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if you would, to Nehemiah chapters
2 and 3. Nehemiah chapter 2, we're going
to look at one verse and we're going to read a couple verses
out of chapter 3. When you come to Nehemiah chapter 3, it's almost
as if you're reading a journal, a divinely inspired page out
of Nehemiah's journal. It's there that he chronicles
the different people and places as they began and they rebuilt
the walls of Jerusalem. And we're going to pick up in
chapter 2 verse 18 and I'm going to read just a few verses out
of chapter 3 and then for the next little while we're going
to be preaching out of chapter number 3. We'll not finish it
tonight. And so look if you would, Nehemiah
chapter 2 verse number 18. Then I told them, here Nehemiah
is casting the vision before the remnant of Jews there in
Jerusalem about the destruction of the walls, the ruins, about
what needs to be done, about what it will be like when they
rebuild it. Then I told them of the hand of my God which was
good upon me, as also the king's words that he had spoken unto
me. And they said, Let us. Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands
for this good work. Now drop down to chapter 3 verse
number 1 if you would please. Then Elisheb the high priest. rose up with his brethren the
priests, and they builded the sheep gate. They sanctified it,
and set up the doors of it, even unto the tower of Maah, and sanctified
it unto the tower of Hananiel. Look at verse 2, And next unto
him builded the men of Jericho, and next to them builded Zachar
the son of Emory. But the fish gate did the sons
of Hassanabil, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up
the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.
And next unto them repaired Merimoth, the son of Uriah, the son of
Chaz. And next unto them repaired Meshulam,
the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshazabil. And next unto
them repaired Zadok, the son of Behanot. And next to them, the Techoites. But their nobles put not their
necks to the work of their Lord. Now I want to draw your attention
back to chapter 2, verse number 18. I'm going to share with you
a few words that I believe will title the message for the next
few times that we come together in the book of Nehemiah. Look
in the middle part of the verse. I underlined it. So they strengthened
their hands. So they strengthened their hands. What a verse! What a statement! They strengthened their hands.
There was something before them. There was a work that needed
to be done. So they strengthened their hands for this good work. Let's pray and then we're going
to preach for the next little while on, so they strengthened
their hands. Lord, we love you tonight. We
thank You for the truth of Your Word, the joy of being able to
preach the inspired, inerrant, preserved Word of God. Lord,
speak to us tonight. I pray You'll challenge us as
the people of God. Thank You, Lord, for the two
precious students that were saved in chapel this week. at Calvary
Christian School. Lord, the many decisions that
were made, numbers of students surrendering their lives to full-time
service. Lord, I just rejoice what You're
doing there, what You're doing in our church, Lord, as You're
adding to the family of God on a regular basis here at Calvary.
And Lord, I stand amazed. And Father, I pray that Your
hand would be good upon us We need You, Lord. It's not anything
that we can do, but what You do. And Lord, that we would strengthen
our hands as the people of God in our day for this good work. And Lord, we're going to thank
You for it. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Well, teamwork makes the
dream work. Would you say that with me again?
One, two, three. Teamwork makes the dream work. You see, nobody climbs Mount
Everest alone. It takes a team to get there.
Nehemiah could not build the walls of Jerusalem by himself. It was going to take a team of
people to make that work, that dream, come true for the people
of God in that day. That little phrase, teamwork
makes the dream work, that was true in Nehemiah's day and rebuilding
the walls of Jerusalem, that good work in his day. And can
I tell you, it's true tonight. If we're going to do a good work,
a great work for our God, then it's going to take teamwork to
make the dream work. They strengthened their hands. for this good work. Seventy years
they had been in Babylon. They've now come back. This remnant
of Israelites returned from the land. Under Zerubbabel and Ezra,
the temple has been rebuilt. The worship of Jehovah has somewhat
been restored, but yet the city of Jerusalem is still in disrepair.
The walls are still in ruins. The gates are burned with fire.
The people of God in great distress. The name of God being reproached
adversaries around them. Word comes to Nehemiah, he's
in Shushan the palace, through his brother Hanani, his Jewish
companions, they freshly returned from Israel. They share with
Nehemiah as he asks them, how is it there with the people and
the city of Jerusalem? And the news wasn't good. They
shared with them the plight of the city and the struggles of
the people. It impacted Nehemiah's heart. We remember that. He wept, he
fasted, he mourned, he prayed before the God of heaven. Four
months go by and God touched his heart. Remember, look at
verse number 12 again, chapter 2. And he said, I rose in the
night, I and some few men with me, neither told I any man, watch
this, what God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem. During those four months, God
touched Nehemiah's heart. He put something in his heart. It began to crystallize. A dream,
a vision began to form in his heart. Nehemiah began to see
things different from what they were. He began to see what could
be the people of God, in the name of God. If the walls were
rebuilt, the gates had been repaired. And so God touched his heart,
and he sets out, he begins to leave, and he asks the king,
send me, and he leaves Shushan the palace. We come to chapter
2 verse 11 and Nehemiah has made the thousand mile journey, the
perilous journey to Israel. Look at verse 11. He said, So I came to Jerusalem. Listen, he didn't just say his
dream, he seized it. He reached out to do what God
put in his heart. You know what Nehemiah reminds
me, church? Nehemiah reminds me that one man, one woman, one
young person can make a difference in their world. Nehemiah understood
he could make, you can make a difference on your job. You can make a difference
in your school. You can make a difference in
your neighborhood. You can make a difference in your community.
You can make a difference on the athletic team that you're
a part of. You can make a difference in
your classroom. You see, wherever God places
you, it doesn't take a crowd to make a difference. It only
takes one person to make a difference because God, listen, one person
with God is always a majority. You can make a difference. Nehemiah
saw that he could make a difference. Boy, if one person could make
a difference, imagine what an entire nation can do, what an
entire church can do when we pull together to do what God
calls us to do. And so he makes an investigation.
We saw that in verse 12, he secretly in the night, examines and does
a survey, a reconnaissance mission, so to speak, gathering information. He wanted to see the ruins for
himself, the size of the task, the scope of the task. No doubt
at times it maybe was worse than what he ever even dreamed it
was. He had to get off of his animal that he was riding because
the ruins were so great that his animal couldn't pass. He
had to trek on foot to view the walls and examine that. Instead
of diminishing his faith, it enhanced it. You see, he didn't
see obstacles, he saw opportunity. How important that is. And then
he's going to cast the vision to the people. He begins to share
with them. what God had put in his heart.
We saw that in verse number 17. He said, Then I said unto them.
He's gathered the people. He's sharing with them the situation. You know what's interesting?
They've been living this way for 70 years. It's probably 140
years by now, somewhere around in there, 120, 140 years since
the walls have been destroyed by the Babylonians. See, so 70
years captivity, they came back, temple restored, somewhat the
worship of Jehovah restored, they settle into the land, they
start to repair, the work stops, and the people get complacent.
They just get used to living in distress. They get used to
the ruins. They get used to the rubble.
They just get used to the way things are. You would think,
with all of the distress, all of the reproach, all of the plundering,
all of the misery that they were experiencing from the people
around them in that land, that somebody there in Jerusalem said,
hey, we need to do something about this. We need to fix this. We need to get these walls built.
That's not what happened. They just got used to it. And
they got complacent. And you know what? They said,
well, that's just the way things are. Let me tell you something,
Christian. You know why America is where it's at tonight? Do
you know why our churches are the way they are in America tonight?
Because we've just got used to it. We've gotten complacent. We don't
think anything can be done about it. Well, you know, what can
I do? I'm not wealthy. I'm not famous. I'm not powerful. I don't have
a whole lot of influence. Can I tell you, dear friend,
change always doesn't start at the top. It starts at the bottom.
It's when people decide that they're going to make a difference.
And that's what's going to happen right here. But they've gotten
used to it. And so you'd think somebody there, in the midst
of all the misery, would figure things out. But it's not the
way it is. God had to send a voice to them. God had to send somebody
who wasn't part of that, that wasn't complacent, to help them
see where they are. By the way, do you know that's
why God gave you preachers? Do you know that's why God gave
us evangelists? You know what Bible preaching
does? You know what Nehemiah is doing?
He's waking them up. You know what Bible preaching
does? It wakes us up to what we get used to in our lives,
in our land, in our churches, so that we rise up to make a
difference, to bring change to the world around us. And you
know what? They catch the vision. Look at
verse 18. I love this. So you're going to find cooperation.
And they said, I told them of the hand of my God good upon
me, the king's words. And they said, you know what?
He didn't say, hey, why don't we rebuild these walls? No, they
hear it. They see it. They catch it. And they said, let us. Hey, let
us rise up. and build. Boy, there's cooperation. Did you see that? Hey, it's going
to take some teamwork, right, to make the dream work. And then
we know that from last message that opposition, opposition comes
in verses 19 through 20. There's some determination there.
It didn't matter the opposition. They're going to forge ahead.
Friend, listen, can I tell you any time, church, that we step
out to do something great for God, Satan is going to oppose
it. Young person, you decide tonight
that you're going to live differently when you go to school tomorrow.
That you're going to have a different attitude, a different spirit.
You're going to be a witness for Jesus. You're going to stand
for Him. You're going to make a difference
in wherever you work. Can I tell you? Satan is going
to immediately resist you. You have to have some determination.
Amen? But then you come to chapter
number three, and we have participation. Verse 18 says, they strengthened
their hands. And then you come to chapter
3 where you see that in action. That word strengthened in verse
number 18, it has the idea of setting to or putting their hands
to the task. They didn't just talk about it,
they did it. Do you know that so often we
just talk about it. We talk about what we want to
do. We talk about making a difference. We talk about winning somebody
to Jesus. We talk about handing out a tract.
We talk about reading our Bible. We talk about having a better
devotional life or prayer life. We talk about beginning to tithe
or give to missions or increasing our offerings or whatever it
is. Listen, can I tell you, it's wonderful to say it, but you
know what we need to do? We need to take it one step further
and strengthen our hands and do it. We talk about getting
involved. We talk about making a difference.
Hey, you know what? They didn't just talk about it
at this point. They said, let us! And then they strengthened
their hands. They got involved. I just believe
they were all in. Can I just stop and let us celebrate
for a minute? January of this year, I challenged
you as a church to be all in. I shared with you what God put
in my heart. God, last year about this time,
touched my heart. Maybe it was a little earlier
than November because it took us about three or four months
to put it all together. But I remember walking into a
staff meeting, calling everybody together and beginning to lay
before them what God had put in my heart and what God touched
my heart and then He touched their hearts. And then on Vision
Sunday of 2024, God allowed me to share it with you and then
He touched your heart. And I challenge you to be all in for Christ.
To be a church that's all in for Jesus Christ. Can I tell
you, I've never seen anything like it. How you rose up and
served and worked and made a difference. Can I tell you, every metric
in our church that we measure the health of our church has
improved and increased. Attendance, giving, serving. Every metric that you would look
at. Our Sunday night, Wednesday night attendances. All of those
metrics. Our life groups. I told Brother
Delp, he said, I've got a goal for life groups. I said, you
better ratchet that one up. I said, you better ratchet that
one up. I said, it's going to blow it out. He came back later.
He said, you know what? You were right. He said, I raised
my goal. And he said, we've already blown it out of the water. See,
just a church that decides that we're going to be different.
We're going to take a step forward. We're going to be all in. And
here's what I said to our staff. I said, I want to see 100 brand
new serving members. You know why God put that in
my heart? Because here's what I understood.
God has called me to equip you. for the work of the ministry,
for the edification of the body of Christ. Till we all, I'm going
to talk about this verse a little bit later, come to the fullness
of the stature of the body of Christ. You see, what Jesus is
wanting to do, what God's will for our lives is to conform every
believer to the image of His Son. Here's what Jesus said,
I came not to be served, but to serve. Do you know you can't be like
Jesus if you're not serving? Because Jesus was a servant. And if I'm going to be like Him,
then I'm going to have to serve. And I said, I want a hundred
brand new servants this year. And then I want to set it in
place so that as God increases our church, we even add to it.
And church, you rose up like a mighty army. You strengthened
your hands for this good work. This past week while I was at
Pensacola Christian College at a guest pastor's event, Ms. Megan
Cooper, who's the administrative assistant for our church, sent
me an email. She said, Pastor, I knew you
would want to know this. She said, I just logged the hundredth
serving member at Calvary Baptist Church this year. I say to God
be the glory. Hundredth, brand new. That's
on top of the hundreds that were already serving. I just want
to say praise God. They strengthened their hands
for this good work. Church, we need to strengthen
our hands. We come to chapter 3 and we see
them setting to the task. And we're going to look at it
in three different increments and I'm just going to share one
of them with you tonight. Number one, I want you to see the purpose
involved in the work. The purpose involved in the work. Notice, then Elishab, the high
priest, rose up with his brethren, the priests, and they built it. They got involved. There was
a purpose involved. It's interesting that the very
first person that rises up, the very first person that sets himself
to the task, the very first person the Holy Spirit records as setting
his hand to build and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem was the
high priest. One of the most important figures
in the nation of Israel. This was no ordinary guy. He's
probably the second most powerful individual next to the governor
in the nation. And he begins to set the example.
He could have easily been like another group we're going to
talk about that thought the work was beneath him because of his
stature and because of his status. And here the high priest of Israel
goes down there and begins to get his hands dirty and begins
to become a servant and begin to remove the rubble and the
rubbish and to repair and lead in the work of God. And notice
here this Bible said, they built the sheep gate, they sanctified
it. Do you understand something?
That all work for God is sacred spiritual work. See, we get the
idea that if I'm just putting candy in a bag, or if I'm just
maybe setting up some chairs, or if I'm cleaning a room, or
if I'm setting up some tables, that somehow that's not spiritual. Let me just help you understand
something. Everything we do for God is sacred, and everything
we do for God is spiritual, and everything that we do for God
is important in this matter of serving Jesus Christ. There's
no small task for God. Notice the purpose of the work.
Number one, it's for the Lord. It's for the Lord. Remember back
in chapter 2 verse 18, Nehemiah called it this good work. This
good work. Look over at chapter 6 and verse
number 3. Would you turn there? Here some
people are trying to distract Him. They're trying to distract
him. And they're trying to get him
to leave the work. I believe they're conspiring
to either capture him or even kill him to stop the work. And notice he says, verse 3,
And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work. Would you say that with me, church?
A great work. Can I tell you, it was a good
work and it was a great work because it's God's work. Never
minimize what you do for Jesus Christ. Never minimize that. Anytime you do anything for God,
it is a good, great work. Nehemiah, I believe, was concerned
with only one thing. You say, preacher, what's that?
The glory of God. You realize the glory of God's
tied to the city of God and the people of God. So he said in
chapter 2 verse 17, he said, let us build up the wall of Jerusalem
that we be no more a reproach. The Gentile peoples around Jerusalem
had been mocking them, had been mocking the Jews, had been mocking
Jerusalem, had been mocking their God. You see, when you mock God's
people, you mock God. You remember when Jesus arrested
Paul on the road to Damascus? And he said, Saul, Saul, why
persecutest thou me? He didn't say, why are you persecuting
them? He didn't say, why are you persecuting
my people? He said, why are you persecuting
me? Because, see, we're one with Him, and to persecute God's people
is to persecute Him. To mock them is to mock Him.
Isn't that interesting? And so when the adversaries were
mocking the people of God, guess what? They were reproaching them.
They were reproaching God. By the way, the Jews, Psalm 48
verse 2, you know I have turned there? They claimed that their
capital city, the psalmist said it was beautiful, that Jerusalem
was beautiful for situation. It was the joy of the whole earth.
Did you know that? One day it will be the joy of
the whole earth. Right now, we know the Middle East is a war
zone. We know that. It is. Friend, can I tell you,
there may be periods of peace, but there'll be no true peace
till Jesus comes. No pre-priest till Jesus comes.
And here's what you're going to find. That one day it is going
to be the joy of the whole earth, but there are times in Israel's
history when it is, when the worship of Jehovah is taking
place and the sounds are going out to the ends of the earth.
It was the joy of the whole earth, but there wasn't any joy right
then. Psalm 87 verse 2, the Bible says that God loved the gates
of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob, and here they are burned
with fire. And you say, Preacher, if God
loves Jerusalem so much, why were the walls in ruins and the
gates burned? I mean, if it was their holy city, why was it in
reproach? Why didn't the Jews do something?
You see, here's the reality of it is, The name and the glory
of God was at stake and Nehemiah understood that and rebuilding
the walls and restoring the city of Jerusalem and restoring the
worship of Jehovah would lift up the name of God and would
exalt their God and it would exalt the God of heaven to the
people around them. Hey, can I tell you we've seen
victory in Jesus but yet we feel like and we live like we're defeated
in Jesus. Listen, nobody gets excited about
Christians that are all the time bemoaning life. Friend, listen,
there's joy in serving Jesus Christ. And the name of God's
at stake tonight. Can I tell you what was true
in Israel of all that's true in America tonight? The walls
are broken down in our land. We're seeing things go on in
our land that was unthinkable just 25 years ago. What our young
people are growing up, it's going to be commonplace. What shocks
us is going to be commonplace for them. If we don't do something,
if we don't take a stand for God, we're witnessing the de-churching
of America. Do you know there's less Americans
attending church on Sunday in America than ever before in the
history of our nation? There's more lost people in our
nation than ever before. We're a reproach and a laughing
stock to the world. Can I tell you, friend, listen,
they mock the people of God, and they laugh at the people
of God, and so often we're anemic and powerless. Can I remind us
the name and glory of God is at stake tonight. Hey, is there
not a cause to stand for Jesus Christ? You know they built,
there was a purpose, it was for the Lord. Can I tell you, whatever
you do, you're not doing it for the preacher. You're not serving
me, you're serving Him. You're not doing it for the church.
Friend, when you serve Jesus Christ, you do it for the Lord.
Number two, it was for their brethren. Look at chapter 4 verse
14. Would you turn over there with
me please? Chapter 4 verse 14. There's a purpose involved. Why
should we strengthen our hands? They strengthened their hands.
They set their hands to the task. Why did they do that? Number
one, for the Lord. Listen, we all at church, we need to strengthen
our hands. We need to set our hands to this good work. Hey,
now's not the time to back up. It's not the time to let up.
It's not to say, well, we've reached our goal, let's stop.
Hey, I would like to say in January when we talk about Vision Sunday
that there's 102 people, 115 people, 120. Hey, we want to keep going for
the Lord. And it's for our brethren. Look at chapter 4 verse 4. And
I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers,
and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them. Remember
the Lord, which is great and terrible. That means awesome,
young people. And fight for your brethren.
Did you see those two words? Fight for your brethren. You know what? Nehemiah was saying,
listen, it's not just about you, it's about them. If we're not
careful, we get self-absorbed. We think it's about us. We think
it's about us. Do you know every Christian is
gifted by God? God has gifted you to serve Him
with your life. You have a spiritual gift. We
all are to bear the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. But
here's what it is. God did not gift us for ourselves
and we don't bear fruit. Listen, when you go to an apple
orchard, you don't see the tree eating the apples. They don't bear the fruit for
themselves. They bear it for you. You eat
the apples. God doesn't give us fruit in
our lives for ourselves, for our glory. Do we benefit? Yes. But that's not the primary
purpose. We bear fruit for others. We
serve for others. It's not just about us. It's
about them. Listen, can I tell you? We serve
the Lord for our brethren, for one another. You ever noticed
all the one another's in the Bible? Love one another, pray
for one another, bear one another's burdens, forgive one another,
we're to be kind to one another, we're to provoke or stir up one
another to good works. That means I'm to encourage you
and you're to encourage me to stay at the task. We're to stir
up one another to serve the Lord with our lives. You know what?
It's about one another. God has described the church
as a body. And Jesus said, I am among you
as one who serves. And the very idea of a servant
involves others. We look away from ourselves.
Listen to Romans 12 verse 5. So we being many are one body
in Christ, and everyone members one of another. And a local church
is pictured as a body with many body parts. See, my body's got
all kinds of... I've got fingers and toes and arms and legs and
eyes and mouth and ears and all that. And guess what? All of
these different parts of my body benefits my entire body. So this
arm benefits that arm. This thumb helps all... Have
you ever been without a... Could you imagine being without
your thumb? My thumb helps my other four fingers work really
well. It benefits them. Your big toe gives you balance.
Isn't that amazing? I'm just a toe. Well, boy, I'm
thankful for my big toe. It gives me some balance. You
know? You ever had a sore toe? My wife's
smiling because she's struggling with one right now. She's been
to the doctor already. She said, oh, my poor little
toe. It's affecting everything about her. You know what? You
ever stubbed your toe? You know at night you forget
that the bedpost is there and your toe hits it and it reminds
you? Does just your toe hurt? No,
your whole body hurts. All the body affects the rest
of the body. And listen to me, church. Why
is it so important? 100 new serving members. Why
was that so important? And by the way, we have more
than that because we have guests in our church because guests
serve. We're way over that of people
new in our church that are serving. We're way over that number. But
we were just talking about serving members as the goal, but we added
others to that. Praise the Lord for it. But can
I tell you, it wasn't just so we could reach a goal and then
in January when we had Vision Sunday, I can say, oh, look what
we've done. No, that's not what it's about. It's so that we benefit
one another, we serve one another. And listen, we grow together
and we serve together and God grows us. Listen again to Ephesians
chapter 4. You see, because when we work
together it benefits the entire body. Listen to Ephesians 4 again.
And He gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists
and some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints.
That's the equipping of God's saints for the work of the ministry. You see, you know why some churches
are failing? Because the only person serving in the church
is the pastor and maybe a handful of people. Vance Havner said
this. He said the average church is
like an ailing lung with only a few members doing the breathing.
I'm glad that's not true of Calvary Baptist Church. We're healthy. We're growing. We're vibrant
because there's more than just a few members doing something.
It's an entire church that strengthened their hands for this good work. And he goes on to say, for the
edifying, the building up the body of Christ, that's what it's
for, till we all come in the unity of the faith and the knowledge
of the Son of God and to a perfect, a mature man under the measure
of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Church, we will never
be what we should be as a church unless we're serving together.
It's for the Lord. It's for our brethren. We are members one of another.
We encourage one another. We help one another. We bless
one another. We serve one another. Friend,
can I tell you all of that together edifies and grows and strengthens
and blesses and brings health to the family of God. And it's
vital to the life of a church. Number three, or the next one,
let me give you this. It's for our families. Why are
we doing this? Why are we doing it? Why strengthen
our hands for this good work? Hey, there's purpose. It's for
the Lord. It's for the brethren. And it's for our families. Look
again at verse 14. He said, middle part, remember
the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your
brethren. Now watch this. Your sons and your daughters,
your wives and your houses. You know what he's saying? It's
for our family. Can we go back to chapter 3 for
just a moment? I've read chapter 3 a lot. preparing for these messages.
It's interesting, when I was studying, many commentators,
they leave Chapter 3 plum out of the commentary. They just
talk about Chapter 2 and skip all the way to Chapter 4. Because
it seems like it's just a redundancy of names and places, and they
build it, they build the walls, and they set up the gates, and
they repair them. And it gives you name after name,
and I'm going to talk more about that in a moment. And they just
skip right over it. But here's what I found as I
was reading Nehemiah Chapter 3. You're going to find that
the individuals and groups working on the wall did so near their
homes. I want you to look at it with
me. You're going to find the phrase, he repaired over against
his house, used four times. Look at chapter 3 verse 10. And
next unto him repaired Jedi the son of... however. What a name. I'm going to listen
to Alexander Scorby again and I'll have it ready next time.
Even over against his house. Did you catch that? Even over
against his house. You know what that over against
his house means? It was near his home. That means he walked
out the door and he started to work near his house. Look at
chapter 23. Would you do that? I understand now why these commentators
skipped it, especially preachers. Verse 23, And after him repaired
Benjamin and Hashub over against their house. Did you see that?
Look down at verse number 28. From above the horse gate repaired
the priest everyone over against his house. There it is. Look
at verse 29. After them repaired Zadok the
son of Emmer over against his house. Did you see that? Against
his house. It was near their home. Can I
tell you that's where every real work for God's got to start.
It's got to start at home. Mom and Dad, the church youth
group is no substitute for your spiritual investment in the lives
of your children. It starts at home. Mom and Dad,
the children's ministry, the Christian school, is not a substitute
for your spiritual investment in the lives of your children.
The work begins at home. We're asking God to bring revival
to our nation and our churches, but maybe what we need to start
with is bringing revival to our homes. What benefit is it to
win the world and lose your children? I don't know of a parent here, I don't know of a parent here
that if I ask for a show of hands for your child to perish, for
eternity in hell that you would lift your hand and say, sign
me up for that. But yet I find that many times parents lack
urgency in the spiritual welfare of their children. Now you're here tonight and I'm
not trying to beat you up, but yet We hit and miss in church. We hit and miss in our devotional
life. We hit and miss in our Bible
reading with our family. We hit and miss. And then there's
times that we're one thing at church and then we're something
else at home. There are families, no doubt,
on a given Sunday, they argue. Mom and Dad argues all the way
to church with the kids in the back. They're yelling at one
another and they stop to come into church and then they pick
it right back up when they get ready to leave church. I'm just asking you, if we're
one thing here and we're something else there, what kind of message
are we sending? The work has to start at home. Our church is only as healthy
spiritually as the families that make up our church. I believe that we need to build
up the walls in our lives, our homes, our churches, and our
nations. It's for your sons and your daughters,
your wives and your houses. Dads, can I just say something
to us tonight? We need to strengthen our hands
for this good work of being a godly Christian father. Not perfect, because there's
no such thing as a perfect dad, but the best I know how to be
a godly Christian dad who's influencing my family for God. That leads
my family in prayer. That reads the Bible to their
children. that speaks King James English
to our children. Do you know one of the best ways
to correct your children is to give them the Bible? I'm not
saying preach at them, but just, honey, what does the Bible say
about lying? What does the Bible say about
anger? What does God say? Honey, I'm
having to discipline you because God tells me to do that because
I love you. God says if I don't discipline
you, I don't love you. Look at this verse right here. But you can't share the Bible
if you don't know it. And many times we don't share
it because we're not living it. I'm not trying to be unkind.
I'm just saying we need to strengthen our hands for this good work.
And can I tell you it starts at home. And dads if I could
just challenge us to ratchet up our spiritual lives and ratchet
up who we are that we might be an example and lead our it's
for your sons and your daughters and your wives and your houses.
Can I say moms to strengthen your hands for this good work.
of being a godly Christian mom and wife and mother in your home. To make that your business, to
make that your commitment, your purpose. There's nothing greater
than being a godly influence in your home. of your children
seeing you and hearing you pray for them, for you loving them
in a godly way, of setting a godly example before them. Can I tell
you something? If you beat down and disrespect
their dad in front of them, why should they respect him? If you
fellas mistreat your wife in front of your children, why should
they not mistreat their mom? They're just following our examples. I'm not trying to be unkind.
I'm just saying some walls are broken down and we need to rebuild
them and we need to strengthen our hands for this good work.
We need to rise up and build in our lives. Children and teenagers,
you need to strengthen your hands for this good work. Do you know
you live in your home too? It's one thing to go to school
and gripe about the home you live in when you're part of the
problem. Not part of the solution. Because
of disrespecting your parents? Mistreating them? Yelling back at them and slamming
doors? Is that respect? Is that what God desires from
you? You know, you honor the Lord by obeying and honoring
your parents. Teenager, don't expect peace
in your home when all you want to do is scream and yell at mom
and dad because they don't understand. They understand more than you
think they do. They love you. They're trying
best they know how to give you a godly Christian home, bring
you to a good church, give you an opportunity to make it in
life so that your life doesn't wind up a disaster like so many
kids around us. When was the last time you put
your arms around your mom and you loved her and thanked her
for what she does for you? Washes and folds your clothes,
prepares your food, cleans up your food, makes sure you're
ready, dressed and ready to go out the next day. I'm gonna tell you something,
there's no harder working person than a wife and a mom. I'm not saying that in a negative
way for those that are not in that realm. Don't take everything
personal. I know everybody works hard,
but when you work full-time and then you go home and work full-time,
or maybe you're a stay-at-home mom, I'm gonna tell you what.
Somebody says, well, I'll tell you what, those moms stay home.
They don't work like a, let me just tell you something, try
it. homeschool moms. I'm just telling you, teenager,
you ought to wrap your arms around your mama's neck and you ought
to love her. I know this ain't a Mother's Day message. I get
it. But you know what? We don't have to have Mother's
Day to preach on these kind of things. I think it's just Bible.
We need to strengthen the walls. You want peace in your home,
love your parents. Honor your parents. Obey your
parents. You honor God. Can I tell you,
you're not a godly Christian teenager if you're all the time
throwing tantrums in your home. Grandparents, let's strengthen
our hands for this good work. Let's realize it's not all about
having cookie cabinets. Thank God for grandmas with cookie
cabinets. that the grandchildren can get into and parents can
say nothing about it? Thankful for a grandma like that?
How many would agree with that? Say amen. Always had chocolate,
that's why I'm addicted to it, my grandma. What do you want
for Christmas, grandma? Chocolate. What do you want for
Valentine's, grandma? Chocolate. What do you want for... Shade
her chocolate first. By the way, she hid it. We found
chocolate after she died. I went to heaven. But I wouldn't be where I am
today. And I know I say it a lot, but I can't help it. Because
I wouldn't be where I am today if I didn't have the influence.
I only had one set. My others were already gone.
I never knew them. I only had one set of grandparents. But they made it their business
to invest in my life spiritually. They made it their business to
set a godly example. My grandparents, every night,
At 7 o'clock, you could go to their home. And they would be
reading their Bible. My granddaddy would be reading
the Bible. And then she would kneel at her chair. My granddaddy
would kneel at his chair. And they would pray for their
family. And they would pray out loud
and call their names out in prayer. I'm just saying, we need to strengthen
our hands. Young adults in our church, thank
God for you. You're not the church of tomorrow.
You're the church of today. I'm going to tell you, church,
you can't imagine all the work and service that our young adults
do in our church. They give of themselves sacrificially. They go on visitation. They serve
in different ministries. They are so involved. Our church
wouldn't be the same without our young adults that are serving
in our church. But can I tell you, strengthen
your hands. God wants to use you in even
greater ways. God wants to use you to change
your world. Church, could we strengthen our
hands for this good work? We only have a couple of months
left in this year. We had a family here today because of what took
place on a Saturday night. Just some people decided, I'm
going to get involved in this. I'm going to be all in. And an
impact was made that this family showed up on a Sunday morning
here at Calvary. There were probably more. We just didn't know. I'm
just saying, let's finish strong. that we might start the next
year right. Let's just strengthen our hands
for this good work. I'm not going to try to play
the Holy Spirit tonight, but here's what I am going to do.
If somewhere along the way a category that I talk to, God pricked your
heart, that means God's talking to you. Maybe an area of your
life. Maybe husbands and wives ratcheting
up your relationship and the harmony in that relationship,
fixing some things in that marriage. Just committing together that
we're going to be all in. And maybe some young families,
you're just starting out and you're saying, you know what...
By the way, I just want to say something to our young families.
Thank God for you being in church on Sunday night. Thank God for
you doing that. You're starting right. What I
want to encourage you to do is just make a commitment tonight
that we're going to lead our family the way God wants it to
go, and we're going to be whatever God wants us to be, and we're
going to be committed and faithful to Him. And I'm going to tell
you something, church, God's going to bless that. God's going
to bless it. Let's strengthen our hands for
this good work. Let's do it for the Lord, let's
do it for our brethren, and let's do it for our families. And I'm
going to invite you to come forward and make your commitment and
strengthen your hands for this good work. Let's bow our heads
in prayer. Father.
So They Strengthened Their Hands – Part 1
Series All In For God
So They Strengthened Their Hands – Part 1 | Nehemiah 2:18-3:5 | Pastor Kevin Broyhill
| Sermon ID | 113242315442277 |
| Duration | 46:48 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday - PM |
| Bible Text | Nehemiah 2:18-3:5 |
| Language | English |
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