Fighting for Our Families: A Call to Commitment

### Bible Study Discussion Guide

#### Bible Reading
1. **Nehemiah 4:14** - "Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the nobles and the rest of the people and said to them, 'Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!'"
2. **Deuteronomy 6:4-7** - "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."
3. **Psalm 127:3** - "Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him."

#### Observation Questions
1. What did Nehemiah urge the people to remember and do in Nehemiah 4:14?
2. According to Deuteronomy 6:4-7, what are parents instructed to do with God's commandments?
3. How does Psalm 127:3 describe children, and what does this imply about our responsibility towards them?
4. In the sermon, what societal challenge was highlighted as a threat to families, and how does the church plan to address it? ([45:29])

#### Interpretation Questions
1. Why is it important to "remember the Lord" when facing opposition, as Nehemiah instructed? How can this perspective change our approach to challenges? ([48:20])
2. How does the command in Deuteronomy 6:4-7 to impress God's commandments on our children relate to the idea of building protective walls around our families?
3. The sermon mentioned the influence of media and technology on children. How does this align with the biblical instruction to guard what our children are exposed to? ([53:45])
4. What does the story of Nehemiah rebuilding the walls teach us about perseverance and community support in the face of opposition? ([47:02])

#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on your current family situation. What are some practical steps you can take to "fight for your family" as Nehemiah encouraged? ([48:20])
2. How can you ensure that your children or those you influence are exposed to content that aligns with biblical values? What changes might you need to make in your household? ([53:45])
3. Regular church attendance was emphasized as crucial for spiritual growth and family unity. How can you prioritize church involvement in your family's schedule? ([01:09:09])
4. Think about a time when you felt alone in your struggles. How can you reach out to your church community for support, and how can you be a support to others? ([01:06:11])
5. The sermon highlighted the importance of leading by example. What specific actions can you take to ensure your footsteps lead your family towards God? ([01:11:39])
6. How can you create intentional moments throughout your day to talk about God with your family, as instructed in Deuteronomy 6:4-7? ([02:37])
7. Identify one area where you feel the enemy is attacking your family. What steps can you take to build a "wall of protection" in that area, and how can your church community assist you? ([47:02])

Day 1: Covenant of Family Faithfulness
Child dedication is a sacred covenant that involves a commitment from parents to raise their children in the ways of the Lord, with the church playing a supportive role. This partnership is foundational for instilling faith within the family and guiding children towards a relationship with Christ. It is a promise that extends beyond a simple ceremony, embedding itself into the daily lives and decisions of the family. The church's role is not passive; it actively participates in nurturing the spiritual growth of its youngest members, providing resources, teaching, and a community of faith that surrounds the family with love, support, and accountability.

"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." - Proverbs 22:6 ESV

Reflection: How can you, as a parent or church member, actively contribute to the spiritual upbringing of the children in your community today? [01:49]

Day 2: Unity in the Spiritual Household
The church is more than a gathering; it is a family where every individual, regardless of their life stage, plays a crucial role. This spiritual household thrives on mutual support and the upholding of values that fortify communal bonds. Recognizing the collective responsibility to support one another is essential, as it reflects the interconnectedness of the body of Christ. Whether one is single, married, a parent, or a grandparent, their presence and contribution are invaluable to the strength and unity of the church family.

"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." - Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV

Reflection: In what ways can you actively engage in supporting and strengthening the bonds within your church family this week? [43:59]

Day 3: Perseverance in Spiritual Protection
The narrative of Nehemiah rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem serves as a poignant metaphor for the spiritual fortification required to protect our families. Just as Nehemiah faced opposition, families today encounter challenges that threaten their spiritual well-being. Perseverance and faith are key in overcoming these obstacles. With God's help and the support of a faith community, it is possible to build walls of protection that safeguard the family from spiritual attacks.

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." - Ephesians 6:12 ESV

Reflection: What are some practical steps you can take to build spiritual protection around your family in the face of opposition? [47:02]

Day 4: Vigilance in Guiding Children's Growth
In an age where media and technology heavily influence our children's development, it is imperative for parents and guardians to be vigilant. Monitoring and guiding children's content consumption is not only proactive but also prayerful work. It ensures that what they absorb aligns with biblical values and fosters a God-centered worldview. This responsibility requires discernment and an active role in shaping the environment in which children learn and grow.

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." - Philippians 4:8 ESV

Reflection: How can you help guide the media consumption of the children in your life to reflect Philippians 4:8 starting today? [53:45]

Day 5: Prioritizing Faith and Community
Regular church attendance and involvement are essential for spiritual growth and maintaining family unity. Prioritizing spiritual commitments over secular activities demonstrates to our children the value of faith and community. It is a tangible way to show the importance of nurturing our relationship with God and with fellow believers, setting a precedent for the next generation to follow.

"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." - Matthew 6:33 ESV

Reflection: What change can you make in your weekly routine to prioritize your spiritual growth and your family's involvement in church? [01:09:09]

Be right back. And the family. Yeah, come on up. You guys stand in front. Any family member that wants to come with you can stand behind you. And we'll do this today. Great. Awesome. It's good to see you guys. Awesome, Chris. Good.

So we look and we remember that God delights in children. Psalm 137 and 3 says, "Children are a gift from the Lord. They are a reward for him." So you guys need to understand that the kids that you have are gifts from God and they're rewards to you.

So today you've come to follow the example of Jesus. In Luke 2 and 22, it says, "40 days after the birth of her son, Mary's time of purification had completed." So Mary and Joseph took the baby Jesus to Jerusalem to dedicate him before the Lord.

So do I understand that you parents today want to dedicate your children, your child to the Lord today? Is that what we're doing? So we understand and know that there are three levels of this covenant.

First is you as parents with a relationship with Jesus Christ. It says, "The Lord your God is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength." This is a commandment of the Lord. So it's impossible for us to raise our children and honor God. That's why we have child dedication at church, is that we're saying, "I don't want to do this for myself, but I need." And so we fight for families because we believe in that.

And the second area of commitment is an internal decision, an intentional decision that we make to raise our kids the way that God would want them to be. One of my favorite verses is in Deuteronomy 6 and 4 and 7. It's a little long, but listen: "The Lord our God is one God. Love him with all your heart. Love him and write these commandments that I'm giving you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you. Get them inside of your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home, walking in the street. Talk to them when it's time for them to get up in the morning or to go to bed at night."

So based on that, it just says that we should use some critical times that we have: meal time. Instead of sitting and playing on the phone, we use that time to talk about God. I mean, as we're doing that. And drive time. Walking along the road at bedtime, at morning time, we use all those times to remind ourselves.

And the third level of commitment is participation. You're saying today by coming to the church, we want to participate with our families in commitment to what this church can do to help fight for our families. And Lisa is going to take care of that.

So is it my understanding, parents, that today you want to dedicate these children to the Lord? Is it my understanding that you want to do the best you can to be right of what God wants us to be? Okay. So upon that today, then I'm just saying, we, as a church, are going to partner with you to fight for you to fight for.

So I'd like to dedicate Chris, if I can, I mean, uh, Andres, if I can, sorry, maybe we dedicate you to Chris, right? Hey, buddy. Oh, look at that. Say it's your first time to be on the stage. So it's all good, isn't it? Oh, good.

So Father, we come to you and we bring Andres, and God, we thank you for parents that want to dedicate this child to the Lord. So in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we dedicate this beautiful child to you, Lord, in your name, Jesus. Chris, as father, I present him to you and I challenge you to be there for him, to be the example that the Lord would have for him the rest of the days of your life. Amen. It's a great decision. Great decision.

Well, Oliver, come to me. Come and see me. Let's come up on stage. We'll see what happens. Watch this. Watch this. We're going to be right here. We're going to be right here. We'll do it this way. Okay.

Father, we just, we thank you for Oliver. We thank you for this family that's bringing him today. And God, we dedicate this beautiful child to you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

We'd like for you to stand, if you would, and stretch out your hand. And we're going to pray for these parents. It's not an easy world right now to raise kids. But we know we have the hope that the Lord and his strength is there.

Father, we just pray right now for this family. We thank you, God, for leading them to you. And God, we thank you, God, that you will direct every step in your name, God. We just pray in your name. Lord, we thank you for this beautiful family. We just lay hands on them right now. We say, God, give them strength and guidance. And God, be there with them in your name. Amen. Amen.

Hey, let's worship the Lord. Let's worship the Lord. Thank you so much, Lord. Amen. Amen. Wow. It's great to see you today. I'm so glad that you came today. And those of you that are watching online, we welcome you. We're so thankful that you joined us today. Father's house, would you give him help to give us a warm welcome to our guests.

And I want to say, I love you guys. Thank you for being part of the Father's house. It's going to be a great day today. We're looking forward to what the Lord would speak to us. And we just thank him so much.

If you have your Bibles or your iPad, your iPhone, whatever you use, let's hold it up and let's make our confession today for the word.

This is my Bible. It is the word of God. It is life to me today. I receive the word. I confess my mind is alert. I am obedient in Jesus' name.

Father, we can never pray enough. And I like to never approach your word and the responsibility of me sharing with people in their destiny. So Holy Spirit, I say, I'm depending on you today. Help us to see something in the word today that maybe we've never seen before. We've looked at it, but you just give us a new, fresh insight.

Help us today to understand how much that we belong, that there's no one here that doesn't belong, that we are family. And I just pray, Holy Spirit, that you would anoint me because without you, I can do nothing. It's just empty words. And I pray at the end of this today, Lord, that more than anything else, that you will be glorified, magnified, lifted up, adored, and your saints would be edified, and the enemy would be terrified. Amen.

I'm talking today about fight for your family. Say that with me: Fight for your family. Most of you are aware of the Communist Manifesto that Karl Marx and Engels wrote and put together in 1848. It's actually the founding of the Communist Party. It's the foundational push towards socialism in our country today.

One of the tenets of the Communist Manifesto is they want to abolish the family, which they said would eventually bring the ineffectiveness and destroy the effectiveness of the church and would eventually destroy the moral values of our society. I mean, is that where we are today or not?

But here at the Father's House, let me say this very clearly today. I'm not saying that we're not going to abolish the family; it is at the heart of everything we do, everything we are. And I know when we talk about family, sometimes people say, "Well, I'm just a single person. I don't have a family yet." But listen to me. When I'm talking today about families, I'm talking about different family units.

For instance, you may be grandparents here today. You're family. You may be great-grandparents. You're family. You may be parents. You're family. You're family. You're family. You're single. But you're family. You're not alone. Maybe you're divorced or part of a blended family or a foster family. Maybe you're married with no kids. Whoever you are, we're telling you right now we will fight with you for your family. If you believe that today, give the Lord a hand clap and say amen.

So I know when I say we're going to fight for our families, then the next question that we ask is how are we going to fight for our families? So today we want to look into Nehemiah. It's in the Old Testament. And you can find that. And we're going to start there because I'm going to read a lengthy passage.

Nehemiah chapter four. We're going to see some valuable insights and I think will inspire us. Now, let me remind you just really quickly about Nehemiah. Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem from Persia and he led a contingency to go back and rebuild the walls of the city, the city of God. The walls had been torn down and left in trouble for almost 150 years.

So Nehemiah and some of his fellow travelers came and started to rebuild the walls. When they started rebuilding the walls, you see, it's impossible to protect your family if you don't have walls. I want to tell you right now, it's impossible for you to protect your family, however that is. If you're a single adult, if you're divorced, blended, grandparents, great-grandparents, it's impossible to cover your family and protect your family if you don't have protection, if you don't have walls.

So in the Old Testament, if you were a city and you didn't have walls, the enemy just came in, pilfered, took whatever they wanted, took families and moved on. So Nehemiah says, because God had inspired him, we must rebuild the walls of the city of God.

So when they get there and start and say, "We're going to rebuild the walls," the opposition comes. A guy by the name of Sanballat, Tobiah, and the Ammonite and the others, and they said, "You're crazy. You think you're going to rebuild the walls? Look, do you have any experience? You ever built anything before? It's crazy." And they ridiculed him.

But when Nehemiah and his workers got the wall up half finished, the enemy says, "Whoa, they've got a mind to build up some protection. And if they build the wall up, we're not going to be able to come in just any time we want. So we're going to target, so send them a message and say, 'We're going to come. We're going to attack you. We're going to destroy you. We're going to do you in. You're not going to finish this project.'"

Sometimes halfway up is a tough place to be. Halfway cleaning your garage is a tough place to be. I'm going to finish my closet today. And you get halfway through, right? It's the same way in our Christian life. Halfway starting something that you feel like God really wants you to do. And you get in the midst of that.

The enemy at first just laughed at you and ridiculed and said, "You'll never change." But then when it's halfway up and he sees you're really committed, guess what? He's going to come with an onslaught. He's going to come with depression. He's going to come with attacks. He's going to do all of those things. Why? He wants to destroy you so that he keeps you from building that wall or protection that God has.

He'll keep you out of church so that you're alone. But here at the Father's House, there is nobody that should ever fight alone because we're going to fight with you for you and for your family.

So let's look at this Nehemiah chapter four. Are you there? Nehemiah chapter four. I'm going to actually begin in verse 14. You can follow along.

Then as I looked over the situation, would you underline that sentence in your Bible? I looked over the situation. I looked over the situation. I called together the nobles, the rest of the people. And I said to them, underline this: "Don't be afraid of the enemy. Remember the Lord." Underline that. "Don't be afraid of the enemy. Remember the Lord. He's great and he's glorious."

And then underline this one: "Fight for your brothers, sons, daughters, your wives, fight for them." When our enemies heard that we knew of their plans, that God had frustrated them, we all returned to our work. In other words, let the enemy huff and puff. He's not going to blow our house down because we're on assignment from God to do something important.

But from then on, half of my men worked while the other half stood guard. They had spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. I guess they had an open carry policy in Jerusalem. The leaders stationed themselves behind the people of Judah who were building the wall.

The laborers carried on their work with one hand supporting their load and one hand holding a weapon. All the builders had a sword belted on their side. The trumpeter stayed with them. The chief of the assurance, Peter, was ordered by the king to take them up responsibility for roads under siege.

The blissful that was arrowheading those crowds having already eyed orderly operation doing business and at the terminus to Juncareth, it couldn't be more. It means we are ending the battle, you see? Three days ago when you put an arrow, you go then all four hands join you and then you crush the enemy.

Then the moments begin to take you down occupied the documents along with the sunrise to sunset, half the men were always on guard. Thank God for those of you that are prayer warriors that are always on guard. Throughout the week, we have prayer warriors come in and pray over this place. They're on guard.

Before we ever start service, we see these little prayer huddles, the ladies in the back, the other prayer team here, the ushers in the back, the greeters, the little prayer team. What are they doing? They're on guard. They're on guard. They're simply saying, "We're not going to wait till the crisis happens, but we're going to all be on guard right now." Man, I love that. Don't you love that? On guard right now.

So we work from early to late. And I told everybody outside the walls to stay in Jerusalem. That way they and their servants could help guard the city. During this time, listen to this. This is how committed they were. None of us, not I, nor my relatives, nor my servants, nor the guards who were with me ever took off our clothes. We didn't take time to bathe. That must be a smelly mess.

We carried our weapons with us at all times, even when we went for water. We got to always keep our weapon with us, right? Got to keep our weapon with us. You're not a good soldier if you don't keep your weapon with you. You don't get in a crisis, then look for your weapon, do you? You got it with you.

God's in this place today. Valuable insights we can learn. Number one, if you're taking notes, take a realistic look. Take a realistic look. He said in verse 14, "I looked over the situation." I'd encourage you today to look over the situation. Not only just the situation in the world, but the situation of your life.

If you're single, look over the situation. Are you just looking for anybody to mate with and think that's going to be? Are you going to wait for God that has the one? Listen, there's a lot of people that have settled for something less. In a few weeks, I'm going to talk about don't settle for Leah when God has the one. I'm going to talk about don't settle for Leah when God has the one. God gives you a Rachel, right?

So don't settle for less than God wants you as a single person. Those of you that are married, those of you that have families, you got to look at a situation. How's my marriage? Do I, as a man, lead the prayer time? Do I, as a man, step up and say, "Hey, this is where we're going to go?" What about you as ladies? Am I supportive of my husband? Do I come alongside? There's no important person, less important. We're all together.

How many of you would say, "Thank God for my spouse that's right beside me?" Give the Lord a hand clap if that happens. But we have to look at a situation of this world and how the enemy's attacking. Half of all marriages in the United States end in divorce, including born-again believers.

Drug use in the middle school students is on the rise. The average age of the beginning of sexual activity of kids in the U.S. is 10 to 12 years old. Well, no wonder you've given them an iPad and they've seen pornography ever since they've been able to open it up. Some of you parents give your kids phones, iPads, and you never monitor what they're looking at. It has become a babysitter for you.

And I'm telling you, it's corrupted a lot of people. It's damaged in many different ways. And if the Holy Spirit thumps your heart on that one, you better listen to the Holy Spirit and learn to fight for your kids and not just leave them to themselves.

According to Dr. Dobson, Focus on the Family, every night in America, children, including Christian children that are in this house, you see on primetime TV, violence, rape, adultery, burglary, drug use, vulgar language on a regular basis. You give your kids the opportunity to play games on the internet and they love the games of shooting and killing the enemy.

Then why are we surprised when it's so easy for them to walk out and take a life? Because they don't value life because they've been desensitized to what they've seen on the monitor and think nothing about it. We need to fight for our families and rise up and draw a line and say, "No more, Satan."

Human trafficking of babies for adult sexual pleasure is a world we're living in today. And Central Florida and South Florida are one of the leading areas of human trafficking in the world. You say, "Why do we need to take a look?" Because we're not going to take a look. We don't need to be ignorant to Satan's schemes. That's what the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 2 and 11.

We want to be familiar with the enemy's schemes so that we can be prepared. So we're taking a realistic look. So I'm begging you, I'm begging you for your family's sake, whether you're single, whether you're divorced, whether you're blended, whether you're not looking, wherever you are, take a realistic look of where we are compared to how the Bible wants us to live.

And second of all, then number two, we need to encourage ourselves. I love verse 14. "Don't be afraid of the enemy. Remember the Lord." I love that. You ever go through something and somebody says to you, "Well, just forget about it. Don't worry about it. Don't fear that." Don't you want to just throat punch them? I mean, you have no idea how I'm feeling with this.

But listen to what he says. "Don't fear, but remember the Lord." What does that mean? Remember the Lord? Well, I mean, remember the promises that he's promised you. Remember all the promises? If you do this and I'll do that, remember this: "I'll never leave you. I'll never forsake you. I'll be there."

So you claim those promises. Or maybe it's a personal prophetic word that somebody has given you in the past and said, "You know, I feel like God is going to use you in this way. I feel like he's going to bring this person into your life. I feel like he's going to open this door."

And when you don't see that door and you feel like the enemy's attacking you, you're going to do that. You're going to do that. You're going to do that. You're King, what do you want to do? Remember the Lord. Remember the promise.

See, people say, "Well, but I'm just like flat on my back. I mean, this thing is about to destroy me." But guess what? If you're flat on your back, the best thing to do is open your eyes and look up. Don't look around, look up. Remember the Lord. Remember how he's been faithful to you in the past.

I mean, Tim and I could hardly stand and sing that song, "Oh God, you've been faithful," because we both know throughout the years of being raised, especially in church life and all the opportunities that the enemy has tried to destroy us. But yet God has been faithful when I have not been faithful.

Remember the Lord. When people get down and they're struggling and they're fearing the enemy, it's usually because their focus is on one thing: themselves. So he's saying, "Get the focus off yourself." Yes, there's an army that says they're going to destroy you. But remember the Lord. Encourage yourself.

Number three, fight for your families. Look at this, verse 14. "Remember the Lord. He's great and glorious." And now you've got to do something. You know, you just don't wait till your kids go crazy and then you bring them to our youth and our kids and say, "Heal them, take care of them." No, don't wait till the pastor and the youth. Fight for your family yourself. And then we come along with you.

He said, "Fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes." It's a cause worth fighting for. He says, "If you will fight for your family, then," verse 20, "God will fight for you."

So the defenders of the city were arranged by family. So a man could look to his right and he had family with him. He could look to his left. He sees his wife. He sees his kids. They're all in the battle. It's not like the man is standing up in front with the sword and the wife and the kids behind.

But on this particular thing, as they're rebuilding the wall, everybody had a section to rebuild. Do you realize you have a section to rebuild in this world that we're living in today? He's put you exactly where he has you. And so it wasn't just the man out front, but it was the woman, it was the kids actually putting their hands to the work to get that thing done.

So they would fight. Fight for your families. Fight for your families. Remember in the Old Testament, a guy by the name of Noah, Noah built a building. He built a building. He built a building. He built a building. He built an ark. Genesis 7 and 1 says, "When everything was ready, the Lord said to Noah, 'Go into the boat and all your family,' because you know the flood's coming and it would be a way of salvation."

So we look at that and say, "Okay, Noah, yeah, it makes sense. You build an ark, you want to get in." But when we go to the New Testament, we read in Peter's writings, Peter says this about Noah. Noah was the eighth one to go into the ark.

Now we could just do a casual reading of that. "Oh, he was number eight. What's that big deal?" The big deal is he had six kids and one wife, which makes seven. So when it says Noah was the eighth one to go into the ark, Noah stands there by the ark, knowing it's the only way of salvation.

And he starts counting. One kid, two kids, three kids. Good. Four kids. Good. Five. Yes. Good. Six. I'm not going to leave anybody out. Yeah. And one kid, two kids, three kids. Good. Four kids. Good. There's my wife. You've got to make sure she gets in there.

And then Noah says, "My family's safe. Now I will go into the ark." What a picture for us. Dad's, mom, stand until you see all of your family is safe. Don't leave it up to the church. Joshua said, "As for me and my house, we will do what? We will serve the Lord."

It's so important, parents, to serve the Lord. Ahab and Jezebel, remember them in the Old Testament? They were characters, weren't they? Totally godless. They had 70 children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren, according to 2 Kings 10 and 7. An army invaded, cut off the heads, and killed all 70 kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids. Ahab and Jezebel, because of their footsteps, because of the way they lived, cut off a whole generation, a whole legacy.

But how about Obed-Edom? Do you know him? Obed-Edom in the Old Testament. Here's his claim to fame. David is bringing the ark of the covenant back towards Jerusalem, to put it there. But he had to get everything ready. So he had Obed-Edom to keep the ark of the covenant in his house for three months.

So for three months, Obed-Edom was able to tell his kids about the presence of God and how important it was. Listen, there's something about you being in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Now, if you're at home watching online and you're sick, okay. But if you're just using an excuse, you're missing it out.

The reason you're here today is because, as someone said, who watches online and lives in Indiana, came a few months ago and walked in the door and he said, "Terry, it's so different when I'm here than watching online." Why? I feel the presence of the Lord. There's something about it when you're here to feel the presence.

So Obed-Edom, what about his kids? Well, he had 62 sons and grandsons. And 1 Chronicles 26 and 8 says, "All the descendants of Obed-Edom, including their sons and grandsons, 62 of them all were very capable, well-qualified for their work and served in the temple."

Look at that. One generation, evil parents, all of their kids suffered because of their wrong choices. Here's Obed-Edom. "Oh yeah, you can keep, you can let the presence of the Lord stay here. Hey, look, look kids, stand around, don't touch. But this is the presence of the Lord."

This represents the presence of the Lord. In your life, the most important thing you'll ever know is the presence of the Lord. So what happens? Three months change the destiny of all of his kids and grandkids that they, why? Not because of teaching, but simply because the presence of the Lord.

Parents, get your kids in church so that they can be a part of the church and experience the presence of the Lord. Could I introduce a hero to you today? I want to introduce a tiny, wonderful hero to you. Would you welcome Tanya Thompson to the stage?

All right. I love you, Tanya. Several years ago, Tanya was brought to the awareness of the plight of human trafficking of adults and kids. And her heart just broke. You see, Nehemiah asked a question of the people who came back from Jerusalem. "How's it going?" And they said, "It's terrible. The walls are broken down. The enemy's attacking."

And Nehemiah said, "Somebody ought to do something about that." And so what did he do? He did it. He didn't have any experience, but he did it. So Tanya took on the project here, working with A21, which is to abolish slavery, human trafficking.

And so she's done that now. And then this last year, Tanya and her workers and you that participated, we had the biggest attended walk for A21 and finances of any other organization around the world. Now, because she's been so successful, she's being promoted. She's going to go to Dallas to work with A21 International.

She will be traveling the world, setting up everything for A21, doing that. Now she's going to hang around for a few months, October, November, but then she'll be moving. But you see, my heart breaks because I don't want to lose her. You can't replace that smiling face out front.

But do you think I'm going to stand in the way of a Nehemiah rebuilding the walls? No. And we're going to send her out really good. And we'll talk about that later, but I'm not going to do that now.

So here's basically the reason I'm teaching this today. Point number four, you don't have to fight alone. You don't have to fight alone. He says in verse 20, "When you hear the blast of the trumpet, rush to wherever it's sounding." That's the rallying point. And that's the picture. That's a picture of the church.

Here's what you got to understand. Christian, come on. Help me. Right. I want you to stand right over here. Okay. I'm going to come down front. That's okay. Might throw everything off. Turn around here. What a great guy.

All right. So listen, you stand right there. You're not alone. Here's the picture I want you to see. The wall being rebuilt around the city. And one person may be working on one side of the wall and another family is working on the other side of the wall, which is far away.

So when the enemy comes, what's he going to do? He's going to target a weakness. He's going to target something that looks like an easy target. But here's what Nehemiah said. The trumpeter is with me representing the Holy Spirit. And he says, "When I hear of a crisis anywhere around, and there's somebody unguarded and by themselves, you rally to that. You rally to that."

You know what that would look like? Come on up team. Help me out. This is what it would look like. Here's Christian. Here's by himself, but all of a sudden he's not by himself. When the trumpet goes off, he's got a whole group of people that are going to walk him through wherever he is and carry him on.

So go ahead. So here's how, here's what it would look like. He's not by himself. He's got somebody in front of him. He's got somebody beside him. He's got somebody behind him because he's not alone. As he goes through the crisis, you don't fight alone.

Yeah. Give the Lord a hand clap. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. People say, "I don't need the church." Oh, you need the church. You can't do this alone. On Sundays, we have Sunday service. We have a growth track. We have life groups. We have kids ministry.

We have parents. You say, "My kids, I asked them, they want to go to kids church." They said, "No." I asked them, "Do they want to go to youth?" They said, "No." I asked them, "Do they want to go to camp?" And they said, "No." Who's running your house? Some of you have kids that are CEOs.

Everything you do is around that kid. Every once in a while, they wake up, Saturday won't go to school. You say, "Get your butt together. You're going to school." I never had a choice when it was time for church. We never woke up on a Sunday and said, "You're going to church."

My dad had to drop out of school in the eighth grade. He had to become the breadwinner of his family. He raised us as kids. We had three, I had three siblings. All of us from the time that we were kids were in church. All of us, even when we went to high school, still were in church.

When we were kids, still in church. Not a one of my siblings or myself went away from the Lord in the dark ages. You know why? Because of the example that my dad, now we didn't have great family devotions. I never heard him say, "I love you," until I was a grown man.

But here's what I know. Every time the church door was open, he wanted us in church. It was not, we were 30 minutes early and 30 minutes later than anybody else leaving because he knew the importance of a church.

I'm telling you, we stood as three kids through that time simply because my dad said, "Church is important to you and you're not going to miss church when it's time for church." That's so critical. Being in the house every weekend is the most consistent appointment that you can make.

It's more important than any ball game, soccer game. Listen, you got to beware of dangerous distractions. I'm not an old fogey, but when a parent says consistently over a period of time, "My child has a soccer game today, so we're not going to miss church. We're not going to be in church."

And it's one Sunday, it's two Sundays, it's three Sundays. I look at that and I think, "Hmm, this is not going to work." Why? Because the steps, you may say the church is important, but by your life, you're not showing the church is important.

When are we going to stand up as parents and simply say to organizations, "I'm sorry, my kids are not available on Sundays. Sunday is a time that we are in church." You say, "Well, that's not important." I'm going to tell you it is important.

And one day you'll come back and say, "Thank you for teaching that. It made it so important." I'm going to tell you it is important. And one day you'll come back and say, "Thank you for teaching that. It made a difference in our life."

Hebrews 10 and 25 says, "You should not stay away from church meetings as some are doing, but you should meet together and encourage one another. Do this even more as you see the day coming."

Nehemiah rebuilt the walls in 52 days. And if you understand you're not alone, and we as a church are going to fight with you when you fight for your families. We're not going to wait until a crisis occurs, but we're going to have life groups that deal with marriages.

We have life groups that deal with finances. We're going to have life groups that deal with being single. We're going to do all of that. We're going to offer an opportunity on Sunday. We have kids church next door. We have kids church.

We spent twice as, we build a building there twice as big as this one. Why? Because we're saying we're going to fight for your family. We have workers that show up every Sunday over there. They change diapers. They rock babies. They take care of the others.

We have youth workers that come on Wednesday night and work, deal with difficulties and everything. Why? Because we are going to fight with you. Fight for your family. That's important. It's not an option.

True story. There was a very successful attorney in the Northeast years ago. He had an alcohol problem. He was an alcoholic. On his way to work, every morning he would stop by the bar. On his way home, he would stop by the bar.

One winter morning as the snow began to fall down, he was walking towards his office, but he was on his way to the bar. And he heard the crunch of footsteps behind him. And he turned around and he looked and he saw his young son, very small, but trying to step in the footsteps of his dad in the snow, one after another.

And all of a sudden that dad was struck with, "Where are my footsteps leading him?" He ran back, scooped him up in his arms, took him back to his mother. And the attorney went downstairs in the basement and he prayed this prayer. He said, "Oh God, don't ever let my footsteps lead my children away from you. Let my footsteps lead them to you."

Where are your footsteps leading your family? It's more important than what we just say, but it's important where we work. Because Casey, those beautiful young men that you have, they're walking in your footsteps.

And Chris, let's pray. Father, I feel the necessity to fight for families, fight for marriages, fight for our kids. Help us to see where our footsteps are leading the next generation or where my footsteps as a single family, they're leading.

And Lord, if we've made the wrong decisions, help us to change that. As we continue to pray, if you're here today and you say, "You know, uh, yeah, the Lord spoke to me in this teaching and, um, I need some prayer about something. I don't ever feel like, and I don't want to have to fight this alone."

We just raise your hand. Let me see where you are because I want to pray with you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And I know some of you this morning feel all alone, feel like you've done everything you can to do what's right.

And you still feel like you're alone, but let the Holy Spirit surround you. Let this church surround you. That when you come in on Sundays, that hug that you get from someone is to remind you that you're not fighting alone. You're not alone.

And if you're here today and you say, "Pastor, please pray for me. I know I'm not truly following the Lord like I want to surrender my life to Jesus today or resurrender my life." Would you raise your hand and let me see where you are? I want to pray with you.

Thank you. In the back. Thank you all of this day. Thank you over here. Others here. Thank you. Thank you. This is the video I'm thank you. That's me. I want to surrender today. I want to resurrender my life to Jesus today. I don't want to fight alone.

Let me lead you in a prayer. Would you pray this prayer with me? Father God, thank you today for reminding me I'm not alone. Forgive me for the times that all I could see is myself. But I remember you today, Lord. And I remember this family that's surrounding me.

Forgive me of my sins. Be my Lord and Savior. In Jesus' name. In Church, would you celebrate with me today with those who prayed that prayer?

Well, did you get anything out of this teaching today? Listen, we're getting ready to receive our tithe and our offering. And I know many of you have been asking about the Leave a Legacy, the goal we had of $200,000 for missions and for a project here.

And I know when we build that up and we say, "You know, we meet that," sometimes we don't quite meet the goal. But let me tell you where we are so far. We still have monies coming in. Our goal was $200,000. And so far as of this morning, we had, we have $258,478.

So we celebrate in that today. As you give today, give joyful and cheerful today in the name of Jesus. Amen. In the name of Jesus. Let's go ahead and pass the buckets. When the bucket goes past you, we're going to stand and worship some of this song.

Let me remind you, if you prayed that prayer with me today, first steps here, here, and even outside, I've got some important resources for you that'll help you. And listen, if you're a snowbird and you're going to be leaving, please let us know your address, where you are. Use that connection card.

I should have said it earlier. You can go ahead and fill that out of where you're going to be and give it to one of our ushers. You leave because we want to fight with you and for you. And don't forget, meet the pastors. Those of you that are signed up, just as quickly as we do this song, exit out these doors and we'll meet. I think there's 40 or 50 of you. We'll meet you for lunch because you signed up.

Hey, let's stand and let's worship the Lord in this song.

1) "Half of all marriages in the United States end in divorce, including born again believers. Drug use in middle school students is on a rise... Some of you parents give your kids phones, iPads, and you never monitor what they're looking at. It has become a babysitter for you... We need to fight for our families and rise up and draw a line and say, no more Satan." [53:45](Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



2) "Remember the Lord. What does that mean? Remember the Lord? Well, I mean, remember the promises that he's promised you... Remember this, I'll never leave you. I'll never forsake you. I'll be there. So you claim those promises... Remember how he's been faithful to you in the past." [56:32](Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



3) "Fight for your families... Remember the Lord. He's great and glorious. And now you've got to do something. You know, you just don't wait till your kids go crazy and then you bring them to our youth and our kids and say, heal them, take care of them. No, don't wait till the pastor and the youth. Fight for your family, yourself." [01:06:11](Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



4) "Being in the house every weekend is the most consistent appointment that you can make. It's more important than any ball game, soccer game... When are we going to stand up as parents and simply say to organizations, I'm sorry, my kids are not available on Sundays. Sunday is a time that we are in church." [01:09:09](Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



5) "True story. There was a very successful attorney... He heard the crunch of footsteps behind him... his young son, trying to step in the footsteps of his dad in the snow... He ran back, scooped him up in his arms... and prayed, Oh God, don't ever let my footsteps lead my children away from you." [01:11:39](Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



6) "So you guys need to understand that the kids that you have are gifts from God and they're rewards to you... It's impossible for us to raise our children and honor God... That's why we have child dedication. At church is that we're saying, I don't want to do this for myself, but I need." [01:49](Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



7) "It's impossible for you to protect your family, however that is... if you don't have protection, if you don't have walls... But here at the father's house, there are nobody that should, should ever fight alone because we're going to fight with you for you and for your family." [45:29](Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



8) "Fight for your brothers, sons, daughters, your wives, fight for them. When our enemies heard that we knew of their plans, that God had frustrated them, we all returned to our work... But from then on, half of my men worked with the other half, stood guard." [48:20](Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)