giving twenty a month were not going to miss it a bit. But for him, one dollar a month was the equivalent of a hundred a month for some of you — or a thousand. And he gave it joyfully and cheerfully.

That is when I began to understand that every gift matters. It all counts. It is all needed.

What Ours Could Look Like

Knowing that, I got curious what a giving pyramid would look like for us. We did not have one, so I put together an illustration.

Let me be clear: this is purely illustrative. It is not official. We do not have a capital campaign consultant. I have not run this by the elders. This is just for our purposes today.

To raise the fifty thousand dollars we need, it could look like one person giving ten thousand, two people giving five thousand, then four gifts, then eight, then sixteen — thirty-one donations at descending amounts that together get us there.

And what you see immediately is that it takes everyone.

But the point is not we just have to hit these numbers. The point is: where would you fall? Which of those gifts would be sacrificial, generous, and willing for you?

What Scripture Says About How to Give

Last fall we studied 2 Corinthians 9, and I want to pull verses 6 and 7 back out:

“The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

This echoes what we saw in our church newsletter about ten days ago while studying Exodus 25: what God wants is willing givers. He does not coerce us into this, because giving is worship — and he is not going to force worship. He is so worthy of it that we should want to come joyfully and cheerfully. And that includes our giving.

So notice the three things here.

Give willingly — not reluctantly, not under compulsion.

Give cheerfully — God loves a cheerful giver.

And notice verse 6: give bountifully. Generously. Even sacrificially.

So think back to that pyramid. What would be sacrificial for you?

If it is one of the smaller levels, then do it — praise God, every gift is needed. But some of you would not even notice a one-time gift at that level. So maybe you belong further up. Maybe some of you belong at the very top. And I will even say this: some of you should not stop at the top. If you could joyfully and willingly sacrifice more than that, then go for it.

But Please Don’t Give Today

With all that said — I do not want you to give today.

If you really, really want to, I cannot stop you. But I would rather you wait, for several reasons.

First, when you looked at that pyramid, a number may have jumped out and you thought, I could do that. Maybe that was God-inspired. Maybe that is exactly what you should give. But chances are, if your reaction was I could do that, it is what you would be comfortable with — which means it would not actually be generous, or bountiful, or sacrificial. It would be far too easy.

So you need time to pray. God, is this the amount you want me to give? If it is, wonderful. But maybe he wants to stretch you. Maybe he wants to do something more. Maybe he is even saying he wants you to give that portion here and more somewhere else — to another organization, to a missionary — and it will stretch you.

Second, some of you saw a number jump out and it scared you. Yes, that would be sacrificial — and you are not sure you could give it cheerfully or willingly. What you need is time for your heart to catch up with your head. You need time to get those in sync, and to submit it in prayer: God, is that really what you want?

Third, some of you want to give willingly, cheerfully, and sacrificially — and you look at your bank account and there is simply nothing there. You want to be part of this and you have nothing to give.

That is exactly why we want you to take some time. We will stop talking about this campaign at the end of the month, but if you picked up a brochure or saw the page on our website, you know the funds are not due until early July.

That gives you time to think creatively.

Some of you may need to sell something — maybe a vehicle that is just sitting there. Some of you may want to sell stock. Some of you have a collection you are never going to do anything with, and you could sell it and give out of that. Some of you have a skill or a talent you could use to earn something, or you could pick up a side job for two months. Some of you may simply need to give something up — the daily coffee, or the subscriptions that keep adding up — and save what you would have spent.

That is why I do not want you to give today. I want you to take time to think and to pray.

It Is Going to Take All of Us

I believe this will take all of us. God has not blessed this church with a secret millionaire to get us this far. It has taken all of us — ordinary, middle-class people sacrificing and working together. And I do not think God is going to do it differently now.

If you are a first-time guest, I do not want you to feel any pressure. I want you first to know who Jesus is, and second to decide whether this is a church you would want to be part of.

But if you are part of this church family, I am asking you to prayerfully consider: what part do you play? What can you give? What should you give — cheerfully, willingly, and sacrificially?

What Nehemiah Himself Gave

Read all of Nehemiah 3 and you will never once see him say, and I and my crew built this section. Which might lead you to conclude he was a typical government supervisor walking around telling everyone else what to do — just like those nobles who would not dirty their hands.

The opposite is true. Nehemiah was deeply involved.

In Nehemiah 5:16, which we will look at in a couple of weeks, he says: “I also persevered in the work on this wall, and we acquired no land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work.”

He is saying two things. He worked on the wall himself. And his servants — the ones the king sent with him from Persia — were not there to serve him. He put them on the wall too. Everyone got involved.

And that is not all. Next week in chapter 4 we will see opposition rise up that forces them to take up swords — and we see Nehemiah carrying a sword himself to protect the people as they worked.

In chapter 5 we learn that as governor he had a right to the king’s food allowance, and he did not accept it for himself and his entourage. He shared it. He also had a right to collect certain taxes, and he suspended them so as not to burden the people.

Nehemiah was a phenomenal leader, and he was fully invested. He gave everything to this project.

So Our Leadership Went First

Because I have studied Nehemiah before, I knew this. And if we are using this book to guide us through a capital campaign, then it meant our leadership needed to lead the way.

So back in March I talked with our elders and said we needed to go first. They were fully on board, and we invited our Sunday team in as well.

The elders and the Sunday team took all of March to pray. We talked with our spouses. We asked what we felt God calling us to give. And in April we shared it — or simply went ahead and gave it.

I am pleased to report, because I just learned this week, that our leadership has committed $21,373.26.

That is from leadership alone. I want you to know we are fully invested. We are all in on this.

This is why I walk out of every Wednesday elder meeting encouraged. These men are invested. They love you. They want to shepherd you and lead you and see this church become who God calls it to be. And our Sunday team, which meets monthly — every time we finish I am encouraged to have teammates who want this mission to keep moving forward. You can see that investment in their generosity. They have led the way. They are not asking you to do anything they have not already done.

On top of that, a handful of people have been giving into our building fund — some trickling in this year, some given last year. So before we ever asked you directly, we already have $27,284.07.

Which means before asking you at all, we are already over fifty percent.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think that was possible.

Now, some might say I should not share that — that people will see it and think they are almost there, they do not need my money. But this is God’s. If God does not get us to fifty thousand, I honestly do not know what we will do. And if we get there, praise God.

I want you to be part of it. Our dream is a home base where we can invest in you on Sundays, where other ministry can happen through the week, and from which we can send you out to be a blessing in the world. I want you to have the joy of being part of that.

I do not care at what level. I do not care which section of wall you get to build. I just want you to be part of it — so that when it is all said and done, we can look at it and say, not look what we have done, but look at what God has done. And you will know God used you in it.

But We Are Not Following Nehemiah

There is one more thing I have to say.

We are not trying to help you live like Nehemiah lived or love like Nehemiah loved. We want you to follow Jesus. And as great a leader as Nehemiah was, and as invested as he was, he pales in comparison.

Jesus Christ willingly, cheerfully, and sacrificially left his throne in heaven, setting aside his glory and his rights as God, to come to earth and take on human flesh. And even that was not the end of it. Philippians 2 tells us that in his humanity he made himself obedient to death — even death on a cross. He willingly sacrificed himself for us.

That is what this church is about.

If you were with us in week one, you may remember we said this story is not really about walls. Nehemiah’s passion was the protection of the people and the fame of God. It is the same here. This is not about a building. This is about people.

God has us on a mission to invite those who feel spiritually disconnected to find him and follow him through Jesus Christ — and then to help those people become more and more like Jesus, because our broken world needs people who will love like Jesus loved and live like Jesus lived.

That is why I invite you to be part of this at whatever level. Because when God asks us to be generous, he is not asking us to do anything he has not already done himself. Jesus paid it all.

Come to the Table

So in an act of worship, let us give him all of ourselves. And I cannot think of a better way to honor Christ than communion.

If you are a first-time guest and a follower of Jesus, we practice what is known as open communion. We believe these elements point us back to the story of Jesus — that he allowed his body to be broken, which is why we take the bread, and allowed his blood to be shed for the forgiveness of our sins, which is why we drink the cup. If you have put your faith in that story, we would love for you to participate with us. At any point during the song you may come and take the elements.

If you are not a follower of Jesus yet, I want you to know I am glad you are here — and honestly, I do not want your money. I want you to know Jesus.

So if you are not sure about this whole story, if the idea of God becoming human and dying on a cross in our place still sounds crazy to you, I would ask you to respectfully not take the elements. To take them is to say this story is my story — you are taking it into yourself. If you are not there, do not do it.

Instead, use the time during the song to pray. Ask God whether it is true. Is this astonishing story of God the Son taking on human flesh, living a perfect life, and dying in a sinner’s place actually true? And if it is, would you take this moment to give your life to him — because he gave his life for you?

Wherever you are on your spiritual journey, may this next song encourage you, give you hope, and remind you of God’s love, as we come to the table and remember the generous, willing sacrifice of Christ.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, help us to run to you — to run to you with everything, with complete abandon, because of who you are.

For those struggling to trust you — with a broken relationship, with their finances, with their job, with whatever situation they are in — let them run to you and see that you are trustworthy and reliable. Even when it seems in the short term that you are not there, let them see that throughout all of history you have been there for people, and that you will be there for them.

Thank you for the love you displayed through Jesus Christ, the one who so generously gave all of himself so that we could have all of you. Help us to keep giving all of ourselves to you — every single part.

Thank you for this morning and this chance to worship. Help us keep surrendering ourselves to you. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.