Are You Leaving a Gap?

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Israel's remnant had returned to Jerusalem, repaired its temple, and were offering the required sacrifices.  But they were a people who were living in fear of being overtaken by their enemies.  They had good reason to be so fearful.  While their temple had been rebuilt, their walls and gates had not.  Their protection lay in ruins, leaving them wide open and vulnerable for attack.  Then Nehemiah came on the scene and led the people in an organized plan to repair and strengthen their city walls and gates.  Finally Israel would be able to settle into a life without fear, anxiety and worry.  

In studying Nehemiah 3 this morning I learned from commentator David Guzik that the phrase "made repairs" was used 35 times in this 32 verse chapter about the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls.  While it seems highly likely in a chapter dedicated to the "who" and "where" of this work that this phrase would be used often, in a very repetitive sort of way, I was surprised to learn the Hebrew meaning of "made repairs" was to strengthen, make strong, and encourage.  Guzik spoke of the correlation between this chapter and Eph. 4: 11-13 which states:

 "And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ."

In his commentary Guzik spoke of the purpose of the church as being like the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem because this "equipping and building up," which has almost the exact same definition:  to prepare, to strengthen, to make usable!

While I was relishing this great insight, the Spirit began to bring another thought to mind.  I could clearly understand the comparison to the church.  It is a place where we can be taught what we need to know to be equipped to take the gospel to the world, but also to grow up in maturity in Christ, in our faith, knowledge, and fullness until we become mature.  Church is a place where we feel protected and safe so that we can be built up from the inside out.  The walls of the church cannot be found to be in disrepair, or the enemy will have opportunity to come inside and destroy what God is building.  Now enter the voice of the Spirit in my heart.

Part of what caused the breaches in the walls (the church) are those who are not taking care of their own individual hearts.  You see, in the rebuilding of the city walls under Nehemiah's leadership, many groups were helping in various spots along the wall.  But sometimes the Word lists individuals who where repairing the wall directly in front of their own home!  Do you see where I am going?  The breaches in the walls of the church are sometimes caused by believers who are not joining in the effort of rebuilding their own part of the wall, their own hearts.  When  God's people become complacent in their walk with Him, not only is their life affected, but the entire body of believers is!  How we walk individually greatly impacts the safety and security of the entire church!

As I was considering this truth and what my part was in a broken church wall, the Spirit spoke a second thought to me.  When we choose to practice an "I'll go to church when I feel like it" mentality, forsaking the gathering together, we also are leaving a part of the wall unattended and in ruin.  If we are not present, the part we bring to the body of Christ is also absent, leaving a gaping hole for the enemy to enter through!  Hebrews 10: 22-25 are not just uplifting words!  Read them:

". . .let us draw near with a sincere heart . . . let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering . . . let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together . . . but encouraging one another . . ."

These verses are a call to personal, direct contact with and commitment to the body of Christ.  It is difficult to "stimulate others to love and good deeds" if you are "forsaking you own assembling together"!

Are you leaving a gap in your local church body?  The answer is yes if you are attending church complacently, with no real desire to grow or to change.  The answer is yes if you are attending church only when you "feel" like it.  The gap you leave is an open door to the enemy of our faith!  It's time to close all the entrances we have given to the enemy!

Garbage Removal

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Several huge battles had been won. Israel was conquering their new homeland. But the time had come for the land to be divided between the 12 tribes. Each parcel of land still had small cities and towns that would have to be destroyed. The individual tribes would be on their own now to fully possess their property. Have all of your gods been destroyed? Does our God fully own your heart? What are you holding back?

Every working day all over the United States, streets are lined with garbage cans filled with our trash.  Junk yards are filled with cars that have been disposed of.  Sinks are built with garbage disposals.  They all serve one purpose:  to rid our lives of the stench and clutter that garbage brings to our lives.  Leaving this trash just laying around our homes is unthinkable.  We seem to have no problem with the routine of removing junk in our lives, and if we miss putting our trash cans out to the street on the right day, we might be caught accomplishing the task in our pajamas the very moment we hear the garbage truck in our neighborhood! I know, because it has happened to me.  Trash is not something we want to live in or with.  We want it removed; it makes life much more pleasant.

Let's relate that now to the story of the Israelites who were entering in to conquer the long-Promised Land.  Many kings in Canaan had been killed and the cities and peoples destroyed as God had commanded them.  But there was still a lot of work to do.  God had a plan for that as well.  As the Promised Land was "sub-divided" each tribe was charged to go into their piece of the land and remove every person.  (These people were worshipers of false gods, and would have had a negative effect on Israel's purity and separation unto their God.)  When they removed the people, they were removing the false gods, idols, and pagan practices which God abhors.  Some of the tribes were obedient to remove all that offended God; but others were lazy.  They did not remove the people and the gods, and there would be a great price to pay, down the road a bit, for their disobedience to God's command.  

You can leave this information in your mind now, thinking on it as a great history lesson.  That is what most would be prone to do.  However, there is great truth to be gleaned from the lives of God's chosen.  We must always introspect after we have learned a principle from the Word.  So, here are just a few questions to ask yourself.  I will be asking myself as well.

What gods (idols, sins, attitudes) have you already destroyed in your life?

What gods still remain, alive and well, operating in you as "your flesh"?

What prevents you from destroying them?

With the stench of sin and the clutter of your "garbage" in your life, what kind of an example of Christ to the lost world are you?

What do you think God thinks of your "junk"?

Are you willing to continue in your disobedience, allowing your "trash" to accumulate in your life?

Looking down the road, what are a few logical consequences if you continue walking in your flesh?

What is your spiritual application today as you consider your "garbage"?

How much more uncluttered would your life be if you surrendered your "trash" to God, and removed it from your life?