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Rebuilding the Gates—Together

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by Larry Short, Elder Chair 

I’ve been reading the book of Nehemiah, and I’m struck by the parallels between that story and our own story here at Elim as well as the Church beyond our corner of 94th and 128th. 

In 586 BC, Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians and the Jews were exiled to Babylon. They lived there in captivity (“locked down”) until 539 BC, when Persia invaded and defeated Babylon. The next year, the first straggling contingent of Jews was able to return to a devastated Jerusalem. 

About 22 years later, under the ministries of Haggai and Zechariah, the Temple was restored. But 58 years after this, when Ezra led another group of Jews back in a second return to Jerusalem, they discovered the gates and walls of the city were still in ruins. 

This is where Nehemiah’s story starts. He was a cupbearer to the King of Persia and a devout Jew. When he learned of the situation in Jerusalem, he was devastated. We can learn much from how Nehemiah responded to this difficult news: 

When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. (Nehemiah 1:4) 

Jerusalem was not “finished.” God had a plan to restore Israel as His nation! But due to the cluelessness, callousness, and wickedness of his people, some deconstruction had to occur before the rebuilding could begin. 

After his season of humbling himself, repenting, and interceding for his people, Nehemiah determined to take an enormous risk: he would approach the King of Persia with his request to visit Jerusalem and take stock of the situation there. 

And Nehemiah was shown favor by God. Not only did the king give him permission, but he also sent his own police force to secure Nehemiah for the journey as well as a “credit card” with which Nehemiah could secure lumber and other materials needed for the restoration! 

Lessons from Nehemiah 

This past year, Elim (along with thousands of other churches globally) has experienced some deconstruction of our own. And in addition to the COVID plague as well as political and social unrest, we’ve faced the enormous challenge of finding new leadership to guide us. 

I think we’ve all been tempted to give up. Indeed, some have given up on Elim and left, for a variety of stated reasons. 

But for those of us who believe God still has a purpose and plan for Elim and the global Church, I draw these important principles from Nehemiah’s story: 

  • Our first responsibility is to humble ourselves before our God, repent (2 Chronicles 7:14), and intercede for one another. This has been a hard year for all of us, and as we await a new lead pastor, it has been easy to give in to impatience or simply excuse ourselves from gospel ministry and service until “the new guy gets here.” Perhaps some have fallen into despair as the pandemic has kept us from gathering in person or reacted with anger as we tried to wrestle through some of 2020’s challenging events. Or maybe we’ve even experienced some ungodly pride as we’ve compared our handling of the pandemic to that of others! But as always, though our sins may be excusable, that does not make them right. Let’s ask God to search our hearts to “see if there if any offensive way” in us and lead us in His ways (Psalm 139:23–24). 
  • Next, let’s seek His vision for the days ahead. How does He want us to change before we can rebuild better? He may be calling us to step out in faith and take a risk. To re-engage. To reach out and share Christ’s love with a neighbor. To figure out where God wants us to plug in and throw ourselves into that task, even if it seems a little scary! 
  • Third, we need to count the cost. When Nehemiah first arrived at Jerusalem, he surveyed the damage to the walls and gates of the city. We must conduct an accurate assessment of where we are and count the cost (Luke 14:28–30). Who is with us? What are our resources? What do we need to rebuild? 
  • Fourth, every family among us must swing into action and own their part in the rebuilding. We can be mere spectators no longer. I find it fascinating how Nehemiah 3 lists each family or group by name and tells what part of the walls and gates they were responsible to rebuild. God is watching. Will our names be recorded in the legacy of building back better? 
  • Finally, we must be prepared for opposition. When the men of Jerusalem began the rebuilding process, they did so with a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other (4:23). But while they stood again foes of flesh and blood, Paul makes clear that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but “against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). Our weapon of choice is prayer, and in divine warfare, the occasional half-hearted supplication will not do. If we wish to reach our neighbors with the love of Christ and His gospel, we must ask our Father for His power, wisdom, and help, for hell itself hates our lifesaving work. 

Are You with Us? 

The task will take commitment and tenacity. But we know the end of the story. Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). We are a part of that Church, and He is not finished with us yet! As elders, staff, and leaders of Elim, we sense the Lord is leading Elim with kindness and love through a tough season and toward better days ahead. 

Are you with us, sword and trowel at the ready? Let’s rebuild those gates—together! 

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Don’t Lose Heart

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By Gregg Zimmerman

The senior high youth group has been going through the book of Ephesians. During our Bible study, one verse recently stood out to me: “So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory” (Ephesians 3:13., ESV).Paul was in prison for his faith in Jesus, and in turn, the church of Ephesus was struggling because their pastor was locked up. What was his message to them?

Don’t lose heart.

Many of us feel the struggles of the world around us right now. COVID-19, political divisions, racial injustice, protests in the streets, economic loss, personal struggles—the list goes on and on. People are hurting and struggling around the world, around the country, and right here at Elim. What was Paul’s message?

Don’t lose heart.

At Elim, we are grateful to have Pastor Steve helping us find and transition to our new full-time pastor. Right now we are waiting. Waiting for the man God is calling to be our pastor. What was Paul’s message to his church who was waiting for their pastor?

Don’t lose heart.

Paul had lost his freedom. His health was not secure. His future was unknown. What was his message to his church?

Don’t lose heart.

During these times it can be easy to be discouraged. But we must not lose heart. We must continue fighting the good fight. God is at work, and we are on mission for Him. Paul used his suffering in prison to continue to spread the news about Jesus. How does this time allow us to appreciate Jesus more? How are you using the current situation to minister to others?

My prayer for our church—and I hope your prayer as well—echoes Paul’s end to Ephesians 3:

14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:14-21 ESV)

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Catalyst

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by Jeff Foerster

Last Sunday, Pastor Steve preached to us of our need to become catalysts of change to those around us. He gave us two action items to engage in:

1. Embody God’s emotions.

2. Verbalize God’s voice.

The first of these is profound. To embody is to take on flesh, to encapsulate or surround with something tangible—something visible. To make it known. Jesus did this for us. He made God the Father known to us. “He is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15).

How can we embody God’s emotions? If we embody another person’s emotions, which some are prone to do, this is identified as emotional entanglement, or enmeshment, potentially requiring therapy. To embody God’s emotions is quite different, however.

You’ll need to know what they are, but not simply in an intellectual sense. Reading about what God values is important, but insufficient for embodiment. Know your Bible, but know your Bible to know the Jesus that it declares. It’s not enough to agree intellectually or to feel a swell of emotion. To embody God’s emotions means they must be lived out—made visible. I would liken this pursuit to that for experiencing peace—a noble endeavor in my estimation.

Internal peace is much more a result than a product. I can’t determine to have peace and produce it through a series of actions or thoughts. True peace is the result of abiding relationship with Jesus; it comes like morning dew settling upon the earth, not like toothpaste pushed through a tube.

That said, it’s not without action that peace comes to fruition. It’s fostered by time spent with Jesus and trust placed upon Him. This happens both in solitude and as we rely on Him and His ways to sustain us in the God-honoring actions we take, as we walk through life’s days and decisions, as we interact with and love the people He has placed us around. This is where we can find the heart of God and the emotions of God.

“Fake it until you make it” is a popular but entirely different philosophy. It asserts that change happens from the outside, that peace can be manufactured through plentiful smiles and a policy of positivity. I prefer to embrace another phrase: “You can’t give what you don’t possess.” There’s no quick fix, there’s no end run around relationship with Jesus, there’s no mocking God. Embodying God’s emotions is costly; it comes at the cost of pride and independence. It’s found in union with Jesus and by His strength. The result is becoming like Jesus, submitting every earthly thing and every desire to the Father.

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Shortcuts That Lead to Division

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By Lars Passic

In 1 Corinthians 1:10-12, Paul is writing to the Corinthian church about the issue of disunity. When I first read the passage, I was disappointed because it seemed like these verses are mainly focused on warning against celebrity preachers, or idolatry. While that is an important warning we should consider, I was disappointed because this didn’t resonate to me as an exact, timely example of the type of disunity that the church is struggling with right now. But upon taking a closer look, I think there is a warning against unhealthy division that is highly relevant to us.

10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.”

I have had my share of issues with celebrity preacher fanboy-ism. I listened to a lot of Mark Driscoll and Ravi Zacharias in my day. I remember one time scrolling through the website of the Village Church Texas, clicking through the sermon audio section, trying to find a sermon to listen to. Matt Chandler isn’t preaching? NEXT! It was tempting to align myself to these teachers and make my affinity toward them an identity statement, like taking a shortcut or joining a strong player’s team. You want to know who I am? I’m with them!

I think it’s great that we can use technology to learn from a diverse array of Bible teachers all over the world. However, we need to maintain a healthy focus on Jesus, and we should also make sure that we are plugged in to our local church, where we can serve in the lives of our fellow believers. But again, I don’t think that celebrity preachers are our primary stumbling block right now in early 2021.

In this passage, the Corinthians have supposedly started to form groups based on the person that baptized them. (In the case of the Corinthians who were saying, “I follow Christ,” my study Bible notes that they were likely their own faction that were claiming to be “above it all,” so they were no better.) I think there is a timely warning for us in verse 12:

12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.”

When Paul says, “what I mean is,” he is getting right to the root of the issue: the declarations of the factions that the Corinthians are aligning themselves under. To me, when the Corinthians declare their allegiances is when they are taking shortcuts, settling for division and disunity in their hearts. I can almost hear the Corinthian conversations now:

“I follow Paul, so I disagree with you on that.”

“That doesn’t apply to me, because I follow Apollos.”

God is challenging us to be united as believers, and that is super hard. It is tempting to form factions, draw lines, and make identity statements. These are shortcuts that make it easy to shut down discourse and settle for division. Remember what Paul says to the Corinthian church:

10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.

So here are some questions I am asking myself when I am tempted to take shortcuts:

  • Am I joining a faction in my heart?
  • Am I drawing a line and settling for division?
  • Am I making an identity statement?

Paul goes on in chapter 1 to reference the crucifixion, the symbol of baptism, and how both of these have God at the center. Paul urges the Corinthians to remove their focus on the groups that they have declared allegiance to and put their focus back on the gospel. When we take the issue that we are divided on and walk it back to the gospel, we will find unity.

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