February 23, 2025 • 37 mins
Welcome to The Passion Project series with Pastor Tyler Lynde, where we uncover the profound impact of teamwork through the story of Nehemiah. This ancient Jewish leader discovered Jerusalem’s walls in ruins and recognized that rebuilding them meant more than physical protection—it meant restoring hope and identity. Tyler walks us through Nehemiah’s remarkable leadership, showing how he invited everyone to join in the effort by saying, “Come, let us build,” rather than simply demanding they follow.
In Nehemiah 2:17-18, we see a vision unfold as people from all backgrounds—priests, artisans, and everyday community members—came together to reconstruct the walls. The high priest was the first to rise up and work on the Sheep Gate, setting an example of servant leadership that sparked unity. Drawing from 1 Corinthians 12:14-20, Tyler emphasizes how every part of the body, or community, holds unique value. Even the Tekoites, who stepped in twice to repair separate sections (Nehemiah 3:5, 3:27), remind us that no contribution is too small or repeated efforts too many when pursuing a collective goal.
Tyler also addresses the challenges Nehemiah faced—past failures and complacency had left people reluctant to act. Yet faith and determination turned “we tried that before” into “let us rise up and build.” By exploring Psalm 133:1, Tyler reveals how God values unity and pours out blessings when people dwell together in harmony. A quick look at John 5:1-9 further illustrates the transformative power of divine intervention, reminding us that God meets us in the midst of our brokenness and ushers in healing.
As Tyler unpacks these Scriptures, he shows how a passionate commitment to teamwork and reliance on God’s guidance can lead to remarkable change in our lives today. Whether you’re seeking to rebuild a fractured relationship, strengthen a ministry, or pursue a new calling, Nehemiah’s story serves as a testament that faith-fueled collaboration makes the impossible possible. Join Tyler in reclaiming your passion for unity, and discover how God can use your unique gifts to accomplish something far greater than you ever imagined.
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Episode Transcript
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Tyler Lynde (00:04):
Anyway, I'm Tyler, I'm the lead pastor here and I'm
so grateful to be able to standin front of you and share the
Word of God with you.
And we are in the book ofNehemiah, so let's turn there to
Nehemiah chapter.
We're going to start in chapter2.
Today's the third installmentof our sermon series on the book
of Nehemiah, called the PassionProject.
(00:24):
The Jews had been in captivityfor 160 years in one form or
fashion, and through that time,several different groups of
Jewish people were allowed tocome back to the homeland, and
to Jerusalem in particular.
The temple had been rebuilt,but the walls surrounding
Jerusalem and the gates therewere 12 gates that were part of
(00:45):
the walls were still in disarrayand in bad disrepair.
We've seen so far how Nehemiah,after understanding and
receiving the word of thecondition of the walls of
Jerusalem, began to cry.
He was torn up, he becamepassionate about the state of
things within his homeland, andso what did he do?
(01:07):
He cried out to the Lord, andthe Lord showed favor toward him
and he answered his prayers bycausing the Persian king,
artaxerxes, to give him favorand to send him out of Persia,
carrying with him all thematerials that he would need to
rebuild the gates and the walls,and also supplies and money to
(01:27):
be able to purchase anythingelse that might be needed to
finish the job.
And so Nehemiah comes out andhe comes into Jerusalem, and
last week, scott did a great jobof teaching us how Nehemiah put
his faith into action.
He put his faith into action,and this reality is what this
could.
The reality, though, is thisthis one man could not do the
(01:50):
job.
This one man could not do thejob that was needed to be done,
and so today's message isentitled the Value of Teamwork.
The Value of Teamwork.
Let's look at Nehemiah, chapter2, and we're going to start in
verses 17 and 18, and then we'regoing to look at chapter 3 to
help us flesh out the truthsthat are in these verses.
(02:12):
So let's read the word of Godtogether.
Then I said to them you see thetrouble that we are in, how
Jerusalem lies in ruins, withits gates burned.
Come, let us listen to theplural words.
Come, let us build the wall ofJerusalem that we may no longer
suffer derision.
And I told them of the hand ofmy God that had been upon me for
(02:36):
good, and also of the wordsthat the king had spoken to me
and they said let us rise up andbuild.
So they strengthened theirhands for the good work.
Let's pray together this morning.
Father God, in the name ofJesus, we thank you for the work
that you've already done heretoday and, lord, we ask that
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this would be a continuation.
We ask that you would takethese words that you've placed
in your Bible for us and thatyou would cause them to come
alive, lord, that we would notonly be hearers of the word, but
we would hear this word, putour faith into action and do the
things that you're asking of us.
We thank you, holy Spirit, forsaving those who are not saved
(03:21):
and for causing those who may bein a state of disrepair in
their own lives to have hopethat today is the day for a new
beginning, and we thank you forthat in Jesus' name, amen.
So there are two basic thoughtsthat, if you allow them to
linger in your life, will stopany momentum in your life, and
(03:43):
especially when it comes to yourChristian community, this
church and the church that God'scalled us to be a part of.
I personally have experiencedthese two things in different
ways, and I'm sure that you haveas well.
So the first one is we kind oflike the way things are,
Everything's good.
We don't need the way thingsare, everything's good, we don't
(04:06):
need to change a thing.
Anybody ever lived within thatreality Maybe you find yourself
there right now that, my friends, if left unattended, can become
a momentum killer.
It can become a passion killer,because how many of you know
that God, although he is thesame yesterday, today and
(04:26):
forever, is continually inmotion.
There is momentum.
The kingdom of God is amomentous kingdom.
It has movement, it breathes,it lives.
There's activity in the kingdomof God.
There is no point in yourChristian life where there won't
(04:47):
be some form of movement.
Now, it doesn't mean that youhave to.
How many of you know Jesus?
Very rarely do we hear of himrunning anywhere, but how many
of you know he walked a lot ofplaces and a lot of times?
When he showed up in places,what did they say of him?
If you'd only been here just alittle bit sooner?
(05:10):
How many of you know God'stiming scale is not our timing
scale.
His way of measuring things isnot the way that we measure
things, but God is a God ofmovement, god is a God of
momentum.
How many of you know that Jesusalso took time to be still to
spend time with his father alone.
(05:30):
All of that was a part of themomentum, the building of the
kingdom of God.
Those things were essential.
So some people might say don'trock the boat, keep things the
way that they are.
Change is evil.
Here's the thing you never wantto do.
If you believe that, don't lookin the mirror every day,
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because a few weeks from now youlook in that mirror and guess
what you notice Change ishappening.
The other way you can tellchange is happening is watching
children grow.
I saw Scott's granddaughtercome in this morning and my
goodness, he's so tall, scott,and she just shot up.
You know, it's all the hormonesin the chicken, man, I don't
(06:24):
know.
Sorry, that might actually stirsome passion up within some of
y'all, so I need to be carefulthere.
Anyway, moving on, so that's oneschool of thought.
Here's the other one, and maybethis one is even more invasive.
We tried that before and itdidn't work.
(06:46):
We already tried that and itdidn't work.
How many of us have foundourselves in that sort of
scenario?
Imagine the children of Israelmarching around Jericho after
the third day.
They said we tried that itdidn't work.
Or maybe the sixth time aroundthe wall on that seventh day we
tried that it didn't work.
Or maybe the sixth time aroundthe wall on that seventh day we
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tried that and it didn't work.
Obedience is more important thanwhat we perceive as something
working.
Does that make sense?
God is always working and he'salways moving.
So let's make sure that weallow the passion of God to stir
within us a desire for momentum, for movement, for change that
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is healthy, for change that heis bringing into our lives right
, and let's shake off any kindof mindset that says I don't
want to change or we've alreadytried that and it didn't work.
Let's shake that off by thegrace of God this morning.
Amen.
And that's what Nehemiah wasfaced with as he's talking, as
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he's observing and looking athow he's going to bring about
change in this community.
Nehemiah faces both of thesepassion stealers as he attempts
to bring about a reformationamong the people of God.
Well, it's true that the templehad been restored 60 years prior
to this, but the wall and thegates had been compromised and
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were laying in ruins for over140 years.
Wow, that's a long time, howmany of you know you can get
used to something after 140years?
How many of you know you canget used to something after 140
years?
How many of you know you canalmost forget that there were
walls there after 140 years?
How many of you know that weedswill take over any area that is
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not cultivated over 140 years?
Right, so you can imagine, justpicture with me what the scene
must have looked like aroundJerusalem.
They had attempted to rebuildthe walls even before and had
failed miserably Again.
All of these reasons, all ofthese excuses, all of these
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things that were screaming outto them just sit down, just hold
on, just quit, just sit back.
So we learn in our passage thismorning that leadership is
essential for teamwork.
Talking about the value ofteamwork, in order to have a
team, you need to have at leasta leader, right, or leaders.
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This is true in many differentscenarios.
How about in families?
God has placed in familiesleadership.
For those of you who are singleparents, guess what?
God has given you the authorityand the leadership to help your
family, to minister to yourfamily, to lead and guide your
family.
To those of you who are married, god has given both
(09:38):
responsibilities, but the man,specifically, is called to be
the spiritual leader of hishousehold.
Men, we have an opportunity tobe a godly leader in our homes.
How about in workplaces?
Is leadership essential inworkplaces?
We may not like the leadershipwe have in workplaces, but
leadership is essential Also ingovernments.
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We know that that's the samecase there, and we could go on
and on.
How much more is it true inChristianity that godly
leadership is essential forteamwork?
So Nehemiah is an excellentexample to us of what it looks
like to be a godly leader.
So let's talk about a godlyleader First of all.
A godly leader identifies andcommunicates challenges.
(10:22):
Godly leaders do not hide fromtrouble.
Godly leaders do not run fromproblems.
Godly leaders observe them,understand them and then
communicate about them.
What needs to happen, right?
So let's go back to the versesagain.
Then I said to them Nehemiah,speaking to the crowd, you see
the trouble we are in, howJerusalem lies in ruins with its
(10:46):
gates burned.
Nehemiah is pointing out forthem there's a problem, there's
a challenge, there's somethingthat we are facing, and this was
important not just because ofthe walls themselves being forms
of protection, but it was alsoabout the identity of a people,
the identity of the people ofIsrael, the identity of the
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Jewish people.
Jerusalem and the walls thatwere surrounding it were helping
should have been helping toidentify who these people were
as the people of God.
And yet their lives weredisheveled and in disarray
because they had quit attemptingto repair things.
I love that Nehemiah didn'tsugarcoat it.
(11:28):
He didn't say well, you know, Iwas just walking around today
and I stubbed my toe on a rockand I thought you know, maybe
somebody would like somewhere to.
Somehow, if you don't mind,would you please move that rock?
No, he said guys, there's aproblem.
There's a problem that we needto face.
(11:49):
He had heard the report of thewall and now he'd observed it
with his own eyes.
His job, as he saw it now, wasto rally the people to begin
again, to begin again.
Hear me prophetically thismorning, some of you, god is
calling you to begin again andI'm hearing that call myself,
that clarion call from the Lordto step up, to re-engage, to
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begin again.
He was communicating toeveryone who would listen, to
anyone who would listen to hisvoice.
He was communicating to them,he was giving them a clear
understanding of the issue andof the problem.
But a godly leader doesn't justpoint out the problems.
A godly leader calls others upto work with them.
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He says come, let us build thewall of Jerusalem that we may no
longer suffer derision.
Nehemiah issues again thisgreat call to all who would hear
his voice.
And when I was reading this, Icouldn't help but think of the
scene from Braveheart whereWilliam Wallace gets on his
horse and he's riding back andforth in front of the men who
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were getting ready to leave andgo back to their homes and to
lay down in their beds, and he'stalking about the cost of
freedom.
And are you going to be contentto lay down and beds?
And he's talking about the costof freedom.
And are you going to be contentto lay down?
And many years from now, youmay still be alive, but what
will it have cost you if youlose your freedom, your freedom?
Nehemiah, in a similar way, israllying the troops.
(13:19):
He's saying let's get, let'sunderstand that we can do this
together, let's do this thingtogether.
He challenged their passion byasking them if they were content
to let the nations around themmock them and mock their God.
The nations around them weremocking them and mocking their
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God.
A godly leader must receive avision from God and then make it
clear to those that will worktogether with them.
Habakkuk 2 says this Write thevision, make it plain on tablets
so he may run.
Who reads it?
We're not given every detail ofNehemiah's plan, but we know he
had a plan Because we'll see aswe get into chapter three how
(14:06):
that plan was executed.
And it's masterful.
It's really amazing how Godgave him such wisdom and insight
on how to make sure that thingswere done in a way that would
end up bringing glory and honorto God.
And finally, a godly leader isunder authority.
What do you mean?
I have authority if I'm a godlyleader.
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We have authority because we'vebeen given authority right.
Nehemiah goes on to say and Itold 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.
Nehemiah had been given a burdenfrom God to rebuild the walls
of Jerusalem, and God's favorwas on him to do the task that
(14:50):
he had the burden to do.
Not only that, but the king ofPersia, a foreign king who was
holding Israelites captive, senthim with his blessings, with
supplies, with funding, tocomplete the job.
He wasn't a lone ranger.
Friends, we cannot afford to belone rangers.
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I think Kelly brought this upin the first message.
We are not called to live thisChristian life alone.
We're called to run together.
He used the authority God gavehim to steward his greatest
resource of all.
What was the greatest resourcehe had?
All of the stones that werethere in disarray?
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Was it the wood that he broughtfrom Persia?
Was it the metal that theblacksmiths had made for locks?
Was it, you know?
Was it the supply of financesand gold to be able to purchase
anything that needed to bepurchased?
What was the greatest resourceout of the call of God that was
on his life?
The greatest resource was thepeople.
Leaders, please understand yourgreatest resources is not your
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company or your money or yourability to command others.
Your greatest resource are thepeople who serve with you, the
people who work with you, thepeople who walk with you.
Let's not take for granted ourchildren, right?
Let's not take for grantedemployees.
(16:21):
Let's not take for grantedthose that are in our community
groups.
Let's not take for grantedthose who are part of this
church.
Let's not take for granted thechildren that are back here in
the children's ministry.
Do you know?
They're not just futureparticipants of this church.
They're with us, they're a partof us and we have the privilege
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of stewarding them by the graceof God.
So not only do we need godlyleadership, but in order to have
a team, what else do you haveto have?
You can have a lot of leadersand have no what Chief or
followers.
Right, we need some workers, weneed some followers.
A team is essential forteamwork.
I know that this is not rocketscience today, but the word of
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God sometimes is very plain, andI'm glad that it is because I
need it to be plain.
What I need is the Holy Spiritto stir me up so that I become
passionate about the things thatGod is passionate about.
And they said let us rise upand build.
So they strengthened theirhands for the good work.
I'm going to show you a picturenow.
This is Jerusalem.
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This is a rendering, obviously.
No, it's a picture.
It's a rendering of Jerusalem,and this is with the completed
walls, and you can see it there.
And you see all of thedifferent gates.
I love the fact that the gates alot of them were pretty simple,
like fish gate.
What do you think that was for,yeah, it's, the fishermen would
bring their fish in and therewas a fish market there, right?
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The dung gate.
What was the dung gate for?
Nobody wants to say.
That's where all the trash went.
Okay, outside of the city,outside of the city, the
fountain gate, the water gate,on and on and on the horse gate,
pretty simple, and we're goingto talk about the sheep gate in
(18:10):
just a minute.
But look at this If you look atthe fish gate, that's where the
sheep gate, up at the top,that's where the work began, and
they worked counterclockwisearound the walls all the way
around back to the sheep gate.
It's about a two milecircumference from one end to
the other.
So just picture that, thinkabout no power tools, just
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picture that, think about nopower tools, no lifts, no large
moving vehicles.
And if you've ever been toIsrael and you've seen what
remains of the wall of Jerusalem, you understand that this was
some large stone work.
This was a big deal, right?
Everybody getting an image ofthat, everybody getting an image
of that.
So chapter 3 begins to describehow, under Nehemiah's leadership
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, different parts of the citywall were rebuilt by groups.
There were 42 sections of thewall that this chapter speaks
about 42 sections and 12 gates.
There's 10 gates that arementioned in this chapter, but
there were 12 gates.
There's 10 gates that arementioned in this chapter, but
there were 12 gates in Jerusalem.
So, the spiritual leaders,first of all.
We talked about leadership.
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Let's look at even the workitself.
Spiritual leaders set anexample.
Look at Nehemiah 3, verse 1.
Then Eliashib, the high priest,rose up with his brothers, the
priests, and they built thesheep gate.
They consecrated it and set itsdoors.
They consecrated it as far asthe tower of the hundred, as far
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as the tower of Hananel.
We lead, first of all, byexample.
It's one of the things I loveabout the leaders in this church
.
We all have this mindset and wedon't do it perfectly.
We need your prayers, but wehave this mindset that we are
servant leaders.
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God has made us servants and wehave the privilege of leading.
It's fitting that the highpriest should set the example.
He was placed in charge ofrebuilding the sheep gate.
And what was the purpose of thesheep gate?
This is where the sheep wouldhave been brought in.
In order to what?
In order to be sacrificed onthe temple altar, to atone for
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the sins of the people Thinkabout it like this.
There's no way that this highpriest could have understood at
the time the importance of thisgate being restored.
How many of you know that therewould be another lamb who would
walk through this gate?
Behold the Lamb of God whotakes away the sin of the world.
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And we know that he did because, if you look at John, chapter 5
, verse 1, it says this afterthis, there was a feast of the
world.
And we know that he did because, if you look at John 5, verse 1
, it says this After this, therewas a feast of the Jews and
Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Now there is in Jerusalem, bythe Sheep Gate, a pool, an
Aramaic called Bethesda, whichhas five roofed colonnades.
In these lay a multitude ofinvalids blind, lame and
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paralyzed.
One man was there who had beenan invalid for 38 years.
Just think about that.
When Jesus saw him lying thereand knew that he had already
been there a long time, he saidto him do you want to be healed,
boy?
That seems like a strangequestion.
What was he looking for?
Jesus was looking for faith inthis man.
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The sick man answered and saidSir, I have no one to put me in
the pool when the water isstirred up.
I've been here 38 years.
I've tried and I've tried andI've tried.
And while I'm going anothersteps down before me, jesus said
to him Get up, take up your bedand walk.
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And at once the man was healedand he took up his bed and
walked.
Jesus Christ, the Savior of theworld, the Messiah, is the Lamb
of God who takes away the sinof the world.
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The perfect sacrifice.
Put your faith and hope andtrust in him today.
Amen, amen.
Secondly, another important partabout the team is a diverse
team contributed.
First of all, there wereIsraelites from outside of
Jerusalem that came to help.
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The Jews in Jerusalem, wereassisted in their building
operations by their fellowcountrymen who lived in the
surrounding area.
Chapter 3 talks about the menof Jericho they knew something
about walls right.
The men of Tekoa, the men fromGibeon and Mizpah, the residents
of Zenoa, those of the districtof Beth-Zer and the district of
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Keilah.
All of these different groupscame to Jerusalem or were in
Jerusalem and agreed toparticipate in the rebuilding
process.
Let's use the Tekoites for anexample.
In verse five it says and nextnext to them, the Tekoites
repaired, but their nobles wouldnot stoop to serve their Lord,
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what the people of Tekoawillingly served, but their
nobles would not bow their knees, would not stoop themselves
down to participate in servingin this venture.
I know that some of you haveleaders in your life who are not
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on board with you followingChrist, who are not on board
with you being obedient to thecommandments of God, who are not
on board with you pursuingJesus.
This is the one space where wehave to make a decision to
follow someone greater.
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If we had to choose between anearthly leader attempting to
pull us away from God and Jesus,king of kings and Lord of lords
, how many of you know Jesus isthe only answer.
So I just want to encourage youthat I know it may be difficult
and we're praying for you andif we can help you and be
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supportive of you, please let usknow.
I know how difficult.
I don't know because I haven'tfully experienced it but I want
to know, I want to understandhow difficult it must be for you
.
But when it comes to this typeof thing, follow Jesus, follow
Jesus.
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I know my mom did this for wellover a year, as my dad ridiculed
her and mocked her and said shewas weak, and only the weak,
need Jesus.
Until one day my dad bowed hisknee, took off his hat and gave
his heart and soul to JesusChrist.
Your labor is not in vain.
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The Tekoaites were so into this.
They were so I'm trying tothink of the right word
connected Verse 27,.
It says after him, the Tekoitesrepaired another section
opposite the great projectingtower, as far as the wall of
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Ophel.
They got done with their partand they're like give us more.
We want to do more.
Is there anything else that wecan do?
I'm sure the leaders wereexcited with that right.
So much diversity, so manydifferent types of people that
were there that were a part ofthis.
They're also with people withvarying gifts and occupations.
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Very few actual builders seemto contribute to the project.
That's crazy to me.
It seems like to me you'd putout a call for all of the stone
workers, for all of those whoknow how to make wood straight
and square and know how tofortify things, all of those who
have experience you come and bea part of this.
No, it was all who are willingcome.
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There were goldsmiths andperfumers, several that were
called rulers, and also somewomen.
Come on.
In the Old Testament.
Some women contributed to thisproject.
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How many of you know, god loveswomen.
God loves women and the Churchof Jesus Christ in the largest
part in America has beensustained throughout the
generations by women who fall ontheir knees before him and cry
out to him for their families,for their husbands and for the
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world.
Now, men, men, I'm saying men,men, hear the call.
It's time to step up.
It's time to step up, it's timeto get back, it's time to lead
spiritually.
It's one thing to command yourwife to do something or to
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command your children to dosomething in anger and in wrath.
It's another thing to lovinglylead them, like Christ leads his
church.
You know, this is an example.
This Old Testament reality is anexample of what the body of
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Christ is like.
It really is.
We are all needed in order tosee God's purposes fulfilled.
Look at 1 Corinthians 12, verse14.
For the body does not consistof one member, but of many.
If the foot should say, becauseI'm not a hand, I do not belong
to the body, that would notmake it any less a part of the
body.
And if the ear should say,because I'm not an eye, I do not
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belong to the body.
That would not make it any lessa part of the body.
If the whole body were an eye,if the whole body were an ear,
where would be the sense ofsmell?
But as it is, god arranged themembers in the body, each one of
them, as he chose.
If all were a single member,where would the body be as it is
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, there are many parts, yet onebody.
Be who God made you to be.
How many of you know, we canwork on the same types of
activities, the same sort ofprojects, the same sort of.
We can follow the same, be apart of the same mission, and
yet each one of us brings to thetable our particular slant.
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I wonder if the gold workers youknow dressed up their side of
the wall a little bitdifferently and put some gold
leaf here and there, or maybemade some little ornamental
things?
I don't know.
Maybe the perfumers you knowsoaked the stones with some kind
of beautiful smelling aroma.
I don't know what they did, butall of them worked together for
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the purpose of rebuilding thewall.
Not only that, but team memberswere placed strategically.
Strategically, god is a God oforder and he's a God of strategy
, and he knows what he's doing.
First of all, when it waspossible, he placed them close
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to their own homes.
Why was that important?
Why was it important forNehemiah to place those who were
working close to their ownhomes?
Yeah yeah, pride in their work,ownership, all of those things
right.
When Nehemiah organized thework, he adopted the policy,
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like I said, wherever possible,of assigning a particular person
to repair the part of the wallwhich was opposite his house,
for this would encourage thatperson to work hard so as to
ensure that his own home andfamily would be well protected.
It was in their own interesteven to help rebuild this
portion of the wall.
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What's in front of your houseright now of the wall?
What's in front of your houseright now?
As you look out the windows ofyour house right now, what do
you see that needs to bereordered?
Where do you see areas that arebroken and disheveled?
What is it that God's put rightin front of you?
Are we being faithful with that?
So many times, we talk aboutwanting to go to foreign nations
(30:44):
and faraway places to preachthe gospel of Jesus Christ, and
is that important?
Absolutely so.
This church that's a big partof what we do, but how many of
you know God's placed you in aneighborhood, people all around
you.
I was thinking about that thismorning as we were driving out
and people were walking theirdogs and I was thinking we
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really haven't done a great jobyet of reaching them for Jesus.
What's right in front of myhouse and how can I be involved
actively and passionately in thebuilding of the kingdom of God?
Not only were they close totheir homes, but they were also
placed next to each other.
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Twelve times in chapter threeit says that they were next to
the person or the people thatwere next to them.
I said it again it wasimportant for each team member
to acknowledge the fact thatthey were serving next to others
because, although they wereworking independently of the
people next to them, they wouldcomplete this job as a team,
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each one doing their work nextto each other.
I'm sure that there wascamaraderie.
I'm sure if these were normalhuman beings, what else was
there?
There's probably somecompetition.
Probably somebody cried out youcall that a wall.
I'm sure there were some thatwere saying that's a weird color
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all of these things.
But they were all activelyinvolved and they were working
next to each other.
Who has God placed you next to?
I don't like that person.
Hey, talk to God.
He's the strategist, he's theone that's placed us next to
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those people.
And God forbid, please tell meyou're not saying that about
your husband or your wife.
God forbid, please tell meyou're not saying that about
your husband or your wife.
If you are, call the churchoffice and let's set up a time
to get together and do somecounseling.
But God has placed us next topeople for a reason, for a
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purpose, right?
So let's link arms.
And, by the way, nehemiah 3, aswe read this, it reads it as a
completed project.
Guess what we're going to findout in the next few weeks.
The project is far from over.
There are all kinds ofdisturbances and things that are
going to try to interrupt theflow of things, but Nehemiah is
giving an overview and he'smentioning all of these people's
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names and all of these groupsof people that were such an
essential part of this passionproject.
Friends, let's not unlock armsand move away from each other
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unless God's the one that doesit.
If God's called you to be apart of this church, let's link
arms, let's look at what's infront of us and let's work
together to fulfill his purpose.
And finally, god places a highvalue on teamwork.
How do we know that?
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Let's look at Psalm 133.
It says Behold how good andpleasant it is when brothers
dwell in unity.
It is like the precious oil onthe head running down on the
beard, on the beard of Aaron,running down on the collar of
his robes.
It is like the dew of Hermonwhich falls on the mountains of
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Zion.
Is God a God of unity?
Is God a God of teamwork?
Is God a God of teamwork?
Is God a God that overlooks anddoesn't care about division and
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strife and backbiting?
God wants that to stop.
If there are marriages that arein trouble, those who are
married have a choice to makeand I'm praying for you that you
will make the right choice tofollow after God, to pursue Him,
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and I'm praying for you that,whenever it is at all possible
that there will be forgivenessand restoration and redemption.
Also praying that for families.
I know that there are somefamilies that are ostracized
from one another.
When it's within your power todo so, would you consider
humbling yourself and reachingout and loving, with boundaries
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that are healthy?
I understand that, but wouldyou consider being that person
and being passionate aboutrestoration, about relationship
and within our church as well.
We could all just come togetheron Sundays and we do, and I'm
so grateful for that.
But, man, wouldn't it be betterif we could have meals together,
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if we could see each other atWalmart and not duck and hide,
but we'd go find each other andwe'd spend 30 minutes just
catching up, just because wecan't hardly stand being apart?
Wouldn't it be amazing if we,as a group of people, as a
church, decided that we weregoing to follow God when it
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comes to being passionate aboutthe things that he's passionate
about?
How would the world change ifthe Christians in America would
put God's priorities as theirpriorities?
My friends, we are not waitingfor the government to change
this country.
We are not waiting for thegovernment to change this
country.
God's the only one that canchange the heart of people, and
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how does he do that?
A lot of times, he does itthrough Christians who are not
perfect but who are attempting,by God's grace, to live out the
values and the truths that arefound in the word of God.
Anyway, I'm Tyler, I'm the lead pastor here and I'm
so grateful to be able to standin front of you and share the
Word of God with you.
And we are in the book ofNehemiah, so let's turn there to
Nehemiah chapter.
We're going to start in chapter2.
Today's the third installmentof our sermon series on the book
of Nehemiah, called the PassionProject.
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The Jews had been in captivityfor 160 years in one form or
fashion, and through that time,several different groups of
Jewish people were allowed tocome back to the homeland, and
to Jerusalem in particular.
The temple had been rebuilt,but the walls surrounding
Jerusalem and the gates therewere 12 gates that were part of
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the walls were still in disarrayand in bad disrepair.
We've seen so far how Nehemiah,after understanding and
receiving the word of thecondition of the walls of
Jerusalem, began to cry.
He was torn up, he becamepassionate about the state of
things within his homeland, andso what did he do?
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He cried out to the Lord, andthe Lord showed favor toward him
and he answered his prayers bycausing the Persian king,
artaxerxes, to give him favorand to send him out of Persia,
carrying with him all thematerials that he would need to
rebuild the gates and the walls,and also supplies and money to
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be able to purchase anythingelse that might be needed to
finish the job.
And so Nehemiah comes out andhe comes into Jerusalem, and
last week, scott did a great jobof teaching us how Nehemiah put
his faith into action.
He put his faith into action,and this reality is what this
could.
The reality, though, is thisthis one man could not do the
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job.
This one man could not do thejob that was needed to be done,
and so today's message isentitled the Value of Teamwork.
The Value of Teamwork.
Let's look at Nehemiah, chapter2, and we're going to start in
verses 17 and 18, and then we'regoing to look at chapter 3 to
help us flesh out the truthsthat are in these verses.
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So let's read the word of Godtogether.
Then I said to them you see thetrouble that we are in, how
Jerusalem lies in ruins, withits gates burned.
Come, let us listen to theplural words.
Come, let us build the wall ofJerusalem that we may no longer
suffer derision.
And I told them of the hand ofmy God that had been upon me for
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good, and also of the wordsthat the king had spoken to me
and they said let us rise up andbuild.
So they strengthened theirhands for the good work.
Let's pray together this morning.
Father God, in the name ofJesus, we thank you for the work
that you've already done heretoday and, lord, we ask that
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this would be a continuation.
We ask that you would takethese words that you've placed
in your Bible for us and thatyou would cause them to come
alive, lord, that we would notonly be hearers of the word, but
we would hear this word, putour faith into action and do the
things that you're asking of us.
We thank you, holy Spirit, forsaving those who are not saved
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and for causing those who may bein a state of disrepair in
their own lives to have hopethat today is the day for a new
beginning, and we thank you forthat in Jesus' name, amen.
So there are two basic thoughtsthat, if you allow them to
linger in your life, will stopany momentum in your life, and
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especially when it comes to yourChristian community, this
church and the church that God'scalled us to be a part of.
I personally have experiencedthese two things in different
ways, and I'm sure that you haveas well.
So the first one is we kind oflike the way things are,
Everything's good.
We don't need the way thingsare, everything's good, we don't
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need to change a thing.
Anybody ever lived within thatreality Maybe you find yourself
there right now that, my friends, if left unattended, can become
a momentum killer.
It can become a passion killer,because how many of you know
that God, although he is thesame yesterday, today and
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forever, is continually inmotion.
There is momentum.
The kingdom of God is amomentous kingdom.
It has movement, it breathes,it lives.
There's activity in the kingdomof God.
There is no point in yourChristian life where there won't
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be some form of movement.
Now, it doesn't mean that youhave to.
How many of you know Jesus?
Very rarely do we hear of himrunning anywhere, but how many
of you know he walked a lot ofplaces and a lot of times?
When he showed up in places,what did they say of him?
If you'd only been here just alittle bit sooner?
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How many of you know God'stiming scale is not our timing
scale.
His way of measuring things isnot the way that we measure
things, but God is a God ofmovement, god is a God of
momentum.
How many of you know that Jesusalso took time to be still to
spend time with his father alone.
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All of that was a part of themomentum, the building of the
kingdom of God.
Those things were essential.
So some people might say don'trock the boat, keep things the
way that they are.
Change is evil.
Here's the thing you never wantto do.
If you believe that, don't lookin the mirror every day,
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because a few weeks from now youlook in that mirror and guess
what you notice Change ishappening.
The other way you can tellchange is happening is watching
children grow.
I saw Scott's granddaughtercome in this morning and my
goodness, he's so tall, scott,and she just shot up.
You know, it's all the hormonesin the chicken, man, I don't
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know.
Sorry, that might actually stirsome passion up within some of
y'all, so I need to be carefulthere.
Anyway, moving on, so that's oneschool of thought.
Here's the other one, and maybethis one is even more invasive.
We tried that before and itdidn't work.
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We already tried that and itdidn't work.
How many of us have foundourselves in that sort of
scenario?
Imagine the children of Israelmarching around Jericho after
the third day.
They said we tried that itdidn't work.
Or maybe the sixth time aroundthe wall on that seventh day we
tried that it didn't work.
Or maybe the sixth time aroundthe wall on that seventh day we
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tried that and it didn't work.
Obedience is more important thanwhat we perceive as something
working.
Does that make sense?
God is always working and he'salways moving.
So let's make sure that weallow the passion of God to stir
within us a desire for momentum, for movement, for change that
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is healthy, for change that heis bringing into our lives right
, and let's shake off any kindof mindset that says I don't
want to change or we've alreadytried that and it didn't work.
Let's shake that off by thegrace of God this morning.
Amen.
And that's what Nehemiah wasfaced with as he's talking, as
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he's observing and looking athow he's going to bring about
change in this community.
Nehemiah faces both of thesepassion stealers as he attempts
to bring about a reformationamong the people of God.
Well, it's true that the templehad been restored 60 years prior
to this, but the wall and thegates had been compromised and
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were laying in ruins for over140 years.
Wow, that's a long time, howmany of you know you can get
used to something after 140years?
How many of you know you canget used to something after 140
years?
How many of you know you canalmost forget that there were
walls there after 140 years?
How many of you know that weedswill take over any area that is
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not cultivated over 140 years?
Right, so you can imagine, justpicture with me what the scene
must have looked like aroundJerusalem.
They had attempted to rebuildthe walls even before and had
failed miserably Again.
All of these reasons, all ofthese excuses, all of these
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things that were screaming outto them just sit down, just hold
on, just quit, just sit back.
So we learn in our passage thismorning that leadership is
essential for teamwork.
Talking about the value ofteamwork, in order to have a
team, you need to have at leasta leader, right, or leaders.
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This is true in many differentscenarios.
How about in families?
God has placed in familiesleadership.
For those of you who are singleparents, guess what?
God has given you the authorityand the leadership to help your
family, to minister to yourfamily, to lead and guide your
family.
To those of you who are married, god has given both
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responsibilities, but the man,specifically, is called to be
the spiritual leader of hishousehold.
Men, we have an opportunity tobe a godly leader in our homes.
How about in workplaces?
Is leadership essential inworkplaces?
We may not like the leadershipwe have in workplaces, but
leadership is essential Also ingovernments.
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We know that that's the samecase there, and we could go on
and on.
How much more is it true inChristianity that godly
leadership is essential forteamwork?
So Nehemiah is an excellentexample to us of what it looks
like to be a godly leader.
So let's talk about a godlyleader First of all.
A godly leader identifies andcommunicates challenges.
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Godly leaders do not hide fromtrouble.
Godly leaders do not run fromproblems.
Godly leaders observe them,understand them and then
communicate about them.
What needs to happen, right?
So let's go back to the versesagain.
Then I said to them Nehemiah,speaking to the crowd, you see
the trouble we are in, howJerusalem lies in ruins with its
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gates burned.
Nehemiah is pointing out forthem there's a problem, there's
a challenge, there's somethingthat we are facing, and this was
important not just because ofthe walls themselves being forms
of protection, but it was alsoabout the identity of a people,
the identity of the people ofIsrael, the identity of the
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Jewish people.
Jerusalem and the walls thatwere surrounding it were helping
should have been helping toidentify who these people were
as the people of God.
And yet their lives weredisheveled and in disarray
because they had quit attemptingto repair things.
I love that Nehemiah didn'tsugarcoat it.
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He didn't say well, you know, Iwas just walking around today
and I stubbed my toe on a rockand I thought you know, maybe
somebody would like somewhere to.
Somehow, if you don't mind,would you please move that rock?
No, he said guys, there's aproblem.
There's a problem that we needto face.
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He had heard the report of thewall and now he'd observed it
with his own eyes.
His job, as he saw it now, wasto rally the people to begin
again, to begin again.
Hear me prophetically thismorning, some of you, god is
calling you to begin again andI'm hearing that call myself,
that clarion call from the Lordto step up, to re-engage, to
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begin again.
He was communicating toeveryone who would listen, to
anyone who would listen to hisvoice.
He was communicating to them,he was giving them a clear
understanding of the issue andof the problem.
But a godly leader doesn't justpoint out the problems.
A godly leader calls others upto work with them.
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He says come, let us build thewall of Jerusalem that we may no
longer suffer derision.
Nehemiah issues again thisgreat call to all who would hear
his voice.
And when I was reading this, Icouldn't help but think of the
scene from Braveheart whereWilliam Wallace gets on his
horse and he's riding back andforth in front of the men who
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were getting ready to leave andgo back to their homes and to
lay down in their beds, and he'stalking about the cost of
freedom.
And are you going to be contentto lay down and beds?
And he's talking about the costof freedom.
And are you going to be contentto lay down?
And many years from now, youmay still be alive, but what
will it have cost you if youlose your freedom, your freedom?
Nehemiah, in a similar way, israllying the troops.
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He's saying let's get, let'sunderstand that we can do this
together, let's do this thingtogether.
He challenged their passion byasking them if they were content
to let the nations around themmock them and mock their God.
The nations around them weremocking them and mocking their
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God.
A godly leader must receive avision from God and then make it
clear to those that will worktogether with them.
Habakkuk 2 says this Write thevision, make it plain on tablets
so he may run.
Who reads it?
We're not given every detail ofNehemiah's plan, but we know he
had a plan Because we'll see aswe get into chapter three how
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that plan was executed.
And it's masterful.
It's really amazing how Godgave him such wisdom and insight
on how to make sure that thingswere done in a way that would
end up bringing glory and honorto God.
And finally, a godly leader isunder authority.
What do you mean?
I have authority if I'm a godlyleader.
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We have authority because we'vebeen given authority right.
Nehemiah goes on to say and Itold 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.
Nehemiah had been given a burdenfrom God to rebuild the walls
of Jerusalem, and God's favorwas on him to do the task that
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he had the burden to do.
Not only that, but the king ofPersia, a foreign king who was
holding Israelites captive, senthim with his blessings, with
supplies, with funding, tocomplete the job.
He wasn't a lone ranger.
Friends, we cannot afford to belone rangers.
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I think Kelly brought this upin the first message.
We are not called to live thisChristian life alone.
We're called to run together.
He used the authority God gavehim to steward his greatest
resource of all.
What was the greatest resourcehe had?
All of the stones that werethere in disarray?
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Was it the wood that he broughtfrom Persia?
Was it the metal that theblacksmiths had made for locks?
Was it, you know?
Was it the supply of financesand gold to be able to purchase
anything that needed to bepurchased?
What was the greatest resourceout of the call of God that was
on his life?
The greatest resource was thepeople.
Leaders, please understand yourgreatest resources is not your
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company or your money or yourability to command others.
Your greatest resource are thepeople who serve with you, the
people who work with you, thepeople who walk with you.
Let's not take for granted ourchildren, right?
Let's not take for grantedemployees.
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Let's not take for grantedthose that are in our community
groups.
Let's not take for grantedthose who are part of this
church.
Let's not take for granted thechildren that are back here in
the children's ministry.
Do you know?
They're not just futureparticipants of this church.
They're with us, they're a partof us and we have the privilege
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of stewarding them by the graceof God.
So not only do we need godlyleadership, but in order to have
a team, what else do you haveto have?
You can have a lot of leadersand have no what Chief or
followers.
Right, we need some workers, weneed some followers.
A team is essential forteamwork.
I know that this is not rocketscience today, but the word of
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God sometimes is very plain, andI'm glad that it is because I
need it to be plain.
What I need is the Holy Spiritto stir me up so that I become
passionate about the things thatGod is passionate about.
And they said let us rise upand build.
So they strengthened theirhands for the good work.
I'm going to show you a picturenow.
This is Jerusalem.
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This is a rendering, obviously.
No, it's a picture.
It's a rendering of Jerusalem,and this is with the completed
walls, and you can see it there.
And you see all of thedifferent gates.
I love the fact that the gates alot of them were pretty simple,
like fish gate.
What do you think that was for,yeah, it's, the fishermen would
bring their fish in and therewas a fish market there, right?
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The dung gate.
What was the dung gate for?
Nobody wants to say.
That's where all the trash went.
Okay, outside of the city,outside of the city, the
fountain gate, the water gate,on and on and on the horse gate,
pretty simple, and we're goingto talk about the sheep gate in
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just a minute.
But look at this If you look atthe fish gate, that's where the
sheep gate, up at the top,that's where the work began, and
they worked counterclockwisearound the walls all the way
around back to the sheep gate.
It's about a two milecircumference from one end to
the other.
So just picture that, thinkabout no power tools, just
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picture that, think about nopower tools, no lifts, no large
moving vehicles.
And if you've ever been toIsrael and you've seen what
remains of the wall of Jerusalem, you understand that this was
some large stone work.
This was a big deal, right?
Everybody getting an image ofthat, everybody getting an image
of that.
So chapter 3 begins to describehow, under Nehemiah's leadership
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, different parts of the citywall were rebuilt by groups.
There were 42 sections of thewall that this chapter speaks
about 42 sections and 12 gates.
There's 10 gates that arementioned in this chapter, but
there were 12 gates.
There's 10 gates that arementioned in this chapter, but
there were 12 gates in Jerusalem.
So, the spiritual leaders,first of all.
We talked about leadership.
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Let's look at even the workitself.
Spiritual leaders set anexample.
Look at Nehemiah 3, verse 1.
Then Eliashib, the high priest,rose up with his brothers, the
priests, and they built thesheep gate.
They consecrated it and set itsdoors.
They consecrated it as far asthe tower of the hundred, as far
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as the tower of Hananel.
We lead, first of all, byexample.
It's one of the things I loveabout the leaders in this church
.
We all have this mindset and wedon't do it perfectly.
We need your prayers, but wehave this mindset that we are
servant leaders.
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God has made us servants and wehave the privilege of leading.
It's fitting that the highpriest should set the example.
He was placed in charge ofrebuilding the sheep gate.
And what was the purpose of thesheep gate?
This is where the sheep wouldhave been brought in.
In order to what?
In order to be sacrificed onthe temple altar, to atone for
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the sins of the people Thinkabout it like this.
There's no way that this highpriest could have understood at
the time the importance of thisgate being restored.
How many of you know that therewould be another lamb who would
walk through this gate?
Behold the Lamb of God whotakes away the sin of the world.
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And we know that he did because, if you look at John, chapter 5
, verse 1, it says this afterthis, there was a feast of the
world.
And we know that he did because, if you look at John 5, verse 1
, it says this After this, therewas a feast of the Jews and
Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Now there is in Jerusalem, bythe Sheep Gate, a pool, an
Aramaic called Bethesda, whichhas five roofed colonnades.
In these lay a multitude ofinvalids blind, lame and
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paralyzed.
One man was there who had beenan invalid for 38 years.
Just think about that.
When Jesus saw him lying thereand knew that he had already
been there a long time, he saidto him do you want to be healed,
boy?
That seems like a strangequestion.
What was he looking for?
Jesus was looking for faith inthis man.
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The sick man answered and saidSir, I have no one to put me in
the pool when the water isstirred up.
I've been here 38 years.
I've tried and I've tried andI've tried.
And while I'm going anothersteps down before me, jesus said
to him Get up, take up your bedand walk.
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And at once the man was healedand he took up his bed and
walked.
Jesus Christ, the Savior of theworld, the Messiah, is the Lamb
of God who takes away the sinof the world.
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The perfect sacrifice.
Put your faith and hope andtrust in him today.
Amen, amen.
Secondly, another important partabout the team is a diverse
team contributed.
First of all, there wereIsraelites from outside of
Jerusalem that came to help.
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The Jews in Jerusalem, wereassisted in their building
operations by their fellowcountrymen who lived in the
surrounding area.
Chapter 3 talks about the menof Jericho they knew something
about walls right.
The men of Tekoa, the men fromGibeon and Mizpah, the residents
of Zenoa, those of the districtof Beth-Zer and the district of
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Keilah.
All of these different groupscame to Jerusalem or were in
Jerusalem and agreed toparticipate in the rebuilding
process.
Let's use the Tekoites for anexample.
In verse five it says and nextnext to them, the Tekoites
repaired, but their nobles wouldnot stoop to serve their Lord,
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what the people of Tekoawillingly served, but their
nobles would not bow their knees, would not stoop themselves
down to participate in servingin this venture.
I know that some of you haveleaders in your life who are not
(23:44):
on board with you followingChrist, who are not on board
with you being obedient to thecommandments of God, who are not
on board with you pursuingJesus.
This is the one space where wehave to make a decision to
follow someone greater.
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If we had to choose between anearthly leader attempting to
pull us away from God and Jesus,king of kings and Lord of lords
, how many of you know Jesus isthe only answer.
So I just want to encourage youthat I know it may be difficult
and we're praying for you andif we can help you and be
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supportive of you, please let usknow.
I know how difficult.
I don't know because I haven'tfully experienced it but I want
to know, I want to understandhow difficult it must be for you
.
But when it comes to this typeof thing, follow Jesus, follow
Jesus.
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I know my mom did this for wellover a year, as my dad ridiculed
her and mocked her and said shewas weak, and only the weak,
need Jesus.
Until one day my dad bowed hisknee, took off his hat and gave
his heart and soul to JesusChrist.
Your labor is not in vain.
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The Tekoaites were so into this.
They were so I'm trying tothink of the right word
connected Verse 27,.
It says after him, the Tekoitesrepaired another section
opposite the great projectingtower, as far as the wall of
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Ophel.
They got done with their partand they're like give us more.
We want to do more.
Is there anything else that wecan do?
I'm sure the leaders wereexcited with that right.
So much diversity, so manydifferent types of people that
were there that were a part ofthis.
They're also with people withvarying gifts and occupations.
(25:55):
Very few actual builders seemto contribute to the project.
That's crazy to me.
It seems like to me you'd putout a call for all of the stone
workers, for all of those whoknow how to make wood straight
and square and know how tofortify things, all of those who
have experience you come and bea part of this.
No, it was all who are willingcome.
(26:19):
There were goldsmiths andperfumers, several that were
called rulers, and also somewomen.
Come on.
In the Old Testament.
Some women contributed to thisproject.
(26:39):
How many of you know, god loveswomen.
God loves women and the Churchof Jesus Christ in the largest
part in America has beensustained throughout the
generations by women who fall ontheir knees before him and cry
out to him for their families,for their husbands and for the
(27:01):
world.
Now, men, men, I'm saying men,men, hear the call.
It's time to step up.
It's time to step up, it's timeto get back, it's time to lead
spiritually.
It's one thing to command yourwife to do something or to
(27:24):
command your children to dosomething in anger and in wrath.
It's another thing to lovinglylead them, like Christ leads his
church.
You know, this is an example.
This Old Testament reality is anexample of what the body of
(27:46):
Christ is like.
It really is.
We are all needed in order tosee God's purposes fulfilled.
Look at 1 Corinthians 12, verse14.
For the body does not consistof one member, but of many.
If the foot should say, becauseI'm not a hand, I do not belong
to the body, that would notmake it any less a part of the
body.
And if the ear should say,because I'm not an eye, I do not
(28:10):
belong to the body.
That would not make it any lessa part of the body.
If the whole body were an eye,if the whole body were an ear,
where would be the sense ofsmell?
But as it is, god arranged themembers in the body, each one of
them, as he chose.
If all were a single member,where would the body be as it is
(28:32):
, there are many parts, yet onebody.
Be who God made you to be.
How many of you know, we canwork on the same types of
activities, the same sort ofprojects, the same sort of.
We can follow the same, be apart of the same mission, and
yet each one of us brings to thetable our particular slant.
(28:56):
I wonder if the gold workers youknow dressed up their side of
the wall a little bitdifferently and put some gold
leaf here and there, or maybemade some little ornamental
things?
I don't know.
Maybe the perfumers you knowsoaked the stones with some kind
of beautiful smelling aroma.
I don't know what they did, butall of them worked together for
(29:17):
the purpose of rebuilding thewall.
Not only that, but team memberswere placed strategically.
Strategically, god is a God oforder and he's a God of strategy
, and he knows what he's doing.
First of all, when it waspossible, he placed them close
(29:37):
to their own homes.
Why was that important?
Why was it important forNehemiah to place those who were
working close to their ownhomes?
Yeah yeah, pride in their work,ownership, all of those things
right.
When Nehemiah organized thework, he adopted the policy,
(29:58):
like I said, wherever possible,of assigning a particular person
to repair the part of the wallwhich was opposite his house,
for this would encourage thatperson to work hard so as to
ensure that his own home andfamily would be well protected.
It was in their own interesteven to help rebuild this
portion of the wall.
(30:20):
What's in front of your houseright now of the wall?
What's in front of your houseright now?
As you look out the windows ofyour house right now, what do
you see that needs to bereordered?
Where do you see areas that arebroken and disheveled?
What is it that God's put rightin front of you?
Are we being faithful with that?
So many times, we talk aboutwanting to go to foreign nations
(30:44):
and faraway places to preachthe gospel of Jesus Christ, and
is that important?
Absolutely so.
This church that's a big partof what we do, but how many of
you know God's placed you in aneighborhood, people all around
you.
I was thinking about that thismorning as we were driving out
and people were walking theirdogs and I was thinking we
(31:05):
really haven't done a great jobyet of reaching them for Jesus.
What's right in front of myhouse and how can I be involved
actively and passionately in thebuilding of the kingdom of God?
Not only were they close totheir homes, but they were also
placed next to each other.
(31:27):
Twelve times in chapter threeit says that they were next to
the person or the people thatwere next to them.
I said it again it wasimportant for each team member
to acknowledge the fact thatthey were serving next to others
because, although they wereworking independently of the
people next to them, they wouldcomplete this job as a team,
(31:54):
each one doing their work nextto each other.
I'm sure that there wascamaraderie.
I'm sure if these were normalhuman beings, what else was
there?
There's probably somecompetition.
Probably somebody cried out youcall that a wall.
I'm sure there were some thatwere saying that's a weird color
(32:18):
all of these things.
But they were all activelyinvolved and they were working
next to each other.
Who has God placed you next to?
I don't like that person.
Hey, talk to God.
He's the strategist, he's theone that's placed us next to
(32:38):
those people.
And God forbid, please tell meyou're not saying that about
your husband or your wife.
God forbid, please tell meyou're not saying that about
your husband or your wife.
If you are, call the churchoffice and let's set up a time
to get together and do somecounseling.
But God has placed us next topeople for a reason, for a
(32:58):
purpose, right?
So let's link arms.
And, by the way, nehemiah 3, aswe read this, it reads it as a
completed project.
Guess what we're going to findout in the next few weeks.
The project is far from over.
There are all kinds ofdisturbances and things that are
going to try to interrupt theflow of things, but Nehemiah is
giving an overview and he'smentioning all of these people's
(33:20):
names and all of these groupsof people that were such an
essential part of this passionproject.
Friends, let's not unlock armsand move away from each other
(33:43):
unless God's the one that doesit.
If God's called you to be apart of this church, let's link
arms, let's look at what's infront of us and let's work
together to fulfill his purpose.
And finally, god places a highvalue on teamwork.
How do we know that?
(34:04):
Let's look at Psalm 133.
It says Behold how good andpleasant it is when brothers
dwell in unity.
It is like the precious oil onthe head running down on the
beard, on the beard of Aaron,running down on the collar of
his robes.
It is like the dew of Hermonwhich falls on the mountains of
(34:28):
Zion.
Is God a God of unity?
Is God a God of teamwork?
Is God a God of teamwork?
Is God a God that overlooks anddoesn't care about division and
(34:49):
strife and backbiting?
God wants that to stop.
If there are marriages that arein trouble, those who are
married have a choice to makeand I'm praying for you that you
will make the right choice tofollow after God, to pursue Him,
(35:14):
and I'm praying for you that,whenever it is at all possible
that there will be forgivenessand restoration and redemption.
Also praying that for families.
I know that there are somefamilies that are ostracized
from one another.
When it's within your power todo so, would you consider
humbling yourself and reachingout and loving, with boundaries
(35:40):
that are healthy?
I understand that, but wouldyou consider being that person
and being passionate aboutrestoration, about relationship
and within our church as well.
We could all just come togetheron Sundays and we do, and I'm
so grateful for that.
But, man, wouldn't it be betterif we could have meals together,
(36:03):
if we could see each other atWalmart and not duck and hide,
but we'd go find each other andwe'd spend 30 minutes just
catching up, just because wecan't hardly stand being apart?
Wouldn't it be amazing if we,as a group of people, as a
church, decided that we weregoing to follow God when it
(36:25):
comes to being passionate aboutthe things that he's passionate
about?
How would the world change ifthe Christians in America would
put God's priorities as theirpriorities?
My friends, we are not waitingfor the government to change
this country.
We are not waiting for thegovernment to change this
country.
God's the only one that canchange the heart of people, and
(36:47):
how does he do that?
A lot of times, he does itthrough Christians who are not
perfect but who are attempting,by God's grace, to live out the
values and the truths that arefound in the word of God.
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