Rise Up

It has been a month of Sundays since I stepped foot into the sanctuary of St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church. (That’s just a really country way to say that it has been a loonng time!)  Actually, it has been more like seven months.  Sunday was the kickoff rally for our life groups, so I moseyed on out of the house to participate in in-person worship as well.  By now you know that every sermon is for me, and Sunday’s sermon was no exception.  We started our journey into the book of Nehemiah.

Nehemiah 1:1-11 records Nehemiah’s reaction to distressing news.  He asks about the Jews who have survived captivity.  He wants to hear how they are faring in Jerusalem.  The report is not favorable.  Instead of living lives of hope and peace, they are walking among the ruins of the walls of Jerusalem.  Back in those days, city walls were essential to the health and vitality of a city.  Strong walls were a visible indication of a strong city that was protected on every side.  And poor Jerusalem seemed to have no defense.

What a horrible picture.  God’s holy people were living lives that are far beneath the standards that God had set for them.  Unfortunately, this trend did not just exist in the Old Testament.  The same thing can be said of the church today.  I can get complacent and settle for good enough and miss out on what God has promised me.  He did not die for “good enough.”  He died so that I could have life and life more abundantly.  For many people that phrase stirs up images of material things.  A better car.  A bigger house.  A new bag.  For me, it stirs up images of more peace, more joy, and a sense of purpose.

Nehemiah did not take the news lying down.  The report caused him to rise up.  Now, Nehemiah was not a prophet or priest.  He did not have to be.  He saw a need for change and an opportunity to become involved in God’s work.  He began to fast and pray.  He had open dialogue with God, because He knew that God was the one that could transform the situation.  Prayer changes things, and Nehemiah activated the change agent.

The world is in such disarray right now.  We are the remnant that is walking around while the holy city lies in ruins.  What are we going to do?  Does the sight of the destruction move us to rise up, or do we kick the debris around as we go about our days?  We do not have to be priests or prophets to do the work that God has commissioned us to do.  The time has come for us to rise up.  We need to equip and empower the lost AND the saved…no man left behind in the ruins.  #wepreach #riseup