Harbor Church - Mid City

Building a Great City—Through Hospitality & Authenticity

Neh. 5: 14-19 Mid-City Sept. 19^th 2010

 Watch Stephen as he gives the Sermon as Video -->  http://vimeo.com/15317912

We’re in a series where each week we’re looking at different components that are required to build a great city, because, from our inception, that has been one of our core convictions, that Harbor is to love our neighbors and Jesus in such a way that the bi-national city of San Diego & Tijuana becomes great in every way. And what we’re doing is that each week we’re looking at different things Nehemiah did to make Jerusalem into a great city. This week we’re going to focus on how authenticity and hospitality contribute to making a great city.

For those of you that haven’t been with us, let me recap the story of Nehemiah with you so that you are updated for today. 587 BC the Babylonians wipe out Jerusalem and it lays in ruins for 141 years. There are a number of rebuilding attempts that all fail. Nehemiah, who is a wine-taster for the King, is called by God to rebuild the city, and the King, in a remarkable act of the gracious hand of God, decides let him go, appoints him as governor and pays for the whole rebuilding effort. Nehemiah rallies the people, they commit, Sanballat and Tobiah from the WWF come flying in off the top ropes to oppose them in ch. 4, then Nehemiah has internal problems in ch. 5 where his people are acting unjustly and he perseveres and rallies the people to be ones who seek justice and right the wrongs that they were causing of enslaving the poor through exorbitant interest and sexual exploitation. Nehemiah repents, confesses that he himself was charging interest, leads the people in repenting and righting the wrongs that they caused, giving back land and money and interest, freeing the sex slaves, and now here we are at the end of ch. 5. Since we’re reading a narrative, we’re simply going to follow the story line and I’ll draw it out and into our world.

“Moreover, from the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, until his thirty-second year—twelve years—neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor.” So this is from 445 BC-433BC during Nehemiah’s first 12 year term as governor. We see in chapter 13 that he was recalled by the King after 12 years, then he came back to Jerusalem for a second term. And what he says here is that during this term in office he acted differently than his predecessors. He didn’t eat the food allotted to the governor. Now what is he talking about?

Here is what he is saying. The governor had a big expense account, and it was perfectly within his legal power to expense his meals. It wasn’t just allowable, but expected. Nehemiah says, “Aha, not doing it. We’re in a recession, and in order to pay for these meals, a tax must be levied on the people. I have the means to pay for my own food and that of my family, so I will do it b/c this will ease the burden on my people.”

Then he goes a step further. Look at v15, “But the earlier governors—those preceding me—placed a heavy burden on the people and took forty shekels of silver form them in addition to food and wine.” So not only is Nehemiah not expensing his meals, but he isn’t taking a salary. The tax of forty shekels was used to make the former governors rich. Nehemiah said, “No sir. This is a way to make the people’s lives better. I can afford to not take a salary. God has blessed me, and I want to bless them.

Think with me about what that does for the credibility of a leader. Nehemiah is saying, “I am not in this for the money. I have nothing to gain financially here. No ulterior motives. I am paying my own way.”

Not in it for Power: Then he points out that he isn’t on a power trip either. V15, “Their assistants also lorded it over the people. But out of reverence for God I did not act like that.” V16 “Instead, I devoted myself to the work on this wall. All my men were assembled there for the work; we did not acquire any land.” This is a developer’s dream. You move in to an economically depressed community. Land can be bought for pennies on the dollar. You, as a man of means, have the resources and influence to buy up the land, surround the city with the infra-structure it needs to flourish, put in walls, roads, a church, a government, get the city back up and running and then real estate prices will soar. Perfectly legal for Nehemiah to do this. Nehemiah says, “No sir, not gonna do it.”

And Nehemiah tells you his rationale for doing this in v15. “Out of reverence for God, I did not act like that.” Out of reverence for God. I am a child of God, and as a child of God I should act differently. I am not just thinking about what will best serve me, but I am thinking about what will give God the most glory, what will best serve the city.

The New Testament puts it this way. I Tim. 3:1, “Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer,^[a^] he desires a noble task. 2Now the overseer must be above reproach.” Nehemiah is functioning here as an overseer. He is building a city, planting a church. And he takes that very seriously—he says, “I want to be above reproach.” Above reproach means that an individual is so above board in they way they act that it would be absolutely ludicrous for anyone to bring a charge because the evidence is so obvious to everyone.

I Pet. 2:12 puts what Nehemiah is doing in slightly different terms. It says, “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” Even if the Non-Israelites accuse you, they will know how baseless their claim is, and that, in the end, see the way you are living and because of it they say, “Tell me about this God that you serve. I am curious.”

This kind of spiritual authenticity is what builds a great city. What if we, like Nehemiah, said, “Out of reverence for God, I don’t act like others in this city who are using the city and people for their own gain. Out of reverence for God, I can’t make my friendships based on who will help me succeed. Out of reverence for God, I can’t just hang around other white people, other straight people if I am straight, other gay people if I am gay, other democrats, other well-educated people. Out of reverence for God, I won’t let my kids play in soccer games on Sunday morning because going there is nothing more important to us as a family than worshipping Jesus. Out of reverence for God, I won’t take the extra shift, even though it pays time and a half and even though I might get fired, because I am going to take one day off in seven and worship Jesus.

Those of you who are not Christians. You ask me all the time, “What difference will this make in my life if I become a Christian?” Often that question is asked because you see very little difference in the lives of the Christians you know. Not so in the life of Nehemiah. He says, “Out of reverence for God (i.e. b/c I am a Christian), I can’t do this.

Michael Green told me a story about a friend of his who is a businessman, much like Nehemiah. He also was in the early days of a startup business, and, as you know, startups are inherently fragile. His largest client came in and asked him to do something that was unethical but also was a fairly accepted practice in the industry. He gulped hard because he knew that his business would have to shut down if this client walked away and he said, “I am sorry. I am a Christian, and I can’t do that.” His client fired back about how he could get 3 other competitors to do that and he needed to lighten up, but at the end of the day he didn’t lose his business. Several years later this came back to him and said, “Would you tell me about Christianity? You are different. Everyone else I interact with in the marketplace will do whatever they have to do or are asked to do if it will help them out in any way. Not you.” So tell me about Christianity.” This is Nehemiah—out of reverence for God, I acted differently.

Or let me put it in slightly different terms. Jazz Great Charlie Parker put it this way. ”If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn.” If you don’t live it, it won’t come out of your horn. Nehemiah says, “I am trying to plant a church and build a great city so that God let’s of glory. That is what I want to come out my horn—and if so, then my actions better be reflective of God. God’s purposes, God’s glory, God’s will, God’s word, God’s greatness—this is what I want coming out of my horn, so the decisions I make in life should reflect this.

Litmus Test: have people into your home. Hospitality. Hospitality is really the true test of authenticity—of what is in your horn. Is pastor boy really living out what he talks about up here. That is why none of you will ever step foot in my home. And my wife is off limits—no one is ever allowed to ask her any questions.

Not Nehemiah. He was an open book. Check out v17, “Furthermore, a hundred and fifty Jews and officials ate at my table, as well as those who came to us from the surrounding nations. V18 Each day one ox, six choice sheep and some poultry were prepared for me, and every ten days an abundant supply of wine and all kinds. In spite of all this, I never demanded the food allotted to the governor, because the demands were heavy on these people.”

And the parties that Nehemiah threw are actually very descriptive of Nehemiah. First, in v17, we see he wasn’t you’re typical evangelical, because he has those who aren’t Christians from the surrounding nations every night. He isn’t a holy huddle guy. Second, in v18, we see that Nehemiah wasn’t a vegan b/c he kills an ox, 6 sheep, and some chicken every night. Nothing against vegans—just wasn’t Nehemiah. Third, Nehemiah wasn’t Baptist, because there was as v18 says “an abundant supply of wine.” The obvious conclusion—Nehemiah was Presbyterian.

But here is the other thing these parties tell us. Nehemiah wasn’t poor. Dude was loaded and he had a sick house. Nehemiah has a dinner party, in his house, for 150 people and they all sat at his dinner table. I don’t know about your dinner table, but we’re stretching to get 6 around ours. 150 people aren’t fitting into my house, much less my dinner table. Think about it--he doesn’t draw an income for 12 years and he is still able to throw dinner parties for 150 people every night.

What does this mean for us. The size of your house that is on loan to you from Jesus isn’t the issue. The size of your bank account that is on loan to you from Jesus isn’t the issue. Here is the issue—how are you using what is on loan to you? Nehemiah says, “God has given me this massive house, and out of reverence for him, I am going to use it for his glory. I want people constantly in my home—Christians and non-Christians alike. And I am footing the bill. He has given me the resources to do so, and I want them to experience the grace of God through my hospitality. My God is a gloriously hospitable God and I want you to know his hospitality through me.”

Nehemiah knew how central hospitality is in building a great city. And never has there been a moment in history in which hospitality is more needed than right now. National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center found that almost 1 in 5 teens had thought about suicide, about 1 in 6 teens had made plans for suicide, and more than 1 in 12 teens had attempted suicide in the last year. Teens are crying out for someone to be hospitable to them and welcome them in.

Published in the American Sociological Review (ASR) and authored by Miller McPhearson, Lynn Smith-Lovin and Matthew Brashears, sociologists at Duke and the University of Arizona, the study featured 1,500 face-to-face interviews, where more than a quarter of the respondents –– one in four –– said that they have no one with whom they can talk about their personal troubles or triumphs. If family members are not counted, the number doubles to more than half of Americans who have no one outside their immediate family with whom they can share confidences. Sadly, the researchers noted that the number of “socially isolated” Americans has doubled since 1985.

Why is this? We’re in a recession, wages have decreased, so we’re working more but still making less. We’re not in Nehemiah’s position of being independently wealthy, so we feel like we can’t afford to be hospitable. What is more, we don’t feel like being hospitable. B/c we’re commuting longer, working more, getting paid less, we have more stress. So when we get home, the last thing we feel like doing is having people in our home. All we want to do is veg out in front of the TV or, for many of you, it isn’t the TV but the computer screen. You say, “I don’t need to have people into my home, because I just welcome them to my facebook page.”

I am really not a facebook hater. I check it, monthly. But granting someone’s friend request on facebook is different from Biblical hospitality. You know this, right. With Facebook you control everything. You control what is posted, your friends, your wall. When you have someone into your home, when you are doing life together and in community with one another, you can’t control everything. Their story begins to affect you and you do things like saying, “You know what, I am going to pay for this, not them.”

Some of you are thinking—but I just don’t have the gift of hospitality. Stinkin’ thinkinl. I Pet. 4:9 doesn’t allow you to use that excuse, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others.” So it first says love deeply; 2^nd be hospitable; and in the context of loving other people and opening your home and being hospitable, use whatever gifts you have been given. Would you ever say, “I don’t have the gift of love?” No. All of us are called to love. It is every bit as ludicrous, from a Biblical perspective, to say you don’t practice hospitality b/c you don’t have the gift. “But my house isn’t big enough.” Stop whining, and open your home. Peter said it, not me.

Most of us don’t open our homes because we confuse hospitality with entertainment. Hospitality says, “Welcome in to the mess of my life.” “Entertainment says, “let me clean up the mess of my life and act like it is always this way.” Hospitality says come in just as you are; entertainment says get fixed up. Hospitality boasts in weakness; entertainment boasts in strength. Hospitality is raw and rough around the edges; entertainment is slick and polished. Hospitality says let me throw in a little extra rice; entertainment says I must prepare a 4 course meal.

My wife gets this. I can’t tell you how many times she has told me, “We’re having people over in 10 minutes.” And I look around and say, “Really.” And, yes, we do the Dr. Seuss throw it in a bag and shove it in a closet. But she has also taught me the beauty of welcoming people into the mess of our lives. Yep, we don’t have it all together, and that should be quite obvious, so just step over sweet potatoes. Being hospitable is to welcome someone into the mess of your life.

And that, my friends, is the essence of what true, Biblical spirituality is really all about. Just as you must learn to practice hospitality with friends, so you must learn to practice hospitality with Jesus. You welcome him into the mess of your life. You don’t pretend with Jesus that you are someone you aren’t. Jesus doesn’t want to be entertained. The Pharisees tried this—he didn’t like it. He doesn’t want you to put on a show for him. No, invite him into the mess. He didn’t come to be entertained, but to be welcomed in by people who are a mess and know it.

But he knows you’re scared and hesitant to do so. So He comes to us. The constant refrain of the gospels is one of hospitality. “Drop you nets, “Come and be with me. Don’t collect any more taxes. No, Come and follow me.” Jesus sings a chorus of hospitality throughout the gospels, inviting people into the hospitality of heaven.

And then, on a Thursday, Jesus threw a dinner party, commonly known as the Last Supper. He too, like Nehemiah, would pay for the dinner party, but it would be with far more than just a portion of his wealth. It would cost him everything. Unlike Nehemiah, He didn’t kill an ox, nor the customary lamb. Much to the disciples surprise, there was no Lamb at this Passover Meal. For the Lamb of God had come, to extend the gracious hospitality of God to the world. Oh the hospitality of God, that he would enter into the mess of our lives and make it right on the cross. This kind of hospitality, the hospitality of Jesus Christ, is the kind of hospitality that will change a city. But you cannot offer what you haven’t yet received.

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