Look at somebody and say, Neighbor, you may have thrown it away, but God still sees value in it.
Say it again with some power: There is values even in the rubbish.
This morning, I want to preach to those who may feel discarded, overlooked, misjudged, misunderstood, underestimated, or thrown into life’s rubbish pile.
In fact, the Lord sent me to tell you: You are not trash; you are treasure.
And we’re going to use a scripture that’s rarely preached from, but it is rich, prophetic, and deeply tied to our theme.
Nehemiah was rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. Because the Babylonians had burned the walls, broken the stones, and left everything in what scripture calls a heaps of rubbish.
Notice that these weren’t small stones, instead these were huge architectural blocks that once held up the city.
The enemy Sanballat and Tobiah mocked Israel, laughing at them by saying:
They think they can rebuild with THOSE burnt stones?
Those useless stones?
Those broken stones?
Those discarded stones?
But what the enemy called burnt-out rubbish, God called the foundation for restoration.
Here is why they felt the way they did. Because in ancient times of construction, burnt stones were considered useless. Fire weakens stone, cracks it, and made it no longer desirable. But Israel didn’t need pretty stones, they needed purposeful stones.
What Babylon called trash…
God called building material.
What they didn’t understand is that GOD SPECIALIZES IN RUBBISH RESURRECTIONS
Nehemiah didn’t request new stones.
He didn’t order fresh material.
He didn’t beg for pristine marble from another nation.
He rebuilt with the broken.
He rebuilt with the burnt.
And He rebuilt with what people walked past.
Listen to me. God doesn’t wait until your life looks good to use you.
God says, give Me the pieces.
You may feel:
Burnt by betrayal
Cracked by disappointment
Weaken from the fire of life
Walked over by circumstances
But God says, You are STILL building material.
May I tell you that God can use the broken? Yes he can.
God can use the burnt?
In fact, God use what people throw away?
What people discards, God redeems.
Sanballat mocked them because he couldn’t understand why God would look in the rubbish and then use the rubbish.
But what he didn’t know is that: God can look past the trash and see the treasures.
Prove your point Pastor.
God used Moses after he was discarded from Egypt.
God used David after his father overlooked him.
God used Joseph after his brothers threw him away.
God used the woman at the well after society rejected her.
God used Jesus after the world crucified Him and tossed Him like rubbish.
There seems to be a pattern in scripture, that the discarded seems to become the chosen.
It’s like God has a habit of picking up what others have thrown down.
Tell your neighbor, I know that you are looking at me funny but I’m still valuable.
Tell them , I am a divine treasure.
Let me share with you that the rubbish is where God reveals his glory.
Look at what Nehemiah did. Nehemiah rebuilt the wall in 52 days. That was supernatural speed, not with perfect stones, but with damaged ones.
God is saying to somebody,
I will accelerate your life using the very things people said were useless.
I know that you have some: Past failures
Past pain
Past mistakes
Past trauma and some Past shame. But God is about to turn all of that into some building blocks.
Here it is. The rubbish heap is the birthplace of revival.
Because, God can rebuild your joy from the rubbish.
God can rebuild your reputation, rom the rubbish.
God can rebuild your ministry, from the rubbish.
Ok, let me say it like I feel it. God can rebuild your life, from the rubbish.
I’m reminded of a story about a man in New York City who would walk past a pile of trash every morning.
And one day, he saw an old painting leaning against a dumpster. It was dirty, torn on the edges, and covered in dust. It looked worthless.
Most people walked past it.
Some laughed at it.
A few even kicked it out of the way.
But it was something inside this man that said, let me take this home.
I heard that He cleaned it up.
Then He framed it. And then He took it to an appraiser.
It turns out that this what seemed like worthless painting was an original from a lost artist, that was valued at 1.5 million dollars.
The treasure was not shining.
The treasure was not polished.
The treasure was not beautiful.
The treasure was not even perfect.
But it was still valuable.
And for somebody that is listening to me this morning. Sometimes your value is hidden under the dirt and dust.
Sometimes it may be wearing a face of disappointment, damage, and discouragement.
But may I tell you that God sees what you’re really worth.
Look at your neighbor one more time and declare: there is value in the rubbish.
And if Nehemiah could rebuild a nation with burnt stones…
God can rebuild your life with your broken pieces.
If Israel used what the enemy mocked.
God can use what the world rejected.
Don’t you dare let anyone tell you that your life is trash.
Don’t you dare let your past, define your future.
Don’t you dare believe the lie that you are too broken, too burnt, or too damaged for God.
God says:
You are STILL valuable.
You are STILL usable.
You are STILL chosen.
There IS value in the rubbish.
I dare somebody to give God praise like He’s about to rebuild EVERYTHING with the pieces of your past.
