Afternoon guys! It is so good to be with you and to get away from Washington DC a little bit. The land of politics ladies and gentlemen, no ladies here are there? Just gentlemen today.
The land of politics. Did you hear the story about the Hindu priest and the rabbi and the politician? who went out on a hike together.
They got lost, couldn't find their way back to the car, night fell. They happened to notice a little house, a little farmhouse with the lights still on, so they showed up at the farmer's house, knocked on the door. introduced themselves. We're a rabbi, Hindu priest, and a politician.
We've lost our way. Can you take us in for the night? The farmer said, I'll be glad to take you in for the night, but I only have one extra bedroom with two twin beds. One of you is going to have to sleep out in the barn.
The Hindu priest said, I'll be glad to take you in for the night, but I only have one Hindu priest said, okay, I'll go out to the barn. So the rabbi and the politician went to bed. Hindu priest went out to the barn.
A little bit later, there was a knock on the door. They got up. They answered the door. It was the Hindu priest. He said, I cannot go out there.
There's a cow in the barn. A cow is sacred in my faith. So the rabbi said, oy vey.
I'll go out to the barn then. He went out to the barn. Hindu priest, politician went to the bed. They slept in the bedroom. Hindu priest went out to the barn.
barn. Rabbi went out to the barn. A little bit later, there's a knock at the door.
They got up. The rabbi was standing there. He says, I cannot go into the barn. There's a pig in there. The pig is unclean.
The politician said, okay, guys, I'll go ahead. I'll take one for the team. I'll go out to the barn. Politician went out to the barn.
Hindu priest, rabbi went to bed. Pretty soon, there was a knock on the door. It was the cow and the pig.
That's where I'm from. Turn in your Bibles to the book of Nehemiah. The book of Nehemiah, I've entitled this, Rebuilding the Wall.
Rebuilding the Wall. I was going to entitle it, Rebuilding a Very Big, Beautiful, Fantastic Wall, but I've decided that's too long and somebody's already taken that. Nehemiah, chapter 1. I'm honored to be here.
I've been blessed by the guys who have been teaching before me and the worship, and I pray the Lord will continue to do a good work in your heart through the rest of the afternoon. Father, we thank you for this time we can share together in your Word, and we pray that you would use it to glorify yourself and to edify these men. We give you all the glory and all the praise.
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing and acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Pray these things in Jesus'name, and everybody said, Amen. The story of Nehemiah takes place roughly 445 B.C.
We learn from the book that the city walls of Jerusalem have been in a state of disrepair and ruin for about 140 years, ever since the Babylonians had ransacked and besieged Jerusalem roughly the year 586 BC. Nehemiah, a Jew, is living about a thousand miles away from the city of Jerusalem. He is serving in the palace of the king of Persia, and Nehemiah has the high privilege of being cupbearer to the king.
Now, a cupbearer is not what we have reduced the thought to of just one who samples the king's wine and food to make sure it's not poisonous before the king drinks or ingests that food or drink. the cupbearer was actually a very esteemed role, a trusted advisor to the king. How Nehemiah rose to such a trusted position is unknown to us.
What is known is why he is there a thousand miles away from Jerusalem in ancient Persia. When Babylon besieged Jerusalem in 586 BC, Nebuchadnezzar took thousands of Jews captive and deported them to Babylonia. Among them, no doubt, was Nehemiah's family. Now, a few generations later, after the Jews had been given the privilege of returning to their ancient homeland, many decided to stay right there in Persia.
And among those families who decided to stay was Nehemiah's family. Nehemiah has never been to the land of his forefathers. He has never been to Israel.
He has never seen Jerusalem. But he has heard. And what he has heard breaks his heart. He has heard from those who have returned.
That the condition of Jerusalem is completely dilapidated. It's in a state of ruin and disrepair. The walls in particular of the city, which is supposed to define the city itself and protect the people within, are completely ruined.
When Nehemiah hears this report, the Bible says he weeps. He is brokenhearted over the condition that his people are living in. And so he asks his boss, King Artaxerxes of Persia, permission to travel the roughly 1,000 miles to Jerusalem where Nehemiah will lead the rebuilding project of the city walls of Jerusalem. And this takes us here to Nehemiah chapter 1. I'm going to read the first four verses. The words of Nehemiah, the son of Hakaliah.
It came to pass in the month of Kislev in the 20th year as I was in Shushan, the citadel, that Hanani, one of my brethren, came with men from Judah, and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me, the survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress, circle that, and reproach, circle that. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down and its gates are burned with fire. And so it was when I heard these words that I sat down and wept and mourned for many days.
I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. You can pause there with me. This guy sits down and he weeps over the condition of the city of Jerusalem, a place that he hadn't even seen, but he had heard the devastation.
Now, don't think of this guy as a crybaby. Real men know when to cry. When we've been brokenhearted, we should weep. Jesus wept.
David wept. Peter wept. Ken Graves even wept.
He got an email this week from heaven that he's been assigned the tenor section in the choir. Hail, hail, Lion of Judah. That's going to be a trip. Sandy Adams told me to say that.
But by the way, Nehemiah was also a fighter. You see him weeping in chapter 1. In chapter 13, the last chapter, literally because people are not obeying God and listening to him, it says that he beats the men up and pulls out their hair. See, real men are both Both tough and tender, but they know when to be which.
The problem with a lot of men is they're tender when they should be tough. And they are tough when they should be tender. Nehemiah knew when to be which. He wept at the news that his own city was devastated. And so after he gets permission from King Artaxerxes, he makes the 1,000 mile trek to the run-down city of Jerusalem.
He doesn't know what to expect. He doesn't know what he's going to find until he actually gets there. And his mission is twofold. I had you circle those words because I want to point out his mission twofold. One, to erase the disgrace of a broken down city.
And two, to relieve the distress of the people living there. Look again at verse 3. And they said to me, the survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress. And reproach.
Reproach means disgrace or shame. It was a shameful thing to be living in a broken down city with broken down walls. Without the protection of the walls, they were weak.
They were vulnerable. They were the laughing stock of their neighbors. And so Nehemiah rallies the people and he leads a rebuilding project of the city walls to help restore some measure of dignity, some measure of national pride, some measure of strength and respect. But of course when you undertake such an ambitious project, you will have opposition. And that leads us into chapter 4. A couple of Arab trash talkers come around to oppose the rebuilding project.
In chapter 4, I'll just read the first eight verses. It says, but it so happened when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall that he was furious and very indignant and mocked the Jews. And he spoke before his brethren. and the army of Samaria, and he said, what are these feeble Jews doing?
Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish, stones that are burned? Now, Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall.
Hear, O God, our God. Nehemiah, for we are despised. Turn their reproach on their own heads and give them as plunder to a land of captivity. Do not cover their iniquity and do not let their sin be blotted out from before you, for they have provoked you to anger.
before the builders. So we built the wall and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height for the people had a mind to work. Now what happened when Sanballatabiah the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry. And all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion. Guys, who's the author of confusion?
Satan. Sanballat, Tobiah, these naysayers, they're pictures of Satan. And please bear this in mind. When you decide to get serious with God, the enemy will come against you. The enemy will try to attack you.
What does Peter tell us in his first epistle, chapter 5? When you get serious, we are to be warned about the... The attack of the enemy. Peter would write, be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Resist him, standing firm in the faith, knowing that your brethren around the world are undergoing the same kind of trials. The enemy is on the prowl for you. You leave here and you decide, I'm going to get serious with God. You better be prepared.
Satan, the sand ballot, is going to come against you to try to discourage you, to try to deceive you. So here's what Nehemiah does, still here in chapter 4, verse 13. Therefore I positioned men behind the lower parts of the wall, at the openings, and I set the people according to their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked.
And arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses. And it happened when our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had brought their plot to nothing, that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work.
And so it was that from that time on, that half of my servants worked at construction while the other half held the spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor, and the leaders were behind all the house of Judah, those who built on the wall. And those who carried burdens loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction and with the other held a weapon. Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built, and the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me.
Note this with me, men. They've got a trowel in one hand. They're slapping mortar and stones together with one hand, and they've got a sword in the other hand.
And they're working, and they're defending what is valuable, and what is precious, and what is sacred. Listen to me on this. Every man needs to be a hard worker.
and a godly defender of what is sacred and valuable. And that includes and starts with your own walk with Christ. Work hard and have a fighting spirit.
Young men, get off the video games and get into your Bibles. This is the sword of the spirit. You will not win the war wasting your time gaming. You need the word of God.
It is active and living and sharper than any two-edged sword able to divide soul from spirit. joint from marrow and able to discern the intents and actions of the heart. We need the Word of God.
It is our weapon of warfare. Older men, in the same way older men, invest in the younger men and instill in them a love for God and His Word and set the example for them. Now let me tell you something. This whole story of Nehemiah, and it's rich, 13 chapters long. I just want to try to hone in on the intensely personal and practical aspect of what is happening here.
There is a verse that has haunted me for many years, and it really is the picture of the whole story of Nehemiah. Write the verse down. It's Proverbs 25, 28. I'll read it to you in both NIV and New King James. Here's NIV, Proverbs 25, 28. Like a city... Whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.
New King James says it this way, whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down without walls. Brothers, we are to be like fortified cities, like Ephesians 6.10, strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. But when we compromise, And when we sin, when we lack self-control, we weaken the wall of our lives and we become like broken down cities, vulnerable, weak, and the laughing stock of the enemy.
And it's often the little things, it's often the little things that we dismiss as inconsequential that lead to the bigger things. that developed the gaping holes in the walls of our lives. On February the 1st, 2003, the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon re-entry to the Earth's atmosphere, and all seven crew members tragically died. The cause of the Columbia disaster was upon takeoff. A little piece of foam insulation put a six-inch gouge on the underside of the left wing of Columbia.
NASA saw it when it happened. They dismissed it as no big deal. But upon re-entry into the earth's atmosphere, the hot atmospheric gases penetrated that little six-inch gouge underneath the left wing, and it disintegrated the...
interior of the wing, and it ended up destroying and disintegrating the entire vessel. A 230,000 pound vessel, 122 feet long, 56 feet high, with a wingspan of 78 feet, disintegrated because of a six inch gouge. Gentlemen, it's the little things.
that lead to the big things that end up causing us disgrace and shame. And there is no worse thing for a man to feel as weak as we do when we have disgrace and shame in our lives. It is the little things Song of Solomon says, Solomon would write in Song of Solomon 2.15.
It's the little foxes that destroy the vineyard. I ask us all, What are the breaches in your wall? Where are the things that you've become vulnerable to allow? Where is the weakness in the wall of your heart? It is time to rebuild the wall.
What have you allowed into your life? Who have you allowed into your life? It is time.
to rebuild the wall. You say, it's too late for me. Pastor Gary, you don't understand.
I've already allowed things in that I regret. What's happened has happened, but you can be forgiven. And you can build up the wall to make sure that it doesn't happen again. Jesus Christ died on the cross to take our shame and our disgrace.
How about you replace your disgrace with his grace and let him bring a new chapter to your life. Today is your Nehemiah moment. Today is your Nehemiah moment.
Today is your day when you can decide, I'm going to rebuild the parts of my life that I've allowed to disintegrate through compromise and my own sin. There's a gaping hole in your life that maybe you recognize. Today you're going to decide, no more. I'm going to close that gap, I'm going to rebuild it for the glory of God, and I'm going to be like a fortified city for Christ. Many years ago, my wife and I were part of a church, this was before I started pastoring Cornerstone, and this particular church was having a fundraising for a building project that they were doing, and they had one of these silent auctions.
And you could donate something, and then people would come, bid on it, and then all the proceeds would go to the church. And so there was a whole bake sale section, and my wife decided, I'm going to bake a cake, donate it. You know, people then bid on the cakes, and then all the money goes to the church. Okay, fine.
So on the day of this silent auction, my wife still has the cake in the oven. And I'm like, honey, we've got to go. This thing is starting.
So she takes a look in the oven. She sees it's not quite done, but she pulls it out because we're out of time. I said, what are you doing?
She says, it's not quite done, but I'm going to make it look right. I said, what do you mean you're going to make it look right? And she says, well, look, the inside is still doughy because I don't have time for it to finish cooking. And she starts taking the doughy part out of the center of the cake. I'm not making this up.
And then she starts balling up paper towels and stuffing it in the center of the cake. I said, honey, what are you doing? Some. Somebody's going to bid on this cake. They're going to get it home, cut into it, and get a mouthful of paper towels.
She said, no, no, this is how it's going to work. This is how it's going to work. Putting the paper towels in, I'm going to ice over it.
Nobody would ever know. I said, they're going to know when they eat it. She said, no, they won't.
Because she looks at me, she goes, because you are going to be the high bidder. I'm at this auction. I got to bid it up.
I don't want somebody to know my wife's got paper towels. It's a fraudulent cake. I'm bidding it, bidding it, bidding it.
I had to pay 50 bucks for a $2 cake. We got that thing home. We had a good laugh. We're pulling the paper towels out of the center. We're eating some of it.
You ever had one of those moments where out of the blue, you know it was the word of the Lord because you weren't even thinking about anything spiritual in the moment? And I heard in my spirit, just as clearly as I'm speaking to you, this cake is like a lot of people, all put together on the outside and nobody would ever know, but a big gaping hole empty in the middle. Before Robin Williams took his own life, he said, all it takes is a beautiful smile to hide an injured soul, and they will never know how broken you really are. That's true about a lot of people.
That's probably true about some of you men. But I want you to know, God takes broken men and makes them whole again. God takes broken men and makes them whole again.
In 1965, Winston Churchill died at the age of 90. He had pre-planned his funeral. His funeral was held at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. And Churchill decided that he wanted to have two buglers perched up in the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral. And at the end of his funeral, one bugler played taps, that military tune that signals the end of the day.
But Churchill said, that while taps is being played as the sound of taps is still fading in the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral, I want the other bugler to play Reveille. It's the beginning of a new day. Guys, listen to me on this.
Play taps for the old you. Play Reveille for the new you in Christ, because today is a new day for you to leave here fortified in Christ, your walls built up in the Lord, no more cracks in the wall. No more gaps in your heart. Solid in Christ.
Living for him. Giving glory to him. And not retreating. This is a new day.
Reveille is being sounded. That you might live a new life for a new day in Christ. I want to pray Jude 20 and 21 over you guys.
But I'm going to ask. that if today you want to make a decision that you will rebuild your wall and you will close the gap. I'm not asking for people to stand just because this is an invitation to stand. I'm just saying for those of you who sincerely have allowed a breach in the wall of your life and today you're going to say no more. I'm rebuilding the wall.
I'm going to fight the good fight of faith, a trowel in one hand, a sword in the other, and I'm going to leave here fortified in Christ, that I just want you to stand where you are. Just stand where you are, guys. Stand where you are.
God bless you guys. I'm going to pray over you. This is Jude 20, 21. But you, dear friends, you brothers, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. In Jesus'name.
In Jesus'name. Lord, you see these men. You know where they've allowed a crack in the wall of their lives. But like Nehemiah, we purpose in our heart to build up what has been ruined. We replace our...
disgrace with your grace. And we purpose now to leave here today men who will be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. In Jesus'matchless name and all God's men said, amen and amen. God bless you guys.