Pastor Rev. Steven Wagner Telephone: 573-437-5190

Rt 3, Owensville MO. 65066

PREPARING THE BROKEN DOWN WALLS AND GATES OF JERUSALEM

Open Door Fellowship

August 31, 1997

Rev. Steven Wagner

Scripture: Nehemiah 1:1-11

Opening: The walls of Jerusalem represented the dwelling place of God with the Jewish nation. When the Jews sinned and rebelled against God the protective walls that protected them came tumbling down they were destroyed by their enemies. They were then taken into slavery and stripped of all their blessings God had so richly given them. Jerusalem simply is the place where God dwelt with man.

A. Today Jerusalem still exists in every Christians heart, soul, and spirit. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. When we get born again God comes and lives inside of us, makes us His Jerusalem and abodes with us.

(1 Cor 6:19 KJV) What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

(1 Cor 6:20 KJV) For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

B. When we sin it is against our bodies Gods temple, His Jerusalem, and the sin that we commit tares down the walls that God has used to build in your life for him to dwell in. This also does a second and most devastating thing to us, it tares down the protective walls of God around us and allows the enemy to come in and destroy us.

(1 Cor 3:16 KJV) Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

(2 Cor 6:16 KJV) And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

(2 Cor 6:17 KJV) Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

I BELIEVE IT IS TIME FOR CHRISTIANS TO REBUILD THE WALLS OF GOD IN OUR LIVES AND CHURCHES TO REPAIR THE BURNT GATES AND MAKE A HABITATION FOR GOD.

I BELIEVE THAT GOD HAS BEEN SAYING TO US HEAR AT OPEN DOOR FELLOWSHIP ITS TIME TO REBUILD THE WALLS AND GATES OF MY DWELLING PLACE. I FEEL HE IS DEALING WITH PEOPLE IN THIS CONGREGATION THAT HAS ALLOWED THEIR WALLS TO BE TORN DOWN AND THE ENEMY HAS COME IN AND GAINED STRONG HOLDS IN YOUR LIFE A CHANCE TO REPAIR THE BROKEN DOWN WALLS AND GATES THAT GOD MAY ONCE AGAIN DWELL INSIDE YOUR JERUSALEM.

I. We must first listen to the Holy Ghost dealing with us and take a good look at our lives and recognize the sin and destruction that has occurred in our lives and second have a strong desire to rebuild the walls and get back to our God no matter what the cost.

(Neh 1:2 KJV) That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

a. Hanani represents how the Holy Spirit will come to us maybe in church, maybe someone witnessed to us, maybe a still small voice from God has been convicting us, maybe our spouse or children have said something to us, or maybe God has spoken in messages to us and told us its time to quite sinning and start serving the Lord again or maybe for the first time, but he is telling us, speaking to our hearts and saying look at the destruction in your life!

b. Then secondly we must have a strong desire to get back to God, not a wishy washy desire but make up our minds we are going to serve the Lord.

(Neh 1:4 KJV) And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,

II. To start to rebuild the walls and gates it takes material and that material is to recognize our sin and come back to the alter of God and repent of our sin and clean up our lives.

(Neh 1:6 KJV) Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.

a. We need to recognize that when we allow sin to remain in our lives that it starts to decay the walls God has built around us and to break down the gates that are protecting us. The Jews were in slavery and great affliction and reproach because of their sin.

(Neh 1:2 KJV) That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

(Neh 1:3 KJV) And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.

b. It was because of there sin and rebellion that caused this over and over in their lives.

(Neh 1:7 KJV) We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.

c. How about you today have you dealt corruptly against God? Are you doing what you know you should be doing following the commandments, and statutes of God?

d. Its easy to get all rapped up in the emotion of God and the excitement of the things that God has been doing but have you really changed? Are you serving God? Are you still bound by the basic fleshly desires that you should have been over along time ago? Have you been witnessing for Christ and making sure your daily witness is pleasing to God and a light unto him?

e. You know I find it mind boggling that people can come into church and cry and make promises to God but they haven't even overcome living for God and following the basic commands of God in following and serving Him.

1. Repent of your sins, that means to go a different direction not just go back to your habits, or fleshly desires.

2. Serve God with you life, that means God is more important than you blessed job. Its funny that when it comes to the almighty dollar that God always looses out. God will understand KNOW HE WON'T.

3. Serve God and support the Church with your tithes and offerings. You know why you can't serve God and can't seem to receive the blessings of God, because you are robbing God every time you get paid. The Church is full of thieves! You think not, well if your wearing clothing or driving around a car or living in a house that you paid for it with the money that should have been given to God then you bought that item with stolen money. If you haven't learned to trust God for your tithes and offerings then you don't know God and you sure aren't pleasing him. The problem is you love your money more than God. You know that the average of people that pay their tithes and offerings the way God has commanded to the church is less than 30%. Don't tell me that people don't love money more than money.

f. You know what hinders the work of God more than anything else is so called Christians that won't give their time or money to the Church.

g. Until you start doing these basic things God has commanded you can't rebuild the walls or start building walls. It has to be your desire.

A. Preparation is important

(Neh 4:7 KJV) But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth,

(Neh 4:8 KJV) And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.

(Neh 4:9 KJV) Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.

a. Satan will send his armies to fight against us, but we can prepare ourselves with prayer, like Nehemiah did with fasting and prayer.

B. Making up your mind, holding your ground, cowards will never make it only those that have made up their minds and hold their ground will make it, only the overcomers as God word says.

(Neh 4:7 KJV) But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth,

(Neh 4:8 KJV) And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.

(Neh 4:9 KJV) Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.

(Neh 4:14 KJV) And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.

(Neh 4:15 KJV) And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work.

C. We must to as Gods word says put on the armor of God and stand.

(Eph 6:10 KJV) Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

(Eph 6:11 KJV) Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

(Eph 6:12 KJV) For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

(Eph 6:13 KJV) Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

(Eph 6:14 KJV) Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

(Eph 6:15 KJV) And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

(Eph 6:16 KJV) Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

(Eph 6:17 KJV) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

(Eph 6:18 KJV) Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

D. This takes us to corporate prayer in Eph 6:18.

a. We must pray for each other, only when we come together in prayer and helps and comfort can we stand against the attacks against the church.

b. Neh 4 tells the story of corporate prayer, corporate working together, corporate load bearing, everyone had a job and carried it out. This is what made the Jews successful they worked together in the direction of God. (Read Neh 4:7-)

E. Remember God is stronger than our enemies and will bring us through.

(Neh 2:20 KJV) Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build:

(Rom 8:31 KJV) What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

Closing: If we want to rebuild the walls and have a desire God will help us. He will give us the strength and ability to build strong walls and gates to keep the enemies out, and come and dwell in our Jerusalem.

We must rededicate our lives to God this morning as the Jewish nation did.

(Neh 9:1 KJV) Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them.

(Neh 9:2 KJV) And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.

(Neh 9:3 KJV) And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the LORD their God.

a. They made some changes and had new desires

1. Fasting and prayer

2. Separated themselves from all strangers, some of you can't serve God because you don't want to give up your sinful friends and you can't make up your mind if you want to serve God or live in sin, it time you get those devils out of the camp.

3. Confessed their sins,

4. Read the Word of the Lord

5. Worshipped the Lord, Praise is breath from the lips, but can't worship without the spirit and truth.

GOD CALLED US OUT A FEW WEEKS AGO SOME OF YOU ARE STILL ON FIRE AND HAVE CHANGED YOU LIVES, SOME OF YOU HAVE DRIFTED BACK TO WHERE YOU WERE, SOME OF YOU CAN'T MAKE UP YOUR MINDS IF YOU WANT TO SERVE GOD OR THE WORLD.

YOU NEED TO MAKE A DECISION TODAY, GOD TOLD US THE OTHER DAY NOT EVERYONE WILL TRULY SERVE HIM, BUT FOR THOSE THAT CHOSE TO SERVE GOD WILL RECEIVE ALL THE BLESSINGS OF GOD IN THIS LIFE AND FOR ETERNITY.