Participants: Pastor John Lomacang
Series Code: TWH
Program Code: TWH000029A
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00:30 Nehemiah Chapter 6:15 and 16.
00:35 "So the wall was finished 00:37 on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, 00:40 in fifty-two days. 00:43 And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, 00:46 and all the nations around us saw these things, 00:50 that they were very disheartened in their own eyes, 00:54 for they perceived that this work was done by our God." 01:01 Let's bow our heads. 01:03 Loving Father in heaven, we thank You Lord this morning 01:05 that we can turn to You, 01:09 that we can find that in our journeys of life, 01:13 that You can give us wisdom and direction from above. 01:18 Now speak to us, Lord, through Your word, 01:20 we pray in Jesus' name, amen. 01:25 You may be seated. 01:34 One of our favorite programs that we watch together, 01:37 my wife and I, 01:39 is the house channel, 01:45 homes being rebuilt, 01:48 being refurbished, being restored. 01:53 What's exciting about it is not people moving 01:56 to different countries to buy houses, 01:58 but when you walk up to a dilapidated, broken down, 02:03 seemingly uninterested property, 02:08 and in the matter of one hour, that is the edited program, 02:13 it goes from broken down to completely restored 02:18 and we look at that with an amazement. 02:23 And I thought about it this weekend. 02:25 It came to my mind, and I sat at my desk saying, 02:30 "Lord, what would You have me speak about this week?" 02:36 Well, I know that in the course of 30 years of sermons, 02:42 I decided to go through some of the old, 02:44 old 2000, 1995, 1993, 1992... 02:51 I kept going as far back as I could 02:54 with the digital sermons that I had. 02:57 I didn't go into the shed 02:59 where I have a huge box of sermons 03:00 in manila envelopes. 03:02 But I said "Lord, what would you have me 03:04 talk about this week?" 03:06 And God said, 03:09 "Go to the story of Nehemiah." 03:13 Now last Sabbath, my sermon was entitled "Fake News." 03:18 This Sabbath is entitled "Finish the Wall." 03:23 And I don't want you to think 03:24 that I'm following the Donald Trump trajectory, 03:27 not at all. 03:30 But the Lord gave me a different viewpoint 03:33 as I considered the story of Nehemiah. 03:37 And that is, I state what I'm gonna preach about, 03:39 I stated again, I preach about it, 03:41 and I stated what I spoke about. 03:43 And that is, we will never know 03:45 how amazing a craftsman God is 03:48 until we turn to Him to repair the gaps in our lives. 03:54 We'll never know how much God can do, 03:56 how much God can restore. 03:59 And Nehemiah is one of the most incredible restoration projects 04:02 in scripture which leaves us with the assurance 04:05 that God is the only master builder that we need. 04:15 Because spiritual restoration is heaven's highest priority. 04:21 Not being happy, not being wealthy, 04:24 not having great possessions, but spiritual restoration 04:29 is heaven's highest priority. 04:33 Once we understand the priority of heaven 04:36 and accept that God's highest ideal 04:38 for us is spiritual wellbeing, 04:40 we will worry less and trust God more. 04:44 Can you say amen? Amen. 04:46 Once we understand God's spiritual ideal 04:49 for every one of us, 04:52 there will be less worry and more praise, 04:55 less worry and more trust. 04:57 However... 05:00 There's a big however. 05:01 Sometimes God puts 05:04 our spiritual vehicles in reverse, 05:09 so that when we forget our journey with Him, 05:12 He takes us back to the place 05:15 where we first met Him. 05:20 So come with me this morning on a depressing journey. 05:25 Let's go back to a fragmented place. 05:31 It is the place of long faces, sad eyes, and empty stares. 05:37 Long faces, sad eyes, and empty stares. 05:42 They are not depressed because they are sad, 05:44 but they are sad because they are depressed. 05:48 Anyway, you look at the picture. 05:51 Somehow God takes us to that broken down property 05:56 to get usto stand there and say, 05:59 "Is there any possibility of this wall being rebuilt, 06:04 this gate being restored, 06:06 this property ever restoring its value?" 06:12 It is in places like these that, sometimes, 06:14 we wonder why God would preserve 06:16 such a depressing account. 06:19 But I would suggest you this morning 06:22 that God, sometimes, takes us to the most 06:25 menial and discouraging place to remind us 06:31 that there's nothing from which God cannot restore us. 06:37 As a matter of record, 06:39 one of the most asked questions that I have ever heard is, 06:41 "Why do bad things happen to good people?" 06:44 That's the question that continues to repeat 06:46 in the minds of so many. 06:48 "Why do bad things happen to good people?" 06:49 People have said that. 06:51 "Why is it that Christians get sick 06:53 and people that don't serve God stay well? 06:55 Why is it that people that 06:57 don't trust God seem to have so much wealth 06:58 and those who trust God seem to be so poor all the time? 07:02 Why do bad things happen to good people?" 07:05 Atheists and non-Christians alike, 07:09 advance the argument 07:10 that the existence of misery is proof that, 07:13 there could be no such being called God, 07:15 because if God existed, 07:17 why would He leave His people in disrepair? 07:20 Why would God allow us to be broken down? 07:22 Why would God allow us to be without our needs 07:26 as we perceive those needs to be? 07:29 But the truth of the matter is, the existence of misery, 07:33 hear me carefully, proves that God exists. 07:38 Because misery could not be miserable unless 07:40 it is contrasted against the fullness of joy, 07:46 it could not be misery. 07:48 If misery was the proof that God does not exist, 07:51 misery could not be miserable, if that's all there is. 07:55 But there's joy, there's peace, there's deliverance, 08:00 there's happiness, there's contentment. 08:02 Somebody say amen somewhere. 08:04 God is not just a God that looks at our condition, 08:07 leaves us the way He finds us, but God sees us where we are. 08:11 And sometimes, God has to remind us of our before, 08:15 before we can really appreciate our after. 08:20 Sometimes it is only after 08:22 we have endured the imprisonment of winter 08:25 that we appreciate the freedom of summer. 08:30 It is during our worst 08:33 that we are introduced to God's best. 08:37 However, however, 08:40 we don't get to God's best until we survive our worst. 08:47 The Book of Nehemiah is a very interesting book, 08:49 it takes us to a place of dreadful circumstances. 08:53 It walks us through one chapter after another of a scenario 08:57 that seems to be without any resolution. 09:00 But in the absence of human help, 09:03 there is always the presence of divine help. 09:07 Go with me now to Nehemiah Chapter 1, 09:11 and let us walk through this broken down project 09:15 and see how God restores, rebuilds, 09:20 and refurbishes our lives. 09:23 Nehemiah Chapter 1:1 to 3. 09:26 The Bible introduces the scenario of the Jews 09:31 that survived Babylonian captivity. 09:33 They returned home only to be confronted with circumstances 09:36 that proved to be somewhat even as equally discouraging. 09:40 The Bible says, "The words of Nehemiah, 09:44 the son of Hachaliah. 09:46 It came to pass in the month of Chislev, 09:49 in the twentieth year, 09:52 as I was in Shushan the citadel, 09:55 that Hanani one of my brethren came with me from Judah, 10:00 and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, 10:05 who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. 10:11 And they said to me, The survivors who are left," 10:16 or the remnant who are left, 'from the captivity 10:19 in the province are in great distress and reproach. 10:23 The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, 10:28 and its gates are burned with fire." 10:32 What a depressing picture 10:33 when you think about the people of God, 10:35 just survived captivity in Babylon. 10:40 If that were not bad enough to be 10:41 under the taskmaster hands of a foreign leader, 10:44 forced to do what they chose not to do 10:47 or did not want to do. 10:49 But finally, some of them survived, 10:50 some of them returned to Jerusalem only to find out 10:54 that the wall has broken down 10:56 and the gates are burned with fire. 10:59 And I want to say this. 11:00 While Nehemiah highlights the misery of the ancient Jews, 11:04 this is also an allegory 11:07 of the challenges of the Christian journey. 11:11 At some point in our journey, each one of us 11:16 experienced walls that are broken down 11:18 and gates that are destroyed. 11:21 There are points in our journey 11:23 where our sense of security is removed. 11:25 However, we never lose 11:28 our value in the sight of God. 11:32 So here they are in a broken city. 11:34 The walls are broken down, the gates are broken down, 11:36 they had just returned from captivity, 11:37 nothing to really call their own, no financial, 11:40 no economic system, no buildings 11:43 to which they can inhabit, 11:44 no homes to which they can move into, 11:46 broken down walls, gates are in disrepair, 11:51 a sad set of circumstances. 11:53 Yet, in the midst of their brokenness, 11:56 yet in the midst of their depression, 11:59 they haven't lost sight of the fact 12:02 that in the sight of God, they are of great value. 12:07 Which I want to say clearly, 12:10 regardless of where we are in our walk as Christians, 12:14 we are still valuable in the sight of God. 12:21 And so the question would be, 12:23 "Why are they there? What do broken walls demand?" 12:26 Go to verse 4 of Nehemiah Chapter 1. 12:30 What do broken walls and burned gates demand? 12:34 And the Bible says, "So it was, when I heard these words, 12:37 that I sat down and I wept, and I mourned for many days," 12:43 and then he did what every one of us should do. 12:47 "I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven." 12:54 Nehemiah recalls the covenant. 12:57 Nehemiah remembers that God loves His people. 13:01 And so he does what every one of us 13:03 should do at some point in our journey. 13:05 When difficulty comes, 13:06 it is important that we fast and pray. 13:09 That we do what, church? 13:11 Fast and pray. 13:12 Some people fast for 15 minutes, 13:14 that's not fasting. 13:19 As I said to someone, "Fasting means, 13:23 you willingly remove from your life something 13:26 that is of the greatest interest to you." 13:31 As I said to few young ladies that were down in Florida, 13:34 who had come to me and said, "Pastor, what can we do 13:36 to restore our relationship with Jesus?" 13:38 I said, "I tell you what, 13:40 stop listening to that kind of music 13:41 you listen to for the next week." 13:44 And they looked at me and they said, "Nah." 13:48 You see, when you cannot put it down, 13:52 when you cannot let it go, 13:56 you are a slave to it. 14:01 When it is more important than your peace 14:03 and your relationship with God, you are bound by it. 14:08 And so fasting is putting down that very thing, 14:11 as the writer of Hebrews says, "Laying aside every weight 14:14 and the sin that doth so easily beset us." 14:20 Nehemiah remembered and recalled God's covenant. 14:25 He understood the failure of his people. 14:27 But he said in verse 7. 14:29 He said in verse 7. 14:30 And by the way, before you get to the place of restoration, 14:33 you've got to admit 14:36 that you have not been right with God. 14:40 Don't come to God and say, "Lord, if we have sinned," 14:43 it's like somebody offending you and say, 14:45 "Well, if I have offended you," that's not really an apology. 14:48 If I got you upset, if I stole your... 14:50 If, if is not the prelude to coming 14:56 to a true relationship with God. 14:58 We've got to admit that the problem is never God, 15:01 the problem is always us. 15:04 And Nehemiah lays before God and he says in verse 7. 15:08 "We have acted," how? 15:10 "Very corruptly against You, 15:15 and have not kept the commandments, the statues, 15:18 nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses." 15:24 That's often what happens when we are confronted 15:27 with the direct result of our disobedience. 15:32 When we think that we have known better, 15:34 then all of a sudden, 15:35 we are faced with the broken walls in our lives 15:37 and the damaged gates that seem to be beyond repair. 15:41 We have to come clean with God. 15:42 "Lord, we have not lived 15:44 the way You intended for us to live." 15:46 God accepts the sincere repentance of His people. 15:49 What do you say? 15:51 But don't come to God and say, "Well, if I have," 15:55 because the reality is, God knows our condition 15:57 even before we confess it. 16:01 But God is also a merciful God, and He says in verse 9. 16:05 "No matter where you are or what you did," 16:08 remember this, God's reversal is always conditional. 16:13 God's reversal is always, what words that I used? 16:17 Conditional. 16:18 Look at verse 9. 16:21 Regardless of what they did, the Lord says, 16:22 "But if you return to Me, 16:24 and keep My commandments and do them, 16:28 though some of you were cast out 16:29 to the farthest parts of the heavens..." 16:33 Look at God's promise. 16:35 "Yet I will gather them from there, 16:38 and bring them to the place which I have chosen 16:43 as a dwelling for My name." 16:47 God said no matter what you did, if you return, 16:50 if you return... 16:51 Do you know that the entire Book of Malachi 16:53 is a book about return? 16:56 We often talk about just tithes, 16:58 "Return unto me, and I'll return unto you." 17:00 You know, bringing all the tithes. 17:02 The entire Book of Malachi... You want a powerful story? 17:05 Malachi 1, 2, 3, and 4, every chapter outlines a way 17:10 that God's people have turned away from Him. 17:14 And when God has pointed out their condition, they said, 17:16 "In what way have we denied You? 17:18 In what way have we forsaken You? 17:21 In what way have we been dishonest? 17:23 In what way have we rob thee?" 17:24 We always just talk about the rob part. 17:28 But the entire Book of Nehemiah, 17:29 the entire Book of Malachi, 17:32 is a book where God continues to point out 17:35 one after the other, 17:36 the condition of His people, 17:37 and He says to them, "Return unto me," 17:40 and we only spend time on tithe. 17:45 You'll find out that the reason 17:47 why tithe is at the latter part of Malachi, 17:50 is because until your life, 17:53 and your relationship, and your heart, 17:57 and your walk with God is right, 17:59 you'll never see the need 18:01 to give God what rightfully belongs to Him. 18:06 So He puts money last, because the giving of tithe 18:09 and offering is evidence that you recognize 18:12 that everything already belongs to God. 18:16 But where your treasure is, there will your heart also be. 18:23 Nehemiah recognizes 18:24 that the prelude to success in anything 18:27 we do is being servants that honor God. 18:31 But I want to point something out. 18:32 When the story unfolded, you'll notice in verse 1. 18:35 The Bible says, "It came to pass in the month of Kislev." 18:39 Now the reason I bring this out is because oftentimes, 18:42 we don't really know how long a story lasts. 18:45 But this is one of the stories in the Bible 18:47 that takes us down a timeline. 18:50 It starts with the opening narrative, 18:52 "In the month of Kislev." 18:53 That's the way it's pronounced in the Hebrew, Kislev. 18:57 That is the month of November to December, 18:59 when the seasons are beginning to change, 19:01 "In the month of Kislev." 19:04 And then we go further into chapter 2, 19:08 and there's an introduction that comes to us in verse 1, 19:12 "And it came to pass in the month of the Nisan." 19:15 That is March to April. 19:18 You see the seasons are changing. 19:20 And you might even notice that in your life, 19:22 problems tend to go from one season to the other. 19:29 And as the seasons are changing, 19:31 the problem stays the same, or the problem intensify, 19:34 or the battle intensifies. 19:36 From the months of November to December, 19:37 they go through the winter months, 19:39 and they're coming to the, 19:40 to the early part of the introduction of spring, 19:43 March and April, 19:45 and God is still on the move. 19:47 I wanna say this, friends, keep this in mind. 19:49 Even though the seasons will come and go in your trials, 19:53 God always remains the same. 19:58 He doesn't go. 20:00 He's our ever present help in time of need. 20:02 The seasons are changing. 20:03 Look at chapter 2:7. 20:07 So Nehemiah, now in a new season, 20:10 still looking at the condition of his people, 20:12 makes a request to God 20:15 with deep spiritual significance. 20:17 "Furthermore I said to the king, 20:20 If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me 20:25 for the governors of the region beyond the River, 20:28 that they must permit me to pass through 20:32 till I come to Judah." 20:34 When I read that, when I rediscovered the story, 20:37 and I read that verse, I asked myself the question, 20:40 "How did I miss that verse 20:42 and what it actually meant in the past?" 20:44 You see in the past, 20:45 I simply thought it meant letters to go 20:47 from this border to that border. 20:49 In actuality, that's what it actually meant, 20:52 to go from one border to the next, 20:53 and each of the territories were controlled 20:55 by different kings and different rulers. 20:57 And so to get from one place to the next, 20:59 you had to have a letter from the prior king to say, 21:02 "Let Nehemiah pass through." 21:04 When he got through this province, 21:06 that letter was also needed 21:08 to let him pass through this and pass through that. 21:11 He needed a letter to be able to get from where he was, 21:15 all the way to Judah. 21:19 I've said this before, but it fits right here, 21:21 and it fits perfectly right here. 21:24 If we would simply read God's Word, 21:27 we will realize, we've got a, 21:29 we've got a letter that can help us pass through. 21:35 No matter what the journey is, God can take you 21:37 from one territory to the next 21:39 on the way to your final destination. 21:42 God can move all the obstacles because, 21:44 unless Nehemiah had this letter, 21:46 he would not be permitted 21:51 to pass from the inception of his journey 21:54 to the final destination of his journey, 21:56 because all the kings, and all the leaders, 21:59 and all the gatekeepers 22:03 would only recognize the authority of the King. 22:06 Let me just say this in a spiritual parallel. 22:08 "When we get a letter from the King, 22:11 there's nothing the enemy can do to prevent us 22:14 from passing through." 22:18 'Cause God's word 22:20 allows us to pass through the journeys of our lives, 22:24 the difficulties of our lives. 22:27 And God gave Nehemiah a letter from the king. 22:32 In some sense, Nehemiah represented Jesus, 22:37 the one who's on the journey 22:38 for the restoration of his people. 22:41 And when he got that letter, none of the surrounding kings 22:45 could prevent him from his God ordained destination. 22:50 But there's something about our destination. 22:52 You see, when God's people are on the move, 22:54 when we become concerned about our condition, 22:56 when we become concerned about doing better, 23:02 when we come to grips with our condition, 23:04 our spiritual condition, and then we determine 23:06 that we're gonna, we're gonna get up 23:08 and begin a journey to get to God's ideal for us. 23:12 It is only then that Satan becomes infuriated 23:17 when he sees that the people of God 23:20 are no longer content about their condition, 23:22 they want to do something about it. 23:23 Look at verse 10 of Nehemiah Chapter 2. 23:27 Nehemiah Chapter 2. 23:31 And the Bible says, 23:32 "When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah 23:35 the Ammonite official heard of it, 23:38 they were deeply," what? 23:41 "They were deeply disturbed that a man had come 23:44 to seek the well-being of the children of Israel." 23:47 That's the mission of Jesus. 23:49 He has come to seek and to save 23:50 that which was lost. 23:51 Can you say amen, somebody? 23:54 But only as you stay awake, can you get that message? 24:00 Only as you are alert. 24:02 This is less about Nehemiah, this is more about us, 24:05 that a Man had come to seek the wellbeing of His children, 24:10 the children of God. 24:13 Praise the Lord for Jesus. Come on, somebody. 24:16 He could have left this tiny little grain of sand, 24:20 He could have sort it out of existence, 24:22 and even control the minds of every un-fallen world, 24:25 they would not even remember this dot. 24:28 "But God so loved the world 24:30 that He gave His only begotten Son." 24:34 But when the devil heard that there were changes 24:36 that began to be made, 24:37 that somebody came to help the people of God 24:40 that were broken down, 24:42 you got to know that you're broken down to appreciate help. 24:46 You got to know that you need the king's letter 24:49 to appreciate what God can do in your life. 24:51 It is only at the... 24:53 It is only at the imbibing of the king's letter, 24:56 taking the letter with us. 24:58 Notice, Nehemiah didn't travel without the letter. 25:00 There are some people that travel without their Bibles. 25:04 And they think the devil is going to 25:07 remove the gate at their word. 25:08 So what happens? They try it. 25:10 They begin their journey, 25:11 and they get no farther than their words 25:13 because the devil says, 25:14 "On whose authority, are you going to pass by?" 25:16 And they say, "On my authority," 25:18 because they don't have a letter from the king, 25:22 they ain't going to anywhere. 25:24 Let me suggest to you. 25:25 If there's ever a time that we need to be serious 25:27 with the letter of the king, it is today. 25:29 What do you say? 25:31 Get into the letter of the king. 25:32 It is only as we know what's in the king's letter. 25:35 And by the way, this king's letter 25:36 was not just to pass from one place to the next, 25:39 but this king's letter was also to grant 25:44 that Nehemiah had the right to get everything he needed 25:51 to rebuild and restore Jerusalem. 25:54 Everything he needed, finances, building materials, 26:00 whatever the tools were, 26:01 everything he needed was included in that letter. 26:04 In other words, 26:05 when he went from one hardware store to the next, 26:07 just show the letter of credit. 26:09 I wanna to tell you, God's got a great letter of credit. 26:12 Everything he needed was in that letter. 26:17 And because the enemy knew that, 26:19 they were deeply distressed that a man had come 26:21 to seek the wellbeing of the children of God. 26:26 When I think about this, I came up with some things. 26:29 I sat down last night. 26:30 You know, I like to go to bed late on Friday night, 26:33 don't worry about me. 26:34 I won't tell you what time 26:36 because you just might get tired and fall asleep. 26:39 My wife always asked me, 26:40 "What time did you come to bed?" 26:41 "Late," try not to tell her, because she scolds me. 26:45 You know, I got to bed late last night 26:47 but then I'm happy. 26:49 Amen? 26:50 I mean, I'm energized, I'm not tired, 26:51 so don't think about my tiredness 26:53 but I thought about this last night, 26:55 because being aware of our circumstances is one thing. 27:00 But it's not until we realize that we need to change 27:05 that the devil begins to be bothered about it. 27:12 He gets angry when we decide 27:15 to do something about our condition. 27:21 Ellen White says, "Desire as far as it goes is good. 27:27 But if it goes no farther, it accomplishes nothing. 27:29 Many will be lost," she said, 27:32 "Many will be lost 27:34 while desiring to be Christians" 27:37 because they never do it, 27:38 it affects absolutely no change. 27:41 So you might say, "You know, I got to get my life together." 27:43 I need to do this right, I need to have Bible studies, 27:45 I need to be more active in church, 27:47 I need to be a person that shares my faith." 27:49 If that's all you got, then you have got nothing. 27:55 The devil is not concerned about those 27:57 who know they have a need of change, 27:59 but do not do anything 28:01 to decide to effect that change. 28:06 Some people are so content with the dirt in their lives, 28:09 some people are content with the dirt in their lives 28:11 because any attempt to clean it up might give them 28:13 an allergic reaction. 28:21 But I'd rather go 28:23 through the discomfort of progressive change 28:25 than to settle for the contentment 28:27 of permanent failure. 28:30 Think about that for a little bit. 28:32 It's not comfortable to try to change. 28:34 If you've ever been involved in a construction project, 28:36 you know, there's a whole lot of dirt. 28:37 Amen? 28:39 Lot of dust, lot of nails, 28:40 you might hit yourself with a hammer, 28:43 you might step on something that could hurt your knees, 28:45 but you keep on going 28:47 because you know when the project is done, 28:49 you are enamored and elated at the final product. 29:00 So Nehemiah decided to go through 29:01 the discomfort iof progressive change 29:04 than settle for the contentment of permanent failure. 29:06 Chapter 2:11 and 12. 29:08 Notice, notice what he said. 29:12 Notice what he said, but also notice 29:14 what he didn't say. 29:17 Verse 11 and 12, "So I came to Jerusalem 29:20 and was there three days. 29:22 Then I arose in the night," 29:25 the time to get into with God at night. 29:29 "I and a few men with me," and look at this, 29:32 "I told no one what my God had put in my heart 29:37 to do at Jerusalem, 29:39 nor was there any animal with me, 29:42 except the one on which I rode." 29:45 You know, I thought about that 29:47 and I said, "Lord, what is that saying? 29:50 I told no one what God had put in my heart 29:54 to do at Jerusalem?' 29:55 And the Lord said to me, 29:57 "There are times when it is better 29:59 to keep your journey with God between you and God." 30:06 Amen. 30:13 And as I look further into the commentaries 30:16 and other Bible contributors, they said, 30:18 "One of the reasons why Nehemiah did not 30:20 disclose in his heart what God had put there, 30:23 because Nehemiah did not want sympathy from anybody, 30:26 and Nehemiah didn't want support from anybody. 30:29 Nehemiah only wanted 30:30 the protecting guiding hand of God," 30:33 because when God guarantees success, 30:37 you don't need anybody to sympathize with you. 30:40 I've seen people go through difficulty, 30:41 and what people don't know is sometimes God takes 30:44 a single individual through difficulty 30:47 to wake them up. 30:49 And we end up sympathizing with them 30:51 almost to make it appear as though God is not fair. 30:56 There are times we should not sympathize 30:58 with people that are, where God knows 31:01 He wants them to be. 31:02 Listen to this quotation 31:04 in the book "Reflecting Christ." 31:06 "Trial is a part of the education 31:08 given in the school of Christ, to purify God's children 31:11 from the dross of earthliness. 31:14 It is because, get this, it is because God is leading 31:17 His children that trying experiences come to them, 31:22 it's because He is leading. 31:24 Trials and obstacles are His chosen method of discipline 31:29 and His appointed conditions of success." 31:33 So when you see somebody being grinded by God, 31:36 get off the way, and pray for them, 31:42 because you could interrupt the very thing that will bring 31:44 that person to a place where they have 31:46 a genuine relationship with God. 31:48 Be careful, pray for them from a distance 31:51 but don't ever sympathize and say, 31:52 just like Job's friends, they got there 31:54 and they began to sympathize 31:56 with what Job was going through, 31:57 not realizing that God permitted it. 32:01 Be careful. 32:03 You better be spiritual to understand 32:04 what's going on that you begin to sympathize with people 32:07 when you don't understand what God is doing 32:08 in his or her life. 32:12 Because the very next verse tells us 32:14 the journey of the Christian. 32:16 Nehemiah 2:13, look at this. 32:21 The destiny that God chooses also includes gates 32:25 that God chooses. 32:27 Nehemiah, he said, "I went out by night 32:30 through the Valley Gate to the Serpent Well 32:37 and the Refuse Gate, 32:39 and viewed the walls of Jerusalem 32:41 which were broken down 32:42 and its gates which were burned with fire." 32:45 Jerusalem means peace. 32:46 Follow me carefully. 32:48 On his way to peace, he experienced the stops 32:52 along the way that God appointed. 32:54 God chose the route that correlated best 32:58 with his destination. 32:59 So here's the point. 33:01 If we got to go through the Valley Gate, 33:02 God chose it for our learning. 33:07 It is at the Valley Gate that we experience 33:09 the security of God. 33:10 If we have to go to the Serpents Well, 33:12 God chose it for our strengthening. 33:16 It is at that the Serpents Well 33:17 that we experience the deliverance of God. 33:21 If God chooses that we must pass the Refuse Gate, 33:25 God chose the Refuse Gate for our purification. 33:29 It is at the Refuse Gate that God removes the garbage 33:32 from our lives. 33:34 You got to have a place to dump it, 33:35 the Valley Gate, 33:36 the Serpent Well, the Refuse Gate. 33:38 God chose that route for Nehemiah, 33:41 because in the journey of the Christian, 33:43 we go through the valleys of the shadow of death. 33:45 And don't understand it, that it's God's choosing, 33:47 it is through the valley of the shadows of death 33:50 that we understand that God says, "I am with you." 33:57 And when we know that God is with us, 33:58 we can say, "I fear no evil," amen, somebody? 34:02 But you got to know as a child of God, 34:04 this thing that God is unjust, and then He's just, 34:07 and God is fair, and then He's unfair, 34:08 is the rantings of a person 34:11 who does not have a connection with God. 34:15 But when you know that God is good all the time, 34:17 it's more than a cliche. 34:18 When you know that God is good all the time, 34:20 you will trust the left turns, and the right turns, 34:22 the hills, and the valleys, 34:23 the dark days, and the bright nights. 34:26 You'll trust the cold weather, and the heavy rains 34:29 and you'll even trust the flood. 34:35 If God brings the storm, you'll trust that God 34:38 brought it for a particular reason. 34:41 And I'm not saying that everything that comes our way, 34:43 there's a spiritual lesson to learn, 34:45 but I want to say this. 34:46 If God allows it, goes through it with God 34:51 rather than deny God and abandon the blessing 34:54 that is at the end of that journey. 34:58 Nehemiah had to go through these stations 34:59 to encourage somebody else. 35:01 Verse 17 and 18. Verse 17 and 18. 35:05 When he got these, he said, 35:07 "Then I said to them, You see the distress 35:09 that we are in." Notice, he identified, 35:11 we are all in the same boat together. 35:14 "How Jerusalem lies waste, 35:15 and its gates are burned with fire. 35:17 Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem 35:19 that we may no longer be a reproach. 35:22 And I told them of the hand of my God 35:26 which had been good upon me, 35:27 and also of the king's word," God's word, 35:30 "that he had spoken to me." 35:34 You know, when you tell people good things about God, 35:36 here's what the reaction is going to be. 35:37 So they said, notice, he didn't say it, so they said. 35:41 Since the news is good about God, 35:43 since God is good to you, 35:44 since God's word is good to you, 35:46 since we can trust what God has told you, 35:48 "Let us rise up and build." 35:51 And then the Bible says, "Then they set their hands 35:54 to this good work." 35:55 It is good to work for God. 36:00 All he did was, tell them how good God is. 36:04 Oh, I wish some of us could talk about God's goodness 36:07 more than our trials. 36:10 If we can say to people how good God is, 36:14 then more of them would say, 36:16 "I'm not going to sit here and complain, 36:17 I'm going to rise up and begin to build my life." 36:23 I remember once going through a trial a couple of years, 36:25 well, actually more than... 36:29 Well, more than 11 years ago. 36:31 Its right during camp meeting, 36:33 I was standing up here in thefront. 36:35 Just a few days before camp meeting began that spring, 36:38 about 11 years ago, when I was... 36:39 The Lord allows trials for various reasons. 36:42 And I was standing here, and as I was about 36:45 to begin prayer meeting, I said to the congregation, 36:47 that was there, visitors, and friends alike, 36:49 and members alike, and I said, 36:51 "Do you ever feel like you want to... 36:53 Do you ever feel like 36:54 when you're on your way to church, 36:56 you just wanna drive by and just keep on going? 37:01 And I said to them, "That's how I feel tonight." 37:04 I'm supposed to encourage you 37:06 but I just feel like driving past this church 37:08 and keep on going. 37:13 And they gathered around me and prayed for me 37:16 and encouraged me. 37:18 And here I am 11 years later, because the word, 37:21 the hand of God was good upon me, 37:23 and the king's words were good to me. 37:25 Come on, say amen, somebody. 37:28 But once again, 37:29 whenever we begin to progress in our spiritual life, 37:32 and this is where we have to become smart. 37:34 And I want to appeal very carefully. 37:36 This is where we've got to be smart. 37:38 If you've been a Christian 37:39 longer than two years, you know that the devil 37:42 does not like anything in your life 37:44 that resembles God. 37:47 Come on let's get spiritually sensible here. 37:50 You know, when you're about to read your Bible, 37:52 what happens? The phone rings. 37:54 So don't answer it. 37:56 Who told you, you have to answer the phone? 37:58 Amen? 38:00 When my wife and I enter into prayer, 38:02 the phone rings. 38:03 Just the other morning, we're praying together, 38:07 we have an answering machine. 38:09 So the answering machine comes on, 38:11 that's the longest message I've ever heard anybody leave. 38:16 It's like the devil is talking loud, 38:17 trying to block out our prayer. 38:19 And the lady is talking... 38:20 When you are done, 38:22 call this number 1900, 1800, whatever. 38:25 I mean, long... 38:26 And I'm thinking, 38:27 "Don't our message ends at 30 seconds? 38:30 It seems like she was talking for two minutes." 38:32 And it was long in the midst of our prayer. 38:35 And you know when the phone rings, 38:36 you want to get up and answer it. 38:40 I said, "Honey, no, leave it." 38:44 When you know the tactics of the enemy, 38:46 you got to be more determined to stay connected to God 38:49 than to be distracted by the moment. 38:53 Because here is what the enemy does, 38:55 he gets a coalition together. 38:57 Verse 19. 38:58 He got a coalition together, because he saw 39:01 that finally they set their hands to do a good work. 39:04 "But when Sanballat the Horonite, 39:07 Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Gesham," 39:10 they added somebody, "the Arab heard of it, 39:12 they laughed at us and despised us, and said, 39:15 What is this thing that you are doing? 39:18 Will you rebel against the king?" 39:20 They tried to turn the Jews against the king's command. 39:25 When in fact, the king was in harmony. 39:28 They had received a letter from the king to do this, 39:31 but because the letter didn't go to them, 39:33 they thought that the Jews and the king 39:35 that sent Nehemiah were in conflict, 39:38 but that was not the case, 39:40 that was not the case, that was not the case. 39:47 Strangely enough, Bob, "How it is that people 39:50 that are often enemies of each other 39:53 become friends of each other, 39:56 when you become their common enemy?" 39:59 Look at chapter 4:1. 40:02 I don't have a lot of time left. 40:04 I'm looking at my little timer here. 40:09 They began to work with all diligence. 40:15 They began to work with all diligence. 40:17 And Nehemiah said to them, "God will prosper us." 40:21 But what happened in verse one of chapter four? 40:23 "But it so happened, when Sanballat heard 40:27 that we were rebuilding the wall, 40:31 that he was furious and very indignant, 40:35 and mocked the Jews." 40:37 They did everything they could to discourage 40:39 those whose lives were coming back together. 40:42 Let me make a very important point of application. 40:45 When God is pulling your life together, 40:47 don't be concerned about 40:49 what people are saying about you. 40:55 Because I've learned, if you listen to all 40:56 the discouraging things, you could sometimes 40:58 begin to doubt that God is even in charge. 41:03 Don't listen to words of discouragement. 41:05 When God is pulling your life back together, 41:10 the devil, all of a sudden starts 41:12 to sort through your file cabinet 41:14 and pulls out every discouraging thing 41:16 that he knows is true about you 41:18 and begins to remind you of it, 41:20 so that you can be discouraged. 41:21 He said, "They were very furious 41:23 and very indignant and they begin 41:24 to mock the Jews, mocking them." 41:28 You can't build a wall. 41:30 Look at you, you're weak, 41:32 and they began to get discouraged. 41:35 No, they didn't. 41:40 Verse 6. 41:43 And I introduce this point by saying, 41:45 "When the battle gets tough, the tough get tougher." 41:49 By the strength of God we can be tougher in Jesus. 41:51 Come on say amen somebody. 41:53 "When the battle gets tough, the tough get tougher, 41:55 in Jesus." 41:57 Be strong in the Lord. 41:58 The Bible says in verse 6. 41:59 "So we built the wall, 42:01 and the entire wall was joined together 42:03 up to half its height," and why? 42:07 Look at why. 42:08 "For the people together, had a mind to work." 42:12 My question is, what's happening in your mind? 42:16 What's happening in your mind during the week? 42:18 What is your mind bombarded by? 42:20 What is your mind distracted by? 42:22 What is your mind attracted by? 42:24 What is your mind being filled by? 42:26 What is your mind being called by? 42:27 What's happening in your mind? 42:29 The condition of the spiritual mind of the Christian 42:32 is the indicator as to whether or not 42:34 the work is going to go on in their lives 42:36 or whether or not the work is going to cease. 42:38 They had a mind to work. 42:39 They did not allow the enemy to distract them. 42:41 They did not allow all the rantings and ravings 42:44 and the mockings to make any indent in their lives. 42:46 They had a mind to work. 42:48 You cannot have a mind to work unless your mind 42:51 is daily molded by the letter of the King. 43:06 And so the enemy took it to the next level. 43:09 Let me say this. 43:11 As long as we are in this world, 43:13 we're going to have tribulation. 43:14 Do you know that to be true? 43:16 As long as we are in this Christian journey, 43:18 somewhere along the way, we're going to have our serpents 43:20 and our scorpions, our enemies, our pursuers, our naysayers, 43:24 our haters, they're all going to be there. 43:27 But what do you do 43:28 when you know the battle is intensifying? 43:29 Look at what they did in verse 17. 43:31 Look at what they did in verse 17. 43:33 Oh, they increased the intimacy 43:35 of their work with Christ. 43:37 It says, "Those who build on the wall, 43:40 and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves 43:45 so that with one hand they worked at construction, 43:49 and with the other they held a weapon." 43:52 Come on, what's the weapon? Somebody tell me. 43:54 The Word of God. 43:55 You got to work on one side 43:57 but never lose your connection with God's Word. 43:59 Can we get an amen here? 44:01 Don't stop working, 44:03 but don't stop ingesting God's Word. 44:05 They had their hands on the weapon. 44:09 Working over here, weapon over here. 44:12 Anybody that knows about effective work, 44:13 you cannot work for God and be in the battle 44:16 without the sword of the spirit, 44:18 which is the most powerful weapon 44:20 in the entire armor. 44:22 Everything else is defensive, but the Word of God 44:24 is the offensive weapon. 44:25 You can have the most beautiful uniform, 44:26 but if you have no connection with God's Word, 44:28 you have no weapon to defend yourself 44:31 against the attacks of the enemy. 44:34 But they did something else. 44:35 Look at verse 20. Look at verse 20. 44:39 When the battle intensified, 44:40 they realized they were not alone. 44:42 They said "Whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet, 44:43 rally to us there. 44:45 Our God will" do what? 44:48 "Our God will fight for us." 44:50 I want you to know that 44:52 the trials of life are difficult, 44:53 but the God that we serve is even more powerful 44:55 than the trials that we face. 44:58 The things that... 45:00 The things that scrape you, the things that irritate you, 45:03 the things that frustrate you, 45:07 our God is better than all of those things combined. 45:13 And so very quickly they invited 45:14 Nehemiah to the valley of, to the plain of Ono. 45:18 Let's talk Neo. 45:19 Let's go to the plain of Ono. 45:21 Nehemiah said, "Oh, no." 45:24 They invited Nehemiah to come down. 45:26 Nehemiah said, "I cannot come down." 45:32 But now let's get to the end of the sermon. 45:34 It's powerful. 45:36 I've been waiting to get there. And you know what? 45:38 I got, I got 19 minutes left. 45:44 Your watch has broken, this is correct. 45:48 Louis and I know this is correct. 45:54 They kept on working. 45:55 They kept on working 45:57 and we go back to the scripture reading. 45:59 Nehemiah 6. 46:00 So you've got to go home 46:02 and read all the other stuff for yourself. 46:04 But here's the most potent part of the story, 46:06 which after having read this for all these years, 46:09 I never saw it. 46:10 Shelley, that's what God does. 46:11 He shows you something that you never saw 46:13 and it's right there like a big bright light. 46:18 Verse 15 of Nehemiah 6. 46:19 So the wall was finished. 46:21 Amen? 46:22 On the 25th day of Elul in 52 days. 46:28 "And it happened, 46:30 when all our enemies heard of it, 46:32 and all the nations around us saw these things, 46:37 that they were very disheartened" who cares? 46:41 "In their own eyes, for they perceived 46:44 that this work" say with me together, 46:47 "was done by our God." 46:52 Now I know you're focusing on the work 46:53 being done by our God, 46:55 but I'm going to take you to a singular word 46:56 that I never... 46:58 Last night my wife brought me a sandwich when I was... 47:02 I said, honey, I'm eating, I got an appetite. 47:04 I hope I'm gaining weight. 47:06 I'm trying my best. 47:08 But she brought me a wonderful sandwich, 47:11 some nice ginger, mint tea, some chips, 47:15 and it was smelling so good 47:17 and she said "Eat it while it's hot." 47:19 She put it right there by my computer. 47:23 And I said "Honey, look at that." 47:25 She said what? I said that word Elul. 47:32 The 25th day of Elul, what does Elul mean? 47:36 And I took out my Hebrew 47:38 and I began to go and I got excited 47:40 when I realized that in the 25th day of Elul 47:45 was when the work was finished. 47:47 You know, Elul in the Hebrew means, 47:49 a time of repentance. 47:52 And Elul is the month that had 29 days. 47:55 When they entered the month of Elul, 47:58 they had 29 days to repent 48:01 before they got to the month of SLI-khus, 48:05 which was the month of forgiveness 48:08 and preparation and oneness with God. 48:10 So God did not deliver them 48:13 when they began to repent. 48:18 God delivered them 24 days into their repentance. 48:25 The month of Elul required that they search their hearts. 48:29 And the Hebrew says, 48:30 "As the month of Elul drew to a close, 48:34 the mood of repentance became more urgent." 48:38 In other words they saw, this month, 48:40 as they are working, 48:42 they are, daily 45 minutes a day, 48:46 they stand searching their hearts. 48:48 How much time do you spend searching your heart? 48:51 And it was the condition for the success, 48:53 had they not search their heart, 48:55 God did not finish the work because He just loved them, 49:00 He finished the work 49:01 because they worked on being right with God. 49:06 And when they got right with God, 49:07 God knew that they were serious about 49:09 the walls being repaired, 49:11 so the Lord closed up the walls and restored the gates 49:14 because they repented of the things 49:17 that they had done before and 24 days into it. 49:23 God saw their sincerity 49:26 and God said, "great." 49:30 I tell you something. 49:32 If you spend 24 days searching your heart... 49:35 If you spend 24 days saying 49:38 "Father," what is there in my life 49:41 that needs to be gone? 49:43 What is there in my attitude that needs to be different? 49:46 Not only did they search their hearts for repentance 49:52 or the repentance became 49:53 deeper and more intimate. 49:56 But it was also from the month of repentance, 49:59 the very next month was the month of forgiveness. 50:03 So when they repented, the very next month required 50:05 that they forgave one another. 50:09 The month of SLI-khus. 50:12 And what they did in the month of SLI-khus is... 50:13 This is where I want to end on the sermon. 50:15 Whoever is going to play the piano, 50:16 just come and play softly. 50:20 And I'll tell you when to start, 50:22 but just be there. 50:25 After they finished the month of repentance 50:27 and they came to the month of SLI-khus, 50:29 which was another month of 30 days. 50:35 For 45 minutes a day... 50:36 I want you to hear this. 50:38 This blew my mind last night. 50:39 For 45 minutes a day, 50:42 they read Exodus Chapter 34: 6 and 7. 50:47 We're going to end on that note. 50:49 I'll tell you when. 50:53 They read Exodus Chapter 34: 6 and 7 50:57 and they repeated it for 45 minutes a day 51:01 for the entire month. 51:06 And I couldn't understand why they would do that. 51:08 So I once again went to the Hebrew. 51:13 And in the Hebrew the word 51:15 and I'm going to repeat it now. 51:17 "And the Lord God passed before him and proclaimed." 51:22 Exodus 34:6 and 7. 51:24 "And the Lord God passed before him and proclaimed, 51:27 the Lord, the Lord God." 51:30 Now let's pause. 51:31 "The Lord, the Lord God." 51:35 See before you guys even thought about saying amen, 51:38 we said, "Amen," last night. 51:40 "The Lord, the Lord God" 51:42 and I looked up the word in Hebrew, 51:43 Hashem, Hashem, which meant the Lord, 51:49 the Lord God merciful. 51:50 In the Hebrew it meant "That God is merciful to us 51:56 before we sin, Hashem." 51:59 And God is merciful to us after we repent, Hashem." 52:04 Amen, somebody? 52:05 So when they said, 52:07 "The Lord, the Lord God, Hashem, 52:09 the Lord Hashem, merciful and gracious." 52:13 They said, "The 13 attributes of God 52:15 are found in Exodus 34:6 and 7." 52:18 The 13 attributes of God. 52:20 God is perfectly merciful. 52:22 God is perfectly gracious. 52:23 God is perfectly longsuffering 52:25 and abundant in goodness and truth. 52:26 God keeps His mercy for thousands, 52:28 forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, 52:30 by no means clearing the guilty. 52:32 But God is merciful before we sin 52:34 and God is merciful after we sin. 52:39 So they didn't come to build walls, 52:40 they came to build their relationship 52:43 back with God. 52:44 It's when their relationship with God was rebuilt, 52:47 that God finished the wall. 52:52 So brothers and sisters, we want the work 52:54 to be completed and Jesus to come, 52:55 what do you say? 52:57 If we get our lives right 53:00 by searching our hearts before God, 53:02 the God who is merciful before we sin, 53:05 the God who is merciful after we sin, 53:09 the work could be finished and God will close up 53:12 the gaps in our lives, 53:14 He would rebuild our walls, 53:16 close up and restore our gates. 53:22 So come with me to a joyful journey. 53:27 Let us go back to a whole place. 53:31 It is not a place who have sad faces 53:33 but smiling faces, joyful eyes and fulfilling steers. 53:38 They are not joyful because they are at peace, 53:42 they are at peace because they are joyful. 53:47 Finish the walls of my life, Lord Jesus. 53:50 Finish the walls in my life, Lord Jesus. 53:55 Not about building walls is about finishing walls, Jim. 53:58 When we come clean with God, He steps in 54:02 and finishes the walls in our lives, 54:05 and the church said. 54:08 Anybody has any walls today, they want God to rebuild? 54:13 Got any gaps in your life that needs to be closed up? 54:17 There is the prescription right there. 54:19 When you ask God to show you what needs to be closed up 54:25 and repented up and cleaned up and made right in His presence. 54:33 He will reveal to us His mercy 54:36 and show us His grace 54:41 and in the face of the enemy 54:43 who will be completely angry and frustrated. 54:47 God will finish our work, close up our walls, 54:54 restore our gates, 54:55 and we will be in the presence of God, 54:58 a wonder and a blessing to everyone 55:03 with whom we come in contact. 55:05 Is that your desire? |
Revised 2018-01-10