SUMMARY
Are you spiritually shallow? The danger of superficial Christianity is that it is a faith of convenience that requires no sacrifice, demands no repentance and feels no tug on the heart to go deeper in the Word, broader in service or wider in witness. But the fact of the matter is you must break free from a focus on self and the trivial things of life and cultivate deep habits to increase your delight in the Lord if you are ever to rebuild your broken world. Only deep people who pay the price of spiritual sacrifice ever gain the stability and joy that Jesus gives.
In the book of Nehemiah, the country is at a crossroads.
The wall is finished, but Jerusalem is scarcely inhabited.
Nehemiah called for a national lottery to move people to Jerusalem.
10% of the country 3,044 families moved to the city.
“Let your roots grow down into him.” Col 2:7
Be Willing – 2
The lottery to move to Jerusalem was voluntary.
This chapter lists the volunteers.
Most of those who moved did so anonymously and willingly.
If you want to grow deep, be willing to do whatever God has for you
If you want to grow deep, don’t worry about who gets the credit. Mat 6:2-5
Be Courageous 6 & 13
The sons of Perez were 468 valiant men.
The family of Amashai, were 128 mighty men of valor.
It took courage to leave home and move to Jerusalem.
These two families distinguished themselves with their bravery.
Be strong and very courageous, for the Lord is with you. Joshua 1:7-9
Be a Worshiper 15-17
Worship is essential to growing deeper.
If you are known for nothing else, be known as a prayer warrior!
Those who worship the Father must do so Spirit and in Truth! John 4:23-24
Nine characteristics of a person who is growing deeper.
Maturity: Commit deeply to the Body of Christ
Pray regularly, humbly and submissively
Meditate on the word daily – read it and study it
Practice the presence of God and the fruits of the Spirit
Choose to live a life of righteousness and holiness
Fellowship with a small group and learn God’s Word together
Worship passionately and sincerely at home and at church
Ministry: Do for others, give generously and practice your spiritual gifts
Witness: Tell others about Jesus every chance you get
Personal Growth will take practice and sacrifice. But if you work on them daily, you will increase your joy in the lord and they will take you to a depth you’ve never experienced before. Only those willing to put Jesus first can reach this level of spiritual growth. Will that be you? Will you immerse yourself willingly, courageously and sincerely in these spiritual disciples? If you do, when the winds of storms of life will blow, and you will sway, but because you are deeply rooted, you’ll never be moved.
TODAY’S MESSAGE
Are you spiritually shallow? Are you a superficial person?
Perhaps you’re only a go to meeting Sunday kind of Christian, but there’s not much depth between you and God. The danger of superficial Christianity is that it is a faith of convenience that requires no sacrifice, demands no repentance and feels no tug on the heart to go deeper in the Word, broader in service or wider in witness.
But the fact of the matter is you must break free from a focus on self and the trivial things of life and cultivate deep habits to increase your delight in the Lord if you are ever to rebuild your broken world. Only deep people who pay the price of spiritual sacrifice ever gain the stability and joy that Jesus gives.
The roots must grow deep when the winds are strong. No matter how strong we may look on the outside, if our roots don’t go deep we can be vulnerable to being blown over in the storms and winds of life. That’s why deep roots matter.
What does It Mean to “Put Down Roots”?
In the world of dendrology – that is the study of trees, a tree that has no roots, won’t last long. Roots are used to stabilize the plant while providing nutrition, ensuring that the tree will live out a long and healthy life. A tree puts its roots down until they reach the water table. Then they will spread out in search of more water and nutrients. Most tree roots grow anywhere from two to six feet deep. However, the world’s deepest root, found in South Africa, reaches a depth of 24 feet![i]
In the book of Nehemiah, the country is at a crossroads. The wall is finished, their enemies have quit threatening them, and life is beginning to take on the air of normalcy. But, even though Jerusalem is the capitol, very few people actually live there. For one reason, up until now, it just wasn’t safe. The walls were down, and besides, the city was filled with rubble and stones.
But Nehemiah had a plan. He called for a national lottery to choose people from every place to uproot their lives and move to Jerusalem. That’s what verse 1 says:
Now the leaders of the people dwelt at Jerusalem; the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to dwell in Jerusalem, the holy city, and nine-tenths were to dwell in other cities
10% of the country had to pack up their belongings, leave their fields and homes behind and move to the city. If I did my math right, I counted 3,044 families that moved to the city. That means that about 15,000 people moved in.[ii]
This was a big deal that meant big changes. Lifelong friends had to part. There must have been tears as they packed. Children had to change schools. Businesses were shuttered and new employment had to be found. Houses had to be purchased and built.
On the one hand it was a hardship, and on the other it was their patriotic duty and an adventure they signed on for. They were moving to Jerusalem, the capitol city! They were creating a new community in the fledgling state of Israel, after finally returning to the land from captivity. If they were going to rebuild the commonwealth, they would have to put their roots down deep in order to carve out a new land.
In a way, this is a metaphor for spiritual growth and stability. Just as they put their roots down deep into the land, so we need to put our roots down into the Kingdom of Heaven.
“Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” COLOSSIANS 2:7
From all the names in this chapter, I dug out three little nuggets about growing deep in the Christian life. Here’s the first one.
Be Willing – 2
2 And the people blessed all the men who willingly offered themselves to dwell at Jerusalem.
It appears that the lottery to move to Jerusalem was voluntary. And the rest of the chapter lists these volunteers. Their leaders were named by name, but most of them were anonymous. Let me just review the list:
The Children of Judah 4-6 four hundred and sixty-eight valiant men.
The Children of Benjamin 7-9 nine hundred and twenty-eight.
The Priests in the line of Adijah 10-12 eight hundred and twenty-two
The Priests in the line of Jedaiah 13 two hundred and forty-two
The Priests in the line of Adaiah 14 one hundred and twenty-eight
the Levites 15-18 two hundred and eighty-four
the gatekeepers 19 one hundred and seventy-two
15,000 people uprooted their lives to root themselves in the promises of God to move to Jerusalem. 15,000 people whose names are not listed, who anonymously and willingly gave themselves to the service of the Lord.
Here the first way to stretch yourself so that you can grow deep; be willing to go anywhere God sends you, and when you do something sacrificial for God, don’t worry about who gets the credit. That will stretch you. If the world was blind, how many people would you impress with your faith?
Jesus told the people of his day, When you give money to God, don’t blow the trumpet and announce to everyone what you’ve done, and God who sees in secret will reward you! (Matthew 6:2-5)
Number Two
Be Courageous 6 & 13
A little nugget tucked away in these paragraphs is found in verse 6 & 13
6 All the sons of Perez who dwelt at Jerusalem were four hundred and sixty-eight valiant men.
13 and of the Priests, the family of Amashai, were one hundred and twenty-eight. mighty men of valor. Their overseer was Zabdiel the son of one of the great men.
I’m sure it took extra special courage to leave their extended families in the countryside and move to Jerusalem. It is always a fearful thing to set out into the unknown. But these two groups of people, the sons of Perez from the tribe of Judah, and the relatives of Amashai of the priests distinguished themselves with their bravery.
We don’t know what they did to stand out from among the rest of the people who moved in, perhaps they were the first to eagerly pack their things and march to the capitol city, singing the Psalms as they came. Perhaps their example motivated others to pack up.
In the times In which we live, we need men and women of courage to stand for the faith! We need men like Joshua who was told by the Lord, “
Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the words which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Be willing, be brave…
Be a Worshiper 15-17
15 Also of the Levites: Shemaiah had the oversight of the business outside of the house of God; 17 Mattaniah was the leader who began the thanksgiving with prayer;
It is no accident that worship is mentioned in this chapter, as worship is essential to growing deeper. The Levites dedicated themselves to the business of the House of the Lord, and one of them distinguished himself by being the worship leader: He was the one who began worship with thanksgiving and prayer.
If you are known for nothing else, be known as a prayer warrior! Be known as an encourager! Be known as a person who is overflowing with thankfulness. Jesus said, “the time is coming, when those who worship the Father will do so Spirit and in Truth!” John 4:23-24
As we close, let me give you a list of 9 different characteristics that you need to get into your life if you want to find stability and grow deeper. Check them off to see how deep in the Christian Life you are:
Maturity: Commit deeply to the Body of Christ
Pray regularly, humbly and submissively
Meditate on the word daily – read it and study it
Practice the presence of God and the fruits of the Spirit
Choose to live a life of righteousness and holiness
Fellowship with a small group and learn God’s Word together
Worship passionately and sincerely at home and at church
Ministry: Do for others, give generously and practice your spiritual gifts
Witness: Tell others about Jesus every chance you get
These are nine essential disciplines that, if put into practice will make your life profoundly rich and will lift you out of the shallows. They will take practice. They will take sacrifice. They will take humility and honesty. But if you work on them daily, you will increase your joy in the lord and they will take you to a depth you’ve never experienced before.
But they cost. Only those willing to put Jesus first can reach this level of spiritual growth. Will that be you? Will you immerse yourself willingly, courageously and sincerely in these spiritual disciples? If you do, when the winds of storms of life will blow, and you will sway, but because you are deeply rooted, you’ll never be moved.
Sure life is tough, but we can make it!
Lord God, We need roots
As much as we need wings.
We would prefer always to fly
Rather than grow deeper,
And yet you know what is best.
You know the times and the seasons.
When through the fiery trials
Our pathways shall lie,
Thy grace all sufficient shall be our supply.
The flame won’t hurt us.
You only design
The dross to consume and the gold to refine.
Convince us of that today.
If you need to, loudly
So that we will hear and believe you.
In the name of Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen
[i] https://treenewal.com/how-far-down-do-tree-roots-go/
[ii] That means that there were only about 100,000 people in the surrounding area.
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