TAKE GROUND IN THIS MOMENT
Have you ever wished you were born in another generation?
For me it’s the 1970’s because the past is awesome and nostalgic.
Sometimes we feel overwhelmed by the moment we’re in. The world sometimes feels like it’s spiraling into insanity. Some people don’t want to have kids for fear of bringing them into the world we now live in.
Lie: “I am here by accident.”
Truth: You were CHOSEN for this moment in history.
Nehemiah 1–2
Nehemiah was placed at a decisive moment in history and position within a godless culture to alter the spiritual trajectory of a nation. He leveraged his influence for the advance of God’s redemptive purposes.
This is exactly our moment.
→ You weren’t born to be a bystander but a builder.
BORN for this moment
BROKEN by the ruins
BOLD to take a risk
BUILD a better future
BORN FOR THIS MOMENT
Nehemiah 1:1–4 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, [2] that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. [3] And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.
Wall was broken down for 150 years
An unwalled city was always vulnerable, unable to safely house people and valuables. If there were anything of value in an unwalled city, it could be stolen away easily because there was no defense to stop it.
Nehemiah’s birth wasn’t random. He’s in exile, in a pagan empire, serving as cupbearer to the king That job wasn’t glamorous but it did enable him access and influence in a strategic moment. Nehemiah didn’t choose Persia—but God placed him there. WHY?
Covid Depression: I genuinely asked my mom and dad: why did I have to be born at this time?
Nehemiah 1:11 …Now I was cupbearer to the king.
→ God placed Nehemiah in a position of influence that would allow him to move God’s plan of redemption forward.
We didn’t choose this cultural moment. But God placed us in it with a purpose.
BROKEN BY THE RUINS
Nehemiah 1:4 As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
His prayer through v.8 is an acknowledgement that they broke the covenant with God.
Nehemiah 1:6-7 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father’s house have sinned. [7] We have acted very corruptly against you…
Intercessory Prayer
Oswald Chambers “Intercession means raising ourselves up to the point of getting the mind of Christ regarding the person for whom we are praying.
A. W. Tozer “God’s greatest agency; man’s greatest agency, for defeating the enemy and winning men back is intercession.”
“Intercessory prayer is love on its knees—standing in the gap until heaven moves and hell trembles.”
“To intercede is to wage war with your words, pleading the promises of God until souls are rescued and God is glorified.”
MUSLIM SAYS SORRY FOR WHAT MY PEOPLE HAVE DONE TO YOU
Our posture toward the culture as Christians should be not to see them as our personal enemies but captives of the Enemy.
WHY NOW?
IT’S STRATEGIC: In light of the rising darkness ours is a spiritually receptive moment in history.
FOR FAMILIES: The hour we’re in demands a family-fortifying church ready to fight for the next generation in a world of confusion.
TO MULTIPLY: We envision our facility one day becoming a sending center for new churches.
TIME IS SHORT: Land in the West Valley is disappearing quickly, and if we’re going to establish a permanent, 24/7 presence for the Gospel, we must move now.
BOLD TO TAKE A RISK
Nehemiah 2:1–8 In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. [2] And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid.
Nehemiah 2:1–8b And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.
Last week I said that God doesn’t open doors for our preferences but his purposes. That’s what happens here. Nehemiah prays and takes a risk for God’s kingdom but
STORY OF THE LAND – Prayer / 5 pieces of land / realism / giants but also angels
We need to build the building LIKE they needed the wall. Churches that meet in public schools are always one frusterated email away from non exitence.
BUILD A BETTER FUTURE
Nehemiah 2:17–18 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” [18] And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.
→ You weren’t born to be a bystander but a builder.
Commitment Card BOTHHHHHH!!
BAND
→ What if everything we’re praying and dreaming of comes to pass? I said we get nostalgic about past generations, but if we strengthen our hands for the work, we will be building something that FUTURE GENERATIONS will look back on and WISH they could have been apart of!What if we don’t have to dream about the past because we choose to be part of a work of God in our day?!
Pass Baskets → Dirts and Baskets
One per household!!!
Strategic Moment:
Intercessory: Heart for other people’s salvation
Takes a Risk: They embrace the difficulty build
NOT TRESPASSING