Now We Go To School : The Arrows Of A Bully (Full Experience)

Welcome to Fellowship Church, are you ready to worship the Lord in this place today? Come on, there's power in the name of Jesus. No matter what you're going through today, we can call upon that great name in the storm. He's here, He's available, His presence is in this room today. Come on, let's sing this together. I know a name that can silence roaring waves. I know a name that can empty out a grave. I know a name and it's the only name that saves. And it's worthy of all praise. I call you Jesus. I call you, I call you healer. Risen and reigning in power. Something comes out of the grave. Every time I call you Jesus. I call you, I call you Savior. Worthy of glory forever. Something comes out of the grave. Every time I call your name. I have a King, a mighty King. With dominion over death. And He holds the keys. In His holy nail scarred hands. He is the healer. Yes, He is. God has crushed the serpent's head. He's our resurrected great higher. I call you Jesus. I call you, I call you healer. You're risen, you're reigning in power. If something comes out of the grave.

Every time I call you Jesus. I call you, I call you Savior. You're worthy of all glory forever. If something comes out of the grave. Every time I call your name. Chains break and dry the clothes they weigh. Every time I call that name. The gates of hell they shake. Every time I call that name. Chains break and dry the clothes they weigh. Every time I call your name Jesus. The gates of hell they shake. Every time I call your name. The victorious name. The one that's mighty to save. Would you save today? Open this place today. You're mighty. And where, oh death, is now your sleep. And where, oh grave, you're there. And where, oh death, is now your sleep. We have a victorious king. Who's risen and reigning alive today. We give him praise. And where, oh death, is now your sleep. And where, oh grave, you're victorious. Dead things come alive. Dead things come alive. Dead things come alive in the name of Jesus. Dead things come alive.

Dead things come alive. Dead things come alive. Dead things come alive in the name of Jesus. Oh I call you Jesus. Oh I call you Jesus. Who is it in my heart? Who is it in my heart? Oh I call you, I call you Jesus. Who is it in my heart? Something pulls out of the grave. Every time I call your name, Jesus, I call your name. You're my Savior. You'll learn me over for you forever. There's something on top of my brain. Give Him praise today. Every time I call your name, Jesus, I call your name. Every time I call your name, Jesus, I call your name. Every time I call your name, death is come alive. Death is come alive. Death is come alive in the name of Jesus. Death is come alive. Death is come alive. Death is come alive in the name of Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. We thank Jesus because He's always there, whatever we call Him. He's forever faithful. He's forever present. And He's forever holy. Let's lift this up. A thousand generations are falling down in worship

to sing the song of ages to the Lamb. And all who've gone before us and all who will believe will sing the song of ages to the Lamb. Your name is the highest. Your name is the greatest. Your name stands above them all. All thrones and dominions. All powers and positions. Your name stands above them all. And the angels cry, holy. All creation cry, holy. You are lifted high, holy. Holy forever. If you've been forgiven. If you've been forgiven. If you've been redeemed. Sing the song forever to the Lamb. If you walk in freedom. If you walk in freedom. If you bear His name. Sing the song forever to the Lamb. We'll sing the song forever as amen. And the angels cry, holy. All creation cry, holy. You are lifted high, holy. Holy forever. Your name is the highest. Your name is the greatest. Your name stands above them all. All thrones and dominions.

All powers and positions. Your name stands above them all. Jesus, Your name is the highest. Your name is the greatest. Your name stands above them all. All thrones and dominions. All powers and positions. Your name stands above them all. And the angels cry, holy. All creation cry, holy. You are lifted high, holy. Holy forever. Hear your people sing. Holy to the King of kings. You will always be holy. Holy forever. You will always be holy. Holy forever. Come on, give Him praise this morning. We love you Jesus. We praise you. We thank you. Amen. Amen. You may be seated. Welcome to Fellowship Church. One church family in many locations. On behalf of Pastors Ed and Lisa, we are so glad you're here. Whether you're exploring faith, looking for authentic community, searching for hope, or simply wondering who Jesus is, there is a place for you. And we would love to help you discover your next step. Whether it's through our Bible study classes, connect groups, support and recovery, our veterans Bible study and breakfast, our serving teams here at church and throughout the community, or FC sports, there is a place for you to grow. And today we have our newcomers luncheon happening right after the service, where we invite you to join us for a free meal on the house. Learn more about the church and how to meet people and grow your faith. We hope to see you there. But if you can't make it, another great way to take your next step is to simply tap your seat,

or fill out the connect card in front of you. We'll follow up with you this week and help you find the next best step for you. And if something is weighing on your heart, we would be honored to pray with you. Thank you for choosing to spend part of your weekend with us. Never forget that Jesus sees you, loves you, and has a purpose for your life. The best is yet to come. Aren't you so thankful for all the great opportunities that we have here at Fellowship Church? Aren't you thankful? I'm thankful. It has been an incredible summer and it's going to be a great fall. My name is Tian Moon. I'm a part of our team here. And we're so glad that you're here. If you're joining us online, we're so glad that you have joined us this morning. And we want everyone to know that Fellowship Church is a place of hope. Just recently we had a family who received the diagnosis that one of their children had cancer. And it was amazing to watch as our church surrounded them, prayed for them, started sending texts to make sure that people knew. We were meeting them to support them. We wanted to meet their needs. We were supporting them, encouraging, surrounding them. Because that's what family does. And this is a community of people who care for one another. And so we would love to have you be a part of that. One of the easiest ways for you to do that is to fill out the blue Connect card that is in the seat back in front of you. This is a great way to fill out your information. In fact, I would do it right now because in just a minute you can drop it in our offering bag. And we would love to follow up with you this week. If you're a little bit more digital, you can tap the seat back in front of you and fill out the information there. But we would love to connect with you and help you get involved in this community. We believe here that we are blessed to be a blessing. And so a part of our worship is that we bring our tithes and offerings. And so today as we bring our tithes and offerings, we want to first say that if you are new to Fellowship Church, you don't need to feel any pressure to give.

But if you are part of Fellowship, thank you for your generosity, for being intentional about investing here. Because of you, in just two weeks from today, we're going to be celebrating the groundbreaking of the Anchor Center. We are so excited about this incredible place where students and families will be able to become anchored in the truth of Jesus Christ. This is an investment for generations to come. So thank you, Church, for helping us to make this dream a reality. But we're not only investing here locally, we're also investing across the globe. This week we were able to be a part of putting boots on the ground in Columbia where they suffered a terrible earthquake. And we were able to go to a community there and provide food and water, medical supplies, and most importantly, show them Jesus' love. And so we are able to do that because of you. And just a little bit, I'm going to pray not only for them, for the families here who are impacted because they have loved ones in Columbia. But we're so grateful to you that you make it possible for us to do that. So I'm going to ask our worship host to go ahead and come forward as we do that. take as we bring our tithes and offerings. You know, when we come together, a very important part of our worship time together is to open God's word. And when we open God's word, we wanna have expectant hearts, believing that he is gonna speak to us. And I wanna read something to you today that he speaks to each one of us. God says, when you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. The flames will not set you ablaze, for I am the Lord, your God. Every time we come, we wanna be ready to hear from the Lord

as he speaks to us. So I wanna ask you to repeat after me. Speak, Lord. I'm listening. Now I want you to say it again, and don't just repeat it, I want you to make it your prayer. Speak, Lord. I'm listening. Will you please stand to your feet as we pray and ask for the Lord to speak to us this morning. Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you that you do wanna speak to us through your word, that you wanna be a part of every day. And so Father, I ask that you will speak to us this morning. We pray for those in Columbia right now who are dealing with this terrible tragedy. Father, we pray your peace and your comfort and your provision for them. And Father, we pray for our nation, that you will help us to stand firm, that we will continue to follow you, trusting you to guide us. We love you. We lift your name above every name. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. And left. Oh, he lifts up your name that's pointing to the Lord.

You can sing. I could sing your name for all my life and still find more to love each time. Jesus be the name ever on my lips. It's sweeter every time that I call on it. There's just something about your name. There's just something about your name. There's just something about your name that makes me cry holy. There is no other name. There is no other name. There is no other name. Jesus, you're worthy. You have been the friend who never left. I won't forget your faithfulness. Jesus be the name ever on my lips. So much sweeter. It's sweeter every time that I call on it. There's just something about your name. There's just something about your name. There's just something about your name that makes me cry holy. There is no other name. There is no other name. Oh, there is no other name. Jesus, you're worthy. There's something. There's just something about your name.

Oh, we lift it up. There's just something about your name. Oh, we lift it high. There's something about your name that makes me cry holy. There is no other name that saves. There is no other name that heals. There is no other name. Jesus, you're worthy. Oh, you're worthy, worthy, worthy. There's just something about your name. Oh, be high and lift it up, Lord. Oh, we bring you praise today. We lift up your name. We proclaim your name in this place. Come on, will you sing, Jesus, your name. ♪ And ever will, Jesus, Jesus the bread of life broken for us ♪ ♪ The worthy and the worthy one ♪ ♪ The first and last and soon to come, Jesus, Jesus the King ♪ ♪ Who overwhelmed the grave, the Lord who will forever reign ♪ ♪ The name above all other names, Jesus, Jesus be the name ♪ ♪ Be the name, Jesus be the name, oh we lift you up, oh Jesus be the name ♪ ♪ That gets all the glory, oh Jesus, Jesus be the name, oh we lift you up, Jesus be the name ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name, that gets all the glory ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name, oh Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name, that gets all the glory ♪ Sing Jesus! ♪ Jesus be the name, above every other name, Jesus be the name ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name, that gets all the glory ♪ ♪ You're the name above all names, and You are worthy of praise ♪ Come on, welcome the king of kings in this room today!

♪ And my heart will sing, how great is our God today ♪ Set up the atmosphere with praise, and worship to the king, we say! ♪ You're the name above all names, and You are worthy of praise ♪ It's Lord watching, and all the earth! ♪ And my heart will sing, how great is our God today ♪ Every voice across this room today, sing how great is our God! We lift up your name, King Jesus! How great is our God! Oh we sing with thee How great is our God! And all will sing How great, how great And all will sing, and all will sing How great, how great And all will sing, and all will sing How great, how great Is our God! Lift up praise to Him today! Jesus we give you all the honor and all the glory in this room In your name we pray and everybody shout it Amen, you may be seated How great is our God! How great is our God! How great is our God! Truesdale was his name He was the first bully I ever encountered What a name, Truesdale It was my first day of school at this particular school It was recess and I had no friends And I found myself walking around the playground

And I was just watching some guys play this game, and this big kid, curly hair, piercing blue eyes, looked at me and cussed me out. I hadn't heard words like that in my entire life. He said, get out of here. I was like, wow. I was devastated. I remember it like it was yesterday. And the rest of the recess, I walked on the edge of the playground in tears, thinking to myself, what am I going to do? I went home and told my parents that I'd been bullied, and dad goes, son, let's go to the basement and put on the boxing gloves. You might have to defend yourself. So we began to box a little bit. And then he tried to encourage me. He said, did you know that my father was a boxer back in the day? I said, no, dad. He said, my father fought professionally, and he knocked out the guy who knocked out the world champion. I go, man, mm-hmm, I mean, there's a wind in my sail. So he said, son, you might have to defend yourself. That whole year, I evaded Truesdale. I remember when I would go to school, every morning I would look around, where's Truesdale, where's Truesdale?

Thankfully, he was in another class. So that was my first bully. I think all of us have been bullied. I know I have, and I hate to confess this, but there have been times in my life where I have been a bully, and there have been times in my life where I've been an innocent bystander to bullying. I want you to do something for me. This is sort of therapeutic. Think back to that bully, your first encounter with a bully. Think back. Some of us have to think way, way, way back. And on the count of three, I would like for you, at all of our campuses too, to recite this person's name. Recite the bully's name. Are you ready? On the count of three. One, two, three. I heard someone say, my wife. What? When it comes to bullying though, bullying occurs from knee-high to tree-high. From the classroom to the boardroom, no doubt. From the elementary school to the golf course, especially on the freeway.

I mean, I'm scared to honk at anyone these days. I'm afraid they might shoot me, you know? It's crazy. Bullies are everywhere. But I've gotta say, the most significant bullying happens to children and students. There's no doubt about it. Even the secular studies understand it. They're saying that even though, with technology, we're the most connected group ever, yet the disconnection is amazing. And because of the bullying, kids are experiencing anxiety, depression, and I'm talking about that next Sunday. They're experiencing isolation, and the suicide rates and the self-harm, off the charts. And so much of it goes back to bullying. Back in the day, you know, when I left the school and went home, I was in a safe place in space. Not anymore, because bullying happens 24-7, over and over and over and over again. So we have to make intentional decisions when it comes to bullying. We have to face the bully. Here's the good news. Your bully can become a pulley that takes you to another level. Let me say that again. The bully in your life, the tension that you feel,

God wants to leverage that to take you to a new. That's the message in a sentence. If I had to define bullying, and here's a pretty good working definition of bullying. Bullying is to exert power over someone. I just swallowed a mint. Bullying is to exert power over someone with ridicule, rage, and rumors in order to hurt them or degrade them. That's a pretty strong definition, isn't it? There are different types of bullies. Of course, I've already mentioned the cyber bully. That's the bully online. There's the emotional bully. There's the verbal bully. There's the physical bully. Bullies are everywhere you turn these days. I am gonna talk to the bullies today, just straight up. I'm gonna talk to those of us who've been bullied and also to the innocent bystanders. So no one's gonna leave church without being convicted. The Bible, it's okay to clap. The Bible talks a lot about bullying. Have you ever thought about the different people in the Bible who were bullied? Adam and Eve were bullied by Satan. Pharaoh bullied Moses. Goliath bullied David. The Philistines bullied Samson. And then ultimately, Jesus was bullied

all the way to the cross because the devil is the ultimate bully, right? Yet he didn't know what he was doing. Jesus died, rose again, and he opened a can on the enemy. So the devil is living on borrowed time. But what I want you to understand, students, is this. I'm talking to kids now. Bullying is spiritual. The bully might not know it, but it's spiritual. You see, the enemy does not want you to know who you are or what you're to be about. He doesn't want you to know that. He wants to get you off your game. And he attacks us at surprisingly young ages, and many times, he uses bullies. Are you a bully? Have you ever thought about the math of a bully? Here's the math of a bully. Ignorance plus insecurity equals insults. Bullies are ignorant. In fact, I would argue bullies have been bullied. Hurt people hurt people, so they're ignorant. They don't know who they are. They're insecure, and they wanna make you and me feel as insecure as they feel. They project it onto others. So we're gonna look at a guy. I have to say, this is maybe my top bullying story in Scripture. We're gonna look at a young man

who was kind of a cowboy named Nehemiah, because Nehemiah did the Sophie Cunningham thing. WNBA, do you know this? Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He did the Sophie Cunningham thing long before Sophie ever thought it up, but I think her pointing is brilliant. Nehemiah pointed out some bullies, and he dealt with the bullies, and the way he dealt with the bullies can give you and me some insight, and some handles, and some life skills to go, okay, okay, now I can deal with a bully, because some of you are dealing with a bully at work. Some of you are dealing with a bully around the neighborhood. Some of you are dealing with a bully at the club. Some of you are dealing with a bully in the classroom, locker room, whatever it is, I'm telling you, we can take these principles and apply them to our lives. Are you ready? I am, I am. Nehemiah, if you have your Bibles, turn to the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah chapter two. Nehemiah, to give you the Wikipedia on his life, Nehemiah was part of the Jewish clan that was taken from Jerusalem into exile into a place called Babylon. Nehemiah was tasked with the opportunity

and the job of rebuilding the city walls of Jerusalem, because they had been obliterated. The city had been trashed, and people had tried to rebuild it, they'd tried to do it, but it's like one of these highway projects around Dallas-Fort Worth, you know, just never, those things never end, do they? Anyway, that's another story. So that was kind of what he was facing. So Nehemiah asked the king of Babylon, only God could do this, to go back. back to Jerusalem and rebuild. Now you gotta realize the Babylonians are the ones who destroyed Jerusalem. So Nehemiah walks into King Artaxerxes' palatial office and asks him for permission. This king gives him the treasure, the transportation, and the timber to rebuild the city walls of J-town. I'm talking about Jerusalem. You might be thinking, well, what's so big about city walls? City walls provided power, protection. They provided freedom for worship. You know, borders matter, don't they? Yeah, they do. Nehemiah goes back to Jerusalem. He's on horseback. I'm telling you, he's a cowboy.

He's probably from West Texas, who knows? And he's riding around, checking everything out. So he begins to have this conversation with some people. You see, God gave Nehemiah a target to attack. When you have a target to attack, the target always moves to your back. I want you to think about that for a second. If you're a follower of Christ, the Lord Jesus has given you a target to attack. When you attack that target tenaciously, the target will move to your back, and the enemy will shoot arrows your way and my way. And friends, if you're not dealing with arrows, there could be a problem. So Nehemiah has permission. He goes back to Jerusalem. He begins to tackle tenaciously this project that people are like, you can't do it. And he does something that is really brilliant. Now, I'm gonna read some scripture from Nehemiah. You're gonna see several words that are highlighted. When you see the highlighted words, I want you to say the word with me. You got it? The word's gonna be in yellow. When we read the word together, that means we say it together. Okay, let's go. Nehemiah chapter two, verse 19.

Let's go to verse 17 first. Then I said to them, this is Nehemiah talking. This is kind of his journal. Think about him journaling before we get to 19. Then I said to them, you see the trouble we're in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace. Verse 18, I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me, what the king had said to me. They, you got it, replied, let us start rebuilding. So, began this good work. Hmm, that's interesting. Now let's get down to verse 19, Nehemiah chapter two. But when Senbulet the Horonite, Tobiah the Amorite official, and Gishom the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. What is this you're doing? They asked, are you rebelling against the king? Nehemiah spoke faith to the builders. The haters spoke fear to the builders. 13 times in Nehemiah, when he was ambushed by the arrows of the bullies, he prayed. He prayed, he prayed, he prayed, he prayed, he prayed. So the first thing I would tell you to do when you're bullied is pray. Take it to God. And I love how raw and real Nehemiah was.

I mean, he just expressed it all to God. But after we pray, there's something else we have to do, number two. We gotta find the right they. Who are they in your life? I love that people say, oh yeah, they said. They've been coming to me. Oh, here's how to mess somebody up. Just say, who are they? Well, them. Them? They're usually one or two. Nehemiah prayed, and because of his prayer life and his connectivity with God, he was able to find the right people in his life. If you wanna face a bully, you've got to have the right people in your life. The right they. I don't know how many times, if I had a dollar for every time I've heard this, I'd be a billionaire. Hey man, when did the wheels fall off? I had these friends. Seriously, when did you deal with the situation, young lady? Well, I began to hang out with this group. The right they. The right they, young people, are always going to be in church. I'm not saying everybody is great in church. I didn't say that, but I'm saying,

you will find the right they here in church. The right they, T, they're tenacious and tough. H, they're honest before God and honest with you. E, they're encouraging. And Y, they say yes to God and yes to your friendship. I'm not talking about just, you know, hey, he's a yes man, she's a yes girl, but I'm talking about someone who loves you, who wants the best for you. The right they. Who are the they in your life? Because the right they always, they always have he in the middle. Now, the wrong they would be Samboleth, Geshem, and Tobiah, and all those bullies. I mean, these people were true bullies. Have you ever noticed that negativity is an infectious disease? Have you seen it in your company? Have you seen it in your school? Have you seen it on your team? Have you seen it at the club? Have you seen it at the gym? Negativity is a highly contagious disease, somebody called Dr. Fauci. But anyway, I remember the children of Israel. Okay, now I'm changing subjects real quick from Nehemiah to the children of Israel. Children of Israel, they escaped Egyptian slavery. They were led by Moses to the brink of the promised land.

I mean, they were at the title company, one signature away from closing the greatest land deal in history, the promised land. God said, I've given it to you. All you gotta do is take it. And they called a quick timeout. And they sent 12 spies to do a reconnaissance mission of this land. Now, the 12 spies represented 150,000 people each. The spies looked at the land, looked at the people in the land. They came back. And 10 of the 12 spies, they went negative. They said, we can't do this real estate deal, Moses. The people are giants. We're like grasshoppers in their sight. Here's my imitation of a grasshopper. So Joshua and Caleb, the other two of the 12 spies, they were like, what are you guys smoking? God has given us the land. We will take the land. And the Bible tells us that those 10 spies spread a negative report around the children of Israel. And you won't believe it. The Israelites, you're talking about bullies. They wanted to kill Joshua and Caleb. Who were the 10 spies? You have no idea. I don't either. We don't know their names.

But I'll tell you the two visionary spies we know, we name our kids after them, Joshua and Caleb. Hang out with the right they. The right they will always keep you in play and they'll pray. The wrong they will pull you into the fray and you'll become prey, P-R-E-Y. That's why Jesus said, as I talked about last week in Matthew chapter seven, verse six, he said, don't throw pearls to pigs. They will trample pearls. Then they'll turn and tear you apart. Pearls would be the truth of God. Honesty, integrity. Don't wrestle with pigs. You're both gonna get dirty and the pig will like it. And even if you win, you've beaten a pig. There's too many pig fights online. There's too many pig fights in our culture today. It's not worth the time and energy and effort. And if you are in some sort of a leadership position, a coach, a teacher, a manager, CEO, don't waste your time chasing negativity. Don't ever think, well, hey, if I sat down with them and really explained everything. and had some coffee, they're pigs. Jesus said that. Now I don't mean they're literal pigs. He wasn't saying that we call people, hey, you're a pig, you're a pig, you're a pig.

He was saying they have a pig-like nature. He was talking about hypocrites because after all, hypocrites are hypocritical. Well, now let's go back to Nehemiah. The first arrow that we're gonna talk about that the bullies fired at his target on his back was the arrow of ridicule, ridicule. Nehemiah chapter two, verse 19, I've read that. Let's go to Nehemiah chapter four, verse two. What are those feeble Jews doing? I mean, they were anti-Semitic even back then. Is that crazy? Nehemiah chapter four, verse three. Even a fox climbing up on it would break their wall down. I mean, is that ridicule or what? Envy and ridicule are running buddies. Did you know that? Envy is what happens inside. Ridicule is what happens on the outside. I feel envy, but I express it with ridicule, making you look small, insignificant, a no count, laughing at you. That's what bullies love to do. They want you to feel as miserable as they do. Again, ignorance plus insecurity equals insults. Do you know a bully? Seriously, do you know a bully? Are you a bully? Well, the second arrow is the arrow of rage. So they crank up the fight.

Nehemiah chapter four, verse nine. So we pray to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat. Nehemiah was like, you know what, we're gonna pray, but we're gonna defend ourselves. So it's great to say, you know, I'm just praying about it. Okay, awesome. But also, God has given us common sense, and common sense is uncommon, if you haven't noticed. So they were ready to rumble if these bullies, these biblical bullies, came after them. And if you keep reading in Nehemiah, this is so brilliant. He was such a brilliant leader. As they worked and rebuilt the wall, they had a tool in one hand and a weapon in the other. I would clap right there, I would. That's, I need to have an applause sign up here. Because when we do life, I mean, if you're attacking that target, you're gonna need both. You're gonna need a tool in one hand, as you do God's work, and a weapon in the other. And again, if you're not feeling the arrows, something is probably, probably wrong. So yes, the first arrow is ridicule. The second arrow is rage. The third arrow is rumors, rumors. The rumor mill takes a grain of truth and grinds it into a sack of lies. Just throw out rumors. And if you hang out with the wrong they,

they wheel and deal with rumors. And bullies love to throw those rumors out. I love technology, we embrace technology. But social media, in many ways, is dark. About half of the chatter on social media is bots. I mean, they aren't even real people. I hope you, I hope you know that. But I want you to think how sick our culture is, students. I can say anything, anytime, about anyone, anytime, about anyone, and you have to defend yourself. You have to prove your integrity. How sick is that? I mean, think about our culture. Innocent until proven guilty. Not online, oh, you are guilty, and you've gotta prove yourself. Fascinating, isn't it? And bullies love it. So students, block people. Take a wide berth around technology. Think about the amount of screen time that you're investing in. I mean, we've got to make these hard decisions because if we don't, we're gonna chase this, we're gonna chase that, it'll waste our time. Rumors. Nehemiah chapter six, verse two. I love that, the plain of oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Do you know anybody who loves meetings?

Meetings wear me out. We have some people on our staff, I call them a meeting's best friend. Most meetings are a waste of time. I mean, you have to meet, don't get me wrong. But some people just don't get it. Some people just don't get it. Some people just don't get it. Some people just don't get it. Some people just don't get it. You have to meet, don't get me wrong. But some people just wanna meet and meet and meet and meet and meet and meet and meet and meet and meet and meet and meet. These bullies were like, Nehemiah, come down off the wall, my man. If we met together, we could bring in counsel, it says, and we could really get this thing going. Oh, Nehemiah was too smart. They were blowing up Nehemiah's phone. Look at verse four. Four times they sent me the same message. And each time I gave them the same answer. Oh no, oh no, oh no, no, no, no, no. Nehemiah chapter six, verse five. Then the fifth time, you gotta be kidding me. Samballot sent his aid to me with the same message. And in his hand, I love this, was an unsealed letter. That is ancient social media, isn't it? You see, when I accuse you of something, it's there.

It's for everyone, and you can't delete it or erase it. I mean, you can't personally, but everyone else can. So that's what he was dealing with. So then, they get really sly in Nehemiah chapter six, verse six, they talk about the contents of the letter in which it was written, it's reported, I love this. It's reported among the nations, and Gesham says it's true. Wow, that's a great source. That you and the Jews are plotting to revolt. According to these reports, you're about to become their king. And Nehemiah was like, what? That's fantasy file. That's cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. That's not real. So he faced his bullies, and he faced his bullies, and the wall was built in 52 days, and the bullies became pulleys to take Israel to a new level because their worship, their city, and everything began to hit on all cylinders. Five points of application, let me review them. If you're bully number one, pray. If you're bully number one, pray. Take it to God. Number two, take it to the authority figure that you find yourself involved with. Could be a manager, a teacher, a coach. Number three, I would say find the right they in your life. That's crucial, that's critical.

Also, I would say be prepared to defend yourself. You might have to in various ways. And then also, I guess the last one would be, realize it's spiritual warfare. Hoo, I left you hanging with Truesdale, right? You're probably going, what happened with Truesdale? I'll tell you what happened with Truesdale. The last day of school, the bell rang, and I thought to myself, I've made it. I looked down the hall, and I saw my mother's blue Impala in the carpool line. I'm like, I'm free. I'm walking toward the car. Guess who faces me? Truesdale. He looks at me. Pushes me. My books go flying. And I remember like it was yesterday. I looked down at those books, and I thought, am I gonna defend myself or be pushed around? So I defended myself. I opened up a can on Truesdale. Amen. I'm not saying to do that. I'm just telling you what happened in my life. And later on, you know, Truesdale and I became good friends, isn't that great? Yeah, yeah, and we had a good time together, but God used that, and I still think back on that bully

as a pulley to help me and to lead me even as a young guy. So our hearts go out to people involved in this, because we all are involved in this in certain situations. So it's my prayer, it's my prayer that you will process this information, apply this information, and realize it's a spiritual warfare issue and realize when you have a target to attack, even children, the target will move to your back and you'll have to deal with those arrows. So let's deal with those arrows the way God wants us to in Jesus' name, okay? In the balcony, okay? Let's bow for prayer. Father, we're all here from different backgrounds, different locations, and if you're here and you've never asked Christ to come into your life, you can make this decision right now by saying, Jesus, I admit to you that I'm a sinner. That's right, just admit that. I turn from my sins and turn to you. I ask you, Jesus Christ, to come into my life. I'll give you all that I am and all that I will ever be. If you prayed that prayer, it's the greatest prayer you'll ever pray. It's the best decision you'll ever make. And we're gonna talk to you about that decision. Others here, maybe you need prayer because of a bullying situation, or you need to apply some of these principles and precepts from the book of Nehemiah, or maybe you need to lean in

to the right day here at Fellowship Church. Father, we give this time to you, and we ask all these things in Christ's name, amen. What a great message. Aren't you glad you're here today? Yes, I am too, I am too. You know, we have so many great resources for you. One of the books that Pastor Ed mentioned is the Who Are They book. It is available in a source. I highly recommend it. It talks about relationships in so many different ways, so I highly recommend that you pick up that great resource. And we have another great resource. Whether you prayed today to give your life to Christ, which by the way, if you did, congratulations. It's the best decision you'll ever make. But whether you made that decision today or you've been walking with the Lord for a while, walking with Jesus is not a Sunday event. It's something that we do every day. And so we have on our Fellowship Church app our devotionals, which are a great way for you to just engage with God's word every day. We have them for adults, for students, and for kids. So I encourage you to download the Fellowship Church app if you don't already have it. In fact, you can tap the seat back in front of you and you can get that great resource. And if you are here today

and you're just wanting to connect with someone, maybe you wanna talk to someone, we've got some great people on both sides of the worship center. If you wanna pray with someone, they'd love to pray with you. If you have questions, they can answer your questions. If you just made a decision to give your life to Christ, we would love to talk to you. We have a Bible for you. We have some great resources for you. So be sure and stop by and see them as well. We also, anybody in here getting hungry? I'm getting hungry. We have our newcomer's lunch about to happen right now. And this is for those of you who wanna find out more about what's available here for you, how you can connect it, how you can grow. Just head out toward our Source Cafe. We'll have signs to direct you. We'll serve you lunch. We'll take care of your kids. And you can enjoy some time getting to know us and giving us a chance to get to know you. We also, next Sunday, stay with me, next Sunday. I wanna make sure you're still with me. Next Sunday, we are continuing this series and Pastor Ed is gonna be talking about anxiety and depression. And whether you deal with those things

or maybe you know someone. In fact, you may know someone who's dealing with it and you don't even know they're dealing with it. So be sure that you're here and invite people that you know to come so they can hear about this very important topic. Also next Sunday, we are launching our new Spanish ministry. We are gonna have, yeah, we can clap for that because that is gonna be awesome. We are gonna have live translation available for both of our services. And we're also gonna have a new Sunday Bible study class. So be sure and be here if you wanna be a part of that and invite people that you know. I hope that you have a great week. If you'll stand to your feet, we are gonna proclaim these truths together as we go out to all the different places that God has placed us. Together will you say with me, Jesus, thank You that in You, I am loved, forgiven and blessed. For You, I will reach up and worship, reach out to share my faith and reach in to become more like You. And because of You, I know the best is yet to come. Have a great week. We'll see you next Sunday. ♪ Risen and reigning in power ♪

♪ Something comes out of the grave ♪