Keynote: Arise, and build
Colin Dye
Senior Leader
facebook.com/colindye.org
colindye.com
The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build.”
Nehemiah 2:20
The clarion call of Nehemiah, the repairer of the walls of Jerusalem, was “Arise and build.” It was a call coming from deep within his own soul, as he was deeply impacted by the news that Jerusalem was a broken city. Not even the returning exiles had made a difference. The walls of the city remained in ruins and its gates remained derelict, destroyed by fire.
This scene of devastation is similar to many situations we face today. At a personal level, you may find much in need of repair – relationships, attitudes, and devotional life, for example. On a wider scale, we may also think about our own community and our nation. Certainly, the current confusion in the nation and the clamouring for make-shift solutions are signs of a broken society.
The Grenfell disaster of recent days has left our community feeling numb with pain, brokenness and devastation. But the Lord Jesus is the healer of broken hearts and the restorer of broken lives. Nehemiah’s life, in many ways, points to the restoration ministry of Christ to his people. There can be no devastation, personal or communal that is beyond the scope of his restorative power.
We only need to grasp the means he uses to work his miracle of restoration. First, there has to be an open recognition that things are a mess. The exiles, who had returned to Jerusalem after the 70-year long captivity in Babylon, seemed content to live in a broken city. Many lived in nothing more than a pile of rubble. It took the word of the Lord coming through Nehemiah for them to wake up to the situation and realise there was something they could do about it.
This was followed by a remarkable response by the community at large. They made tremendous progress because, “the people had a mind to work” (Nehemiah 4:6). This spirit of participation, of everyone co-operating, is always God’s way in times of restoration. It is how lives are put back together, how marriages and families are restored and how communities are rebuilt.
God is calling us to be part of his restoration programme. He is calling us to stand together and for each one of us to do our part. We can be the very people God uses to bring our community back to life.
MORE ARTICLES
HAVING FUN SERIOUSLY?
Colin Dye Senior Minister Follow Colin Dye on: www.facebook.com/colindye.org and his blog: www.colindye.com God has a fun side. Don’t you think that God had fun striping the zebra, stippling the leopard and designing the elephant? If that doesn’t convince you, look at...
Working Together with God
Colin Dye Senior Minister Follow Colin Dye on: www.facebook.com/colindye.org and his blog: www.colindye.com It’s a labour of love. There’s no other way of describing it. Faith is active and it always works through love. Acceptance lies at the heart of the gospel. God,...
What Makes a Move of God Happen?
Colin Dye Senior Minister Follow Colin Dye on: www.facebook.com/colindye.org and his blog: www.colindye.com This is always a difficult question. There are those who say that it’s all down to us. God has spoken and if we position ourselves correctly he will move among...
Keynote – The hunger for God deepens
Colin Dye Senior Minister Follow Colin Dye on: www.facebook.com/colindye.org and his blog: www.colindye.com Scripture is our full, ultimate and infallible guide. It is the very Word of God to us. But the Holy Spirit remains our daily tutor, helper and...
Keynote – A Time to Shine!
Colin Dye Senior Leader facebook.com/colindye.org colindye.com “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) God has set the Spiritual times and seasons, and I believe that now is a time for us all to shine. We are...
The Striking of a Spiritual Match
Could it be that a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit is on its way from heaven to earth? Many prophetic voices from all across the world are telling us to prepare our hearts for a powerful move of the Holy Spirit in the coming days. The prophetic...
Keynote – Ignite the Flame
Colin Dye Senior Leader facebook.com/colindye.org colindye.com Light a flame within my soul Holy Fire Consume my all Spirit blaze Shine out of me And burn for all the world to see! On Sunday 19 November at the KT 6pm service I symbolically and prophetically struck a...
Overcoming the ‘Rat Race’
KT member Belinda is a corporate lawyer Belinda Lucas-Musa shares her journey of remaining faithful to God while pursuing her law qualifications. Tackling the Giants: Influencing your World In his recent sermon “Take it to the Lord” Bruce...
Keynote – Jesus, the peace-child
“Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!’” Luke 2:13-14 The shepherds gathered in the field that first Christmas night saw an amazing...
Martin Luther – Celebrating 500 Years Since the Beginning of the Reformation Part 4
In the fourth and final part of his series Associate Pastor Bruce Atkinson gives a broad overview of what we mean when we use the term Reformation. Alister McGrath in his excellent book Reformation Thought: an Introduction explains that when we...