Rebuilding Lives Together: From Walls to Living Stones

``This is the work that god came to do to build us, to build his people into a great, beautiful city and and Jesus doesn't come to fortify Jerusalem. He comes to form a body. He comes to form a people, and he himself. He becomes the cornerstone. This is all built on Jesus. He bears the the the weight of the fracture that sin introduced to the world. And what the scripture teaches us is this, that we are being built together in him to become a dwelling in which god's spirit lives. That's how important this message is. [01:07:48] (39 seconds)  #RebuiltTogether

And and listen, when you look at the Wall Of Jerusalem that Nehemiah and all the people rebuilding, the wall doesn't stand because everyone does does the same amount. That's not why the wall stands. It stands because everyone showed up. That's important. Everyone showed up. This is inherent in the kingdom of God. Some people rebuild gates. Some people repair long stretches of the wall. Some people work near their homes. You'll see that. Some gave leadership. Right? But everyone owned a section, and they trusted the people beside them to own their section. Do you see? [00:53:00] (43 seconds)

This is kind of the thesis of the whole thing today because the the text that we're gonna look at puts this tension right in our our faces. And it says this, if if you want god to rebuild in your life what's broken, And I know people are tuned into that because with all these broken parts, if you want god to rebuild, you gotta understand that that renewal requires you to need other people. That kind of renewal you're looking for, that kind of rebuilding that you desire in your life, it actually requires that you need other people. [00:45:15] (40 seconds)

This is why it matters. Because groups have a way of training our hearts, training us in ordinary faithfulness. You know, in in a discipline of staying and showing up when things are inconvenient and being present when the work feels small. These are the kind of things that being a part of group will will bore birth in your heart. Because in groups, burdens get carried. In groups, names are known. That's a good thing. You're known. You know, in a group, no one is expected to build be be rebuilding alone in their life and being renewed alone. [00:59:40] (47 seconds)

You know? And and here's what I think is easy to maybe miss about that particular art form, kintsugi. It it only works listen. It only works if the broken pieces are gathered together and joined. It's the only way it works. If the broken pieces aren't gathered, aren't put together, then there's no beauty. There's nothing that emerges. You know, if the if the fragments remain separated, if if each piece were to insist, it's silly to even think, on being repaired on its own. I mean, come on. It's crazy. Well, then there's no vessel to restore. [01:09:29] (41 seconds)

You see Joe and Sue Sweeney taking the lead and taking on human trafficking. What happens? People get behind them. They say, we're in this too. We're gonna give money to this. We're gonna pray for this. We're gonna support it. That's what you see happening here. And in fact, you'll see over and over again that the text is gonna repeat the same phrase over and over next to him, dot dot dot. Next to them, dot dot dot, because people are joining in. It's repetitive, and that's intentional. Because what you're seeing here, what you're about to see is the rhythm of restoration, the rhythm of renewal. That's what God's doing. No one builds the whole wall by themselves. Everyone rebuilds a section. This is what you're gonna see. [00:49:55] (47 seconds)

And Nehemiah, he records the name. I guess I'm thankful for it. Why does he preserve all these names? I thought about it this week. I'm trying to learn these names. Why does he do this? Because god remembers what the world overlooks. You know? Ordinary obedience matters and and and no faithfulness is wasted. This all prepares us for Christ. Okay? So I I wanna show you something here because remember, Nehemiah is not ultimately about walls. We talk about walls a lot, not about walls. Walls could protect the city, but but walls cannot heal a people. [01:06:31] (35 seconds)

And so listen. Here here's what I'm I'm kind of putting my finger on this morning for us. Autonomy keeps god's design for your life, for our life at arm's length. It pushes it away. You know, so when so when someone says, well, just me and Jesus. Yeah. In the deepest sense, that's true. I can appreciate what someone might be thinking. But but the Jesus that you deeply need will often meet you through the people that he joins you to. You see this? [00:44:38] (38 seconds)