Title: Peripheral Jerusalem/Nehemiah 11:1-2
Contents Peripheral Jerusalem/Nehemiah 11:1-2
Today's sermon is a sermon I gave to you several years ago. As I was thinking about today's sermon, I thought that I had to repeat this sermon I had preached before. Because you and I have heard this sermon, but we have not yet put this sermon into life, and we feel it is necessary to put this sermon into our lives now.
I hope that this sermon you hear today will be deeply engraved in your heart, and I hope that many people will respond to this sermon. Nehemiah was a very high chieftain over the king's wine during the reign of King Artaxerxes. However, he hears from the palace that the Temple of Jerusalem has been destroyed. And it hurts terribly. In the end, despite the king's reluctance, he abandons the precious opportunity and place and returns to Jerusalem to rebuild the destroyed temple. Although there were many difficulties, he did not give in and he carried out his precious mission well to the end. As a result, he received the wonderful blessing recorded in the Bible as a man who rebuilt God's temple.
At that time, if the chief of the king's wine was the position where he had the authority to drop flying birds, but if Nehemiah was obsessed with it and did not carry out the work of rebuilding the temple and was only guarding his seat, we would have no idea who he was now. I would have ended my life as that kind of person I didn't know. To the people of his day, Nehemiah may have seemed foolish, but Nehemiah was not as foolish as they thought. We must know that there is a huge difference between Nehemiah, the chief cupbearer, and Nehemiah, the man who abandoned everything and rebuilt the temple of God despite many difficulties and dangers, as great as heaven and earth. Many are ending their lives as cupbearer Nehemiah. It is the same with us now. Although he can build God's temple well by taking advantage of the precious opportunities God has given him, he is not willing to jump into it. I wish there were more people like Nehemiah among us.
I hope there will be more wise and brave people who do not miss out on such precious shares and opportunities. The cupbearer who is drunk in the church is of no use. People boast of their status and wealth, and are secretly envious of them, but this is not the life God expects and desires. As you and I listen to this sermon today, you should be able to decide whether to live as the cupbearer or as Nehemiah, who risked his life for the temple of God. When Nehemiah rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem, the place where the temple was located was on the outskirts of which the enemy still lurked. Therefore, there were not many people who wanted to live in Jerusalem, where the temple of God is. However, it was difficult to keep the castle without people living there, so someone had to live there. So, according to the Bible, three types of people at that time started living in the outskirts of Jerusalem.
The first was the head of the people, the second was the volunteers, and the third was the people by lot. Since not many people wanted to go to Jerusalem, a tenth of the people were forcibly moved to Jerusalem by lot. From these historical facts, we can learn several important lessons: First, the fact that Jerusalem, the city of God, is always a frontier in the beginning. In the eyes of people, Jerusalem, in which God is pleased, was no different from the outskirts. Therefore, Jerusalem, the land of blessing, is often rather quiet. Jesus also said that the gate that leads to life is narrow and strait, and few find it. Therefore, those who are looking for Jerusalem, the land of blessing, must first find the outskirts that are not popular and unattractive. We must know that Jerusalem is most likely not the world's favorite and crowded place.
Second, the fact that Jerusalem is always the center later. Jerusalem was initially a frontier, but later became a center. Rather, people who say they are in the center have come to live on the outskirts. Since Jerusalem, which used to be a frontier, became the center, the place that was the center at that time had no choice but to become a frontier. It must not be forgotten that Jerusalem is always a frontier at first, but always a center later. One of my favorite verses is Psalm 122:6. ?쏛ll who love Jerusalem will prosper.??I believe in that saying. When Jerusalem was still on the outskirts, people who loved Jerusalem, like Nehemiah, as the head of the people, and as voluntary people, all prospered. And although it was forced, those who obeyed and lived in the outskirts of Jerusalem eventually prospered. However, the lives of all the people who played tricks and tricks and lived in the center at that time ended up being on the margins.
However, there are very few church leaders in the true sense of the word. There are more middle-class lay-workers than heavy-weight lay leaders, and there are more heavy-duty lay leaders who value their positions and try to make them heavier than those who try to take on heavy positions. Do your best to become the head of the Dongan Church alumni. And try to go to the outskirts!. Fourth, God wants us to protect His city, Jerusalem. The city of Jerusalem cannot be defended by the headmasters alone. Only volunteer people can protect the city of Jerusalem. It is the same with our church. God is able to keep your city at will. But God does not like to keep your city on your own. God likes to keep our city and life, but He doesn't like to keep His own city. God wants us to protect His city. But we do not have the power to keep the city of God.
Nevertheless, God wants us to protect His city. What God wants is the heart, not the ability. Even if we do not have the strength and power, if we dedicate ourselves to protecting the city of God with the heart of loving God, God will give him blessings and gifts with the ability to defend Jerusalem. The leaders of the people who tried to protect the city of Jerusalem with a sense of responsibility and the people who were willing to protect the city were all blessed. And although they were forced to overcome, those who obeyed and lived in the city of Jerusalem were also blessed. I have been blessed with the frontier as the center. Last week I preached on Eliezer. He was not interested in inheritance. He was only interested in his master's work. Our young church needs people like Eli Ezer.
Our Dongan Church is still a church like the outskirts. It is a church that has a lot of work left to do in order to be presented to God as a perfect church. To put it simply in human terms, it can only be reduced to a complete church if more than 2 billion won is invested. God could have done it all, but He left it for us. God doesn't like to have this done on your own. God wants someone to bear this burden on you. But it is heavy work. It's burdensome. So, someone is not willing to step up and take on the task. Until this work is completed, the Dongan Church can be said to be a church like the outskirts. But soon, for the time being, the church will solve all the problems and stand at the center of all churches.
At that time, those who devoted themselves to our little church, like Nehemiah for God, like the leaders of the people, and like the people who willingly endured the difficult and dangerous burden, will be able to stand at the center of the church. is. Not only God, but we also need to help and support those who stood on the margins of the church at that time to stand at the center and do their work. Of course, they will give all glory to God and try to stand on the margins with faith in their hearts, but God will push such people to stand at the center of the church. We have to be on the lookout for people who pretend to be ignorant when the church is on the outskirts and who try to stand in the center when the church is standing in the center. Surely there will be people like him, and we will have to stop it completely. Because if such people stand at the center of the church, the church will be reduced to a really powerless and powerless church. I preach like this too, but living in the outskirts of Jerusalem is not easy.
It seems that our Dongan Church is going through difficult and difficult times right now, but those times will not be very short. Opportunities are when Jerusalem is on the outskirts. This is a great opportunity. A person who misses such times and opportunities is truly a fool. I and all of you who are blessed at the center of the church and the kingdom of God by taking the lead and bearing the burdens of our old church just like Nehemiah, the leader of the people, and like the people who went to the outskirts with a willing heart. I hope you can be all right.