The Rubble and the Wall: Sharing God's Heart to Restore What's Broken

Check out the entire book, The Rubble and the Wall: Sharing God's Heart to Restore What's Broken, available on Amazon or outloudbible.com

We read a story-driven chapter that starts before Nehemiah, where Haggai confronts God’s people for delaying the rebuilding of the temple while focusing on their own comfort. We wrestle with how spiritual procrastination shows up today and end by praying for courage to take the next obedient step.
• The Heartwork Series and how God shapes hearts in hard places 
• Why The Rubble And The Wall centers on restoration and sharing God’s heart 
• Zerubbabel, Haggai, and the spiritual cost of “the time has not yet come” 
• The difference between procrastination and laziness 
• Choosing God’s kingdom over our “thingdom” 
• A simple starting step that breaks the cycle of delay 
• Prayer as the first move before more learning 
• Appendices and worksheets that help apply Nehemiah’s story 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:11

Hey, welcome back to the Out Loud Bible Project Podcast. This is Mike.

SPEAKER_00 0:15

And Kelsey.

SPEAKER_01 0:16

And Kelsey's here.

SPEAKER_00 0:17

Still here.

The Heartwork Series Overview

SPEAKER_01 0:18

Still a part of it. Uh, because Kelsey's joining me here as in the this is day three of reading in each episode, just one chapter or two, I guess, in the first case, uh, of a book in our new series called The Heartwork Series. It's a series of three books. Uh, they're based on Bible stories that we've read here on the podcast, and we get to go a little bit deeper. And uh, and each of these books is exploring how God does his best work on our hearts in the difficult places. Are you in a difficult place? The series nods at the fact that there are times to stop, there are times to go slow, and there are times to go. That kind of encompasses our whole walk with Christ. And each of those can have their own difficulties and difficult times. And so we get to learn from the Word of God what to do uh and what to recognize about God's heart in each of these times.

SPEAKER_00 1:13

And so the first book, which is The Mountain in the Desert, is all about learning what God's heart is, discovering God's heart in those difficult places. The second book, The Fortress by the River, is all about receiving God's heart, being the person that God is calling you to be and receiving God's heart in those hard places is more important and more valuable, really, than reaching our goals. And the third book that we're gonna read from today is The Rubble and the Wall. And it's really truly about sharing God's heart to restore what's broken after you've known what God's heart is, you've received God's heart for yourself. Now it's time to share it with those around you.

Chapter One Reading Begins

Haggai Confronts The Delay

SPEAKER_01 1:55

Now, if you've been listening to the podcast at all recently, some of these names and places and verses are gonna sound familiar because The Rubble and the Wall primarily takes a look at the story of Nehemiah, which we've just been reading recently. And uh also starts, and what we're gonna read today, chapter one actually starts just slightly before that in the story of Zerubabel and the prophet Haggai encouraging the building of the temple. So we're gonna we're gonna read chapter one called The Prophet to Procrastinators. Uh again, if you've been with me here, some of this will sound familiar, but we get to explore that story and these truths from the Bible in a new way here through the book, and uh I hope it gives you a great taste of what you can expect as uh as we go through the story here. So here's chapter one of The Rubble and the Wall. What a mess! Unbelievable. No one thought it would be this bad. For the first time in about seventy years, the Jews were finally standing in their homeland, their promised land, after being dragged out by the invading Babylonians. Only an aged handful would remember the glory of Jerusalem before the exile, before it was utterly ransacked. The walls, the gates, the homes, the pools, the markets, the temple the temple. Solomon's temple was erected at the height of Israel's power and world prestige. People came from distant countries to witness the glory that accompanies God's favor. But now God's people returned from distant lands to find God's city in shambles. They were sent home by the king of Persia, the bigger fish that subdued Israel's original captors, and although the Jews had their freedom, they had no home. A large contingent of Jews led by a man named Zerubabel began the arduous process of rebuilding their city. Over time, Jerusalem was once again filled with cute little homes and rooftop gardens, bustling marketplaces, and social baths. What about the temple? People would ask periodically. But the question was always met with sighs and eye rolls. That's not the right time. I mean, this is the temple we're talking about. It's one thing to rebuild old man Zadok's one bedroom flat topped farmhouse. It's an entirely different project to rebuild the physical representation of God's presence among his people. It was built by Solomon the son of David, for goodness sake. He had every resource, tool, and artisan at his fingertips, but now we have a pile of rubble and dirt under our fingernails. Not now, we can't properly honor God with what we have now. We'll build the temple later when it makes sense. The citizenry would reach a consensus, shrug, and straighten their wall hangings. Besides, life wasn't quite back to normal yet. That's not the right time, they'd repeat to each other. They were in a drought. The economy was fragile, and life was still hard. The big project would be best suited for when there was abundance and excess. The best course of action would be to make the best of the situation, be glad they had a home, and cross that bridge when they get there.

SPEAKER_00 5:14

A knock sounded on Zerubbabel's door. Governor? Come in. Zerubable looked up to see Haggai, an older man whose wisdom Zerubbabel had come to appreciate in rebuilding the city. Haggai, come have a seat. I was just considering what it would take to install a gate in the back courtyard of the governor's house. Tell me what you think, Zerubbabel. The Lord has sent me to tell you something. The Lord? Oh goodness, yes, of course. Zerubbabel cleared the tabletop. Please tell me. This is what the Lord of Heaven's armies says. The people are saying the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord. Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins? Haggai 1, 2 and 4. Zerubble's face dropped. The time has not yet come, was one of his go-to replies. Apparently, he was not on the same page as God. He glanced up at the crown moulding above his cabinets for the first time. It brought him no satisfaction. Haggai continued, this is what the Lord of Heaven's armies says. Look at what's happening to you. You have planted much but harvest little. You eat but are not satisfied. You drink, but are still thirsty. You put on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes. Look at what's happening to you. It's rubbable. Had nothing to say. The Lord's words through Haggai pretty much summed it up. Now go into the hills, bring down timber, and rebuild my house, then I will take pleasure in it and be honored, says the Lord. You hoped for rich harvests, but they were poor, and when you brought your harvest home, I blew it away. Why? Because my house lies in ruins, says the Lord of Heaven's armies, while all of you are busy building your own fine houses.

SPEAKER_01 7:21

Are you in a painfully similar situation to the Jews in this story? You see a gaping hole in your life or the world around you where God's presence should be. Maybe his presence used to be there, but it got destroyed or neglected. Maybe you feel like you should do something about it. Build it, repair it, create it, but it's too big a project for now. Maybe later when you have more money, more time, more people around, more clarity and understanding of what it should be. Instead you sigh and shrug. The time's not yet come, you say, or something like that, and return to your routine. You show up to the office or perhaps do some work around the house. Life isn't exactly abundant, but it's what makes sense and it's what you can handle right now. The Lord challenges you, like he challenged Zerubabel and the Jews, to look at what's happening to you. If you're being honest, you may feel like you're putting food on the table but are not satisfied with how life is going. You're working overtime to make more money, but more money only seems to lead to more expensive problems. You hoped for a better life by now, and maybe you've been able to upgrade some aspects of it, but your efforts ultimately feel pointless. You have a choice. You can either prioritize building God's kingdom or your thingdom. Right now, God's house lies in ruins. I don't know what project God's house represents in your life, but God wants to take up residence somewhere, in your life and others, in your neighborhood and those across the world, among the bodies of believers and in the hearts of unbelievers, and at your workplace and in your family. No matter how much attention you give to your own work and life, you can't escape the nagging feeling that one or more of those areas desperately needs God's presence. You probably have an idea of what you could build or do to give God the glory and the victory, but it feels impossible. It's easy to put off and prioritize other things. It's easy to procrastinate.

Start With What You Have

SPEAKER_00 9:29

Procrastination isn't laziness. Procrastination is a response to feeling as if we have a lack of clarity or resources. Think about what you're procrastinating on right now. I bet you're not lazy. My guess is you aren't exactly sure what the next step is. You feel like you don't know how to do something or don't have what you need to do it. It may sound simplistic, but take note of God's push to zerubbable. Go up into the hills, bring down timber, and rebuild my house. He's effectively saying, go where I tell you, use the available resources, and start what you know you need to do. God swept away every crutch the procrastinator could lean on. I don't know how to start. Leave your routine and go where I tell you. I don't have enough time or resources. The time is now, and you have what you need. I don't know what exactly I'm supposed to do. Build my kingdom. Is it really that simple for now? Yes. Of course, the temple would require more than wood from the hills. More steps are involved beyond bringing down timber. But yes, obedient actions are the cycle-breaking difference makers that move you closer to the fulfilling kingdom-building life God desires for you.

Reflection Tools And Community Invite

SPEAKER_01 10:50

For the rest of this book, we'll continue looking at God's work with his people as they rebuilt Jerusalem. Nehemiah will enter the picture and his story will provide the framework for our conversation. We'll also introduce you to some kingdom-seeking Jesus followers like you whose stories will encourage you in your own kingdom work. And through it all, you'll learn how to share God's heart for what's broken, and recognize your unique role in God's work. I'd also like to bring to your attention some additional opportunities to discuss and reflect throughout this conversation. In the back of the book, you'll find appendices that correspond to each chapter, and there you'll find questions, guides, and additional content to turn this quick read into a traveling companion. Of course, the best companions are the people around you, so invite some friends to read and discuss with you along the way.

Guided Prayer For Courage

SPEAKER_00 11:36

But before we go further, I'd like to take a moment to invite you to pray. Every step of pursuing God's plan for your life must be smothered in prayer. We'll share our prayer for you, and we hope you'll pray it with us. After that, put this book down, turn off this podcast. Really, just turn it off. Nothing we have to say compares to what your heavenly Father can speak into your heart. Start with him, then come back here, and we'll start our journey with the story of Nehemiah. Father God, you are everything that matters. We fall short of your glory, but you delight in forgiving us when we ask. Please show us where our hearts have been far from you, and give us the humility to repent. We pray for our friend hearing this right now. Align our hearts to yours. Make our hearts break for what breaks your heart, and make us discontent with any life that is not fully submitted to you. Then fill us with the courage to say yes, to follow where you lead, even if it's scary. Amen.

Appendices That Help You Apply

SPEAKER_01 12:44

Amen. And that concludes chapter one of The Rubble and the Wall. This book three, The Rebel and the Wall, is unique in the series in that it has a series of appendices. I don't know why they call it that. I don't know. It's you you know, your appendix is like at the end of your colon, and it's like, well, that's not really useful. Well, I don't know why we call that stuff at the end of the book an appendix, because in this case, it's very useful. Um, the back of this book has uh a number of worksheets to work through, whether it's a a book study and it there's some great conversation and discussion questions, or you want to just kind of go deeper on your own. This book allows you to take and apply the lessons from Nehemiah's story and really apply them to your current situation. So some really thoughtful resources at the back of that book as well.

SPEAKER_00 13:33

So it's like if the chapters are out loud Bible project podcast, the appendices are your very own living out loud.

SPEAKER_01 13:40

Yeah, you get to live it out.

SPEAKER_00 13:42

Your way of applying everything that's written, not just in our books, it's not because our book is amazing, it's because God's word is incredible and applicable. And so the appendices are there to help you apply the story of Nehemiah and his life's experiences to your own.

SPEAKER_01 13:59

Absolutely. So thanks so much for uh joining us here on the podcast as we've done something a little bit different this week as we've uh introduced you to some of the some of the starts to these books.

SPEAKER_00 14:10

I really truly hope that these haven't felt like a commercial to sell you on our books. We genuinely want to share the message that God has put on our hearts through these books and um to use the experiences and the lessons he's taught us to share with others. And so I'm just gonna ask that if you know someone who could benefit from these messages, if you know someone going through a difficult desert season, maybe you'll go get them a copy of the mountain in the desert. Or if if you know someone who just feels like there are impossible circumstances standing between them and where they want to be, perhaps the fortress by the river is for them. Or maybe you know a ministry leader or a church leader or someone who really has a project on their heart, an author, an artist, a worker for the kingdom of God who could really be encouraged by the rubble and the wall. Maybe you'll grab them a copy and just share the word of God through these books in an approachable and conversational way uh to really encourage the believers in the church to grow and do what God's word says to do.

Next Week In John

SPEAKER_01 15:21

Yeah, that's really good. It's really important to us that these books are smothered in scripture and and they are. They're just absolutely saturated with the word of God and uh and some of our conversational comments along the way uh makes for a really easy read and hopefully for you a really easy share to someone who too can help. That was that's a really good note, Kelsey. Thank you for that. And thank you for joining us here on this podcast. Next week, we're gonna jump into the New Testament. We're on the home stretch, we're gonna take a look at the book of John, and we'll discover some amazing things that we hear about Jesus and learn about him through that unique book. So we'll see you next time on the Out Loud Bible Project Podcast.