Nehemiah, a Hebrew, was cupbearer to Artaxerxes 1, King of Persia. This was an incredibly high-trust position reserved only for those the King could trust with his life, since whatever the king put to his lips went before the cupbearer first. This was a position of honor and intimacy.
One day, Nehemiah heard from fellow Hebrews that Jerusalem's wall was in shambles, and it broke his heart. Why?
Jerusalem's Temple had been restored about 15 years earlier, which enabled these people of God to resume their centuries-old way of connecting people to God, which transformed lives, gave people direction and hope, and ultimately served to bless the world. If the wall surrounding the city was broken, however, it meant that these people of God were not likely able to carry out the ministry, because they were too busy defending themselves from enemy attack, or rebuilding their homes from constant ransacking and theft.
If the wall was down, it meant the Hebrew people could not carry out their ministry effectively, which meant a whole lot of "bad" for a whole bunch of people.
Nehemiah was so distraught that it caught the attention of the king, who asked him what was wrong.
Nehemiah took a major risk in explaining his sorrow over Jerusalem (was under the king's rule). He really had to trust that what he was going to share and eventually ask for was a God-thing. No doubt, he was inspired by the memory of Esther, who a number of years before was in the very same place trusting God with her life as she stopped genocide from commencing.
The king empathized with Nehemiah and asked what he could do to help. Nehemiah took a deep, prayerful breath and asked the king for the moon - money, resources, letters of authority, and protection. The king agreed! Nehemiah set out to restore the wall, which was really about restoring the ministry the Hebrew people felt called to provide for Jerusalem and ultimately the world. He was making sure the legacy of the Hebrew people's approach to connecting to God was going to continue.
CrossWalk has a 151 year legacy behind her of changing lives. Literally thousands of people have been reconnected to God through our ministries over the years, and thousands upon thousands more through the people who have called our church home. More and more people are falling in love with this place every year.
In order to make sure our ministry legacy moves forward in strength, we have Nehemiah moment before us. We have repairs that must be made to certain parts of our campus to maintain safety and provide for future use. Parts of our facility are also seriously out of date, and in our culture act as a repellent to potential visitors who assume our ministry and message is as out of season as our facade. We have an in-house mission that needs to be expanded, and a larger mission that needs to be more fully funded. And we need to reduce our debt so that funds can go to ministry instead of interest.
I am asking you to ask God, what do you want me to do?
Over the next few weeks, we will be walking with Nehemiah as we ourselves walk toward our own restoration project. I pray that you will be open to God's voice and presence as you listen and look for God's guidance. We love this place. Let's love this space.
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