Take Your Place On The Wall

A chapter packed with hard-to-pronounce names doesn’t sound like the start of a powerful message, but Nehemiah 3 proves otherwise. We look at the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s wall and hear a steady drumbeat of “next unto them” and “after him repaired” that points to something deeper than construction. It’s a picture of how God builds lasting things through ordinary people who refuse to work alone.

We connect that Bible study to real life: the kind of teamwork you see in search and rescue, in a church kitchen moving like clockwork, and in a moment at the altar when a whole group gathers to pray for one person. Nehemiah’s story also reminds us that leadership carries vision, but the work gets finished by willing hands. Sometimes the builders even have to labor under pressure, staying alert while they keep moving forward.

The takeaway is simple and sharp: the church doesn’t need spectators, it needs builders. Not everyone is called to preach or sing, but everyone has a place in the kingdom of God, and comparison will sabotage what unity can accomplish. If you’ve felt overlooked, unsure where you fit, or tempted to sit back and let others carry the load, this conversation will help you find your section of the wall and pick up your tools. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs encouragement, and leave a review so more people can find Bible Talk with Sister Deb Osborne.

Transcript

Welcome And How To Connect

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But I woke up this morning with mama. I woke up this morning with mama. Welcome.

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You're listening to Bible Talk with Sister Deb Osborne.

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I woke up this morning.

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I'd like to give thanks to all the listeners and supporters of the show. Visit our website at HOR421 Show. Budsprout dot com. Always keep us in your prayers as we spread the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. If you'd like to contact contact Sister Deb, you can email her at OsberndeberK at gmail.com. And if you'd like to support the show, you can support it through PayPal slash H O R 421 Show. Budsprout.com. Now I give you your hoses. Sister Debs.

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Praise

Why Nehemiah 3 Matters

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the Lord. Praise the Lord. It's awesome to be back in the studio today talking about the word of God. I just thank him and praise him. I thank him for the ministry that he has, his ministry that he has let me use. This is his ministry. They are his words. And I thank him every day that uh that he lets me be a part of it. So today what I want to talk about is uh I'm I'm in the Old Testament book of Nehemiah, and it's Nehemiah 3. And my Bible tells me that Nehemiah 3, it says names and duties of those building the wall, the builders of the wall. And and I know that is a really good chapter. Uh I haven't read every single bit of it because there's so many names there that I cannot pronounce. But I want to talk to you thinking of this and looking at through this, I want to talk about the work that it took to build this wall. More or less the teamwork, you know. So they say team is together everyone achieves more. Okay. Everyone achieves more. Um you've also sure I'm sure you've heard there's no eye in team. Uh I'm sure you've heard the old one, teamwork makes the dream work. And if you think about team, there's so teamwork, there's so many cheesy little slogans that uh are used to make people motivated to work together. But I know that it's pretty awesome

Teamwork Stories From Real Life

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to be a part of a team that works well together. Uh I've had the privilege to be a part of a team. I was on a I have a I have a retired search and rescue canine dog. Her name is Bailey Lynn. Yes, I give my dog middle names. Uh she's almost nine years old. And for the first three or four years of her life, she was a search and rescue canine. We were on a team in uh Owensboro, Davis County, Kentucky. Uh we were the Davis County Search and Rescue. And we were on a team with probably eight to ten more dogs, you know, give or take, any one given time. Um we all were one big search and rescue team, but then Bailey and I uh we were a team together. You know, we were a team and we had one goal. Our one goal was to help people, to find people, and to bring people back home to their families, to get them out of danger, you know what I'm saying? And I was so proud to be a part of that team, you know. I was so proud to be a part of the Davis County Search and Rescue as a whole. Because when we went out there training and practicing, we did it as not only mine and Bailey and our little individual team, her and I, but we were a whole team together. And it was awesome uh to be a part of that team. And I had the privilege of watching another team at work uh just a couple of weeks ago. Um, our church, okay, with Church of God, we had a women's conference. And uh the women's ministry uh led by Sister Leanne Carter, they pulled it all so together, and it was just awesome. I walked into the fellowship center that Saturday morning and I saw all these ladies in action. I just stood back and watched them, and it was phenomenal to watch these ladies together. They were buzzing around, man, that that kitchen like little bees, and nobody, you know, everybody was happy and glee and smiling. It was teamwork. It was teamwork. And together, those ladies pulled it together, man, and it was awesome, an awesome time, awesome food. Everybody was just phenomenal. That was an awesome team. That was teamwork. You know what I'm saying? And so today I

Reading The Wall Builders List

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want to talk about teamwork, uh, unity, community, you know. Um, Nehemiah 3 is a powerful, probably often really overlooked construction report, if you will. If you've read it, one and two is good too. I haven't read all through them. I've skimmed through one and two, and sometimes I think you might have to read one and two to understand three. But under part three, verse chapter three, is really a construction report. It gives you the names and and and the duties of those building, the wall, what they did. Uh, it tells how ordinary people, how priests and rulers and residents worked side by side to build Jerusalem's walls, to rebuild, okay? And there is one, there's a couple of different phrases in there. One says, it one says, one of the phrases is next unto him, or next unto them, next unto them. And it's all through chapter three, next unto them, after him repaired, after him repaired. And these phrases, I think there's about, it's in there about 29 times. Maybe I tried to count them, but I'm not sure. Anyway, so these phrases are in there, and uh this is emphasizing that nobody had to work alone. The work was done by a very diverse group. They were performers, priests, uh, goldsmiths, I'm not sure what that is, but women, men and children, I mean, they were it was proven that everyone uh had a part of God's work. Amen. And even verse 28 and 30, if you go on through uh chapter three and you look at verse 28 and to 30, uh, it talked about the actual personal involvements of the families and the individuals, families repairing their own sections of this wall. Uh so Nehemiah 3 is a list of normal, ordinary people that we have never heard of. And they were people just like me and you who worship God and they wanted to be obedient. They wanted to allow God to do something in and through them. Amen. Now, was there anything special about these people?

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I don't know.

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Um I I I you know, like I said, it said there were they were goldsmiths and merchants and and you know, all kinds, all different kinds of people. Priests, uh rulers, sons and daughters, laborers, you know, of all different kinds. Now, at a first glance, if you look at Nehemiah 3, it looks like uh, you know, uh a chapter filled with different names and construction assignments. And it's basically, it tells you basically what each one of them done. But you also discover something really beautiful, that God's work was accomplished because ordinary people work together. And this is a powerful lesson on teamwork, on unity, uh, and every believer, every single believer doing their part in the kingdom of God. Amen.

Jerusalem In Ruins And A Burden

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So I want to go, the story, let me go back. I'm gonna have to go back. The story actually began, actually began before Nehemiah. So in 58, 586 BC, the Babylonians under K under King Nebuchadnezzar, he invaded Jerusalem. Okay, he destroyed the city, burned the walls, and tore down, burned the gates, burned the temple, and tore down the wall. And so the the people of Judah were taken in captivity, I think, if I'm understanding it about 70 years maybe, and God's people lived in exile. And so later, uh, there's a bunch of Persian kings in here, and it says some of their names, and I am not even going to try to name their names. I really hope you go and and read Nehemiah 3, and you might have to go back one and two, but but it's an awesome read. But so God moved on the hearts of these kings to allow the Jewish people to return home. Okay? And so some of them returned and rebuilt the temple. Uh some of them returned and to restore worship, some of them just returned wanting to teach the word of God. But there was one thing, one problem, a major problem that actually remained. The walls of Jerusalem were still in ruins. The walls still laid in ruins. And without walls, the city that made the city vulnerable. That that made the city uh exposed, you know, to its enemies. And so along comes a man named Nehemiah. Now Nehemiah was a cupbearer for a Persian king, and his name is in there too, but I'm not going to try to say it. Uh, so I believe a cup barrier, if I understood it right, is someone who tests the drinks uh before the king drinks it. So they bring so if the king is sitting down to dinner and they bring him his goblet or whatever they drank out of, they pour the wine in there, the cup barrier would step up and he would drink the wine, take a drink of the wine first. Now, if he lived, then the king was okay to drink his wine. If he killed over, then the king would know that his wine is poisoned. Because I I guess apparently the king must have had enemies or something. I'm not sure. But anyway, uh so if if if if the if the cup barrier died, then the king is saved. Amen. So uh so that's what Nehemiah was, a cupbearer to this Persian king. And Nehemiah's brother, and his name is H-A-N-A-N-N-I. I can't pronounce it, not even gonna try. But he brought Nehemiah some very uh very, very bad news, some very dis distressing news about Jerusalem. And he tells Nehemiah, the exiles were very distressed, the city gates are were destroyed by fire, and the walls are still broken down and laying in ruins. Okay, so the Bible says that this report, this this news that Nehemiah got, it prompted him to weep. He cried. Then he started fasting and praying, and so finally he asked permission uh from his king to go and return to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls of the city and the city. And so his king gave him permission. And there's more to this, people. Please go read it. There's more to it. I'm just not really touching base on all of it. But the gist that I'm trying to make is Nehemiah gathered his people to work on the walls, and so he travels to Jerusalem. Now, you know, Jerusalem's enemies were very, very malicious. And when they found out, you know, I'm sure they probably started raising come some kind of cane. But anyway, the point, it to the point that Nehemiah instructed his workers to labor with one hand and hold a weapon in the other. Can you imagine the work and the labor that these people put in, you know, by just you know, Nehemiah 4 and 17 talks about that, and that's that's the next chapter. But uh anyway, I I really hope you go back and you read this. Uh so the priest and the merchants and the goldsmiths, and they all they all come together and they work side by side to rebuild these walls. They were ordinary people,

Building While Facing Opposition

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you know. They but they were ordinary people who work together. And um friends, that's we see the same in the church today, you know. Uh we're stronger together. We're a lot stronger together. Uh, you know, I was talking to to Brother JD just a while ago about uh in church last Sunday. Um there was a young man that came in, and I'm not sure exactly what went on, and I don't know about the whole details and what was wrong with him and stuff. I believe the young man ended up giving his life to the Lord, but somebody brought him up front and everybody walked over and started praying for this young man. Everybody laid hands on him, and I mean everybody up front, you know, we all we congregate up front and we we, you know, do the praising and stuff, and everybody was walking over and they started anointing him and they started praying for him. And I walked over and I put my hand on his back and somebody had their hand on my back, and it was just a a crew of the children of the Lord praying for this one boy. Okay. And I you could feel he was crying, you could see his shoulders moving up, you could tell that the things that were being said around him was probably uh affecting him. You could tell the power of the Lord was just everywhere. And I was telling JD, brother JD, I said it was phenomenal to stand in amongst these people, these children of God. And they were uh they were praying for this young man and and rebuking the devil and telling the devil to let him go and get away from him and leave him be and let him go. And and I'm rebuking, and then and and I was telling Brother JD, I said, I wanted to pray for this man, and I did. I prayed for him, but I would also, I also couldn't help but stop and listen at my brothers and sisters in Christ. This team of people of God congregated here and praying for this young man. It was just awesome. I mean, I don't believe I've heard people pray like that, and I couldn't tell you when. And it was awesome to know these people are a team. These people are that is unity to come together

A Church Prayer Team In Action

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in one mind and one accord and to go before the Lord in prayer for a fellow brother or a sister or a sinner, anybody for that matter. So I wanted to just touch base on that little story. I just thought that was awesome. Uh I was talking to Brother JD about that a while ago. But uh, anyway, the thing about the wall and these people, everyone had a place on the wall. This chapter repeatedly says that people worked next unto him or next unto them. And uh, you see, God gave each and every one of those people a section of the wall to build. Some might have built large sections, some probably built might have built small sections, but every section mattered. Every section was important. Amen. It wasn't just your little bitty pieces over there, well, my pieces are bigger. There was there was there was probably nothing like that. These people were here doing the words and doing the work of God, rebuilding this wall. And you probably didn't see anybody saying, Oh, well, my piece was better than yours. My my my piece of the wall looks better than yours. You probably didn't see that because God gave each and every one of them a section to build. And every section was important. Just like in our churches today, God gives each and every one of us a job, a thing to do on this team. We are a team of God's people, God's children, brothers and sisters in Christ, and God gives each and every one of us a spot in his church and on this team that we can we are supposed to come to the table, sit down at God's table, and use that time uh to and we put our teamwork to work. We we put it to work, and we we get up and we build. But, you know, a lot of things people don't understand is not everybody is called to preach. Not everybody is called to sing. I'll I would love to be on a praise team. I'm not quite I'm not a singer. I don't think I'm a singer. Now I put on some pretty good concerts at home and I put a pretty pretty good concerts in my truck, but uh I will sing. I can't sing, but I will sing in a minute. But not everyone is called to even teach. But I'm telling you, people, everyone has a place in God's kingdom. And you see, sometimes we let the enemy, and I have felt this myself not too long ago, sometimes we let the enemy uh, he wants us to compare ourselves with others. You know, uh, you know, well man, you're you're you're jumping and running around as, well, you know, I can't I do that, and you're speaking in tongues, and why can't I do that? You know, the enemy puts those things in our hearts and in our minds. And, you know, when friends, God only he really just simply wants us. He just simply asks us to be faithful at the place that he did put us, at the things that he did give us, at the job that he gave us to do. Don't worry about everybody else's job. Don't worry about Sister So-and-so over here jumping up and down. That that's her dance before the Lord. Because you have your assignment, you have yours. We have I have mine. And sometimes the enemy will get on us like that. I know, trust me. And uh, and so another thing about these workers here, they were all from different backgrounds. Uh the builders were all from different backgrounds. The priest work, uh uh, the goldsmiths work, the merchants, the families work together. They were all people from different skills, but they shared one mission, one purpose. You see, you see, people listen to me. The church is not a collection of identical people. The church is a family of diverse people united by an awesome Christ. Amen. And when everyone focuses on the mission instead of our differences, walls get built. Read Nehemiah three. There's not a one in there that was the same as the other person. And when they all focused on the building, the building of the walls

Stop Comparing And Serve Faithfully

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that God gave them to do, walls got built. Amen. Now there was some, there was some, according to Ma uh Nehemiah 3 and 20, there was some that actually went uh worked beyond expectations. Uh verse 20 says, and after him, Baruch B-A-R-U-C-H, he earnestly repaired. Earnestly repaired his section. I don't think I don't think the Bible said anything else about anybody working earnestly but this man. So he didn't just work, he worked passionately. Amen. And see, God notices those people that give their best effort. That's all he wants. That's all he wants is for you to do the best that you can possibly do. And see, the kingdom advances because people who serve faithfully even when nobody's watching. Amen. Praise the Lord. And Nehemiah 3 and 5 tells us that the it says that the nobles put not their necks to the work. What does that tell us? This verse shows the difference between the willing commoners of the city and their lazy leaders. Let's just say it that way. Their arrogant leaders. See, the everyday citizens were willing to do the heavy lifting and going above and beyond to help rebuild the walls, but then you had the leaders and the upper class people who felt like uh manual labor was beneath them. Yeah, we got those. So most of the people were building, but some did refuse. And the thing that gets me the most today is that people every church has workers, and every church has watchers. We have pew sitters. There's a lot of 'em. And you know, uh the wall was built by those willing to get up and to get their hands dirty. It didn't matter what their background was, where they came from, what they had to do, they got up and they did their part, they got their hands dirty and that's what got the wall built. You know, friends, ask yourself this today. Are you helping build the kingdom? Or are you just sitting by watching others build? Just just just search your heart on that, please. And think about all the families. Think about this. Think about all the families that built together. Several families built together, they work side by side. Now what a picture of the church. These families, sons and daughters, and brothers and sisters working side by side. Aside. You know, friends, when families pray together, when they worship together, when they serve together, then strong walls are built around for future generations. Amen. And to me, one of the greatest legacies we could ever

Builders Versus Watchers

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leave is a family committed to the work of God. You know, Pastor John and our church makes references a lot of times to some of the older saints that were in that church. And a lot of the people that's sitting in that church were were kin and family to a lot of those people. And so what a legacy that these people left. What a legacy these people left. And now we have some of the families here committed to the work of God. Amen. That's just awesome. So friends, listen, the walls of Jerusalem wasn't built by a superstar or a big major uh construction team. It was rebuilt by ordinary people who decided to work together. Some of them carried stones, some of them uh hung gates, some probably replaced damaged places, and some even just maybe stood around for encouragement of others. That's all well and good. You know? But listen, no one could do everything. Not one person could do everything. But everyone working could do something. Amen. And I'm telling you, friends, today the church don't need spectators. The church needs builders. And the kingdom of God moves forward when God's people lock arms, lay aside their personal agendas, and work together for the glory of God, for the furtherment of the kingdom of heaven. Amen. Amen. Imagine, friends with me, imagine what could happen if every believer picked up their tools and took their place on the wall. Imagine the families restored. Imagine the addicted delivered, the addicts delivered, the prodigals returning home. My friends, imagine the lost finding Jesus. And see, the wall is still being built today. And God is still looking for strong builders. And the question is not the question is not whether there is work to do. The crest question is, will you take your place on the wall? Will you take your place on the wall? That's the point of this message today. It's picking up your tools and taking your place on the wall. Now, Nehemiah 3, you can also look at it as a a picture of the church working together. You know? They working together to accomplish something that one individual couldn't accomplish on their own. Amen. I mean, like I said, if you noticed uh how many times the phrase next unto him or after him is used. And the Holy Spirit could have just simply said, well, you know, they rebuilt the wall. But instead he emphasized, emphasized that they worked side by side. And God is showing us that his ministry was never intended to be a one-person ministry. You see, the wall was too big for Nehemiah. The burden was given to him, but the building was accomplished by the people. Nehemiah had the vision, but he needed the workers. And see, the priest couldn't do it alone. The merchants couldn't do it alone. The rulers couldn't do it alone. It took everyone. Friends, it took every single one of them. And the church today is the same way. It's the same way. One person may preach, one person may teach, one person may pray, one person may encourage, one person may give, one person may just serve behind the scenes at doing things we probably don't even know they do. But friends, listen to me. None of us can

Unity That Pushes Back Division

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do everything, but all of us can do something. Amen. And you see, a single brick, a single brick don't make a wall, a single board don't make a house, or a single pro player don't make up a whole team. Friends, a single believer don't fulfill the Great Commission. But when you join all this uh each one of these pieces together, then something powerful is built for the glory of God. Amen. Amen. See, the enemy knows. The enemy knows he can't stop a united church. And that's why a lot of times he uh he works so hard to create division and jealousy and uh competition and hurt feelings. Uh friends, I'm telling you, if the enemy can sp can separate the builders, he can slow the building. Amen. Psalms thirty Psalms 133 says God commands his blessings where there's unity. See, the devil tremples, the devil trembles when people God's people step up, stop fighting each other, step up, and start fighting for the kingdom together. Not against one another. You know? And I would say more than likely, I would say more than likely, as these builders stood on that wall, you probably didn't hear any of them say, Well, you know, who gets the credit for this? Whose name is going on this wall? Whose name is going on that plaque over there? You see, they had one goal, and that was to get the wall built. Because you know, the the the kingdom of God will never be advanced if all we're doing is seeking recognition. Amen. It's only going to be advanced if people are seeking the glory of God. You know. One of them, one person laid stones, one hung gates, one carried supplies, one probably repaired weak places. And they were all people from different jobs, from different abilities, different backgrounds, but they have one purpose. And because they all work together on that one purpose, the wall stood. You see, church, today, we are not come competing against one another. We ought to be completing each other. Because the pastor needs uh the prayer warriors, the teacher needs the encouragers, and the worship leader needs the worshipers. So each one of us is a builder on the wall, and when we stand shoulder to shoulder, heart to heart and hand in hand, there's no limit to what God can do through his people. Amen. That wall was built because everyone took their place. And my friends, trust me today, the kingdom will advance when we take our place on that wall. Amen. No, it wasn't that wall wasn't built by the most talented people, no. It was built when ordinary people get united around an extraordinary God and do what he says to do. And friends, today, if we work together uh and and serve together and build together, we can do much more for the kingdom than any one of us could ever do alone. You know. Nehemiah three reminds us that God's work is bigger than any one person. And it reminds us that the kingdom advances when God's people work together. Amen. And the names in Nehemiah 3, we may not even they may not be familiar to none of us, to you and me, but they are to God. God knows each and every name that put each and every stone and each and every board or whatever they built that wall, each and every nail, or each and ever whatever they built that wall out of. God knows each and every name of each and every person that placed each and every section. Amen. And they weren't prophets or kings or famous warriors, they were simply faithful builders. And sometimes the greatest contribution we can make to the kingdom is not to be known, but just to be faithful. Because I would say, more than likely, if we read through the rest of the Bible and Old Testament especially, none of those builders ever probably received any mention in Scripture again. Yet their work helped accomplish something extraordinary. Amen. And when the wall was done, probably not a single builder stood back and said, Hey, I did this. More than likely,

Final Challenge Prayer And Outro

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they all stood back and said, You know what? We did this by the grace of God. Amen. So, friends, I I tell you today, my challenge for you today is very simple. I want you to find a place on the wall, pick up your tools, link arms with your brothers and your sisters in Christ. And let's build the kingdom together until Jesus Christ comes. I don't think we have long to wait. I don't think we have long to build. I really hope this has blessed you as much as it's blessed me to bring it to you. Uh I hope this message reminds us that we're never called to build alone. We're builders and we're laborers and we're servants in the kingdom of God. And I think it's about time we all act like it. Amen. Thank you very much for listening. I hope this has uh blessed you as much as it's blessed me to bring it to you. Please go back and read Nehemiah 1, 2, and 3. I think you'll very think you'll really enjoy the story. Uh anyway, I'm gonna I'm gonna end with a prayer now. Lord our Father, God in heaven, I ask you, Lord, to let each and every ear and each and every heart that hears this message about unity, about teamwork, about picking up their tools and getting on that wall and spreading the word of God and spreading and helping the furtherment of the kingdom. Help these people to open up their hearts and to search their hearts and to see, Lord, let them see. Let them see how the unity that we need in the churches today and everywhere we go. Lord, we thank you for our time here today. We thank you for this message. We thank you, Lord, for each and everything that you've given us. We praise you and we honor you, and we ask you to let these words go, Lord, to the hearts and the ears and the minds of the people that need to hear it. Bless each and everybody out there, and we ask these in all things in Jesus' holy name. Amen and amen. God bless everybody.

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Stay on Jesus.

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You've been listening to Bible Talk with Sister Debosmer, hey, go visit our website at HOR421 Show.bussprout.com for more content and information. Recorded at the 421 Studio. For contact information, you can email at HOR421 Ministries at gmail.com. Phone numbers 339-849-1502. You've been listening to Bible Talk with Sister Deb Osman.

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Stay there on Jesus, don't I woke up this morning with my mind? Stay there on the moment.