Rebuilding the Walls

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Rebuilding the Walls

• Nehemiah 13-4 Those who survived the exile and
  are back in the providence are in great trouble
  and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken
  down, and its gates have been burned with fire.
  When I heard these things, I sat down and wept.
  

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Todays Story

• That story lies right between Ezra 6 and Ezra 7
  
• 400 years God had warned the Nation and then
  collapse
• Gods mercy brings restoration after 70 years

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II Chronicles 3615-21

• 15 The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent word
  to them through his messengers again and again,
  because he had pity on his people and on his
  dwelling place. 16 But they mocked Gods
  messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his
  prophets until the wrath of the Lord was aroused
  against his people and there was no remedy.

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Whose Fault is it ???

• When a Nation, a people or a person is in
  Trouble????
• No one it seemed came up with a collective sense
  of responsibility and said together its our
  fault because we have been turning our backs on
  God!

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2700 years ago a Nation, Gods Nation, suffered
under the same disease that we face
todayforgetting and turning our backs on God!
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So the Big Question today is

• What condition are we in??? Where is my life,
  our family and our Nation?

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Snapshots of Rebuilding a City Restoring a
people

• A God initiated process
• God used courageous men like Zerubbabel, Haggai,
  Ezra and Nehemiah to accomplish His goal
• God at every step put foundations in place

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Snapshot 1

• First Group 50,000 exiles return under
  Zerubbabel.
• Primary mission was to rebuild the Temple of God
  in Jerusalem
• Temple complete in 515 BC

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II Chronicles 3622-23

• 22 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in
  order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by
  Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king
  of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his
  realm and to put it in writing 23  This is what
  Cyrus king of Persia says The Lord, the God
  of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the
  earth and he has appointed me to build a temple
  for him at Jerusalem in Judah.

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Snapshot 2

• The second group return under Ezra the priest.
• 57 years later This event falls between Ezra 6
  and Ezra 7 (Under Artaxerxes in his seventh year
  457 BC)
• The beginning of teaching the people the Word of
  God and restoring Worship

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Ezra 71-10 THE STORY

• During the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia,
  Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a teacher well
  versed in the Law of Moses, which the Lord, the
  God of Israel had given. The King granted him
  everything he asked, for the hand of the Lord
  his God was on him. Some of the Israelites,
  including priests, Levites, musicians,
  gatekeepers and temple servants, also came up to
  Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.

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Snapshot 3

• A final group return to Jerusalem under Nehemiah
  who had a vision of rebuilding the walls.
• Approximately 13 years later Nehemiah is stirred
  by God (444 BC) with concern over Jerusalem

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Nehemiah 13-4

• They said to me, Those who survived the exile
  and are back in the province are in great trouble
  and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken
  down, and its gates have been burned with fire.
  4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept.
  For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed
  before the God of heaven.

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Nehemiah 18-9

• Remember the instruction you gave your servant
  Moses, saying, If you are unfaithful, I will
  scatter you among the nations, 9 but if you
  return to me and obey my commands, then even if
  your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I
  will gather them from there and bring them to the
  place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.

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As God rebuilds a Nation or a people

• A pattern and lesson that we need to pay
  attention to as well.
• Worship
• Walls
• Word

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The Defining Question

• How am I doing at putting in place or keeping in
  place Gods provision and protection over my life
  so that I am not suddenly caught unaware?

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Guardrails
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I. Gods pattern putting the Guardrails back in
place Restored Worship

• A. The first place of return for Israel was the
  moving to rebuild the temple which had been
  destroyed
• B. Why the Temple ?

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As we enter into this Fall schedule will Worship
given a Priority?

• Haggai 17-9 This is what the Lord Almighty
  says Give careful thought to your ways. 8 Go up
  into the mountains and bring down timber and
  build the house, so that I may take pleasure in
  it and be honored, says the Lord. 9 You
  expected much, but see, it turned out to be
  little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?
  declares the Lord Almighty. Because of my house,
  which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy
  with his own house.

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Hebrews 1023-25

• Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess,
  for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us
  consider how we may spur one another on toward
  love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give up
  meeting together, as some are in the habit of
  doing, but let us encourage one anotherand all
  the more as you see the Day approaching.

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II. Rebuilt and restored Walls

• Nehemiah 13-4 Those who survived the exile and
  are back in the providence are in great trouble
  and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken
  down, and its gates have been burned with fire.
  When I heard these things, I sat down and wept.
  

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Walls ?

• The walls of an ancient city spoke of Identity,
  Protection, Boundaries and Security.
• The Walls broken down and not repaired or
  replaced spoke still of a scattered people and a
  unsecured people.

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God cares about total restoration of His people

• Zechariah 81-5
• Again the word of the Lord Almighty came to me. 2
  This is what the Lord Almighty says I am very
  jealous for Zion I am burning with jealousy for
  her. 3 This is what the Lord says I will
  return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then
  Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and
  the mountain of the Lord Almighty will be called
  the Holy Mountain. 4 This is what the Lord
  Almighty says Once again men and women of ripe
  old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem,
  each with cane in hand because of his age. 5 The
  city streets will be filled with boys and girls
  playing there.

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The Walls of our times

• The Values that we live by, the ethics that rule
  over us.
• The practices of our lives as informed by the
  Word of God
• The Absolutes of Gods ways and words that allow
  us to know Who we are and to Repel our enemies
• The activities, habits, thoughts that rule us.

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Where do these walls stand

• Walls in our thinking
• Walls in our speaking
• 3. Walls in our behavior

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In the Nehemiah story the battle for the walls is
enormous

• Enemies didnt want the walls and used
  intimidation, threat, ridicule and even attempted
  to use the lawyers and rulers of Persia to stop
  them
• God is calling out Nehemiahs who will stand in
  the gap leave their comfort zones and Rebuild
  the Walls of our land

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Wall building never easy but necessary

• Nehemiah came under a burden
• Nehemiah fasted and prayed
• Nehemiah dreamed a God given vision of a Restored
  City
• Nehemiah joined with others and shared the vision
  
• Nehemiah resisted the enemies every strategy

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The Result Nehemiah 615-16

• So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of
  Elul, in fifty two days. When all our enemies
  heard about this, all the surrounding nations
  were afraid and lost their self-confidence,
  because they realized that this work had been
  done with the help of our God.

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The question for us is are we allowing God to
rebuild and re-enforce His walls in our lives????

• Striving to live within Gods instruction
• Listening to those God has placed in godly
  authority over us?
• Daily seeking out Gods ways, Gods word and
  Gods counsel
• Instituting the Walls/Boundaries (Guardrails) of
  the Spiritual disciplines to cause me to grow and
  be wise in God?

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Returned the people and restored the Word of
God and obedience

• Nehemiah 81-3
• 1 . all the people assembled as one man in the
  square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the
  scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses,
  which the Lord had commanded for Israel. 2 So on
  the first day of the seventh month Ezra the
  priest brought the Law before the assembly, which
  was made up of men and women and all who were
  able to understand.

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What is it about the Law that is so freeing ?

• Restores our boundaries and Guardrails and makes
  us safe again Knowing and doing Gods will is
  cleansing, freeing and soul nourishing.

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If you mess with Guardrails!!!
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What about us?

• This whole series of messages of the Story are
  designed to put the Word of God in front of us
  and our children in an understandable way!

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The Big Ideas

• Putting Worship in my life
• Dont miss corporate worship make it a priority
• Get into a small group
• Make sure Walls are in place
• One sticking point or stronghold area confess
  to another and allow them to hold you accountable
• 3. The Word the 5 X 5 plan
• a. 5 minutes in Word, 5 days a week