Last Sunday, we learned that an Israelite captive in Persia named, Nehemiah, had God’s burden over the ruined temple in Jerusalem. When Nehemiah heard the broken walls and gates of God’s house there, he responded to that news by weeping and praying over the damaged place. There was a gap of about four months between chapters one and two. During that period, Nehemiah kept praying and preparing for the refurbishment project of God’s tabernacle. In our kid’s video, Nehemiah requested King Artaxerxes to do three things for him at God’s designated time. The first grant was the king’s permission for Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the fallen temple. The second item was the king’s provision for Nehemiah to have the necessary building materials for repairing the ministry. The third gift was the king’s protection over Nehemiah to do his God-given mission in Jerusalem safely. Nehemiah received all the essential contributions to restore God’s destructed dwelling place. In our main text for today, God presents us with three principles Nehemiah practiced in rebuilding the fallen walls in Jerusalem. This morning I want us to look at these guidelines and apply them to our spiritual recovery journey.

Firstly, Nehemiah found the facts about the destroyed temple by examining the walls and inspecting the gates in Jerusalem. After three days of rest, he explored the areas around the house of God. During that evaluation of the temple site, he recognized that many temple sections had fallen apart. At some point, he could not go through various spots due to the massive brokenness. As I stated before, any recovery project would not begin until we acknowledge to ourselves and others that there are ruined areas in our lives and the lives of our loved ones. I’ve heard the first step of many restoration programs starts with self-assessment of their harmful habits and honest acceptance of their challenging situations. I’ve also learned that the members of Alcoholics Anonymous [AA] publicly admit their addiction problem at AA meetings in the following clear statement: “I am an alcoholic.”

According to the Bible, our bodies are the holy temple of God (1 Corinthians 6:19). When we repent of our sins before Christ and put our faith in God, the Holy Spirit comes into our lives and dwell within us. That is why we can experience the Kingdom of Heaven in our faith journey when we have the right relationship with the Triune Lord. If we are distant from God, we may lose divine happiness in our spiritual race. If our sacred walls are damaged due to wrongdoings we may commit against the Lord, those ruined areas of our lives need to be rebuilt. To repair some damaged areas in our lives, we need to examine ourselves through the Word of God and name our spiritual bondages honestly. That is the initial principle of the recreation ministry. This type of consideration applies not only to individual people, but also to groups and organizations. One more time, we first need to humbly identify how much our family, church, community, and country have gotten away from the Lord we trust. What are the broken facts that we see there today?

Secondly, Nehemiah formed a godly fellowship after he finished the inspection of the damaged temple. He knew he could not do that repairing task on his own, so he called the people of Israel to work on it together as a team. Before asking them to join the recovery ministry, he shared what his God had put in his heart to do for Jerusalem. He also reminded them of what the temple of God would mean to them while pointing out the brokenness. In those days, the tabernacle was God’s dwelling place, and the temple was the center of the Israelites’ spiritual community. Nehemiah was not just repairing the walls and gates. He wanted to restore God’s holy name and His divine authority while recreating the temple materials. Furthermore, he wanted to help the people of Israel to recover their real identity as God’s chosen ones. Once they heard Nehemiah’s report, they wanted to participate in that good work for the sake of the Lord.

How often have you seen a single goose flying out and migrating to the south? I have rarely witnessed that independent migration. A group of 50 or 100 geese or even a larger gaggle always flies in a V-shaped formation. According to migratory bird experts, this kind of flight formation would help the geese fly further and faster than one goose could do by itself. When the lead goose flying in front of the group gets tired, the next goose moves up. The previous leader can be located at the end of the group formation and enjoy an easy flight.

In our New Testament for today, we can find the power of unity from the early church believers. Before we look at the text, I want to share some background of this scripture briefly. After Jesus was arrested and died on the cross, the disciples’ fellowship was broken. The Resurrected Christ appeared to them and asked them to rebuild the community that would begin in Jerusalem. On the day of Pentecost, while they were all together and praying in one place, perhaps, in the temple, they received Christ-promised strength. With the work of the Holy Spirit, about three thousand people were baptized through the Apostle Peter and other disciples. Later, all the believers devoted themselves to doing the following sacred fellowships, such as meditating on the Word of God, observing the Holy Communion, praying to the Lord and loving others based on Christ’s love. They continued gathering together in God’s temple and working on their God-inherited mission for His glory in unison. The outcome of that early church’s harmonized rescuing project was terrific. The number of people who recovered from their spiritual brokenness increased day after day with the help of the Lord.

In God’s math, five loaves plus two fish would be the resources to serve more than the five thousand people needed when Christ’s disciples collaborate God’s mission. When we are united in the collective spirit, we can courageously and confidently rebuild God’s temple as a Heavenly team. We can do more together than any one of us can do on our own.

Thirdly, Nehemiah fixed his eyes on what God had already done and what He was about to do for the people of Israel. In the following report of Nehemiah, he shared the gracious hand of his God upon him and what he was promised for the recovery project. Do we remember what Nehemiah received from the king of Persia? He had God’s permission, provision and protection. Nehemiah assured them that God was in control of every matter. Nehemiah fortified the faith of the people of Israel in the Mighty and Merciful God. What was their response to Nehemiah’s statement? Think about what they would have replied. They could have been hesitant to do any repair work since they had seen the temple’s damaged walls and gates for a long time. They could have said to Nehemiah that they had already tried that before, and it did not work. Instead, the people of Israel replied, “Let us start rebuilding,” and wanted to begin their God-blessed mission (Nehemiah 2:18).

Do you know how many businesses have been closed since the Covid-19 crisis? Many of them have temporarily or permanently terminated in the last unprecedented years. Due to Covid’s impact, we still hear and see troublesome stories worldwide. Religious institutions are not exempted from the influence of the global pandemic. I have already shared John Peter Smit’s report regarding this. JP is one of the leading educational staff in our Synod. According to him, in the first year of Covid-19, churches seemed to manage their ministries. However, many churches faced difficulties during the second year due to a 30 or 40 percent decrease in total revenues. Unfortunately, the numbers in many churches are low based on his survey of the congregational Sunday worship attendance after the Covid era. For instance, if there were 100 before the pandemic, there might be 50 now. Significant membership losses and a lack of financial resources may make us wonder how we could rebuild the damaged Kingdom of God in our church and community.

Please understand this. Like you, I believe that the Lord our Christ is among us; even two or three are gathered in the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Like you, I believe that the Creator God has everything and knows what His church needs for the restoring ministry in the coming days. The thing God wants us as Christ’s followers and Christ’s church to do is examine our faith in the Lord. We need to ask whether we fix our eyes on the Merciful God and fortify our belief in the Mighty God. We need to question whether we are assured of God’s gracious hand upon our church and us. Let us recall all God’s wonderful ministries that have been done in our areas through Knox, Glenarm and St. Andrew’s Fenelon Falls over the many years. As the meaning of Glenarm’s nickname or the former title called, “Hardscrabble” implies, we have been located in some challenging environments since the beginning of Glenarm Temple. Today, we are so grateful to the Lord for having helped us overcome many difficult situations. We are also very thankful to our spiritual forefathers, who have kept the faith and have handed it off to us. Now by the grace of God, we, as the former congregation, have been privileged to work with our loving brothers and sisters in Fenelon Falls for the sake of God. I fully believe that God will give us success since all of us in this newly amalgamated congregation want to do God’s good work continuously for this community by restoring God’s broken and damaged ministry. I am delighted that this church responds much like the people of Israel did in this scripture today. I am proud to serve the Lord with all of you who have big hearts toward God and His church and, once again, want to start rebuilding together the sacred walls and gates that He has put in your hearts.

Friends, with the great determination of Nehemiah, let us echo what he declared to the people of Israel: “The God of heaven is with us. He will give us success. We, his servants, will start rebuilding together” (Nehemiah 2:20). Amen!

*In this sermon, I have used some thoughts from the various messages based on the text: Nehemiah 2:11-20; Acts 2:42-47.