As we come to our word of God this morning, we'll be in Nehemiah chapter one. Let's build those walls, is the title of this sermon, Nehemiah chapter one, verse one. And this weekend we celebrate this nation, a very diverse country, having a relatively short history compared to countries like China or Japan. But the residents and citizens of this country have enjoyed great freedoms and liberties. Despite these, we've seen a great shift over the past century in Western thinking, many times from historic Judeo-Christian values toward a liberal post-Christian culture. As a result, we're reaping some societal problems. There's many social ills that disturb us and may for some cause frustration. The answer to our problems is not more federal funding, But a change of heart and Christians will be serious about interceding on their nation's behalf, serious about their walk. with God. I want to look here at a passage of Scripture. Nehemiah, he was a cupbearer to a king. And as he's the cupbearer, he noticed that his own people, his own people were suffering and something needed to happen. He begins to reach out, and we're going to look today at the life of Nehemiah, and I've got to tell you, it is encouraging. Of a man who loved his people, And there was nothing that he wouldn't bring before God on behalf of them because he wanted to see them reached for God, and he also wanted to see them delivered from their captivity. In Nehemiah 1, verse 1, the words of Nehemiah, the son of Hakaliah, they came to pass in the month of Shislu in the 20th year. As I was in Shushan, the palace, that Hanani, one of my brethren, came. He and certain men of Judah, and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire, and it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven. I want you to understand several things about our great God. God tells us in Nehemiah 1, verse 8, would you look with me here? God says, listen. He says, if you sin, a nation sins, there's going to be judgment. going on in verse nine, but if you turn unto me and keep my commandments and do them, though they were of you, cast out into the uttermost part of the heaven. Well, I gathered them from thence and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there. God says there's judgment on sin and there's blessings for obedience. Another thing that God tells us that in Acts chapter 8 verse 1, turn with me here and we'll come back. We'll spend a lot of time in Nehemiah this morning, but in Acts chapter 1, chapter 8, excuse me, Acts chapter 8, There's something that in spite of the opposition, in spite of trials, in spite of persecution, in spite of the challenges of life, And God says, press forward. Don't let this stop you. And I want to note something that God does on God's blessings of evangelism. What happens when the word of God goes forth and lives are reached for Christ? There is something that impacts culture and society far more than anything else. And we find in Acts chapter eight, verse one, and Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church, which was at Jerusalem. They were all scattered abroad throughout the region of Judea and Samaria except the apostles. The devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house and hailing men and women, committing them to prison. Therefore they that were gathered abroad went everywhere preaching the word. What happens? The people are, the persecution, Saul comes in, he begins to take mothers and fathers and husbands and wives and children. He begins to separate those that are in these various churches and he begins to put them in jail. He's persecuting the church of Jerusalem. He hates the church. He hates anything of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he's trying to stop it. And so as you find here in this aspect, the people went, but there's something that happens in verse 4. Therefore they that were scattered abroad went. Where'd they go? Everywhere. It doesn't stop there though. It says, preaching the Word. As the persecution comes, as people are fleeing for their lives, trying to stay alive, protect their families, what do they do? They begin to spread. Churches are started. Remember in Acts chapter 8, Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the uttermost, God brings in persecution. It scatters the believers. The believers go out. They spread the gospel. And guess what? More churches are started. Something happens, though, as you come to Acts chapter 9, verse 31. Saul gets saved. God saves the primary persecutor and insulter, the one who's doing all of this damage upon the churches, and God does something. Look with me what happens. Verse 31 of chapter 9 of Acts. Then had the churches rest throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified, and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost were multiplied. The church is. You find the church of Jerusalem, persecution comes, and believers all over the place, and churches are started. As I mentioned in the illustration of light, that every one of us is a light for Christ, a light for Christ in our community, in our homes, in the church, and we think about this very idea that the churches were multiplied, persecution comes. Persecution isn't always a bad thing. Because God uses it to spread the gospel, we begin to get comfortable. And we had people from all over coming to help us here in this church. The idea of encouragement and strength. But God worked and Saul gets saved. But the believers went out and they carried out what they knew they were supposed to do, and that was carry out the Great Commission. Telling people about the greatness of our great God and the hope in Jesus Christ alone. A little cultural background on what's going on here. The nation of Israel had prospered under Saul and David and Solomon. And then under Rehoboam, Solomon's son, the nation was divided into Judah and Benjamin and then the ten tribes. Solomon died, Israel was divided, and civil war erupted in this place. God judged the northern tribes when the Assyrians would come in the year 722 B.C. The tribes were taken off and taken into captivity, the ten tribes of Israel. Then in 605 BC, King Nebuchadnezzar invades Judah for the first of three critical invasions and he takes the people captive. In the year 586 BC, the temple is destroyed. and the vessels of the Temple were carried off to Babylon. The Temple and the walls of Jerusalem were in ruins during this time of captivity, and many of the Jews became slaves. It's a terrible time in Israel's history. In 539 BC, Babylon fell to the King Cyrus of Persia. Cyrus was gentle and humane with the people he conquered. Cyrus looked out with concern for the welfare of the Jewish people. He was not a believer, but realize this, that God can work in the minds of those who don't even believe in God. God had stirred his spirit. Isaiah prophesied and called Cyrus by name about 150 years before he ever ruled. He would issue a decree to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple, and what a wonderful thing it is, and the Jews go back to Jerusalem under the leadership of several things of leaders that they would go under. Number group one went back under Zerubbabel in the year 538 BC. Eighty years later, Ezra in 458 BC, and that was brought to a stop, and then 13 years later under Nehemiah in 445 B.C. The temple was completed about 516 B.C., the second one. In 538 B.C., the enemies resisted them. 520, Haggai and Zechariah rebuked the people for their lack of resolve. They finished the temple four years later. But something happened, though. The temple was built, but the city still remained unprotected. The Jews refused to migrate back to Jerusalem because they said, listen, there's no walls to protect us. In 486 BC, Xerxes, or Ahasuerus, took the throne. And he would choose Esther as his queen. Esther was a beautiful woman whom King Ahasuerus doted on, and God had her, and there's a famous saying, many Christians will use this, for such a time as this, and God put Esther in the throne as the queen there under King Ahasuerus for such a time to spare the lives of the Jewish people. In 445 BC, Nehemiah finally arrives in Jerusalem in the 20th year of Artaxerxes reign. His name, Nehemiah, means comfort. As we think on these truths today, I want us to understand that God's desire for us is let's build those walls, let's move forward, let's protect our homes, protect the church, protect the honor of the Lord Jesus Christ. I understand that in the protection that we do over homes and churches, that there is not without conflict. God's desire is to move forward. God's done great things here in this church. Lots of work and provision for this church. The many, many, many nights of work and days of work and God's goodness, but let's take what God has given and let's move forward. God can take a land, a nation of believers if we'll get serious about the Lord. I trust this morning that may God's work be your work. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly and Gracious Father, Lord, we love you. And we thank you for being our precious Savior. I thank you for the grace you bestowed upon us. Lord Jesus, I just dedicate this time to you. I plead with you and ask you, Lord, for help. Be with Rebecca as she teaches the children. And Lord, we thank you for the goodness that you bestowed upon us. Father, as this word is preached, I pray that you would empower it, as only you can do with your word. Lord, guide my thoughts and lips. I love you, Jesus. Thank you for this day. And should there be anyone this morning who has never settled their salvation, knowing where they're going to be when this life is over, they would settle that decision this morning, that they would know for sure, as the Bible tells us. And so, Father, I pray also for those of us as Christians, we'd have a holy resolve that I'm going to serve Jesus. I thank you for what you've done and what you will do. In your precious and holy name, I pray. Amen. I want to look at number one, the affliction, verses one through four. We find that here is Nehemiah and he's overwhelmed. He says, I see my people and they're overwhelmed. There's captivity and they're in great affliction and reproach. The walls of Jerusalem aren't built. The place looks terrible. No one wants to go back. The captives have now had a king that will allow them to go back, but they don't want to go back because they're still afraid of what may happen. He was not concerned just about the physical environment, but the spiritual environment as well, and he'd heard of the great trials that the escaped Jews faced. Think about this. Here are these Jews. They've escaped their captivity. They've been able to come back home, but their homeland is in ruins physically and spiritually, and they're like, what do I do? They had departed from God, and Nehemiah's heart longed to rebuild Jerusalem, rebuild the walls, but also for God's people. to also get back right with the Lord. And find in Esther 7, verse 4, that Nehemiah had a heart for his people. It says, For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage. And Esther was concerned that Haman had sold the Jewish people to be killed, every one of them. He had issued an order of genocide against them. So she goes into the king unannounced, unscheduled, and he could have killed her. He lays out the scepter and she says, I don't care if I die, I die, but I want my people to be spared. Realize this, there is God's judgment on sin, but Esther goes in and she's concerned for her people. Nehemiah is concerned for her people. Concerned for the walls of Jerusalem. Concerned that the place is in ruins. But Nehemiah loves his homeland. And he does something in verse 4. What does he do? He intercedes. In verse 4 of Nehemiah 1, it came to pass when I heard these words that I sat down and wept and mourned certain days and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. Nehemiah weeps, he mourns, he fasts, and he prays before God. What does he do? He says, God, they are in a very terrible spot, and I'm going to continue to pray for them. I'm going to fast. I'm going to weep and mourn, because my heart is affected by what I see. You know, many of us, our hearts are troubled because we may not care, honestly care, for what God cares for. You realize this, that in 2 Samuel 1, 12, about David and his men fasted for Saul. David and his men, those who were with him in the military, they fasted for Saul. Saul, the same guy that wanted to kill David, his son-in-law. And they mourned and wept and fasted even for Saul and for Jonathan's son and for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel because they were fallen by the sword. David weeps for Saul after he was killed in battle. Why would he weep for a man that wanted to kill him? because David had a heart for people. You know, many people are given to, I want to fulfill my lusts, I want to have this, and I want this, and I want this nice thing, and I've got to have this, or I've got to have this person, or whatever might be in their lives, but when prayer times come, so often in churches, few if any people pray or show up. Corporate prayer is essential for believers. Some may excuse maybe being tired, but I want to tell you when God's people come together, and oftentimes we're so addicted to our own self-image that we're worried about what others may think. Can I tell you when there's fun things to do at the church, there might be great things like going fishing or big events, people want to come out. But the believers, when you want to pray and intercede and pray for this community, pray for the north, pray for someone under duress, so few may want to partake. And it shows us our hearts. And see, it's not about me. My trust is that God would get in each of our hearts and truly have a burden for the lost, for our family members, willing to give up ourselves for the salvation of others. You know, our land is not getting any better, our nation. As you think about this, we find in our own nation, there was some years ago at Trinity Western University, there was some lawsuit and they lost it. They could not defend the Constitution. And there's a need for pastors and God's people to pray and stir up the Christians to do the same. Our families, our churches, our land in a mess because of satanic oppression. Our battle is not with man, our battle is with its spiritual warfare. And Jesus would say in Matthew 17, 21, how be it this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. When I think about this idea of prayer and fasting, God's saying I want you to get serious about what I'm serious about. I'm so thankful for the cross of Jesus Christ, thankful for what it's done in my life, thankful for what many of you, as I've heard in testimonies of your life, what God has done, but I want us to say there's a lot of people around us that are still searching for answers. And I'm all for standing, for writing our MPs and writing our MLAs, but what about prayer and fasting? The Holy Spirit was sent to indwell and flow through the believers, and we're filled with the Spirit when we're in complete obedience to Him. In John 7, 38, He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture has said, out of His belly shall flow rivers of living water. I want to see God work. The question is, am I willing to put ourselves, myself, in a position to allow this to happen? Nehemiah gets vulnerable before the Lord. And he weeps bitterly for hurting people, confused people, wayward people, and people that may not even know what he's doing. I want to ask you this morning, are you willing to be made vulnerable for the sake of someone else? Do you love the concept of Christianity or do you love God? We find there's an attention here in verse 5 of Nehemiah chapter 1. And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God. That great and terrible, that's not terrible in a bad sense, that's terrible as in like awe, like wow, that's kind of the idea of terrible here. God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments. Now what is Nehemiah doing? Verse six, let thine ear now be attentive and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night. For the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee, both I and my Father's house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandest thy servant Moses. Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandest thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations. But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them, though they were of you cast out in the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there. Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, by thy strong hand. O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant. In the prayer of thy servants who desire to fear thy name and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy on the side of this man, for I was the king's cupbearer. Think about this. Here is Nehemiah. I mean, he is weeping and saying, God, please hear me. He began his prayer with praises to God, and that God is in charge of heaven. He's in charge of all of heaven, that God judges sin, that God knows right, that it's God's flawless record of truthfulness, that God is truth. But he also acknowledges his position as a servant of the Lord. You know, that's what all of us must do, is recognize that God, that we are to have a relationship, and that I want to please Him. There's nothing more that ought to be the desire of my heart than I want to please the Lord. Ezekiel 22, verse 30. The Bible tells us about Ezekiel that God is looking for those who will be genuinely concerned for the welfare of those among whom we live. Would you turn with me to Ezekiel 22, verse 30. Ezekiel 22, verse 30. Ezekiel 22-30. You can see the affliction of the Jews. It captivated Nehemiah's heart. Night and day, he interceded. Can I say that's revealing of my heart? And as I think about these truths and this sermon, that the welfare and the state of those with whom we live around, The state of those whose lives are perishing, the state of those whose lives are being destroyed. I'm praying to the Lord God of heaven. In verse 30, God says, and I sought for a man among them. Ezekiel 22 verse 30, that should make up the hedge and stand in the gap before me for the land that I should not destroy it, but I found none. What a sad state. God's saying, I'm looking for a man or a woman. I'm looking for those who are going to stand on the hedge. Pray. I sought for a man among them. That's what he says in verse 30. God's saying, listen, I'm looking. In verse 31, therefore have I poured out my indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. Their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God. Here's Ezekiel, and God's talking, he says, listen, I look for someone that would stand in the gap, someone that would be praying, someone that would be interceding for those whose lives are perishing. We have a time before services that we pray. Nehemiah, going back to Nehemiah chapter one, confesses that his nation, his fathers, they had sinned against the Lord. They had been corrupt, they lacked, they failed to keep God's commandments, his statutes, and his judgments. Wholesale repentance is going on for his sins and those of the sins of his people. Nehemiah doesn't avoid the issues. He says, here's the problems. He got straight to the point that Israel had failed to keep the commandments that God spoke through Moses. He recognized that the promises of God come with obedience. I want the promises of God. You want the promises of God. I think we want the joy and the peace and all of this of God, but it comes through obedience. God says, will you follow me? Well, you listen. Nehemiah ends the chapter, much like in verses 10 and 11, but much like Moses did by repeating that God, that Israel was his redeemed people. In Numbers chapter 14, let's look at here, Numbers, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, the fourth book of the Bible, there in the beginning of your Bible, Numbers chapter 14. Chapter 14, verse 11. Nehemiah understands what God is doing. and says, I pray that I serve at this day and grant him mercy in the sight of this man, for I was the king's cupbearer. And he says, God, please listen to me. These are thy servants and thy people whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, by thy strong hands. There's a recognition and a realization that Nehemiah is saying, God, you've redeemed us. You bought us out of slavery. Your power got us out of here. You're the one that did all this work. And then in Numbers chapter 14, verse 11, and the Lord said unto Moses, how long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me all the signs which i have showed among them this is numbers 14 coming to verse 12 i will smite them with the pestilence that's disease and disinherit them will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they and moses said unto the lord and the egyptian shall hear it Thou broughtest up this people in thine might from among them, and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land, for they have heard that thou, Lord, art among this people, that thou, Lord, art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them. Thou goest before them by daytime, and a pillar of a cloud, and a pillar of fire by night. Think about this, and now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak. What is Moses doing here? Moses is interceding on behalf of the Lord, saying, God, please. Now Israel's complaining, Israel's whining and moaning in a critical attitude, and they even tried to stone and kill Moses, and yet Moses is still saying, God, please don't destroy him. Can I tell you, it's really tough when someone is coming against you with a very critical attitude to want to pray for them. When someone is against you and they're speaking things and you're like, I just want them to be gone. Moses pleads for God's mercy upon these people. He says, because your name is on them, please don't destroy them. Moses is concerned for the people on the behalf of them. You see, there needs to be a man or a believer who wants to see God's work continue irrespective of whether they are part of it or not in Numbers chapter 27, verse 15. Turn with me over to chapter 27 of Numbers. It's very difficult. Think about, if you're Moses, and man, they complained, they tried to kill him, they tried to get rid of him. There was people that they had a coup against him. They, Korah had 250 people that tried to get rid of him. God got rid of those people. There was other people that tried to stop the work that God was doing. Moses had the weight of a nation on his shoulders. And yet Moses still had a love for the people because they were God's people. Can I tell you that's very taxing? You would want to give up. Many times you're like, huh, take them all. Get rid of them. Nehemiah is praying for a people he knows that they have erred against the Lord. They have gone in a direction other than what God wants. And they're in a position because of their actions, the bad choices they've made. And yet he's interceding on their behalf. In Numbers 27, verse 15, Moses spake unto the Lord, saying, Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, which may go out before them, which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd. And the Lord said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is a spirit, and lay thy hand upon him, set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation, and give him a charge in their sight. What does God, Moses says, I realize, Lord, that the punishment's upon me, I realize I'm not gonna be able to go in the promised land. But God, I'm praying for these people. Lord, I love these people. And I know they may not love me, I know they may not like me, but I'm still praying for them. Can I tell you, as a parent, sometimes there might be, as with your children, there's times you might ask your child to do something, they get all angry, they get all mad at you, but you know what's best for them, what you're asking for them. You know what's best for their future, what you might be requesting. They get all mad, and they voice their opposition. As a loving parent, you love them, you pray for them. I trust you're praying for your children daily. But as you think about this, Moses says he wants to ensure that the congregation of Israel are safe, that someone's going to care for them in his absence. Nehemiah is saying, God, I realize that we are in a position where we deserve to be because of our rejection of you. Nehemiah's heart is broken over Israel's state, both physical and spiritual. I want you to look with me at Matthew chapter 9, verse 36, when we come to speak of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's build those walls. Nehemiah says, let's get back to the place where Israel is protected, Jerusalem is protected, Judah is protected. There's a king. There's people that love you. God, please help them spiritually. Please help them physically. Matthew 9, verse 36, the blessed Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 35, we'll start off there for context. Verse 35 of Matthew 9. Jesus went about all the cities and villages teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom And healing every sickness and every disease among the people, but when he saw the multitudes He was moved with compassion on them because they fainted were scattered abroad a sheep having no shepherd And say at the end of his disciples the harvest truly is plenteous But the laborers are few pray therefore the Lord of the harvest that he will send forth laborers into his harvest What's he praying Jesus saying Lord? We need more helpers I need more people that will be involved in interceding. Jesus says, there's sheep having no shepherd because they fainted or scattered abroad. He says, listen, there's so many people that don't have, if you think about it even today, churches where they can go and attend all over the world. Places that people will legitimately care and invest in their lives. When you have a struggle and aim, he says, they need a shepherd. He says, but here's the thing. It was these same multitudes were the ones that would say, crucify Him! Crucify Him! I'm telling you, God has a heart for people. In Nehemiah's prayer as he's praying, you look at verse 4, And it came to pass, when I heard these words, about the gates being broken down, and Jerusalem broken down, and in ruins, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven. Now, Nehemiah was a cupbearer. What is that? Nehemiah was responsible for sampling every drink given to the king to ensure that the drink was not poisoned. Nehemiah held great trust in the king, and the king had great trust in Nehemiah. To be a cupbearer, that king is saying, my life lies in your hands. We're going to start next week, Lord willing. I won't start this for the sake of time this morning, but next lengthy section of my points here. But I want us to think about, first of all, getting the heart for those who may not have a heart for you. I want to say, what is our concern for those who are in a position of their life is being destroyed because of bad decisions? Is it important for me to weep and pray and fast for them? And God's convicting me as I speak to you even on this. But building those walls is the idea that, first of all, a recognition the walls are broken down. that our state is in a bad position and that it is incumbent or it is our responsibility as believers to intercede and pray for those whose lives are being destroyed. I'm telling you there's a God in heaven. Jesus was moved with compassion because there was sheep having no shepherd. They fainted, were scattered abroad. They fainted because they had nowhere to go for hope. They didn't know where the answer was. They didn't know where the truth was. They didn't know the way to go. I'm telling you, Jesus tells us in John 14, 6, you say unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me, as you think on these truths this morning. What God's desire for you is, and what God's desire for me is, He says, listen, it's your responsibility to stand in the gap. To stand in the gap is a statement, as we read there earlier, standing in the gap is that I will stand in a position to pray and intercede for the lives of others. As we come together on Wednesday nights to pray, We're not just doing it because it's ritualistic or it's tradition, we're doing it because lives hang in the balance. When I do it in my own personal daily time with the Lord, every morning I get up and there I am, I open my Bible and then I'm talking with the Lord and He's talking with me through the Word of God and it's just sweet fellowship. And I'm baring my heart and probably complaining sometimes, I'm struggling, Lord, and you know, those sorts of things. And God so graciously gives wisdom for the day and every day. But we've got to get our mindset and our focus off of just me and on others whose lives are being destroyed. Because let's build those walls as we get back to church's responsibilities. I gave that illustration there about the light, that every one of us bring a light. There's something that God does when God's people come together in church. We gather together to sing the praises to God and the preaching of God's Word and we fellowship about how good God is and give Him praises. God does something. We all have a responsibility before God. The first responsibility of every person is number one. God wants everyone to receive the free gift of salvation in Jesus Christ. Number two, to be baptized and added to the church. Become a part of a local New Testament congregation. Get involved, be busy about serving the Lord. Now I understand there's things in our lives that we're working through and we ask for help in Bible study and all those are fantastic to help us grow. Why do we have Bible studies? We don't do Bible studies just to get head knowledge. I do Bible studies so that people, and earlier in my life as I was learning things in Bible studies that I had, so that I would know how to serve Jesus better and how to serve others better. Why do we have preaching? The preaching here is to encourage us for life, but at the same time understand, if you're a believer, my responsibility as a child of God that God says, listen, I want you to, as we've looked at today, I want you to be praying for others. Let's build those walls. Let's stand in the gap. I'm telling you this morning, Christian, There's much more that we can do. There's much more I can do that you can do. Nehemiah had a heart for his nation that was destroyed, was in ruins. Sometimes people say, well, the end is coming. Let's just hunker down, throw our head in the sand and just wait until Jesus comes. But can I tell you, that's a fatalistic mindset. God says there's work to do. Let's get our heart. God is still on the throne. God is still good. Jesus Christ still redeems people. Jesus Christ still saves sinners. Jesus Christ still rescues the individuals that are struggling. I'm telling you, let's stand in the gap. Let's build those walls. As you think on these truths this morning, and we're gonna come to a time of invitation, I wanna challenge you that are you interceding and standing in the gap to pray for others? And first of all, first question to ask anyone, is there ever a time in your life where you know for sure that you asked Jesus Christ to be your Savior and be born again? You ask Him to forgive you of all your sins. You trust in Him alone. You say, Pastor, I know that for sure. Praise the Lord. So as we come to this time of invitation this morning, we're gonna sing a song we'll play, but I trust that as you think on these truths this morning, Will you build those walls? Will you intercede and pray for those who need intercession? Christian, God did something in Acts chapter 8 when the persecution happened that Christians didn't just hide. They continued what they were supposed to do and they got the gospel out. They told people about Jesus. Churches were started. And it fundamentally changed, it just changed what they were doing there. And there was rest in the churches. God got a hold of Saul, one of the primary persecutors at that time. God did a work. You see, Christian, it's our responsibility to be praying for this great land. I know there's a lot of evil here. But God's not done with working the lives of individuals all over the North, all over Thompson, and all over this nation and this world, if Christians will just build those walls. As the invitation comes, I trust with heads bowed and eyes closed, you'd have a time to just pray and talk with the Lord. I'll play the music and I trust that you would just consider, Lord, am I interceding as I ought to, weeping and mourning and fasting? Or the state of maybe lost family members, lost friends, maybe a lost region. I want to tell you, I want to see Thompson reached. Weekly, the individuals I meet with, seeing their lives destroyed through various substances. It's not always alcohol and drugs, it's many other things. There is Satan's desire to destroy, but God's desire is to save. I trust that we as Christians would be wall builders. We'd stand in the gap and we'd pray.