TAKE YOUR PLACE

Nehemiah 2:17 – “Then I said to them, ‘You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.’”

Nehemiah 2:18 – “And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me. So they said, ‘Let us rise up and build.’ Then they set their hands to this good work.”

Nehemiah 2:18b – “So they said, ‘Let us rise up and build.’ Then they set their hands to this good work.”

Nehemiah 6:15 – “So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in 52 days.”

Nehemiah 6:16 – “And it happened, when all of our enemies heard of it and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God.”

1. Choose to Build in Unity

Nehemiah 2:18b – “‘Let us rise up and build.’ Then they set their hands to this good work.”

God’s Direction + Spiritual Unity = Mighty Works of God

2 Chronicles 5:13b – “For He is good, for His mercy endures forever...”

2 Chronicles 5:14b – “For the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.”

Acts 2:1 – “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.”

Ephesians 4:3 – “Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

2. Take Your Place on the Wall

Nehemiah 3:5 – “Next to them the Tekoites made repairs; but their nobles did not put their shoulders to the work of the Lord.”

Every believer has a place in the Body of Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:12 – “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.”

Every believer is a minister of Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 4:11 – “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,”

Ephesians 4:12 – “For the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”

3. Receive Your Tool and Your Weapon

Nehemiah 4:17 – “Those who built the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon.”

“Every believer has a tool (spiritual gifts), and every believer has a weapon (weapons of our warfare).” – Frank Damazio

Every believer is spiritually gifted to fulfill God’s assignment on earth.

Romans 12:6 – “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith;”

Romans 12:7 – “Or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching,”

Romans 12:8 – “He who exhorts in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality, he who leads with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”

1 Corinthians 12:7 – “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.”

1 Corinthians 12:8 – “For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,”

1 Corinthians 12:9 – “To another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit,”

1 Corinthians 12:10 – “To another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.”

Discussion Questions:

1. Can you share a time in your life when life seemed hard and discouraging, perhaps impossible, and then God came through for you?

2. How did God come through for you? What were the spiritual dynamics at work?

3. Unity is a very powerful force. What are some of the enemies of unity that you have seen in your work, your home, and the Body of Christ?

4. What can we do to help our families and our church family walk in unity?

5. Have you found your place of ministry in the Body of Christ? If not, what do you think is hindering you?

6. What are some of the spiritual gifts God has given you, or ways you have seen God at work through your life?