“Rebuilding For His Presence”
"O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands,
6let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s house, have committed against you.
7We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.
8"Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, `If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations,
9but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’
10"They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand.
11O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man."
Nehemiah 1:5-11 NIV
“Lord, let your Word pierce the hearts of all who listen, let it cut to the very center of our souls, let your Word compel us to the point of surrender. To the point of surrendering ourselves into your hand. Let your hand guide us, and let your power protect us and let your wisdom teach us this day, My God, My redeemer, My friend.”
From the beginning of the book of Nehemiah, you see where Nehemiah is bent on rebuilding the walls of Israel, and if we look closely, we can also see a good example of rebuilding our own spiritual lives.
Throughout their history, the Jews had drawn strength from two sources besides the Law.
¸ One was the temple, where they worshiped God.
It was a magnificently beautiful building in which they met God.
¸ The other was their leadership--first Moses, then Joshua, then the judges, and finally David and his offspring, the kings.
The Disappointing Reality was this:
Though they had the temple, and though they had great leadership in their past, these things had not saved them from disgrace.
The temple? For all its splendor it had become a meaningless symbol to most Jews.
They had even put idols in it.
God had finally allowed the Babylonians to burn the temple down.
After the exile the Jews had made rebuilding the temple their first priority (see Ezra 1-6).
But it was no longer an automatic insurance policy.
They could never again see the building as a substitute for real devotion to God.
Their leaders? Not one king, over hundreds of years, had come close to matching God’s ideal. They had missed God’s will for His people, and had continued in their plans for greatness.
Most kings had been scoundrels--descendants of David in name only.
After the exile, Israel had no king of its own.
The Israelites were under the thumb of a Persian, who was determined to keep all power himself.
The Power of the Word
Then, finally, they turned to another source of power: the Word of God. The great gathering of Nehemiah Chapter 8 stands in contrast to temples and kings.
The splendor of jewels and crowns is replaced by a single man atop a wooden platform, reading from a simple scroll.
Yet the words he reads, carefully explained to all, show their power in the way they affect those who hear them.
The people are moved to praise God, to weep over their sins, to change their behavior, and to make renewed promises to God.
From this time on, the Jews were known as the people of the book..
They lived under foreign domination, so their political leadership became secondary.
Their temple, while important, was never again a guarantee of God’s presence.
Increasingly they studied God’s law and tried to obey it. Israelites found their unique strength neither in government nor in worship rituals, but in reverence for God’s written Word.
Now, back to the walls
Now, the walls were in ruin, and Nehemiah received word that the outlook was not good, so he prayed the prayer that I opened up with at the beginning, then went in to the king for he was the cupbearer, and the king saw that he was sad. Generally, the king could put you to death if you were to bring in a sad countenance to the throne room. But, Nehemiah had prayed for favor. He received favor, and went on to rebuild the walls. But He faced many stumbling blocks:
1. He had to rally the people to help him in the rebuilding process.
¸ We need to rally together in order for this church to be rebuilt. I’m not talking about the building, I’m talking about the people.
¸ Stop talking about what used to be, and start talking about what’s happening now, and what this church is going to be!
2. He then had to tolerate the intimidation of others while he was building the wall. (i.e. ~ Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem) They despised what Nehemiah was doing, because they were afraid of the strength that Israel would gain from working together, and from rebuilding their fortress.
These guys went to great lengths to discourage Nehemiah from rebuilding the wall, but to no avail. They hired people from within to tell Nehemiah, that the enemy was coming to kill him, but He would have none of it. He told them, “Hey, I’m up here on this wall doing a great work, and I’m not coming down for you, or anybody.”
Folks, It’s past time to get an attitude about our congregation just like that.
If someone tells you it’s not worth it, then tell them,
give up. I’m not coming down.
If someone laughs at you, tell them,
that’s OK, I’m still not coming down.
I’m doing a good work!
¸ It’s time to come together as a body that wants this church to become everything God wants it to be.
¸ It’s time to forget the intimidation of the past.
¸ It’s time to forget the disagreements of the past.
¸ It’s time to get over it! It’s time to build God’s church!
I believe that now is a good time to give this church a prophetic message from the Word of God. If you will look into the book of Haggai, Chapter 2, verses 3-10, it is speaking of a time frame that is a little while before we see the wall getting rebuilt. It is speaking of the temple. And it is an attempt to encourage the Jews to resume their work on the temple.
3`Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing?
4But now be strong, O Zerubbabel,’ declares the LORD. `Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the LORD, `and work. For I am with you,’ declares the LORD Almighty.
5`This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’
6"This is what the LORD Almighty says: `In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. 7I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD Almighty. 8`The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the LORD Almighty. 9`The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the LORD Almighty. `And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the LORD Almighty."
Great words from the Bible that encourage the people to resume building the temple.
But I am not speaking to you tonight concerning rebuilding the temple.
I am speaking to you tonight under the authority of God almighty attempting to compel this body of believers to build the house of worship that God wants.
Not necessarily the edifice, but the place that houses God’s Glory.
I am interested in His glory, not in the glory of man.
All I want to know is that He has visited in our midst, and let everything else take care of itself.
When our priority becomes inviting His presence, then and only then will we be able to encounter the God ordained, Heaven sent, Holy Presence of the Almighty in our lives, in our homes, and in our place of worship.
Buildings are pretty, but I am after His glory.
I’m talking about Jesus
I’m talking bout His Glory
His Righteousness
His Holiness
He’s The Lamb Of God
And Someday He’s Coming again
I’m telling you about Jesus
He’s The Savior
He’s The Healer
The WayMaker
The Warrior
Praise God He’s Coming Again!
I can’t take this building with me, But I can take Him wherever I go.
Is there anyone in this house tonight that is of the same mind and of the same accord? If so, then shout
send us your presence, Lord! Nothing else will do! I want your presence!
Come on now, Do you mean that?
Do you really want His presence?
Someone give Him the praise He deserves.
Offer a sacrifice tonight.
Don’t hold back.. Don’t hold anything back.!
Give it all to Him tonight! Praise Him! Praise Him in this place tonight!
Listen to this:
Ezra stood on a wooden platform, reading from a simple scroll
Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly.... He read it aloud from daybreak till noon. Nehemiah 8:2-3
Picture it: a vast, hushed crowd watching as Ezra ascends a newly built platform in the square.
As he opens the book, they stand up.
(Why don’t we stand for the reading of God’s Word Until Someone Asks Us To? Is It Not As Important To Us?)
They praise God, hands lifted high;
then they bow down, faces in the dirt.
Ezra begins to read. His helpers circulate in the crowd, explaining and interpreting what God’s Word says.
The people listen attentively.
And then a strange sound begins to rise, spreading through the multitude.
It is the sound of weeping.
The weeping becomes louder, and more intense.
The weeping turns to repentance.
Repentance of forgotten promises,
of incomplete obedience to God their Father.
The weeping becomes cleansing, and restoration.
The weeping becomes praise, and adoration.
The praise and adoration becomes a fresh beginning for the children of God to see the restoration of the promised land, and the abundance that God had promised them as long as they remained loyal to Him.
The Law Ezra read was very ancient, but that day marked something new.
The Jews were becoming, in a way they had never been before, a people of the book. They were being rebuilt, with material as strong as the stones in their newly built city wall.
Let me read one more scripture to you, and do with this what you want.
II Chronicles 7:12 – 16
12the LORD appeared to him (Solomon) at night and said: "I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.
13"When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. 16I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
I am hungry for His Presence. Nothing else is going to do.
Will you join with me?
Is your worship fashioned from your hunger, or from religious practice?
I am tired of religious activity.
I am ready for a move of God like I’ve never experienced!
I am ready to do whatever I need, to get there!
Our YOUth are there as well! They have told me that they want revival, and that they want the adults to know that it can start with them as well as anyone else. They are hungry for God.
I want to see them find Him.
My passion is to find Him.
Where is your passion?
I want HIM TO WANT TO COME HERE!
I want Him to know that He is welcome in His full Glory and His entire train can fill this temple.
I want Him!
