Nehemiah // Rev. Craig Gyergyo

Yet the New Testament teaches us something deeper. Okay? And and what the New Testament teaches us is that God ultimately doesn't desire to to dwell in a city or in a building. That that's not the idea. Here's what he desires. God seeks to dwell to live in a human heart. In a human heart. This is profound. There's no other god like this, and and and we lose sight of it. We make it about religion. [00:07:17] (36 seconds)  #GodDwellsInHearts

And even people today who follow Jesus. Look. We fall into this trap. We fall into the same pattern. I do. I do. You know, I I I end up depending on myself. I I I I end up ignoring my need for God personally. It's like, Lord, help me. So it's easy to go to that place. The book of Nehemiah is is revealing something very essential to living, and that's this. Only God can rebuild what sin and your self reliance have ruined. This this is the book of Nehemiah. This is why it's so exciting. This is why this is a fun ride. Yeah. Only God. Only God can rebuild. [00:19:44] (46 seconds)  #OnlyGodCanRebuild

when he had nowhere left to run, and some of you know what I'm talking about. When the walls are broken down, he had nowhere left to run, and it was there in surrender that that he finally, personally encountered God. The God who who comes to dwell with us. I mean, here this guy is. He's an ex marine captain. He's a bad dude. He is a he is a White House tough guy, and he wept in his car. He tells the story about the broken down walls of his life, and here's what he did in that car. He he cried out to Jesus Christ. He prayed. And and when he prayed, that was the moment. That was the moment when God began to rebuild his life. [00:22:41] (52 seconds)  #SurrenderFoundRenewal

And and here's what Nehemiah was willing to do. He was willing to face the facts. He was willing to weep over them, to mourn over them. And most importantly, he was willing, ready, honest enough to tell God about it all. Man, that's a lesson for us right there. And here he prays day and night. If you look closely at the text, for months he did this. For months. This wasn't a one time prayer. Thank you, Lord. Amen. No. For months, he fasted, he prayed. And this is listen. This is where renewal always begins. At the feet of God. [00:26:42] (44 seconds)  #PrayerThatLeadsToRenewal

You know, he's not the kind of guy that says, oh, Lord, you know, would you would you just be with me as I think about all those terrible sinners, you know, back in Baltimore, you know, with with their little purple sad broken down walls. Could could you help out those poor souls there? You know what I'm talking about by the way. Check back with me next week. We'll see how we feel about this. He he's not pointing the finger at someone else and pointing out their sins. He puts himself in the picture. He says, I have sinned. Come on. He says, I have sinned. He says, we have acted corruptly. You know, that's that's that's a gutsy thing. That's an honest thing though. [00:30:17] (50 seconds)  #HonestRepentance

``And that's what he does. Confession and repentance have a way of opening the door. And here's the the next little thing you might wanna write down. Because when God renews your life, here's what he does. He loosens your grip and all the the self defense mechanisms you've got, and and he teaches you the truth about your own sin. That's the big breakthrough. Was a huge breakthrough in my own life. When you started to tell me the truth about my own sin. But here's what you're met with immediately. You're you're met with the the truth of your own sin and amazing love, amazing grace at the same time, and the grace and the love overwhelm the sin. [00:31:46] (40 seconds)  #ConfessAndFindGrace

Interesting. He was a builder because he would take up the greatest rebuilding work ultimately on himself, and he took on our ruin. He took on our sin through his death, through his body on the cross. You know, for for Nehemiah, as he leaves the palace and gets into this work, there there was the threat of persecution. There was a threat of even assassination. But for Jesus, it came with the certainty of death. There was no doubt about what what this would require of him. And because Jesus Christ stared that down, and he gave himself on the cross, he died, and he rose again because of this. Renewals possible. That's why this is fun. [00:40:09] (56 seconds)  #ChristRebuildsRuins

Your life can be rebuilt. And here's what God does. By the Holy Spirit, he's convicting you even now. And he's calling you because he wants to do renewal, and and he wants to strengthen you from the inside out with newness of life. Hey. Walls can be rebuilt. You're gonna see it in this book. You see it in the lives of others. Young Lives is doing it. Lives can be rebuilt. Walls can be rebuilt. Hearts can be renewed. And all of this is because Christ rebuilds you from the inside out. [00:41:06] (47 seconds)  #RebuiltFromInsideOut