“Willingly Offered Themselves” – Nehemiah 11:1-2
Nehemiah 7:4 Now the city was large and great: but the people were few therein, and the houses were not builded.
I. Give To The Lord.
Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Nominal commitment in the Christian life would have been unimaginable to Christ’s followers in the first church.
Roman 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
And I’d submit that when we come to see Jesus for Who He is and for what He has done we’ll move from an obligation into joy when it comes to a life of devotion and generosity. For those with Nehemiah, they concluded that God was so important to them that any sacrifice for Him and His work would be an honor.
II. Give Your To The Lord.
Nehemiah 12:43 Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced: for God had made them rejoice with great joy: the wives also and the children rejoiced: so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off.
Somewhere along the way we’ve got the idea that singing praises to God are something that a few people do in church. You may not have a voice, but if you are a Christian you have a song!
Psalm 40:3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: Many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.
Our offering of praise is to the Lord, and it honors Him. But it is also true that our praise to God impacts others. In fact, singing praises to God was such an integral part of past revivals that it wasn’t always clear if it was a cause or an effect.
III. Give Your To The Lord.
When you give God your life it will lead you to praise Him. And if you live a life of praise, you’ll willingly give of your substance to worship Him and to extend His work. You’ll see all you have as a gift from God.
Nehemiah 12:44-47 And at that time were some appointed over the chambers for the treasures, for the offerings, for the firstfruits, and for the tithes, to gather into them out of the fields of the cities the portions of the law for the priests and Levites: for Judah rejoiced for the priests and for the Levites that waited. And both the singers and the porters kept the ward of their God, and the ward of the purification, according to the commandment of David, and of Solomon his son. For in the days of David and Asaph of old there were chief of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving unto God. And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel, and in the days of Nehemiah, gave the portions of the singers and the porters, every day his portion: and they sanctified holy things unto the Levites; and the Levites sanctified them unto the children of Aaron.
2 Corinthian 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
Give because your heart is filled with joy and reverence for God and His work. Give because you are so thankful for the way He has saved you and takes care of you.
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.
John 3:27b A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
Our God is a generous God. He loves to give to us.
Acts 20:35b It is more blessed to give than to receive.