Our scripture lesson is Nehemiah chapter 3 verses 11-12, then 16, then 20-21. Malkijah, the son of Harim and Heshub, the son of Pahathmoeb, repaired another section of the Tower of the Ovens. Next to him, Shalom, the son of Helotesh, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired he and his daughters. And then verse 16, after him, Nehemiah, the son of Azbuk, ruler of half the district of Beth Zer, repaired to a point opposite the tombs of David, as far as the artificial pool and as far as the house of the mighty men. And then in 20, after him, Baruch, the son of Zabai, repaired another section from the buttress to the door of the house of Elishib, the high priest. After him, Mirmath, the son of Uriah, son of Hekaz, repaired another section from the door of the house of Elishab to the end of the house of Elishab. Amen. Dear Saints, you may be seated. We are going to representatively encompass the balance of Chapter 3 today. Tonight, instead of reading all of the names and all of the details, we're going to choose some that represent the overall context of the work. As you'll recall, they started that in chapter 2, and now here in chapter 3, actually in chapter 3, we're moving along with it as it started earlier in chapter 3, verse 1. But before we go any further, let's pray. Father, we do thank you that you're a God that fixes things in perfection in Jesus Christ, and nothing surprises you. You do all things well. You're sovereign, you're good, and you're gracious, and you use everything. Rubbish, garbage, burned up things, things that look dead and impossible to work with. And you make a great and beautiful temple of your church in Jesus Christ, who is the chief cornerstone. Now bless us as we join in this glorious work. in this new decade as this beautiful church. In Jesus' name, Amen. It's deep in the DNA of human beings to desire to fix things. Even complete unbelievers have a desire to make things better. They see that things aren't the way they should be and even they try to rectify them. Religion on the whole, the religion of the world, the religion of works, the religion of natural man, is consumed with the concept of fixing things. But most of the time, that kind of religion only exacerbates the problem and makes it a whole lot worse. So instead of fixing things, they leave a bigger mess behind. But there is a true religion founded in faith in Jesus Christ and the community of those who possess and profess it. In other words, the faithful church are able to fix and change things at the root and bring about good and wonderful fruit for the glory of God and the good of people. But the temptation always remains for us to devolve down to the level of natural man, and we need to fight against that. And that is by thinking that messes are cleaned up through works, law, self, or willpower. But contrary to all that, let's make it our goal tonight, by the grace of God, to be effective in God's world as we follow Christ and His faith directives. With this in mind, we're going to look together at Nehemiah 3, 11 and 12, 16, and 20 and 21. Fixing things God's way, the doctrine. Fixing things God's way requires the church's diligent use of gospel principles. And this is what makes us both different and proficient in regard to this important endeavor. So, gospel principles which call for all the faithful to serve Christ's ends. We do not desire the help of those who are not faithful, who are not committed, whose word doesn't mean anything, but we do want the participation of all the true saints that really are, those who are committed and who are serious. Now this chapter 3 of Nehemiah is certainly a good example of the faith-filled church comprehensively tackling a big job that needed to get done, with almost no resistance from anyone within the covenant community, with that exception of chapter 3, verse 5, which we looked at. last Sunday, and even that may have got ironed out over time. But what was it that made the difference, and what was the unifying grace that held everyone together? Well, it was faith in Yahweh, the God who existed, the God of glory, the great I Am, the one who would send his son, Jesus Christ, whose gospel would fill the world and extend all the way down to us here today. The wall would never have been built on any other bases as was evidenced by the fact that the city had essentially been in tatters for about 150 years after the Persian kings had begun to send those people back there to start the work on the temple and then with Nehemiah's help, the wall. You know, it's a great privilege to be part of a faithful community of the church, and our unity in Jesus will manifest itself in faith ventures in which all the redeemed participate as they do here in Nehemiah 3. So I think you're going to find this a really exciting text with some really wonderful applications. So let's look at that in a moment, but fixing things God's way requires church's diligent use of gospel principles which call for All the faithful to serve Christ ends in a prioritized way, P-R-I-O-R-I-T-I-Z-E-D, which means an ordered way. The work on the wall and the work in church is not willy-nilly, a little here, a little there, somebody throwing this into the equation, somebody else bringing something else, and everybody kind of building their own thing, making a wall that doesn't look very good. The work in the church is to be done decently and in order, with very, very important priorities. The Lord Jesus Christ, his worship, his day. the means of grace, the glories of fellowship, this day, going forth from here, the things you hear so often. This holds us together and brings our rationality and sanity to bear for the glory of Christ so that we can be effective in the world in which we live. It was the work there and the work here and the work in every A healthy church is systematic, it's thorough, and it's well organized. There's no virtue in chaos and in people just doing what they want and throwing things around. That isn't a healthy environment at all. And the church has to set the example for that. Now, as we saw last Sunday, if you were here in the evening, all this started, this whole work started with Eliashib, the high priest. Remember that? Nehemiah's the governor. He's not a religious official, he's a civil official. Eliashib is the high priest who hears Nehemiah's encouragement, hey, let's build the wall. Everybody says, yeah, let's build the wall. And the first guy to pick up a hammer and a nail is the high priest. the biggest man in the community, excluding of course the Triune God and his personages. So he is in the temple environs and he follows a plan and pattern that kept everyone connected and that prevented breaches or holes. So in other words, The work starts with Eliashib, it moves in a counter-clockwise direction from the north, the city of the north, the place of the north where the temple was. Everything starts in the church and the temple, and it works around this way. And eventually, as you might know, Jerusalem kind of a shoe-shaped city at that time. All the wall gets all built, but it took a little bit of time. But a plan and a pattern. The life of faith in a healthy church and the believing community is seamless. In other words, nobody's left out there on their own, flapping in the breeze, doing their own thing. Everybody is brought together and is sewn together, woven together into this one great tapestry of glorious ministry and life of the church, like you are even tonight. Even when we cannot see each other because one person is working on this part of the city and this part of the wall. we are still connected to each other as we toil on the same project. Because after a while, that would have happened. You have so many people working on the wall, you couldn't all see each other. But they had real good organization. And so even when there would be a threat, and we'll read about it later, they had a way of alarming the people and everybody would come together at the right time at the right place. So, interesting too, dear saints, chapter three both opens and closes at the same place, the sheep gate. Now, do you remember last week we talked about the sheep gate, where the sheep, the lambs came in to the temple environs who would be the sacrifices, pointing to the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. So, verse 1 and verse 32, the last verse of the chapter, attest to this fact that everything always comes, starts at the church, and always ends there. Just like we have a week, a seven-day week, it starts in church the first day of the week, the new Sabbath, and the new world comes around, gloriously comes back to that day a week later. Now let's look at these really interesting verses, 11, 12, 16, 20, and 21, Nehemiah 3. Now observe together how the church may effectively fix things God's way. So as I said before, these are representative texts that do a nice job of reflecting the overall work detailed in this chapter, instead of going through every single detail, which I don't think is always necessary. It can be done, of course, but I don't think we're absolutely bound to do it. So let's look at how the church may effectively fix things God's way. Verses 11 and 12. By faith, involving the whole body. Melchizedek, the son of Haram, and Hashem, the son of Pahath Moab, repaired another section and the tower of the ovens. Next to him, Shalom, the son of Halohesh, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, Now I chose these two verses because of the interesting reference here to Shalom's daughters in verse 12. I just thought that was really important and very interesting. The young ladies in the community. who also worked on the wall. They pitched in with and alongside the men. And this text here in verse 12 does not imply that this is the only place on the wall that the women were working, not at all. In fact, it probably indicates that that's just one example of it. So here they are working alongside not only the priests, the merchants, the craftsmen, the farmers, the civil officials, and the regular citizens who did the work, but also wives and daughters, And mothers were involved in this work. And that's a beautiful picture because in the church, the women, of course, are elevated to the highest place. And they get that honor because they do such important work. None of this could happen in a church even like ours without them. Now the point is that they work together. Everyone in the parish is participating in one form or another in all the ministrations of the church. This includes men and women, boys and girls. Boys and girls, even little ones. Young people, mature people in the faith, and immature people. We all have differing roles, but we all possess but one God, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one church, even as per the reading earlier today before the annual meeting in Ephesians chapter four. So how the church may effectively fix things God's way. by faith involving the whole body, and then verse 16, by faith remembering our Lord's gracious covenant. Very interesting verse. After him, Nehemiah, the son of Asbuk, ruler of Hap, the district of Beth-Zur, repaired to a point opposite the tombs of David, as far as the artificial pool and as far as the house of the mighty men." So here I'm picking up on that wonderful phrase, interesting phrase, the tombs of David. And the tombs of David remind us of God's covenant of grace. David was the great king. He was the one through whom the seed would come, the ultimate king would come, Jesus. David, despite his flaws, was the covenant-keeping king, the one who did all God's will. who with regard to his religious life was flawless, a sinner, a repentant one, but always faithful to the church. David was the covenant-keeping king of glory. And this covenant of grace is first expressed to our fallen Adam, the first man who fell. And you know that in the garden, God slew an animal and clothed Adam and Eve with the covering that would point to the Lamb of God. Later, in successive degrees of self-revelation, God shows himself to Abraham, and then to Moses, and to the great David, whose name is mentioned here. And then finally and perfectly and fully in Jesus Christ, the ultimate son of David, the great king himself. So dears, think of it this way. You're there, you're in Jerusalem, You're part of this work gang, this crew of people all connected together. And some of them come along and find themselves at the tombs of David. And we can picture them pausing, perhaps, and reflecting on the greatness of God's work. in the men whose bodies occupied those tombs. Now not all the kings of Judah were noble like David, but they might think to themselves of the great ones like David and Hezekiah and Josiah who lived in Jerusalem. And they may have been spurred on in their labors, recognizing the greatness of David and Hezekiah and Josiah and those faithful kings, and the wonder of what God did through them in the city of Jerusalem and around the world because of their really glorious faithfulness. And so they're working on the wall and they recognize that they have this example of these wonderful leaders that preceded them. And they also understand in the Old Covenant that Jerusalem is still representing the church, God for the whole world. Now, that isn't true today, that Jerusalem is the church universal all over the world. It's just as true here as it would be in the Middle East or anywhere else. But in those days, still Jerusalem had the special place. So David, Hezekiah, Josiah, in those days God was honored, the church was respected, and the world was being positively impacted. But then because of sin and idolatry and forgetfulness and laziness and sloth and poor leadership, The city is destroyed, the Temple of Solomon is burned, torn down, and the people are taken into captivity in Babylon in 586 BC. And there's lots of disgrace and discouragement. But now, there's hope. Now, here's the man, Nehemiah, come back to Jerusalem and they're building this wall again. There's hope for the people to return to their homeland, to the temple, and to the city that would soon be secured. with the help of God to greatness again. So, dears, how is it that the church may effectively fix things God's way? Well, it's always by faith, but everyone who's faithful is involved in the work, everyone. Big, little, men, women, all of us. And then it's by faith, remembering God's gracious covenant, because if we forget it, what are we doing it for? As soon as we forget the covenant, why are we doing this? It doesn't make sense. As long as we remember the covenant, it all holds together. And then verses 20 and 21. by faith, valuing the Lord's, the Redeemer's atonement, valuing. After him, Baruch the son of Zabbi repaired another section from the buttress to the door of the house of Eliashib, the high priest. After him, Merimoth the son of Uriah, son of Hachaz, repaired another section from the door of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house of Eliashib. So there's The reason I chose these verses is Eliashib, as I mentioned earlier, was the high priest. So he had this very important position. He's the one also who set his hand to the work on the wall and set it into motion. Everyone followed his good example. So as the church's high priest in the old covenant system, Eliashib represented the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, who would come in just a few hundred years from their point of view. And we know that the work was done around Eliashib's house by Baruch in verse 20, and it's specifically mentioned. In fact, when I first preached this sermon, it was interesting because in those days I was using the New King James Version, and it said his house was carefully repaired. I went back, looked into the Hebrew and the texts of the ESV and others, and I didn't really see that. But I didn't want to miss this glory that the people focused on Eliashib's house because perhaps they could respect him so much and regard him so much because he represented Jesus, the one who would come, the Messiah, that labor was done on Eliashib's house in a special way and get special attention. After all, think about the high priest, what he did in the Old Covenant. He would enter the Holy of Holies one day a year on the Day of Atonement, only then to offer the blood of sacrifice there for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus, the ultimate high priest, has done this once and for all, forever, for us. His whole church, dying on the cross, rising from the dead, ascending into heaven, and presenting himself as the ultimate sacrifice. Hebrews 9, 24, and 26b read this way. For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. But now, once at the end of the ages, Christ has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." And so that's what he did. And he presented his blood for us and we are forgiven before a holy and perfect God. Let's do a little more application tonight and learn why fixing things God's way is so refreshing. You know, it's a really good feeling. You all know this. You do. It's a good feeling to stand back and behold a job well done. Whether that's an academic job or it's a construction job or a baking job or a cooking job. or a mothering job, or a taking care of a house job, or whatever it is, an artistic job. Doing a job and then being able to look back and take joy in a well done project. And whereas the world and false religion have never really made any progress in alleviating any of the root problems inherent in a fallen universe, they may have taken care of some of the symptoms, but none of the root problems, because all of those are attached to sin, let you, the faithful church, the only ones who can do it, observe together and see why fixing things God's way is so refreshing. First, because It glorifies our Savior. And that's why we want to do it. If God is glorified, then we're pleased. In other words, though we do receive satisfaction from the work the Holy Spirit achieves through us, that would not be the case at all if what we did didn't honor and glorify our blessed Lord Jesus Christ, the one we love. If it's just a matter of, oh, it looks good to me and doesn't have an ultimate purpose, we lose it. But if we do it for the glory of Jesus, we have it. Our true blessedness is 100% consistent with how much pleasure we bring our Father in heaven through our faith in Jesus Christ. And then we should ask this question, what then pleases God? Faith in Christ pleases God. For without faith it is impossible to please God. For he who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him." And that comes from Hebrews 11.6, which is on the heels of our New Testament reading tonight. So why fixing things God's way is so refreshing? Because it glorifies our Savior and it actually achieves great ends. You ever think about that? This is one of the glories of being a true Christian. That every single thing you do in faith, whether it's big deal, teaching a class, preaching a sermon, teaching a Sunday school, taking care of nursery, taking care of greeting people at the door, cleaning up after a fellowship meal, Every single thing you do has ultimate, infinite value. And it lasts forever. Think about this. Most people that you and I will see tomorrow and deal with waste their lives, their lives created, their beings created in the image of God, they waste them. They spend them on their lusts and sins. They squander everything God gave them, even natural gifts and common grace. Their existences essentially have no positive value whatsoever. And it doesn't matter how bright they are, how gifted they are, how excited they are about their idolatry, whatever it may be. Their lives essentially have no positive value. though they do possess negative worth in that they show us what not to do and not to be. But honorable and faithful Christian churchmen can rest in this great, simple, and glorious truth that your lives, no matter how humble in the eyes of the world, no matter how little the world would value what you are and what you do, your lives have infinite value in Jesus Christ. This is one of the glories of Christian living, dear saints. Why is all this? Because your lives adore and serve the one true God in his prescribed gospel manner, as the church, by faith in Christ. And your Sabbath and lifestyle worship, which starts here, but then throughout the next six days you're going to be worshiping God in the way you live out there, it pleases God. It's an acceptable sacrifice of praise as we act now as new covenant priests, because as you know, the priesthood of all believers. As the New Covenant Church, our offerings are not for sin, but they are offerings of praise to God and thanks. We lay a thank offering on that foundation, 1 Corinthians 3, of the person of Jesus Christ. Gold, silver, precious stones. And we build that glorious temple for the honor of Christ. Do we want to do great things and achieve real results? Then, let's be the church. Let's continue to be the church through this new year and this new decade. And let's continue to believe in the Son of God, His gospel and His blood atonement, His glorious resurrection, the glorious truths, and live in them on Sunday and throughout the week. Beloved, Fixing Things God's Way was the title of this sermon from these representative texts in Nehemiah 3 tonight. But really, before we could fix things God's way, God had to fix us. And He did that in and through Jesus Christ alone. And because we are fixed, we are not just fixed, we are totally new creatures, 2 Corinthians 5.17. And we act that way in the fullness of the Spirit, fixing things God's way. Let's pray together. Father, thank you that you do it in a glorious way. You do it with the whole church together, boys and girls, men and women. You do it with priests, and merchants, and craftsmen, and scholars, and academics, and business people, and students, and medical people, and housewives, and mothers, and fathers, and children, and babies, and children in utero. You fix things your way using your church, the head of the church, Jesus Christ working through us. We thank you that you do that and remind us why we're doing it, the covenant, and you show us your High Priest, Jesus Christ, the Lord, in whose holy name we give you praise. Amen.