WEBVTT 00:00:01.840 --> 00:00:05.839 You know, he's uh he's not against us, he's for us, for for for each of us. 00:00:05.919 --> 00:00:10.400 He's not mad at us, and uh he loves us, he wants to be with us. 00:00:10.560 --> 00:00:16.160 And uh one thing he wants to do is just help us rebuild our lives, build into our lives. 00:00:16.320 --> 00:00:20.000 He's a great God, and we're gonna talk about that in a little bit. 00:00:20.160 --> 00:00:24.719 Uh first I need to share a couple things that uh that are going on. 00:00:24.879 --> 00:00:28.879 Um we had Telgate Sunday next uh next Sunday. 00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:32.799 Um it's uh it's a great Sunday, it's it's fun every year. 00:00:33.039 --> 00:00:48.640 Um we'll we'll get together, we'll hang out, we'll do, you know, we'll uh um kind of do our normal thing in here, and then right afterwards we'll have an hour and a half or so to Telgate and get ready for the Falcons game, which we'll show in high death on um on the big screen. 00:00:48.799 --> 00:00:51.280 And um you can wear all your gear. 00:00:51.520 --> 00:01:02.399 Um our Alabama fans will have a week tree cover, so you can um you can roll tide with pride next Sunday and um wear our team stuff and we'll just have fun together. 00:01:02.560 --> 00:01:07.760 They'll have uh an area for the older kids, we'll have some games and face painting and and that type of stuff. 00:01:07.920 --> 00:01:10.239 Bring your lawn chairs, we'll have a chili cook-off. 00:01:10.480 --> 00:01:18.959 If you uh want to participate in that and haven't signed up, um you can do that at the info desk um on the left uh as we go out. 00:01:19.200 --> 00:01:22.319 We're also gonna have a food drive um next Sunday. 00:01:22.400 --> 00:01:27.439 It's for uh Must Ministries and No Longer Bound, which is an addiction recovery program. 00:01:27.760 --> 00:01:38.879 And so if uh you think about it, bring some uh some non-perishable food, you know, anything dry or or uh canned, and we'll fill up that uh ban and take that uh to them afterwards. 00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:41.200 Um we're also getting ready to start Christmas Angels. 00:01:41.280 --> 00:01:45.840 It's that time of year, that time of year, and uh Christmas Angels is one of the fun things. 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:52.480 Uh it's just a great thing that we do together, how we can really demonstrate love to uh to the community around us. 00:01:52.560 --> 00:02:02.719 And we've adopted a school this year, it's Chapman Elementary, and uh we're gonna help 200 and some uh of uh their children have uh have a great Christmas. 00:02:02.879 --> 00:02:04.719 And uh we do need some help. 00:02:04.879 --> 00:02:10.000 Uh we're gonna start putting together kind of three teams to uh to help with Christmas Angels. 00:02:10.159 --> 00:02:23.039 One will be an administrative team where um we'll get the list together, and you know what what happens is it's the school counselors uh in our case at Chapman that'll that will recommend the different uh the different kids. 00:02:23.120 --> 00:02:30.960 And so they'll give us a list and then we'll put it all together and and uh um and get stars together, and there's a t administrative team that does that. 00:02:31.120 --> 00:02:35.680 We'll have a big take-a-stars day when we all get to choose uh the children that we're gonna help. 00:02:36.159 --> 00:02:37.599 Um we'll need uh a team for that. 00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:43.919 And then drop-off days when we all bring back the stuff and we get it organized and and ready to uh to deliver. 00:02:44.080 --> 00:02:51.520 So if you can help in any of those teams, um please uh sign up for one of those at the infodesk uh afterwards. 00:02:51.840 --> 00:02:54.400 And um the last thing is just giving. 00:02:54.560 --> 00:02:59.120 Once a month I want to kind of share where we're at uh giving-wise. 00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:01.680 If you're new, we don't uh we don't pass a play. 00:03:01.759 --> 00:03:08.080 We have giving uh kind of stations in the back uh in the back of the room, and and some of us also give uh online. 00:03:08.400 --> 00:03:10.879 You can do that off of the website. 00:03:11.120 --> 00:03:16.560 This is a real important time for us uh giving-wise, especially the next you know, four months. 00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:20.879 We really need to get over the hump, if you will, um financially. 00:03:20.960 --> 00:03:41.919 And we talked first part of August how we really need to average about$20 per person per week is what it would take to do what we need to do, and we're really careful with everything and and have a very small staff and a ton of us volunteer, but but that's about what what it uh it takes to get the you know the principal on our loan paid down and and do what we need to do. 00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:47.120 And and uh and so in August we had one of our best giving months ever. 00:03:47.280 --> 00:03:54.719 And we were helped because we had five weeks, and uh, but still it was one of the best uh giving months ever. 00:03:54.879 --> 00:03:59.199 And then in September, we had our best giving month ever. 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:11.280 And we did for the first time and we did for the first time average over over$20 per person uh um per week. 00:04:11.439 --> 00:04:15.120 And that is uh um, well, it I mean it's just it it's great news. 00:04:15.280 --> 00:04:24.560 And you should know that almost half of that came from two families with special one-time gifts. 00:04:24.720 --> 00:04:29.199 They got it put on their um their hearts. 00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:41.759 And uh and for both of them, it was like a sacrificial big-time step of faith, um, listening to God um type of type of thing. 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:46.160 And uh so that should be really encouraging for us that that we're not in this alone. 00:04:46.240 --> 00:04:50.480 We're all in this uh um all in this together. 00:04:50.720 --> 00:04:57.759 And uh and I want to encourage you that uh that when God is talking to us that way, to uh to go for it. 00:04:58.000 --> 00:04:59.279 You can trust Him. 00:04:59.519 --> 00:05:04.720 And uh and those big steps of faith are sometimes the most important things in our life. 00:05:04.800 --> 00:05:06.000 It was true with Susan and I. 00:05:06.079 --> 00:05:19.199 We were at one of those points and uh just went forward and it was one of the most important, best decisions we ever made because it just changed our whole life, not just the financial part of it, but really that we could we learned that we actually can trust God. 00:05:19.360 --> 00:05:23.360 It's not just something we say on Sundays, we actually can trust Him. 00:05:23.519 --> 00:05:28.800 We have a real living God that loves us, and when we step out in faith, He never lets us down. 00:05:28.959 --> 00:05:30.319 We can totally trust Him. 00:05:30.560 --> 00:05:41.839 And uh it was a huge uh huge step for us, and um it's a it's a huge opportunity for all of us when we um when we uh when we get there together. 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:45.759 But we're doing good, and uh and and we're we're gonna make it. 00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:49.120 And so I just want to thank you and encourage you. 00:05:49.279 --> 00:05:59.360 You know it's gonna take all of our stretching and faith and um sacrifice, but uh we are we are getting there and uh and we will do it and we'll do it together. 00:05:59.519 --> 00:06:00.879 So thank you for that. 00:06:01.120 --> 00:06:02.959 Um let's pray. 00:06:03.279 --> 00:06:06.720 Father, thanks for being such a wonderful God. 00:06:07.439 --> 00:06:10.160 And thank you for adopting us your key as your children. 00:06:10.319 --> 00:06:12.879 Thank you for your amazing grace. 00:06:13.040 --> 00:06:15.920 We just uh need that, and we praise you for that. 00:06:16.480 --> 00:06:22.480 Holy Spirit, thank you for being our teacher and comforter and counselor, and just please teach us this morning whatever we talk about. 00:06:22.560 --> 00:06:29.759 Would you just like translate it into each of our hearts and so we can each walk away with at least one thing for us from you? 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:31.600 And we just thank you and trust you for that. 00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:42.639 And Jesus, we just thank you for doing everything, for giving us a way to reconnect with our Father, to show us what God is really like, and to for just being our friend every day. 00:06:42.800 --> 00:06:45.680 We praise you and we thank you, and it's in your name that we pray. 00:06:45.920 --> 00:06:46.560 Amen. 00:06:47.839 --> 00:06:52.560 So we are looking at one of the greatest books ever written together. 00:06:52.800 --> 00:06:55.279 It's about achieving incredible things uh with God. 00:06:55.439 --> 00:06:58.800 It's not a biography, it was written 2,500 years ago. 00:06:58.879 --> 00:07:02.639 It's the book of Nehemiah, and it's in the in the Old Testament. 00:07:02.879 --> 00:07:06.879 At the time of Nehemiah, uh Persia ruled the world. 00:07:07.040 --> 00:07:10.399 And uh Arta Xerxes was the king of of Persia. 00:07:10.560 --> 00:07:15.040 I was talking to Marlin before classes on on Wednesday night. 00:07:15.279 --> 00:07:20.000 And uh and he mentioned that that was roughly the same time that the movie 300 took place. 00:07:20.079 --> 00:07:24.000 I don't know if you um if you saw the movie, but that's absolutely right. 00:07:24.160 --> 00:07:26.160 That that is the uh the time frame. 00:07:26.319 --> 00:07:40.800 Um in the movie, uh Gerard Butler played King Leonidas, and he was on this kind of suicide mission, if you will, and and the enemy was uh the evil king of Persia, Xerxes, um, who was the king of the time. 00:07:40.879 --> 00:07:46.240 He kind of thought of him himself as uh part king, part uh part god. 00:07:46.399 --> 00:07:50.079 Well, about thirty years later, Nehemiah is on the scene. 00:07:50.240 --> 00:07:52.879 And the king now is Arta Xerxes. 00:07:53.120 --> 00:07:54.800 Arta means son of. 00:07:55.439 --> 00:07:59.839 And so King Arta Xerxes is the son of Xerxes. 00:08:00.160 --> 00:08:09.199 And so that movie was kind of historical fantasy, but it might give you a bit of a visual backdrop if you saw it, for this time that uh that Nehemiah lived. 00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:12.399 Nehemiah lived in the the city of Susa. 00:08:12.720 --> 00:08:14.639 Uh today it's a city in Iran. 00:08:14.720 --> 00:08:17.920 It was about 800 miles from Jerusalem. 00:08:18.000 --> 00:08:26.000 And one day, Nehemiah's brother and some of Nehemiah's friends come to visit him from Jerusalem, and they tell him about the terrible conditions uh in Jerusalem. 00:08:26.079 --> 00:08:31.439 In Nehemiah 1, 3, they said to me, Things are not going well for those who return to the province of Judah. 00:08:31.600 --> 00:08:33.360 They are in great trouble and disgrace. 00:08:33.519 --> 00:08:38.080 The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire. 00:08:38.320 --> 00:08:40.399 When I heard this, I sat down and wept. 00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:44.559 In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven. 00:08:44.799 --> 00:08:50.159 The destroyed wall of Jerusalem was four and a half miles long around the city. 00:08:50.320 --> 00:08:54.720 Uh it's twenty feet uh tall, sixteen feet wide, but at this time it was nothing. 00:08:54.799 --> 00:09:00.960 It was piles of stone, piles of burnt wood, rubble, and the wall was so critical to Jerusalem. 00:09:01.120 --> 00:09:06.720 It was their main uh means of protection, and they lived in very dangerous times. 00:09:06.879 --> 00:09:09.679 I mean, without that wall, they were really hurting. 00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:17.120 I mean, they had no peace, they were on constant con under constant attack, they had no joy, no future really. 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:23.440 As Nehemiah's brother said, uh, they are in great trouble and disgrace. 00:09:23.679 --> 00:09:34.080 Well, six months later, these same people would be dancing in the street, shouting so loud that all the people around them could hear. 00:09:34.639 --> 00:09:36.799 And you might be in trouble and disgrace. 00:09:36.960 --> 00:09:41.039 You might feel as if part of your life has crumbled or is in ruins. 00:09:41.120 --> 00:09:44.799 But sooner than you know, it can be you that's dancing in the street. 00:09:44.879 --> 00:09:48.960 It can be you that's shouting and full with of joy. 00:09:49.120 --> 00:09:50.159 It's a God thing. 00:09:50.399 --> 00:09:51.440 It's a God thing. 00:09:51.679 --> 00:09:54.480 With our loving Father, we can do anything. 00:09:54.720 --> 00:09:58.799 One of his favorite things is to build and to rebuild and to renew. 00:09:59.200 --> 00:10:01.279 We may not be in a build rebuilding mode. 00:10:01.360 --> 00:10:03.039 We might be more of a building mode. 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:05.919 We're just building on what God's already done in our lives. 00:10:06.080 --> 00:10:11.200 Either way, God has shown us how we do that through this autobiography of Nehemiah. 00:10:11.679 --> 00:10:14.639 So Nehemiah hears this report and he decides that enough is enough. 00:10:14.799 --> 00:10:16.720 It's time to rebuild that wall. 00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:18.799 And so he asked God for help. 00:10:19.120 --> 00:10:25.679 Specifically asked that God would change the king's heart, that he actually put kindness into the king's heart for him. 00:10:25.759 --> 00:10:27.279 And that's exactly what he does. 00:10:27.360 --> 00:10:28.960 And he waits and he plans. 00:10:29.200 --> 00:10:35.840 And about four months later, you know, he goes to the king, and he's been cheerful and he's been positive this whole time. 00:10:36.080 --> 00:10:38.799 The king gives him everything he needs and more. 00:10:39.440 --> 00:10:40.960 And so he heads to Jerusalem. 00:10:41.039 --> 00:10:43.840 He inspects the wall, he gathers the people. 00:10:45.200 --> 00:10:48.960 They look and they say, you know, let's build. 00:10:49.840 --> 00:10:50.639 Let's build. 00:10:51.039 --> 00:10:54.559 Now there's a few local leaders that say to Nehemiah, Who are you to build? 00:10:55.120 --> 00:10:57.120 You should leave things just the way they are. 00:10:57.600 --> 00:11:00.799 Nehemiah tells them, It's none of your business. 00:11:01.120 --> 00:11:03.440 This is none of your business. 00:11:03.679 --> 00:11:04.799 And then they get busy. 00:11:04.960 --> 00:11:08.480 They get busy building, and that's where we start today. 00:11:08.720 --> 00:11:11.120 In Nehemiah chapter 3, verse 1. 00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:14.639 The high priest Eliashab and his fellow priests were up and at it. 00:11:14.720 --> 00:11:16.240 They went to work on the sheepgate. 00:11:16.320 --> 00:11:21.840 They repaired it and hung its doors, continuing on as far as the Tower of the Hundred and Tower of Hananel. 00:11:21.919 --> 00:11:25.840 The men of Jericho worked alongside them, and next to them Zachar, son of Imri. 00:11:26.320 --> 00:11:27.120 And it goes on. 00:11:27.200 --> 00:11:36.080 The whole chapter is a list of people and groups of people that worked together on parts of the wall as they rebuilt. 00:11:36.159 --> 00:11:39.519 And we've talked about how purposeful Nehemiah was when he wrote. 00:11:39.679 --> 00:11:41.440 How everything he said was for a reason. 00:11:41.919 --> 00:11:45.120 He had a real purpose. 00:11:45.679 --> 00:11:47.120 And this is purposeful too. 00:11:47.200 --> 00:11:52.159 It wasn't just God and Nehemiah, it was the whole city of Jerusalem. 00:11:52.320 --> 00:11:53.519 Everybody was critical. 00:11:53.679 --> 00:11:55.120 Everyone had a part. 00:11:55.759 --> 00:12:01.600 Nehemiah takes an entire chapter of his autobiography and names them by name. 00:12:02.639 --> 00:12:04.399 Because everybody was important. 00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:06.240 Everybody was critical. 00:12:06.480 --> 00:12:10.159 We won't read the whole chapter, but here's just a sample of what Nehemiah does. 00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:13.200 He says, the fish gate was built by the Hasannah brothers. 00:12:13.279 --> 00:12:16.559 They repaired it, hung its doors, and installed its bolts and bars. 00:12:16.799 --> 00:12:20.639 Uziel, son of Heriah of the goldsmith's guild, worked next to him. 00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:27.200 And next to Hananiah, one of the perfumers, they rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem as far as the broad wall. 00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:33.759 Malachih, son of Haram, and Haseb, son of Pathab Moab, rebuilt another section that included the Tower of Furnaces. 00:12:34.639 --> 00:12:41.759 Working next to him was Shalom, son of Halahesh, mayor of the other half district of Jerusalem, along with his daughters. 00:12:42.559 --> 00:12:49.279 The dung gate itself was rebuilt by Micaiah, son of Rechab, the mayor of the district of Beth Hakaram. 00:12:49.679 --> 00:12:53.279 He repaired it, hung its doors, and it stalled its bolts and bars. 00:12:53.440 --> 00:12:55.600 Okay, how would you like to have that gate? 00:12:56.320 --> 00:12:57.919 The dung gate. 00:12:58.639 --> 00:13:01.279 See, it was called that because that's what it was. 00:13:01.519 --> 00:13:08.240 That was the gate that they took all the trash and all of the waste out of the city of Jerusalem. 00:13:08.559 --> 00:13:12.240 Now here's a mayor of one of the districts. 00:13:12.399 --> 00:13:13.840 And what's he doing? 00:13:14.159 --> 00:13:16.720 He's repairing the dung gate. 00:13:16.960 --> 00:13:18.320 Whatever it takes. 00:13:18.639 --> 00:13:20.000 Whatever it takes. 00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:20.960 It goes on. 00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:28.960 Malachih the goldsmith repaired the wall as far as the house of the temple support staff and merchants, up to the inspection gate and the upper room at the corner. 00:13:29.200 --> 00:13:34.960 The goldsmiths and the merchants made the repairs between the upper room at the corner and the sheep gate. 00:13:35.360 --> 00:13:47.200 We just read about all kinds of people: mares, fathers working alongside their daughters, priests, goldsmiths, merchants, perfume makers, all sharing the same role. 00:13:47.440 --> 00:13:49.039 They were builders. 00:13:49.679 --> 00:13:52.879 They were all builders. 00:13:53.279 --> 00:13:55.039 See, Nehemiah teaches us a lot. 00:13:55.200 --> 00:14:06.240 He has up to now, and he's going to, as we go on, he teaches us a lot about building individually with God, how we hear from God and uh and just interacting with God as we build. 00:14:06.399 --> 00:14:09.120 But this chapter is a team chapter. 00:14:09.519 --> 00:14:12.159 He's teaching us how to build as a team. 00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:18.240 And a lot of the building and rebuilding that we'll each do in our lives is going to be with other people. 00:14:18.399 --> 00:14:21.360 It's going to be as a team. 00:14:21.679 --> 00:14:34.399 And he shows us that there's times to have roles and there's times to have specialties, but there's other times to forget all that and just work together, do whatever it takes as a team. 00:14:34.879 --> 00:14:45.840 In Romans 15, it says, those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter and not just do what is most convenient for us. 00:14:46.639 --> 00:14:49.519 Strength is for service, not status. 00:14:49.840 --> 00:14:56.720 Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, how can I help? 00:14:57.360 --> 00:14:59.279 You know, it's true in our marriages. 00:14:59.519 --> 00:15:11.440 You know, for a lot of us, we kind of divide up roles uh in our marriages based on, you know, maybe who's stronger at one thing, or sometimes even which of us uh enjoys uh something more. 00:15:11.600 --> 00:15:16.480 That's kind of how Susan and I uh operate in our marriage. 00:15:16.559 --> 00:15:22.480 It can be a really good way to function, but there's also times that we're all that doesn't matter. 00:15:22.879 --> 00:15:30.240 What matters is we both jump in and we do whatever it takes because we've got a marriage to build. 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:41.279 I've talked about Susan and I being uh broke at different times uh in our marriage, and one was right after we were married, and we both tried to help with that however we could. 00:15:41.360 --> 00:15:49.759 Uh, one thing that Susan would do was that she managed uh the holiday um events at the mall. 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:58.879 And so on uh on Christmas, you know, when Santa Claus would be there and the parents would bring their kids and they get pictures and and all that, then Susan would manage that. 00:15:58.960 --> 00:16:01.759 And it was the same on on Easter and and other holidays. 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:13.919 And um uh one Saturday just before Easter, I'm at home uh with with uh Andrew, who is really small, and I get the call. 00:16:14.159 --> 00:16:18.320 Uh the person who is supposed to be the Easter bunny has called in sick. 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:29.120 And Susan's called everybody else and everyone on her list, and and it's all at the the last minute. 00:16:30.480 --> 00:16:32.799 See, and the problem is I'm a real introvert. 00:16:32.960 --> 00:16:37.279 I mean, I was even more so uh back then. 00:16:37.759 --> 00:16:46.799 And so I tell Susan, I say, you know, listen, I love you, and and I really want to help, but I just can't do it. 00:16:48.399 --> 00:17:04.720 So I'm walking through the mall in my bunny suit, waving at all the kids with my big basket of uh of candy, and here's a pro tip for you uh Easter bunny wannabes. 00:17:05.359 --> 00:17:08.799 Um, the inside of those suits they smell really bad. 00:17:09.359 --> 00:17:14.079 I don't think Febreze had been invented, you know, at uh at this time. 00:17:14.480 --> 00:17:17.519 But sometimes you just do whatever it takes. 00:17:17.759 --> 00:17:22.640 You do whatever it takes for the team, because we are a team. 00:17:22.880 --> 00:17:24.240 We gotta work together. 00:17:24.480 --> 00:17:30.799 As parents, one of us might take an active, uh a more active role in in one part of our kids' lives. 00:17:30.960 --> 00:17:32.160 Um, you know, it might be the schoolwork. 00:17:32.240 --> 00:17:42.079 It might be that one of us is more gifted, and and so uh so that parent takes a more active role in homework and projects and school. 00:17:42.240 --> 00:17:48.079 But uh man, if our kids are struggling, we gotta be a team. 00:17:48.319 --> 00:17:50.079 We gotta both jump in. 00:17:50.319 --> 00:17:52.319 We've got something to build, something important. 00:17:52.480 --> 00:17:54.559 We're building together. 00:17:55.119 --> 00:17:56.799 We've got to do whatever it takes as a team. 00:17:56.960 --> 00:17:58.720 It's true here at his hands. 00:17:58.960 --> 00:18:06.960 And we have people, uh, all kinds of people that are highly respected uh in their careers, and they clean up afterwards on Sunday. 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:10.720 They're you know uh key helpers in the nursery. 00:18:11.440 --> 00:18:19.839 Uh one leads uh his kids on weeks that uh Justin is uh is speaking, or out of town. 00:18:19.920 --> 00:18:22.720 So, you know, out of town, we might be trained to do other things. 00:18:23.440 --> 00:18:30.240 We might have our own gifts in our own areas, but we're building something together as a team. 00:18:30.480 --> 00:18:32.240 And so we're all builders. 00:18:32.480 --> 00:18:33.839 We all have the same role. 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:35.279 It's all equally important. 00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:38.000 You know, whatever section of the wall you're building is equally important. 00:18:38.160 --> 00:18:44.079 It might be the prayer team or the welcome team or setting up coffee on uh on Sunday morning, helping with high school. 00:18:44.160 --> 00:18:47.839 It might be me sharing on Sunday, someone landscaping on Saturday. 00:18:48.079 --> 00:18:49.920 It is all equally important. 00:18:50.079 --> 00:18:51.440 It is all critical. 00:18:51.680 --> 00:18:54.000 It's just different sections of the wall. 00:18:54.319 --> 00:18:57.839 We're just building different sections of the wall. 00:18:58.799 --> 00:19:00.079 But it's all important. 00:19:00.880 --> 00:19:10.000 You know, in Jerusalem, it didn't matter if they were a jeweler or a perfume maker or a mayor, a son or a daughter, they were all builders. 00:19:11.519 --> 00:19:17.519 Nehemiah took the time to mention 38 people in 42 groups by name, because they were all important. 00:19:18.559 --> 00:19:20.160 They were all builders. 00:19:20.720 --> 00:19:23.279 There's something else key in this third chapter. 00:19:23.440 --> 00:19:27.839 Not so much uh Nehemiah, but why were the people building? 00:19:28.160 --> 00:19:29.519 See, there were two motivations. 00:19:29.680 --> 00:19:31.680 One was that it was an important cause. 00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:38.960 You know, it was worth the sacrifice, it was worth the time, it was gonna help thousands and thousands of people for decades. 00:19:40.559 --> 00:19:42.880 So many people were gonna be affected. 00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:49.519 But there was another motivation for many of these people, and that is that it was personal. 00:19:50.480 --> 00:19:52.240 That for them it was personal. 00:19:52.480 --> 00:19:58.799 In Nehemiah 3 10, it says, Next to him, Jediah, son of Haram, rebuilt the wall in front of his house. 00:19:59.039 --> 00:20:02.079 Hatush, son of Hashbaniah, worked next to him. 00:20:02.799 --> 00:20:07.039 Verse 23, Benjamin and Hashab worked on the wall in front of their house. 00:20:07.200 --> 00:20:12.480 And Azariah, son of Messiah, the son of Ananiah, did the work alongside his house. 00:20:12.640 --> 00:20:17.839 Above the horse gate the priests worked, each priest repairing the wall in front of his own house. 00:20:18.079 --> 00:20:22.799 After them, Zadok, son of Emmer, rebuilt in front of his house. 00:20:23.119 --> 00:20:26.480 See, they weren't just building a wall for the city, they were doing that. 00:20:27.519 --> 00:20:30.559 But they were protecting their own house. 00:20:31.920 --> 00:20:33.200 It was personal. 00:20:40.880 --> 00:20:42.799 And uh it was just a big step of faith. 00:20:42.880 --> 00:20:58.319 And they put a note with a check, and I saw the young um woman later told her thank you, and told her that Susan and I had been in that exact same spot that they were, and what a big difference it had made um in our lives, and God wouldn't let them down. 00:20:58.480 --> 00:21:08.000 And she said that she'd been reading uh Nehemiah, and that she wanted to build the wall in front of their house. 00:21:08.720 --> 00:21:14.720 That to her, his hands was the wall in front of their house. 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:23.359 And she said that we've been there for them, and it's where they get love, and it's where they get uh encouragement and prayer, and it's where they want to raise their kids. 00:21:24.400 --> 00:21:25.359 And it's true. 00:21:25.599 --> 00:21:39.119 I mean, we're building something important together, and we're doing it for thousands of people all over the area, but it's also personal. 00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:44.640 It's for ourselves, it's for our own families, it's for our own friends. 00:21:44.880 --> 00:21:50.319 You know, we need a strong wall in front of our house, and we're building it. 00:21:50.640 --> 00:21:51.920 We're building it. 00:21:52.400 --> 00:21:54.960 And when we build, there's always opposition. 00:21:55.680 --> 00:22:01.519 You know, and uh in Nehemiah's case is the same folks in in their uh They're still at it. 00:22:01.680 --> 00:22:07.519 It says when Sambalot heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he exploded in anger, vilifying the Jews. 00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:11.039 In the company of his Samaritan cronies and military, he let loose. 00:22:11.200 --> 00:22:13.279 What are these miserable Jews doing? 00:22:13.599 --> 00:22:16.319 Do they think they can get everything back to normal overnight? 00:22:16.559 --> 00:22:18.960 Make building stones out of make-believe? 00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:22.400 At his side, Tobiah the Ammonite jumped in and said, That's right. 00:22:22.559 --> 00:22:23.839 What do you think they're building? 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:28.559 Why, if a fox climbed that wall, it would fall to pieces under his weight. 00:22:31.039 --> 00:22:36.079 Whenever we build or rebuild something truly important, we are going to face opposition. 00:22:36.880 --> 00:22:38.640 We're going to face opposition. 00:22:40.160 --> 00:22:46.960 See, the first time Nehemiah saw these same guys, you know, they said, Who are you to be real at building the wall? 00:22:47.119 --> 00:22:49.599 He said, It's none of your business. 00:22:49.920 --> 00:22:52.720 Now they are openly mocking him, and not just him. 00:22:52.880 --> 00:22:57.759 I mean, they're mocking all the people for rebuilding this wall. 00:22:57.920 --> 00:22:59.839 And it makes Nehemiah mad. 00:23:00.160 --> 00:23:01.920 And so he turns to God. 00:23:02.240 --> 00:23:04.319 And again, Nehemiah prays. 00:23:04.720 --> 00:23:08.160 Nehemiah prayed, Oh, listen to us, dear God. 00:23:08.559 --> 00:23:10.160 We're so despised. 00:23:10.559 --> 00:23:13.680 Boomerang the ridicule on their heads. 00:23:13.839 --> 00:23:18.079 Have their enemies cart them off as war trophies to a land of no return. 00:23:18.240 --> 00:23:21.440 Don't forgive their iniquity, don't wipe away their sin. 00:23:21.759 --> 00:23:24.079 They've insulted the builders. 00:23:25.359 --> 00:23:28.559 See, Nehemiah demonstrates something really important. 00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:32.640 And it's obviously not forgiveness. 00:23:35.519 --> 00:23:39.519 But you know, he lived 450 years before Jesus. 00:23:39.759 --> 00:23:42.319 You know, God had shown a lot of forgiveness. 00:23:42.559 --> 00:23:46.720 But I mean, would any of us really understand forgiveness if it hadn't been for Jesus? 00:23:46.880 --> 00:23:51.200 If we hadn't seen Jesus demonstrate what forgiveness is? 00:23:53.119 --> 00:23:58.880 Nehemiah prays, have their cart and have their enemies cart them off as war trophies to a land of no return. 00:23:58.960 --> 00:24:01.359 Don't forgive their iniquity, don't wipe away their sin. 00:24:01.519 --> 00:24:03.440 They've insulted the builders. 00:24:03.599 --> 00:24:04.640 I mean, he's mad. 00:24:04.799 --> 00:24:06.079 Everybody's working so hard. 00:24:06.160 --> 00:24:08.559 They're volunteers, they're doing a great thing. 00:24:08.799 --> 00:24:12.640 Together, and Nehemiah prays. 00:24:12.880 --> 00:24:18.240 And what we can learn from his prayer is honesty. 00:24:19.599 --> 00:24:20.480 Honesty. 00:24:20.640 --> 00:24:24.319 You know, if we're going to have a real relationship with God, we talk about that. 00:24:24.480 --> 00:24:28.160 How God is real and we can really have a relationship with him. 00:24:28.720 --> 00:24:33.839 If we're going to have a real relationship with God, we've got to be honest. 00:24:34.799 --> 00:24:39.680 I was talking with a young lady just a few days ago who said that she really resented God. 00:24:40.240 --> 00:24:43.759 And she resented him because of the family that she was born into. 00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:47.200 And I said, you should tell him that. 00:24:48.480 --> 00:24:50.160 You should tell him that. 00:24:50.480 --> 00:24:54.880 It'd be a great place to start on a real relationship. 00:24:55.039 --> 00:24:59.519 So you don't have to pray in Christian ease or tell God what you think he wants to hear. 00:25:00.799 --> 00:25:03.680 Listen to David's prayer in the 13th Psalm. 00:25:04.480 --> 00:25:07.519 Long enough, God, you've ignored me long enough. 00:25:07.839 --> 00:25:10.480 I've looked at the back of your head long enough. 00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:11.359 Long enough. 00:25:11.440 --> 00:25:14.720 I've carried this ton of trouble, lived with a stomach full of pain. 00:25:14.880 --> 00:25:18.000 Long enough, my arrogant enemies had looked down their noses at me. 00:25:18.240 --> 00:25:20.559 Take a good look at me, God, my God. 00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:23.759 I want to look life in the eye. 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:28.640 So no enemy can get the best of me or laugh when I fall on my face. 00:25:30.720 --> 00:25:37.839 Now he finishes that psalm with the, you know, I know you can trust, I know I can trust you. 00:25:38.240 --> 00:25:40.000 You've answered my prayers before. 00:25:40.160 --> 00:25:43.440 But David, he's just being real. 00:25:44.240 --> 00:25:49.119 He's being honest with God, expressing exactly how he feels. 00:25:50.400 --> 00:25:57.920 Sometimes I pray the opposite way, where I start with the disclaimer, you know, where it's uh, God, I know I can trust you, but what in the world are you doing? 00:25:58.720 --> 00:26:00.240 I mean, what's going on? 00:26:00.559 --> 00:26:01.680 Do you not see? 00:26:04.559 --> 00:26:11.680 But it's part of a real relationship, really talking, not pretending, not telling God what we think He wants us to say. 00:26:13.359 --> 00:26:15.200 It's opening up our hearts. 00:26:15.359 --> 00:26:19.279 It's our open hearts, honestly talking with God. 00:26:19.519 --> 00:26:27.119 So if we want to have a real relationship with God, which is a wonderful thing, sometimes it's going to start by us being real with God. 00:26:27.759 --> 00:26:29.200 Just opening up. 00:26:30.079 --> 00:26:31.200 Being honest with Him. 00:26:31.279 --> 00:26:34.240 He wants to be our dad, not our judge. 00:26:35.200 --> 00:26:39.200 We don't have to pray pretty prayers to God. 00:26:39.839 --> 00:26:41.599 We can just talk to Him. 00:26:41.920 --> 00:26:43.839 We can just be honest. 00:26:44.079 --> 00:26:49.759 So Nehemiah, in his own angry way, asked God to deal with opposition. 00:26:50.160 --> 00:26:54.319 But then He says, We kept at it. 00:26:55.359 --> 00:26:58.319 See, he prayed, but then they kept at it. 00:26:58.640 --> 00:27:01.200 We kept at it, repairing and rebuilding the wall. 00:27:01.359 --> 00:27:05.359 The whole wall was soon joined together and halfway to its intended height. 00:27:06.000 --> 00:27:08.720 Because the people had a heart for the work. 00:27:08.960 --> 00:27:10.400 It didn't take them long. 00:27:10.640 --> 00:27:12.559 Already they got the wall joined together. 00:27:12.720 --> 00:27:17.599 Already it was halfway to where it was going. 00:27:19.200 --> 00:27:25.440 They dealt with this wave of opposition by praying and then just staying at it. 00:27:27.440 --> 00:27:31.119 Because the people had a heart for the work. 00:27:32.160 --> 00:27:35.200 It's because they had a heart for the work. 00:27:35.680 --> 00:27:37.599 Opposition wasn't going to stop them. 00:27:37.759 --> 00:27:39.119 God was on their side. 00:27:39.279 --> 00:27:41.119 They had a heart for the work. 00:27:42.640 --> 00:27:44.000 And it's true with us. 00:27:44.079 --> 00:27:49.200 You know, sometimes it's difficult to have a heart for work. 00:27:49.440 --> 00:27:50.880 Have you ever felt that way? 00:27:51.279 --> 00:27:53.359 You know, God, I want to do this. 00:27:53.920 --> 00:27:55.440 I just don't have it in me. 00:27:57.440 --> 00:28:09.039 You remember back when Nehemiah prayed that God would change Artaxerxes' heart, that he would put something inside Arta Xerxes' heart that he didn't have, which was kindness for Nehemiah? 00:28:09.279 --> 00:28:15.039 You know, we can say, we can ask God for the same thing for ourselves. 00:28:15.759 --> 00:28:17.200 For our own hearts. 00:28:17.839 --> 00:28:19.839 We can say, God, I just don't have it in me. 00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:23.359 Would you give me the heart to do it? 00:28:25.039 --> 00:28:27.359 We can ask Him to change our own hearts. 00:28:27.599 --> 00:28:31.599 You know, are you trying to overcome an addiction and you just don't think you can do it? 00:28:33.440 --> 00:28:35.759 Ask God to give you a heart for it. 00:28:36.880 --> 00:28:44.480 You know, there were times in Susan and I's marriage where we both just wanted to give up, and we didn't think there was any way we could go on. 00:28:47.279 --> 00:28:49.920 But God gave us the heart. 00:28:50.240 --> 00:28:57.519 You know, it used to be that I would read the Bible every now and then, and it was usually some sort of penance. 00:28:57.920 --> 00:29:03.359 Because, you know, I knew it was good for me, and I wanted to do it, and so I'd get all worked up and I'd ask God. 00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:10.079 I'd I mean, I would, I would uh tell God, okay, God, every morning I'm gonna get up and I'm gonna read, you know, a section of the Bible every day. 00:29:10.319 --> 00:29:19.839 And, you know, so I'd do it for about three weeks, and then I'd get bored, or then I'd get tired, or then I'd miss a day, and that would be that would be that because I didn't really enjoy reading it. 00:29:20.960 --> 00:29:25.599 You know, and so I asked God, I said, give me a heart for it. 00:29:25.920 --> 00:29:30.640 What I actually prayed was, God, stir up my heart. 00:29:30.799 --> 00:29:32.880 Would you stir up my heart? 00:29:33.119 --> 00:29:34.799 And so I would love your word. 00:29:36.480 --> 00:29:37.920 You know, and he did. 00:29:38.079 --> 00:29:54.640 I mean, before long, he draws me to a uh a more easily understandable translation, and then he's got things that just pop off the uh um the page to me, and it applies to every part of my life, to home and to work and to my relationship with him. 00:29:55.839 --> 00:29:56.960 And now I love it. 00:29:57.119 --> 00:29:57.839 I love it. 00:29:59.759 --> 00:30:03.920 I love reading his word, but it's not me, it's him. 00:30:04.400 --> 00:30:06.079 You know, it's the same way with everything. 00:30:06.240 --> 00:30:12.960 If there's something that we know is important and we just don't have the heart for it, ask God. 00:30:14.079 --> 00:30:16.000 He can give you the heart. 00:30:16.480 --> 00:30:17.839 He can give you the heart. 00:30:18.079 --> 00:30:21.279 And that's why I know that we are going to rebuild. 00:30:21.359 --> 00:30:27.119 That's why I know that you are going to rebuild and to build. 00:30:27.759 --> 00:30:30.400 Because God will give you a heart for the work. 00:30:31.599 --> 00:30:32.640 A heart for the work. 00:30:32.799 --> 00:30:34.400 You're gonna overcome addiction. 00:30:34.720 --> 00:30:35.359 You are. 00:30:35.920 --> 00:30:39.680 God's with you, and you'll be a builder with a heart for the work. 00:30:39.920 --> 00:30:44.960 You're gonna rebuild your marriages, and you're gonna rebuild your finances. 00:30:46.720 --> 00:30:51.519 Because God's with you, and you'll have a heart for the work. 00:30:52.240 --> 00:30:54.640 We're building something amazing here together. 00:30:57.200 --> 00:31:02.960 God's with us, and he's given us a heart for the work. 00:31:04.079 --> 00:31:06.319 And we will build, and we will rebuild. 00:31:07.359 --> 00:31:10.400 Because God's for us, and we've got the heart. 00:31:10.640 --> 00:31:18.720 So if the worship team wants to come up, we'll finish with one more song, but there's one other interesting thing I want to tell you about the third chapter, real quick. 00:31:18.799 --> 00:31:22.960 And if you'll stand up, we'll get ready to sing that song together. 00:31:24.640 --> 00:31:39.119 But in this third chapter of Nehemiah, in his autobiography, it's the only place in the entire Bible where the twelve gates around the wall of Jerusalem are talked about together. 00:31:39.279 --> 00:31:44.640 And they start and they finish at the same gate, at a particular gate. 00:31:44.880 --> 00:31:47.200