Ruin, Return, Rebuilder: Rebuilding Life by Prayer

And that's why the the word here that's used, remnant, is is really important. Because a remnant is is more about God's covenant than it is about the number of people. The the remnant exists because of grace. What we're seeing here at the beginning of Nehemiah is a people preserved so that God's purposes can continue. So, again, at the heart of this book, at the heart of this new year, at the heart of this message that we're gonna hear today is this, It's a promise. And the promise is this. Despite all the troubles and I'm just talking about the ancient people. Despite all the troubles, despite the instability, despite the humiliation, despite the weakness, God is able to renew what remains in your life. [00:42:32] (57 seconds)  #GodsRemnant

You know, the the obsession with pleasure that you see in the fall of civilizations. It could look like substance abuse. It can look like, you know, materialism, gluttony, sexual perversion, all those and more. And and what happens to a civilization what happens to a life is that faith will will begin to fade into formality. Faith becomes something that's just, you know, something that that loses its relevance to to real life. It becomes something that's ultimately, you know, without real commitment. [00:47:27] (37 seconds)  #SurrenderToHeal

Well, often, it's because of this. There's no recognition of God as a necessary part of the process. We're we're we're trying and lean on self help techniques. We need more than that. We don't need that at all. What we need is God. The most widespread, it's an illusion, by the way. This is a secular illusion. The most widespread secular illusion today is is that we do not need God for our lives. We're affluent. We have everything we need at the touch of a button. What do we need God for? [00:48:55] (37 seconds)  #OnlyGodRebuilds

And it's an illusion that many of us are trapped in. We think we can function adequately without God. And even people who follow Jesus, I'm telling you, even those of us who follow Jesus, we could fall into this pattern. I know I do. You know? And and I'm I'm dependent on myself before I know it, ignoring my own need for God. The the book of Nehemiah teaches us something that is essential for living. Only God can rebuild what sin and self reliance have ruined. And that's we're looking at. We're looking at ruins here. [00:49:32] (39 seconds)  #GodRestoresPeople

You ever felt that way? That's what it feels like when the walls are broken down. He had nowhere left to run, and it was there in surrender that God broke through in his life. He encountered God. And this guy, he was an ex marine captain. This was a White House tough guy. He sat in his car. He tells the story, and and he wept over the broken down walls of his life. And and he cried out to Jesus Christ. He prayed, and this is where the rebuilding his life began. [00:52:12] (38 seconds)  #WeNeedGod

K. Let's let's stop there. You know, Colson prayed because he had nothing else. Nehemiah prays here because he knows nothing else will work. He's not counting on anything else. It's actually the same instinct. Nehemiah and Coulson, same posture, same God, of course. And here's what Nehemiah is willing to do. He's willing to face the facts. He weeps over them. And most importantly, he's he's willing to tell God all about it. All about it. Nothing hidden. Nehemiah, he prays. It says day and night. And this, come on, this is where renewal begins. You want some renewal? You want some build up walls in your life? It begins with prayer. Always does. [00:55:13] (51 seconds)  #FaithBeyondFormality

You know, the Jewish people knew that the Messiah was to come from from them, from Israel. And that's why we highlighted the word earlier, remnant. The remnant existed not because the people were strong, but because God was faithful. Do you see? There's a remnant. And and God preserves people so that his promises can march forward. Renewal isn't just about you. It's not just about you. You'll be touched by it, but it's about what God intends to do through you. This is what we see here as he calls upon the scriptures. And so listen again. As as God is renewing your life, here's what God will do. He will train you to see your circumstances through the the lens of his promises. And those promises are not only to bless you, they're to bless others as well. [01:02:24] (63 seconds)  #PrayerStartsRenewal

``He lived along among the brokenness, and ultimately, he took on the ruin. He took on the the brokenness that our sin deserved. You know, for Nehemiah, the the chance of of persecution, maybe even assassination was significant. That was a real problem for him. That was a real challenge. But but Jesus came for us with the certainty of death. It was clear that he was going to face. He knew it. And because Jesus Christ did what he did, because he accomplished what he accomplished, he died. He rose again. Because of this, renewal's possible. There's nothing. There's no life that can't be redeemed. [01:07:41] (51 seconds)  #RenewalIsPossible