Nehemiah 3: God Takes Note of Your Commitment

Introduction

"It's a privilege to have a dream from God, but it's another thing to commit to it." That is how David Pothier, pastor of la Chapelle, opens this message from his series on the book of Nehemiah. After prayer in chapter 1, the theme of chapter 3 is commitment.

The context is a church celebrating its tenth anniversary that has just purchased a building in Montreal. Ten years ago, the pastor recalls, la Chapelle had no chairs, no money and no room. It had one thing: "a small army of people committed to God's dream." He believes God is once again awakening the spirit of many people for the next step.

Nehemiah 3 is a long list of names, the kind of chapter you skip in a reading plan. David Pothier refuses to skip it. He finds in it four truths about commitment, and then the ultimate reason you can commit: God has already committed himself to you.

Message outline

1. Nehemiah 3, a chapter you don't skip

• In 587 BC, the Babylonians destroy Jerusalem, its temple and its walls, and deport the survivors to Babylon.
• Seventy years later, Cyrus, king of Persia, allows the Hebrews to return and rebuild. After about twenty years of rebuilding the temple, the people grow spiritually cold.
• When the book of Nehemiah begins, in 445 BC, the walls have been in ruins for about 150 years. Nehemiah and his team are going to accomplish in 52 days what no one had managed until then.
• Chapter 3 is a list of names that are hard to pronounce. The pastor points to 2 Timothy 3:16: all Scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. If God put this chapter in the Bible, there are pearls to look for in it.

2. God takes note of those who commit

• There are 38 names in this chapter. They don't excite us very much. But imagine that it was your name in the Bible.
• "Even if no one sees what you do, God sees it. Even if no one cares about what you do, God cares. Even if no one remembers the good things you have done, God remembers."
• Disengagement has become the norm: people quit by text message, drop their studies, stop visiting their elderly parents. In marriage too: "Love won't be enough, it will take commitment."
• The same is true of the church, where coming once a month is becoming the norm. The pastor calls us to commit to the house of God, "in good weather and bad."
• God takes notes when you stay honest at work, when you are generous with modest means, when you hold on in your marriage, when you raise your children alone and bring them to church despite the exhaustion.
• He also takes notes about those who serve in the shadows, like that woman in the church who can only come once a year because she cares for her sick mother around the clock. Your labor in the Lord is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).
• Paul says of his fellow workers that their names are in the book of life (Philippians 4:3). We are not saved by works but by grace, and this grace saves us for good works.

3. God takes note of those who commit in unity

• In the text, the expression "next to" appears nine times and "behind him" twelve times. The people were not only committed, they were committed together.
• Psalm 133 says it: how good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity, for there the Lord commands the blessing.
• There is multiplication in unity: one puts a thousand to flight, and two put ten thousand to flight (Deuteronomy 32:30).
• Not once is it written "in front of him." Leadership is clear in the book of Nehemiah, but no one tries to put themselves in front or to work for themselves.
• Goldsmiths, perfumers, merchants, priests, Levites, temple servants and even the high priest: all of them take up stones. No one can say "not me."

4. God takes note of those who commit with their family

• The sons of Hassenaah build the Fish Gate (verse 3). Shallum works on the repairs with his daughters (verse 12).
• The pastor speaks to parents and grandparents: it is our responsibility to bring our descendants "to the wall." At five years old, a child doesn't decide whether to come to church. At fifteen, it comes down more to influence.
• You can give your children everything they need and forget what they need most: praying with them, serving with them, praising the Lord with them.
• "If you run, they will walk. If you walk, they will sit down. If you sit down, they will lie down. And if you lie down, they will die."
• God also takes note of those who do not commit: in verse 5, the nobles of the Tekoites refuse to put their shoulders to the work of their Lord. At 46, David Pothier confides that his greatest challenge is the temptation of spiritual drowsiness, the temptation to say "I've given, I'm tired."
• If your children are far from the Lord, you can bring them with you in your heart and carry them in prayer. God hears every prayer.

5. God takes note of the attitude of the heart

• In verse 20, Baruch, son of Zabbai, repairs another section "zealously." Everyone is committed, but God wanted us to know, thousands of years later, that this man worked zealously.
• God doesn't only look at whether we commit, he looks at our motives. It isn't only about coming to church, serving or giving: it is about the state of the heart in which we do it. God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7).
• The chapter begins (verse 1) and ends (verse 32) with the Sheep Gate, where the priests brought the sacrifices. The message is clear for the first readers: the project is not about a wall, it is about the worship offered to the Lord.
• During the building project, spiritual depth takes root. After the project, a revival takes place. This is the pastor's prayer for his church.

6. A project of living stones

• The campaign "Let's dream big, let's build now" carries five projects: the purchase and renovation of a building in Montreal, the planting of a new chapel in that building, a space open seven days a week in Gatineau, premises for J'aime ma ville, and premises for an internship program designed to train leaders and pastors.
• "This project is not about the building. Buildings are tools that God gives us to better fulfill our mission": to form disciples who form others.
• The pastor sees God's favor in this project: something that seemed dead and buried came back to life, the price dropped, the cleanup of the land was paid for and the mortgage was granted at 0% interest for five years.
• Stéphane, the project manager, arrived at la Chapelle in 2018, broken, invited by someone who had handed him a flyer for an Easter service. He heard the message of Jesus, his life was transformed and he was set free from his addictions. "This is about living stones."
• In 2018, after a conference in Switzerland, a person handed the pastor a 50 Swiss franc bill and said, "I believe the Lord is going to give you a building." He framed it and put it on his desk. For years he prayed in front of that bill, sometimes alone, his wife being the only one who believed in it with him. "Today, God is doing it. God is faithful."

7. The ultimate reason: God has already committed himself to you

• Nehemiah's commitment points to a greater Nehemiah: the Lord Jesus Christ, the most persevering in accomplishing God's dreams.
• Jesus went all the way to the cross. All of hell wanted to make him let go. The passers-by shouted at him: "If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!" It is the voice we still hear: break your commitment.
• He did not come down. If he had come down from the cross, we would be neither forgiven nor saved, we would have no access to the Holy Spirit and no hope of eternal life.
• Our commitment is a response: "You stayed committed to me, I will stay committed to you."
• It isn't only a question of money: "You are the gift." In this gift there is your wallet, your calendar, your heart, your eyes, your ears, your tongue, your hands and your feet.

Key takeaways

• God takes note of those who commit, even when no one else sees or remembers.
• Commitment is lived "next to" and "behind," never to put yourself in front. Unity attracts God's blessing.
• Your descendants will not be more committed than you. Your influence, your prayers and your example matter more than ever.
• God looks at the state of the heart: he notices the one who works zealously and he loves the one who gives cheerfully.
• We commit because Jesus stayed on the cross. He went all the way in his commitment to us.

Personal application

1. In which area of your life has disengagement set in: your marriage, your family, your work, your church?
2. Are you trying to be "in front," or are you willing to serve next to others and behind them?
3. How can you bring your children, your grandchildren or your loved ones "to the wall," by serving with them or carrying them in prayer?
4. In what state of heart are you serving and giving right now: out of habit, out of weariness, or zealously and joyfully?
5. What does "you are the gift" concretely mean for you this week: your calendar, your hands, your wallet?

Verses cited

• Nehemiah 3
• 2 Timothy 3:16
• Psalm 133
• Deuteronomy 32:30
• Philippians 4:3
• 1 Corinthians 15:58
• 2 Corinthians 9:7
• Matthew 27:39-40

Frequently asked questions

Why read Nehemiah 3 when it is a list of names?

David Pothier admits that we tend to skip this chapter. Yet he points to 2 Timothy 3:16: all Scripture is inspired by God and useful. If God placed these 38 names in the Bible, it is because they carry a message: when someone commits to him, God takes notes.

What does "God takes note of those who commit" mean?

Even if no one sees what you do, God sees it. Even if no one remembers it, God remembers. The preacher explains that we are not saved by works but by grace, and that this grace saves us for good works that God does not forget.

Why is the Sheep Gate important in Nehemiah 3?

The chapter begins and ends with the Sheep Gate, the place where the priests brought the sacrifices offered to the Lord. For David Pothier, Nehemiah is making us understand that the project is not about a wall: it is about restoring the worship of God.