The faith of Nehemiah was grown by exiles
As we go through the book of Nehemiah for the next few months, I’d like to share some encouragement from the book that may not make it into a sermon, but I’ve found personally enriching for my spiritual life.
The encouragement comes from the person of Nehemiah. Here was a person who wasn’t born in Jerusalem, hadn’t smelled it’s morning air or known what the breeze of the land would feel like; yet he loved God’s city and wept and mourned for its ruined state. While it may seem like a detail that’s easy to not think too much about, to me this is a wonderful picture of generational faith.
Nehemiah was born in exile. The only way he would have learnt about God’s covenant, God’s scriptures and God’s city would have been through the generations before him who knew. The stories of God’s faithfulness were passed on to Nehemiah, we see that Nehemiah knew the covenant of God well and when the rebuilding of Jerusalem began, he was able not just to be part of the rebuilding of the physical but also the cultural and spiritual parts of God’s people. For Nehemiah to have such a love for God’s restoration work is a testament not only to his faith but the faithful remnant who had discipled him to love the things of God.
The older generation in the church have a vital role to play and it’s not necessarily in serving more. Although for many it’s absolutely a joy to continue to serve the Assembly of God well, they may not realise that they hold a vital and holy task of passing on the stories of God’s faithfulness to the next generation. To teach them scripture, to pray with them through their ups and downs, to open up their homes to teach them the warmth of fellowship and to pass on their faith. Many churches fall and diminish not because of a lack of faithful people but a neglect of the passing on of the faith of the previous generations. We may have a Nehemiah in our midst, but we may not be attentive enough to teach them the ways of the Lord.
In what ways can you pass on your stories of faith? Can you open up your homes and your life to enrich the next generation in small groups? Can you invite others to serve alongside you? Do you have stories of faithfulness to share that you’ve been keeping to yourself? Perhaps the person of Nehemiah can encourage you that your role in the faith of the next generation is not a small one at all, but a vital one.
尼希米的信心在流亡者中成長
在接下來的幾個月裡我們會一起研讀《尼希米記》，我想分享一些得自書中的激勵，這些內容可能不會成為一篇講章，但我發現它豐富了我個人的屬靈生命。
激勵來自尼希米本人。他不是在耶路撒冷出生的，沒有聞過那裡清晨的氣息，也不知道微風拂過那片土地的時候是什麼感覺；然而他熱愛上帝的城市，並為其荒廢的狀況而哭泣哀悼。雖然這似乎是一個很容易讓人不去多想的細節，但對我來說，這是一個信仰世代傳承的精彩寫照。
尼希米出生於流亡期間。他能夠認識到上帝的約、上帝的經文和上帝的城市，唯一途徑是透過他的前輩們，那些知道上帝的人。上帝信實的故事傳給了尼希米，我們看到尼希米非常了解上帝的約，當耶路撒冷開始重建時，他不僅能夠身體力行地參與重建城牆，也參與在上帝子民的文化和靈性的重建。尼希米對上帝的重建工作有如此的熱愛，不僅見證了他的信心，也見證了那些忠心的餘民們如何教導了他愛慕關於上帝的事。
教會中的老一輩有著一個至關重要的角色，而這並不一定是服事更多。儘管對許多人來說，繼續好好的服事上帝的子民絕對是一件樂事，但他們可能沒有意識到，他們肩負著一項重要而神聖的任務，那就是將上帝信實的故事傳承給下一代。教導他們聖經，在他們經歷起起落落時與他們一起祈禱，敞開家門，教導他們體會團契的溫暖，並把自己的信仰傳承下去。許多教會的衰落和失色並不是因為缺乏忠心的信徒，而是因為忽視了前代們信仰的傳承。我們中間可能有著一位尼希米，但我們可能沒有足夠的關注到需要去教導他們主的道路。
你可以透過哪些方式把你的信仰故事傳承下去？你是否願意敞開自己的家和生活，在小組生活中滋養下一代？你願意邀請其他人與你一起事奉嗎？你有沒有一些你一直私藏的信仰故事可以分享呢？也許尼希米這個人物可以激勵你，在下一代的信仰中你所扮演的角色絕對不小，反而是至關重要的。
