We're Builders Part 2

We are in a series, we just started it last week, so if you're here for the first time, you're jumping right in at a great time. It's a series called We're Builders, We're Builders. So this is week number two of this docu-series on Nehemiah's life. And in this whole idea of us being builders, I recognize that some of us, when we hear that phrase, we think I'm talking about somebody else. But we're not talking about somebody else. We're talking about you, that you're a builder. That once you give your heart and your life to Jesus Christ, there is something on the inside of you that is now saying you are a builder, whether you know it or not. My wife and I, we were, oh gosh, we were married, what, seven years at this time, maybe going on eight years, and we were about to have our first kid. This is our oldest son, Parker, who is now married, by the way, which is mind-blowing. We're so excited about this, and again, we like his wife more than we like him now already. It happened quick. And Parker, this was January 24th, 2005, Onik and I go to Gold's gym back in the day, and she's on the elliptical. I mean, she's just working it, working on the elliptical. She is nine months pregnant, and we get done with the elliptical, and she's like, honey, I've got some pains. And I'm like, oh, okay, you want to stop? She's like, no, I'm not stopping, keeps on going. And we go home, and a friend of ours says, you guys should go to the hospital. We're like, we ain't going to the hospital. We got a couple of weeks until the due date. You know, we never had a kid before. We didn't know what to expect. And we go to the hospital, come to find out Onika was in labor, and she was on the elliptical. She's a dog, y'all. She's a dog.

That's a good thing, too. She's strong and mighty. She knew she was pregnant, but didn't know she was in labor. And I think that's true for some of us, that you know you're a Christian, but you don't know you're a builder. And I'm just trying to let you know that it's possible for you to be a thing, but not understand that you're this other thing as well. And I don't want your version of Christianity to be dumbed down to, like, I just go to church on Sundays. No, we've been called to be followers of Jesus Christ that do something significant in our generation. And we want to pull on that greatness that's on the inside of you, reminding you that you are a builder. If you have your Bibles, I want you to go with me to the book of Nehemiah. We're going to go chapter number one. Start with me in verse number 11. We got a bunch of verses to go through today. Nehemiah chapter one, verse number 11. I'm going to the very end of verse number 11. This is where we ended last week. It says, I was cupbearer to the king. Now, I don't think anybody on their resume, if you were just on whatever, indeed.com, you did not put in for a cupbearer job, neither do you have experience as a cupbearer either. Even we read that, we're like, okay, what is that? Some have dumbed it down to think it was just some random role. It was not some random role. It's a very important role. This is the last line of defense with the king. This is the individual that makes sure the king is not poisoned. This is the person to make sure all the food is tested, the wine is tested, every drink is tested.

So when it makes its way to the king's lips, it has already gone through a process of ensuring the king will be safe when he eats it. The cupbearer is the head of security for the king. The cupbearer is the head of the secret service, if you will, of the king. The cupbearer is trusted. The cupbearer is known. The cupbearer is a person of influence, and that's who Nehemiah is, and he finds himself, him being a Jewish man in the Persian Empire, working under this king, and Nehemiah ends up with a burden on his heart for his people that are some 800 to 1,000 miles away in Jerusalem. Go with me now to chapter two, verse number one. It says, in the month of Nisan, in the 20th year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought before him, I took the wine, again, he's the cupbearer, and I gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before. Let me just pause right there real quick. He's saying, I'm at my job, and I'm not mopey. I'm not bringing all my problems to work. A little quiet on that one. Okay, everybody at your job is not your counselor. Get your job. I'm done. Yeah, yeah. We can clap for that one. Keep on going. So the king asked me, why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart. I was very much afraid, Nehemiah writes. I actually appreciate that Nehemiah puts this in the docuseries, in his autobiography, if you will. He's saying, I am this person of influence.

I've got strength. I've got a position of power, but I was very much afraid. I'm talking to my boss here and I'm very much afraid. Sometimes we look at our heroes, we think our heroes don't have any fears. But here's a hero saying, I'm letting you know, I was very much afraid. It's like when you're about to become a dad, you've never been a dad before. I was very much afraid. About to be a mom, never been a mom before, I was very much afraid. About to take a step to launch a company, I was very much afraid. I appreciate that the Bible does not try to skirt around that issue, saying you could be called to do something great and still be very much afraid. Keep on going. But I said to the king, may the king live forever. Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire? The king said to me, what is it you want? What a powerful question from the king. Then I prayed to the God of heaven. Pause. This had to be a quick prayer, okay? Because he's talking to the king, giving him the wine. King sees that he's sad, and the king says to him, what is it you want?

He says, but I pray to the God of heaven. So this is one of those prayers that you don't have time to be like, okay, king, time out, let me just go kinda work on some things in my heart. King, can I go talk to some friends real quick? Nope, nope, not right now. Here's the moment. The moment's here. It's right in front of you. So this is one of those prayers. Lord, help. Lord, I need you. Lord, I don't have time for it. You know, God. This is one of those, okay? And God hears these prayers just the same. So his answer comes out of a place of prayer. He prays, then he gives his answer. And I answered the king. If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it. Again, the walls are torn down. There's a problem, there's pain, there's disgrace. People's lives are in shambles, and Nehemiah knows that God is calling him to go do something about it. This is the beginning of chapter number two. Right after this, the king's like, let's go. What do you need? How long are you gonna be gone?

I've got you. Nehemiah gets letters from the king. He gets a cavalry from the king. As a matter of fact, he also gets some army officers from the king. This is not some weak contingent that is heading out some 800 to 1,000 miles. This is a group of power, a group of influence. The king says, I have your back. So Nehemiah now has favor, he has letters, he has an open door, he has cavalry, he has army officers, and he also gets something else that is going to be the crux of our time today. With all the favor, with all the blessings, with all the opportunity, with all the cavalry, with all the blessing from the king, he also gets opposition. Opposition. And this is what we are gonna talk about today. He gets opposition. Go with me to verse number 10. Verse number 10 says it clear. When Sam Ballett and Tobiah, the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites. I'm gonna say it like this. Everyone, I even wrote it in my Bible. Everyone won't celebrate everything you do for God. Everyone won't.

Celebrate everything you do for God if you're waiting for everybody to clap When you are taking a step of faith, you'll be waiting for the rest of your life Do not dare wait for the applause of people that you're not living for you are living for the glory of God So that's the only applause that you and I are living for so you cannot dumb yourself down and wait to try to please Everyone in your circle in order to take the step of faith because everyone will not celebrate everything You do for God. I'll put it this way you can expect opposition expect it Who loves sports anybody else love sports? I mean, I love sports right now. I'm in the tennis. I told you all this Changed up my forehand the other day. Okay, it was too wide now. It's just Boom, I'm getting better. I'm getting better. I'm still a scrub, but I'm getting better I love sports and I've been a dad for you know, what are these 21 years almost? we got our three kids and with all of our kids we put them in sports when they're young and It is a struggle as a parent to go to a basketball game of four-year-olds, okay You do it because you love them and It's hard and you just watch and you know some of your aunts and uncles and you go and you cheer and you know I mean the game's terrible. It's terrible There's no kids are just They're just running with the ball every which way but sometimes sometimes if a kid Say it's your kid and your kid has the ball and someone in the other team comes and they take the ball from your kid And then your kid cries Okay, this never happened to any of my kids But if it did I'd want to crawl under a rock because you're like, come on man bow up Get strong. Come on L. Be strong. You know, I'm talking to my daughter Come on, hold that ball But it's not the kid thinks it's weird that someone would take the ball from them Because they think the ball's mine

We don't think it's weird because we understand the game and The game is the other team is trying to take your ball When you're playing football if you're running down the sideline and you have the ball and someone tackles you you don't go Come on Come on just let me score. No you understand It's football in football. You get tackled even if it's soccer football. You get tackled when you are Playing against another team any time you are going and trying to score There is someone trying to stop you from scoring We understand this in sports and for whatever reason we do not understand this in life Anytime we get tackled at all. We go god what's going on god? Where are you god? Do you love me god? What have I done wrong? God do you love me god? What have I done wrong? You haven't done anything wrong Maybe maybe you're heading the exact way you should be going and you got to remember expect opposition Just like in sports they're trying to take the ball So is the enemy trying to take the ball trying to take your hope trying to take your peace trying to take your joy Trying to take your call trying to take your purpose and don't be surprised that the enemy is doing this Jesus already told us the enemy comes to steal kill and destroy But i've come that you might have life and have it to the fullest But don't be surprised that he's trying to tackle your marriage and tackle your kids as a matter of fact The devil doesn't even play fair The devil comes after kids he comes after people who do good and people who do bad he comes after high school students College students come comes after people who own a company and people who are employed by a company He does not care He's just trying to steal kill and destroy and you and I as we are in this life are on this battlefield So do not be surprised that opposition is coming your way. You're built for it. You were designed for it You got the backbone for it You're called by god and since you're going the direction that god is calling you to go You can expect someone to try to push back but greater is he that's in you than he that's in the world You stand up and stand strong and be who god has called you to be

So look at this. Look look keep on going with me. Keep on going with me. Uh, go skip down with me to verse number 18 Uh, nehemiah ends up traveling all the way to jerusalem He talks to some of the leaders and he says I also told them about the gracious Hand of my god on me And what the king had said to me And they replied Let's start rebuilding So they began this good work. Verse 19. But when Samballot, Tobiah, and Geshem, the Arab, heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. What is this you are doing, they asked? Are you rebelling against the king? I want you to see. In verse number 10, there's two opponents. And in verse number 19, there's three. Now in verse number 18, it says they began the good work. So the good work began to grow, and so did the opposition. When the good work grew, the opposition grew. We like to think if the good work grows, opposition goes down. That's not what we see in the Bible. The good news, the good work goes up, and so doesn't the opposition. It goes up too. This is true in the kingdom of God. As the good news keeps moving forward, you can expect opposition. We read the book of Revelation, and the ending is powerful. It is wonderful. We all win in the end, those of us who are followers of Jesus. But when you read it, the good news is going up, and so isn't the opposition. It's going up too. Do not be surprised that opposition is coming our way. But this is not just true for the kingdom of God. It's true for your life as well. If you don't, say you right now, say you're on Instagram, you got seven followers, okay? Your family won't even follow you. You're DMing them. Hey, can I get a follow? You're following people, they're not following you back. I love when people come to me like, hey, I followed you. I'm like, what do you want me to do? Can I get a follow back? I'm not even on Instagram, just so y'all know. Somebody else is doing that, Olu is. He's our campus pastor over at Oak Cliff. Thank you, Olu. So if you got a ... something was weird, it was Olu. I don't even know my password. I try to get into Instagram, I can't get into my own Instagram. I got to ask Olu for permission to get on my own Instagram. With that being said, say you got seven people following you, and you do something good. No one says anything. Say something happens, you have 700,000 people following you, and

you do the same good thing. Now, you'll have haters about the good thing you did. The same good thing you did when nobody else knew you. Now that people know you, you will get hate for doing the exact same thing. Why? Because as the good work grows, so doesn't the opposition. This just comes with the territory. I'm trying to build us for something to have some fortitude and some strength here. I'm trying to get us ready for real life here. I'm trying to get us to score some touchdowns. I'm trying to get us to make some goals. I'm trying to get us to keep on moving forward, because too many of us are throwing the ball down, quitting, deconstructing our faith, leaving the church, thinking God's not for us, thinking that God somehow has forgotten us and left us. He has not forgotten you and left you. This is part of the game, but you and I win in the end. So look at Nehemiah, verse number 20. He's got these people coming against him. The opposition grows. Verse number 20 of chapter 2, I answered them by saying, the God of heaven will give us success. We, his servants, will start rebuilding. But as for you, your mama and your mama's mama. That's not exactly in the Bible, but you know what he's saying. Nehemiah, in this moment, does not quit. He does not stop because of opposition. Instead, Nehemiah displays this resolve. And this is what I want to get us to. Resolve. Resolve. I got a definition for you. It's just from, you know, the World Wide Web. Nothing too deep, but resolve can be a verb or a noun. It means really simply, I'm deciding firmly on a course of action. What I'm saying is, I'm going to do this thing. I'm doing it. It's 10 toes down kind of stuff. It's like, you can't move me off of this. What does resolve look like? It looks like Rosa Parks when they're telling to get up from her seat. And she's like, no, I'm not moving from here. What does resolve look like? It looks like the parent of a child with special needs that steps up and advocates for their child because their child can't fight for themselves, so the parent fights for them. What does resolve look like? It looks like even at our Oak Cliff campus, we're meeting in South Oak Cliff High School, and a number of years ago, the students in that high school

looked at the facility that they were in, infested with rats, and decided, we're not gonna stay in this place anymore, and began to walk out of the school and said, school district, you better build us a new school, a proper place for us to learn, and that's actually now where we are meeting, and the place is state-of-the-art. That's what resolve looks like. Resolve looks like you get diagnosed with cancer, but you don't quit. You still stand there and say, I'll keep worshiping, I'll keep giving, I'll keep serving, I'll keep trusting God. That's what resolve looks like. Resolve looks like Sarador, who is at our Frisco campus, who buried her husband long before he ever should have been buried, and she's left with these four beautiful kids, all under the age of five, but Sara keeps on showing up to church, keeps lifting her hands in worship, and sometimes it is through tears, and sometimes it is through pain, but she decided, you can't get me off of my walk with God. That's what resolve looks like. We need more resolve in the body of Christ. We're too weak, too soft, too quick to quit. You and I don't get the option to quit

when you and I only have a faith because other people faced opposition and did not quit in face of that opposition, so why do you think now you get a pass to quit? And I know the pain is real. Oh, don't get me wrong, I know the pain is real. I'm talking about body blows, I'm talking about stabs. I'm talking about being misunderstood, I'm talking about being aggravated, being frustrated, I'm talking about having real questions and real doubts. That is for all of us, teenagers, single people, young adults, all of us alike, but we will have resolve in the name of Jesus. This is part of our DNA. Let me show you this. Let me show you this in Luke. Go with me to the Gospel of Luke. Gospel of Luke. Come on, we're cooking, let's go. Gospel of Luke. Luke chapter 13. Luke chapter 13, look at this, Jesus. Jesus, beautiful picture, the perfect picture of resolve. Luke chapter 13, verse number 31. I love hearing the pages turn, just so you know. If you didn't bring your Bible, we still love you, of course, but if you brought it, I love you a little bit more. Good job bringing your Word. We're just growing.

I want you to get used to the pages. I want you to feel that. I want you to be able to hear them. I don't want the Bible to be foreign to you. I want it to be close to us. I know some of you are like, I'm too ADHD to bring my Bible and listen to you. No problem. Luke chapter 13, verse 31. At that time, some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you, opposition. He replied, go tell that fox. I will keep, that's not a kind thing he's saying to him. He's calling him cunning, lying, deceitful. Go tell that fox, I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow and on the third day, I will reach my goal. In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day. Turn to the person next to you and say, I must press on. Come on, tell him I must press on. I must press on. This is what Jesus is writing here. I must press on. This is the DNA that you have because Jesus is now on the inside of you that you and I now have this same spirit living on the inside of us. Go with me to the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 10.

Look at this verse. This is a great verse too. Hebrews chapter 10, verse number 38. Come on, we're builders here. We're builders, we're builders, we're builders. Hebrews chapter 10, verse number 38. Look at this. But my righteous one will live by faith and I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back. It doesn't stop there though. Then he tells you who you are. The writer tells you who you are. We're not actually sure who wrote the book of Hebrews. But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved. So the next time. Someone is looking at you, or you see a friend who's a follower of Jesus shrinking back, maybe just wanting to stand by their side, not with pointing a finger of shame, but linking arms with them in faith, saying, let me just remind you who you are. We don't belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed. We belong to those who have faith and are saved. I wrote it down like this, just a little thought that you can hold on to. Our resolve, our resolve is forged in fire, but it's also found in Christ. It's forged in fire, but it's found in Christ. I don't want you leaving our time together today just thinking you got to be better. No, I want you leaving our time today thinking that Jesus is better, and you and I are now found in Him, so I'm rooted and established. My resolve is in Him, not just in my grit, but in the grace that comes from Jesus. Okay, go back to Nehemiah, Nehemiah, we got more, we got more, we got more.

Y'all still with me? Y'all still with me? Come on. Nehemiah chapter three, if you get back there, I'm not going to go through all of Nehemiah chapter three. You can read it later. I'm not going to go through all of chapter four, chapter five either. You can read it later. We don't have time to go verse by verse, but in chapter three, you'll see something beautiful. You'll see that they start rebuilding the wall, and you will see that it says like a person started on their section, and then someone next to them did that section. Then someone next to them did the section. Then someone next to them did the section. Then someone next to them did the section, and you will see something beautiful too. Even in Nehemiah chapter three, verse number 12, you can jot this down. It says even the daughters were involved in it. So it was men and women working side by side, putting down the concrete, putting the bricks on there, laying it all down, building this wall up. Then verse number 28 says something unique too. It says the different people, when they were building the wall, they were building the piece of the wall that was across from their home. So now I have a vested interest in this wall being built, because if it gets built here, then my house gets safe. So I was thinking about this in our lives. I was thinking about how each person had to do, build their section. And I will tell you that this church, Shoreline City, will not be what it's supposed to be if each one of us is not responsible for our section of the wall. You have to handle your section of the wall. And it's not okay, it's not okay to complain about a hole in the church that you're not willing to fill in the church.

Okay? I want to break any mindset that we have that our church is Chick-fil-A. We are not. You don't order a number one with no pickle, some cheese, a Dr. Pepper medium, and this be on your way. We're in the kitchen. We're builders. We're a part of making it on earth as it is in heaven. We are not watching the pastor do ministry. All of us are ministers and a part of being who God has called us to be. So with that understanding, some of us go, well, I mean, I'm not going to church, whatever. I'm not trying to, I don't need to be in that. And I will say it does matter. Your section of the wall does matter, because when this family is rebuilding that section of the wall, that family will not be living in that home forever. Someone else will come after them. Someone else they love will probably be living in that home. So they're not just building for themselves. They're building for future people. So I'll say it like this, we're putting it on the screen for you so that all of us can catch it. You and I have to understand this, that you're not just building for you, you're building for someone that you love later, that you're helping them. People you have not met yet, loved ones you have not met yet will be the beneficiary of seeds that you're sowing now. And you might not even be able to see the fruit and the harvest of those seeds, but it's coming nonetheless. Can I share a quick story with you? I got to go quick on this one. My wife and I have been married these 28 years.

And when she was in college, that's when she gave her heart to Christ. And she was not a follower of Jesus, you know, she went to college and she'll tell you, I was a hot mess. I was a hot mess express, you know, and she was going to the clubs and, you know, drinking her 40s. And me, I was holy. I'm like, I'm living for Jesus. I mean, I would have prayed for her, but I wasn't trying to holler at your girl back then. So the Lord had to do a work in her life. He did. And now he's doing a work in my life. And now I got the sexiest piece of dark chocolate on the entire planet. So I'm thankful for what God has done in my life. But she was led to Christ by a young lady named Jory. Jory then was the one to help disciple my wife, help her understand what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Just set an example for her, teach her how to read her Bible, all these. It's beautiful to see what's happened. Now, I'll fast forward a bunch of years later, follow the story. There's a couple in our church right now. Their names are Phillip and Holly Wagner, Phillip and Holly Wagner, beasts of leaders. They led a church in L.A. called Oasis Church. They gave the leadership of Oasis Church away a few years ago, and now it's still thriving. It's beautiful what God is doing there. But Pastor Phillip and Pastor Holly Wagner, they now come here to Shoreline City. Matter of fact, Phillip's on our board here at Shoreline. And Phillip, the other day, said to me, it was so kind. I didn't ask him if I could share this story, so hopefully he's not going to be mad at me. But he came up to me after one of our prayer times, and he said, Earl, thank you so much for having this church. I feel as alive here serving after giving my church away. And I didn't know I would ever feel that way again, but I feel that way being here at Shoreline City with tears in his eyes. It was so incredibly beautiful. Now let me connect the dots for you. Pastor Phillip, years ago, some 30, 40 years ago, sold money into the ministry that Jory was a part of. Jory was a campus minister, and Phillip sold into her all those years ago. He did not know when he gave to Jory that he was actually giving to his future some 40 years down the road.

This is how God works, but you've got to build your part of the wall. Okay, keep on going with me. Keep on going. Chapter 4. Chapter 4. Oh, look at this. Look at this. I got to give you this. Chapter 4, verse number 1, when Sam Ballett heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble, burned as they are? Tobiah jumped in with it as well. Here they are. Look up at me real quick. They're being ridiculed. They're being disrespected. They're being harassed. They are being mocked. They are being insulted. All of that is happening, and Nehemiah does not quit. I want you to see the resolve that Nehemiah displays. Verse number 4, hear us, O God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight. Your boy's angry, for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders.

But Nehemiah doesn't quit. He prays. Now watch this. I always thought if you would pray, then that's going to stop the opposition. It doesn't. The prayers do not stop the opposition in this case. Look at verse number 8. Verse number 8, they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. I thought if you prayed, then I wouldn't have the opposition. But remember, remember, we said whenever you pray, things move. We said that. Things move when you pray. Well, it doesn't make sense. How come the opposition still came? Sometimes the thing that moves is not the thing. Sometimes the thing that moves is you. Sometimes you end up in your prayer, you're asking God for something, but He gives you a strength that you did not know you needed or that you could have or possess, and now you have the ability to stand. and keep moving forward when others would quit. Verse number nine. But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat. I love that they prayed and posted a guard. Prayed and went to a Christian counselor. Prayed and took the medication. Prayed and kept going to Connect Group. Prayed and kept showing up to church. Prayed and kept going to work.

Prayed and got a budget. Prayed and... It's not just I prayed, but I prayed and posted a guard. Now go with me to verse number six. Chapter number six, chapter number six. And this is where we're gonna end. We're gonna end here. You can bring out my mic stand, please. Look at this, chapter number six, verse number one. When word came to Sam Ballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left in it. Though up to that time, I had not set the doors and the gates. Sam Ballat and Geshem sent me this message. So now here are the opponents. Here is his opposition sending him a message. Stay with me, theater. Stay with me, Dallas. Stay with me, campuses. Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Oh No. Let's pause. Whenever your opposition is asking you to meet in a place called Oh No, you don't have to pray about that one. That one's clear, that one's clear. But they were scheming to harm me. So I sent messengers to them with this reply. I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down.

Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you? You thought that would be enough. One response would be enough. It's not. Four times they sent me the same message and each time I gave them the same answer. You get one DM. Hey, you wanna hook up? No. You think that'll be your last one? Another one comes. No. Another one comes. No. Another one, no. Because I'm living not for myself anymore. That's the old me. I'm now new in Jesus. I'm living for his glory. My body doesn't even belong to me anymore. I'm the temple of the Holy Spirit. I don't go out and party like I used to. I'm a brand new person in Jesus so you can keep on inviting me, but I'm not coming. And it's not because I hate you. It's because I hate who I used to be and I don't wanna go back to being that person any longer. No, no, no. Nehemiah understood.

I'm carrying on a great work. I'm not coming down. So many of us do not understand that when you're a husband, it's a great work. That when you're a wife, it's a great work. When you're a parent, it's a great work. When you're serving in the kids ministry, it's a great work. When you're serving in Jihad, it's a great work. If you're in the parking lot, it's a great work. If you are a business owner, it's a great work that what God has put in your hands, it's a great work. You're like, Earl, nobody's getting saved. You are the light of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. You are preaching through the way you serve and lead and live, and don't you dare dumb down the thing that God has put in your hands right now. Be faithful as a lawyer, be faithful as a mom or a dad, be faithful as a student, and you watch what God will do with that. I'm carrying on a great work. I can't come down. But then look at this, and this is where we're gonna end. Verse number eight. Only verse number nine, rather. They were all trying to frighten us, thinking their hands will get too weak for the work and it will not be completed. But I prayed, whew, now strengthen my hands. I'm not gonna sing, but I need my hands. I need my hands.

Here they are, doing what God has called them to do. Opposition coming their way, and it's coming hard, it's coming fast, it's coming consistent, and it hurts them, and they wanna quit. At times, you can read that in chapter four, they wanted to quit. There was so much rubble, the people were like, we can't keep going, but you can see here that Nehemiah said, I know I feel all the opposition and they're trying to come against our hands and they're trying to frighten us. They're trying to say my marriage is not gonna work. They're trying to say I'm gonna die like this. They're trying to say I'll never be free. They're trying to say I'm gonna live in that generational curse. They're trying to frighten us, but I prayed, strengthened my hands and this is what I wanna do. This is what I wanna do. We're gonna do a little something together. I'm gonna say, but I prayed. Then we're gonna, and then we're all gonna say, now strengthen my hands, but I prayed, now strengthen my hands. Do it again, but I prayed, now strengthen my hands. But I prayed, now strengthen my hands. But I prayed, now strengthen my hands. But I prayed, now strengthen my hands. They're trying to tell me that my teenager

is always gonna be bound in this, but I prayed, now strengthen my hands. They told me that I was gonna die in that addiction, but I prayed, now strengthen my hands. They told me that there's no way a church could ever look like heaven on earth, but I prayed, now strengthen my hands. They told me that I was gonna live in that pit of sin and depression and anxiety for the rest of my life, but I prayed, now strengthen my hands Come on, give God some praise. Give God some praise. Give God some praise that he's strengthened in your hands. Come on, come on, come on, come on. If you need strength in your hands, come on. Come on, you need strength for what God is calling you to do. Come on, we're rebuilding walls. Come on, we're rebuilding walls. We're rebuilding families. We're rebuilding cities. We're bringing heaven on earth, but I prayed, now strengthen my hands. Father, I speak a blessing. I speak a blessing, and I speak strength over the hands of every teenager, of every teenager, every single person, every married person, every man, every woman, everyone who's engaged. I speak strength to our hands in the name of Jesus. I speak a resolve that would come deep in our souls,

that we would be men and women of God, that would not sit down and would not shut up and would not quit when opposition comes our way, but we pray and we'd see you strengthen our hands, strengthen our hearts, strengthen our legs, strengthen our backs, strengthen our minds, strengthen our voices. In the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus. Can we clap our hands and give God some praise for his faithfulness and his goodness? Come on. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. I know we've got a bunch of friends standing. Everyone can stand to your feet if you're not right now. Do me a favor if you wouldn't mind, family. Just bow your heads for just a moment as you're standing in the theater, at all of our locations. Man, the grace of God is here. Since faith rising up in this place. In homes, in coffee shops, in apartments, for family online, I know, God, you're doing it right now. I ask you to bow your heads, not because it's mystical or magical, but just so that you can focus for just a second. If you're under the sound of my voice, you've never given your heart and your life to Jesus. You never made him first, you never made him number one,

but you're under the sound of my voice. You're saying, I don't wanna go my own way anymore. I wanna go the way of Jesus. I'm not asking if you went to a Bible study in college. I'm not asking if you have a Bible. I'm not asking, do you think you're a good person? I'm asking, have you surrendered the leadership of your life to the authority of Jesus Christ? Are you on his path, living your life for his will, his way, have you repented? Turned from your own way your sins and you're saying Jesus. I want to follow you If you've never done that Today's your day Or if you did at one point in time And today you're saying I don't want to go my own way anymore. I want to go his way I want to turn back and begin to follow Jesus on the count of three just do something simple But something bold just want you to throw your hand in the air and say yes That's me. I want to give my heart and my life to Christ ready one, two, three, just lift your hand up You're saying yep, that's me. This is beautiful. We got friends all over the room. You're saying yep This is me. I want to give my heart my life to Jesus. This is the greatest miracle We don't take it for granted at all. This is the Holy Spirit moving right now on the hearts and minds of people I'm gonna ask everyone to do me a favor put your hand over your heart every person in the theater Online in this room put your hand over your heart right now If you would not mind, I want everyone to repeat this prayer out loud after me say dear Jesus. I ask you to Forgive me of all my sins I Admit I made mistakes and today I give you my heart. I give you my life Give me the power to live for you in Jesus name Amen, and amen is up their heads up clap our hands with joy and enthusiasm. Come on. Let's celebrate every person that's going from darkness to light