Facing an Impossible Task

Good morning, church.

It's good to see you this morning.

Our sermon passage today is Nehemiah, chapters 3 and 4.

Nehemiah 3 · chapter mention

That's page 371 in the Pew Bible.

Let me invite you to turn there with me.

Nehemiah, chapters 3 and 4.

Nehemiah 3 · chapter mention

Now, to set the stage for our text, I want to begin by reading the end of actually Nehemiah, chapter 2, verses 17 through 20.

Nehemiah 2:17–20

So let me read verses 17 through 20 of chapter 2 for us, and then I'll pray, and then we'll dive in.

So this is Nehemiah speaking to the returned exiles in Jerusalem.

And they said,

Let us rise up and build.

So they strengthened their hands for the good work.

But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite's servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it,

they jeered at us and despised us and said,

What is this thing that you are doing?

Are you rebelling against the king?

Then I replied to them,

The God of heaven will make us prosper,

and we his servants will arise and build.

But you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.

Let's pray together.

Father, we do ask for your blessing upon this time that we spend in these moments attending to your word.

God, with the psalmists, we cry out that if you remain silent to us, God,

we are like those who go down to the grave.

Hearing your word spoken, hearing your voice coming to us through your word,

God, these are our only hope of life.

So we sit before you this morning, God, hungry to hear your words.

God, would you help me as I unpack this passage and preach this word?

Lord, would my human words be swept up into the words of your spirit

to faithfully proclaim what is here and what you are saying to your church?

We pray all this, Father, in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, it must have seemed like an impossible task.

Build a wall around Jerusalem.

The year is 445 B.C.,

90 years after the first group of Jews returned to the land of Judah

after the exile to Babylon.

At this point in history, the temple has been rebuilt.

The word of God is being taught,

but the city itself is still largely in ruins.

And Nehemiah has just arrived in Jerusalem

from the Persian imperial capital of Susa,

and he's gathered together the people,

and he's told them of his plan

to restore the dignity of the city

and rebuild its walls.

Now, this was a huge task, a huge task.

It was roughly 2,300 meters around the city.

That's about the length of 250 football fields.

How many football fields would you take up

if this was the project before us?

We'd each have to take about one.

100 yards, each of us.

Build a wall.

And what was left of the original wall

was nothing but charred remains and rubble,

which was utterly unusable for the reconstruction.

But, you know, it wasn't just a huge task.

It was a despised task.

The surrounding people, their neighbors,

hear about it, and they ridicule them.

They despise them.

So how would this small band of returned Jewish exiles

be any match on the one hand

for the magnitude of such a task?

But not just that.

On the other hand,

how would they be any match

for the opposition to the task?

You know, we might ask the same question of ourselves,

the church, today.

Of course, now that Christ has come

and poured out his spirit at Pentecost,

God's people are no longer a physical city

amidst the nations of Palestine.

Rather, we are a spiritual city

amidst the nations of the whole world.

We're not building physical walls anymore.

We're building spiritual communities

of faith and hope and love.

And yet, the task before us

to build the church,

to advance God's kingdom,

is equally daunting, if not more so.

Just like in Nehemiah's day,

there is much work to be done.

The magnitude of the task is great.

And just like in Nehemiah's day,

there's opposition that we need to withstand.

Think about the magnitude of our task.

There are about 860,000 people

who live in New Haven County,

many of whom have never heard the gospel,

many of whom have actually had

terrible experiences with the church

and frankly want nothing to do with Jesus.

Statistics about addiction, poverty,

mental health, abuse,

are at staggering levels.

Not just outside the church,

but inside the church.

And rather than being communities

of faith and hope and love,

churches can often deteriorate

into places of cynicism

and bitterness and burnout.

The task of building up the church

and advancing God's kingdom

is staggering.

The magnitude of the task before us is great.

But think about the opposition

to the task as well.

Christianity is often ridiculed

as sort of an outdated,

antiquated thing, isn't it?

Too old, too prescriptive,

too narrow to be of any real use.

Besides, some think,

haven't we tried it already?

What makes us think it's going to work now?

What good has it done?

But you know,

the opposition isn't just ridicule

or unbelief from the world.

We also have to contend

with our own sinful natures,

don't we?

Our selfish pride

that wants to be made up of,

made much of.

Our sinful desires

that want to gratify ourselves

rather than glorify God.

Our self-justifying spirits

that would rather fester over a wrong

than overlook an offense.

Oftentimes the enemy

is ourselves, isn't it?

But if that's not opposition enough

from the world

and from our own sinful natures,

there's also the one

that Jesus calls the accuser.

A spiritual enemy

whose main weapon

is the lie.

The lie that God

is neither good enough

nor powerful enough

to make any difference.

The lie that we don't need a Savior.

The lie that even if there was a Savior,

God couldn't possibly love someone like me

and want to save me.

And so it's easy,

isn't it,

to grow discouraged

as a church

when we see the magnitude

of the task,

when we see the opposition

to the task.

It's easy

to get discouraged

and it's easy

to grow afraid.

But what Nehemiah chapters 3 and 4

Nehemiah 3 · chapter mention

show us is hope.

God has made a way for us

to meet

both

the magnitude of the task

and the opposition

to the task.

We see the magnitude

of the task

being faced

in chapter 3

and the opposition

in chapter 4.

So first,

let's think about

the magnitude.

In chapter 3,

to sum it up,

we see the magnitude

of the church's task

is no match

for a ministry-minded

membership.

The magnitude

of the church's task

is no match

for a ministry-minded

membership.

Now,

at first glance,

chapter 3,

just looks like

a long list

of obscure names

and places

around Jerusalem,

right?

Look down there.

You're like,

man,

I'm glad he's not

going to read

that whole chapter.

And I'd be making up

how to pronounce

about half of those names.

True confessions.

But you know,

actually,

as we take a breath

and glance over

that chapter,

what it is,

it's actually

a description

of the work

and the workers

who took up

the daunting task

of rebuilding

the walls.

It's quite a heroic

and courageous list.

The description

of the work

begins

in the north end

of the city

at what's called

the Sheep Gate

in verse 1.

And then,

we're going to move

kind of counterclockwise

around the city's perimeter,

naming the various gates

and landmarks

along the way.

And the gates

of the city

become the sort

of major landmarks

that divide up the work.

From the Sheep Gate

in verse 1,

you see that there,

we go west

to the Fish Gate

in verse 3,

slightly south

to the Gate of Yeshna

in verse,

is it verse 6?

Then from there,

we take a steep turn south

down to the Valley Gate

in 13

until we reach

the southernmost part

of the city,

what's called

the Dung Gate

in verse 14.

Okay,

you had to really feel

for the guys

who were building

the Dung Gate,

right?

Not the most glamorous job,

but there you go.

They drew the short sticks.

They had to build

the Dung Gate.

But anyway,

keep going.

From there,

the wall shoots north again

up to the Fountain Gate,

the Water Gate,

the Horse Gate

in verse 28,

the East Gate,

the Mustard Gate

until back to the

northernmost part

of the city

where the work began

at the Sheep Gate

in verse 32,

right near the temple

in the northernmost part

of the city,

probably named

the Sheep Gate

because that's where

the sacrifices

were brought into the city

for worship at the temple.

And so we see

that the people

actually tackle

the whole project

at once,

every member

of the community

finding their place,

doing their part,

joining in the great work.

And the priests

in verse 1,

in verse 1,

they consecrated,

they set it apart,

not just the Sheep Gate,

but by relationship

to the whole task,

they consecrated,

they set it apart

as devoted to the Lord.

Now it's hard not

to think here

as we see the community

taking up this project

together.

It's hard not to think here

of the description

of the church

in the New Testament,

isn't it?

Think of what Paul

has to say

in Ephesians chapter 4.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

Speaking of the church,

he says,

and we heard this earlier,

speaking the truth

in love,

we are to grow up

in every way

into Him

who is the head

into Christ,

from whom the whole body

joined and held together

by every joint

with which it is equipped.

When each part

is working properly,

makes the body grow

so that it builds

itself up in love.

When each part

is working properly,

the body grows,

building itself up

in love.

You see,

in the body of Christ,

our membership

means ministry,

a call to serve

and love

and to find your place

in this great work

of building

the spiritual city

of God.

Let me make

a couple observations

from Nehemiah chapter 3

Nehemiah 3 · chapter mention

about this

every member ministry.

First,

what we see here

is that the workers

on the wall

come from all

the social levels

of the community.

If you scan

throughout this chapter,

you'll come across

priests,

Levites,

temple servants,

civic rulers,

craftsmen,

merchants,

men,

and women.

No one

is excluded

from the work.

Everyone finds

their place.

Now,

I think there's

a two-fold lesson

for us there.

On the one hand,

don't think

that there's no place

for you

in the work

of the church

and the work

of the kingdom.

You may not think

that you have much

to contribute,

but friend,

Jesus made you

a part of His body,

a part of His city

for a reason.

There are no accidents.

For the sake

of the kingdom,

you do have a role

to play.

In fact,

you're a needed member.

Remember what Paul says?

Only when each part

is working properly,

each and every part,

do we grow

the way God intends.

You have a place.

We actually need you

on the wall,

as it were.

On the other hand,

if some people

think they're no good

to minister in the church,

don't fall into

the opposite trap

of thinking you're too good.

Notice verse 5.

Look at the end

of verse 5.

And next to them,

the Techoites repaired,

but their nobles

would not stoop

to serve their Lord.

The nobles of Techoa,

a region I think

south of Jerusalem,

were a bit too proud

to get their hands dirty

and build a wall.

Friend,

don't let that be you.

Consider rather

the example

of verse 9.

Next to them,

Rephiah,

the son of Hur,

ruler of half

the district

of Jerusalem repaired.

Or verse 12.

Next to him,

Shalom,

the son of Halahesh,

ruler of half

the district

of Jerusalem repaired.

He and his daughters.

Who are these two men?

They were basically

what we might call mayors

of half of the city

and half of the surrounding district.

But they didn't think

that the work

of rebuilding the wall

was too mundane

for them.

No,

it was an honor

to serve God's kingdom

in this way.

It was a privilege to them.

No matter how great

their social standing

in the world,

they were willing

to be servants

in the church.

another observation

about every member

ministry

that we see here.

Consider that many people

built the wall

even though it wasn't

necessarily

what we might call

their gifting.

In verse 8,

who do we see there?

There are goldsmiths

and perfumers

who are working

on the construction project.

In verse 32,

there are merchants.

In verse 26,

there are temple servants.

And not one of them

seemingly said,

sorry, Nehemiah,

this isn't really

my spiritual gift,

you know.

I took a spiritual gift survey

when Ezra came into town.

It showed that I was

something very different,

not bricklaying,

not masonry,

not carrying stuff.

So I'm going to sit

this one out.

But hey,

when we start

the perfume ministry,

let me know.

I'm on it.

I'm in there.

In the meantime,

I'm going to sit

this one out.

Now,

of course,

it is okay

to want to serve

out of your strengths,

right?

That's a good principle.

But friends,

if a perfumer

can lay bricks,

how much more

can you and I

take up a ministry

that might not necessarily

be a perfect match

for our skills

for the sake

of loving Christ's church.

If the real need

is there,

ministry-mindedness

means that we gladly

engage in the task

wholeheartedly.

We take up our place

on the wall

for the good of the whole

and count it a privilege

to be a part

of beautifying God's city

and restoring its dignity.

And so what's the result

of this every-member ministry?

Jump down

into chapter 4,

verse 6.

Look at chapter 4,

verse 6.

It says,

And so we built the wall,

and all the wall

was joined together

to half its height,

for the people

had a mind to work.

Isn't that awesome?

When everyone

joined the work,

the wall came together,

and pretty soon

they were halfway done.

They started to actually

turn the corner.

This impossible task

suddenly looked

pretty possible.

So let me make

a very simple application

to our life here at Trinity.

And this is going to feel

really mundane, I know,

but let's just go there.

If every member

of our church

served on a ministry team

on Sunday

just once or twice a month,

friends,

we'd almost never have to ask

for volunteers.

If every member

served in some ministry

just once or twice a month,

we'd have more than enough

to do the work before us

and more.

Now,

I know we don't do

a lot of volunteer

asking at Trinity,

but imagine that.

Think of how much

encouraging,

life-giving energy

would be released

in our midst

if we loved one another

in just that simple way

to serve in some ministry

just once or twice

a month around here.

And as our church grows,

imagine how we'd be able

to welcome more people,

serve more newcomers,

allow our body

to grow

into the full measure

of the stature

of Christ,

as Paul says.

So where's your place

on the wall?

Do you have one?

If you don't know

where you should join in,

you can talk to me

after the service.

I can point you

in the right direction.

Or you can email

the church office

through the website.

The staff would be

more than happy

to connect you

with the ministry.

You can talk to someone

who's doing something

around here

that looks like

you might be interested in.

Do that

so you can take

an active part

in the good work

that's going on

around here.

But let me apply

this principle

to our evangelistic task

as well,

our call

to make disciples

and be salt and light

in the world.

You know,

providentially,

providentially,

God has placed

each one of us

in our particular context

in our city,

in our communities.

Whether it's your job

or your neighborhood

or your campus

or your kayaking club,

whatever,

when you look down

through this list

in chapter 3,

a lot of people

start rebuilding the wall

right across the street

from their house.

It's no mistake

that you are

where you are.

And in this list

from Nehemiah,

we see that people

are taking up the work

right before them.

Look at verse 23.

After them,

Benjamin and Hashab

repaired opposite

their house.

And after them,

Azariah,

the son of Maseah,

son of Ananiah,

repaired beside

his own house.

Where do you belong

in the work

of the kingdom?

Right where you are.

God's placed you there

for a reason.

If each of us

viewed our lives this way

and began praying,

God, use me right here.

Open my eyes

to how you're going

to use me

in these relationships,

in this workplace,

on this street,

in this neighborhood,

in this residence hall,

in this apartment building.

Just imagine

what could happen.

Yes,

the task

would still be great,

but it would not

be impossible.

The wall

would start

to come together.

People will come

to know Christ

and the kingdom

will advance.

How can we be so sure?

I'm speaking

pretty confidently,

aren't I?

Friends,

as we heard this morning

in Sunday school,

it's not because

I have a lot of faith

in humanity.

It's because I have

a lot of faith

in the Lord.

Isn't this the message

of Christianity?

That God loved

the fallen world

so much

that he gave

his only son

to die on a cross

for our sins,

to rise again

on the third day,

to ascending glory

to the Father,

to pour out his Spirit

so that he might draw

men and women

to himself

from every tribe,

every tongue,

every culture,

every city

so that he might

reconcile us

to God

and one another.

Did Christ die

on the cross?

Did he rise again?

If yes,

then our mission

cannot fail.

And he's inviting

all of us

to join in the work,

to take your place

on the wall

and see the city

come alive again.

But that doesn't mean

it's going to be easy.

The work gets off

to an incredible start

in chapter 3.

The people say

they're going to do it

in chapter 2

and then they do it

in chapter 3.

It's wonderful.

But soon,

opposition comes.

Let's pick up the story

in chapter 4, verse 1.

Let me read chapter 4

for us.

Now, when Sanballat,

he's one of the local

non-Jewish officials

sort of of the neighboring

surrounding people.

Now, when Sanballat heard

that we were building

the wall,

he was angry

and greatly enraged

and he jeered

at the Jews.

And he said

in the presence

of his brothers

and of the army

of Samaria,

Samaria is sort of

the district just north

of Judea and Jerusalem,

what are these

feeble Jews doing?

Will they restore it

for themselves?

Will they sacrifice?

Will they finish up

in a day?

Will they revive

the stones

out of the heaps

of rubbish

and burned ones

at that?

Tobiah the Ammonite

was beside him

and he said,

yeah, what they're building,

if a fox goes up on it,

he'll break down

their stone wall.

And then Nehemiah prays,

Hear, O God,

for we are despised.

Turn back their taunt

on their own heads

and give them up

to be blundered

in a land

where they're captives.

Do not cover their guilt

and let not their sin

be blotted out

from your sight,

for they've provoked you

to anger

in the presence

of the builders.

So we built the wall

and all the wall

was joined together

to half its height

for the people

had a mind to work.

But when Sanballat

and Tobiah

and the Arabs

and the Ammonites

and the Ashdodites

heard that the repairing

of the walls of Jerusalem

was going forward

and that the breaches

were beginning to be closed,

they were very angry.

And they plotted,

they all plotted together

to come and fight

against Jerusalem

and to cause confusion in it.

And we prayed to our God

and said a guard

is a protection

against them day and night.

In Judah,

it was said,

the strength of those

who bear the burdens

is failing.

There's too much rubble.

By ourselves,

we will not be able

to rebuild the wall.

And our enemies said,

they will not know

or see

till we come among them

and kill them

and stop the work.

At that time,

the Jews who lived near them

from all directions

came and said to us

ten times,

you must return to us.

So,

in the lowest parts

of the space

behind the wall

and open places,

I stationed the people

by their clans

with their swords,

their spears,

and their bows.

And I looked

and arose

and said to the nobles

and to the officials

and to the rest of the people,

do not be afraid of them.

Remember the Lord

who is great

and awesome

and fight for your brothers,

your sons,

your daughters,

your wives,

and your homes.

When our enemies heard

that it was known to us

and that God

had frustrated their plan,

we all returned to the wall,

each to his work.

From that day on,

half of my servants

worked on construction

and half held the spears,

shields, bows,

and coats of mail.

And the leaders stood

behind the whole house of Judah

who were building the wall.

Those who carried burdens

were loaded in such a way

that each labored

on the work with one hand

and held his weapon

with the other.

And each of the builders

had his sword

strapped at his side

while he built.

The man who sounded

the trumpet

was beside me

and I said to the nobles

and to the officials

and to the rest of the people,

the work is great

and widely spread

and we are separated

on the wall

far from one another.

In the place

where you hear

the sound of the trumpet,

rally to us there,

our God will fight for us.

So we labored at the work

and half of them

held the spears.

From the break of dawn

until the stars came out.

I also said to the people

at that time,

let every man and his servant

pass the night

within Jerusalem

that they may be a guard

for us by night

and may labor by day.

So neither I

nor my brothers

nor my servants

nor the men of the guard

who followed me,

none of us took off our clothes,

each kept his weapon

at his right hand.

So what do we see?

By the end of chapter 4,

this construction site

around Jerusalem

has turned into a battleground.

Brothers and sisters,

let us not think

that the task

of building the church,

of seeing God's kingdom advance,

will happen without a fight.

In this chapter,

notice how the taunts

of verses 1 and 3

become threats

in verses 7 and 8.

As the work progresses,

the opposition

doesn't get less and less,

it gets more and more.

The higher the wall becomes,

the fiercer the opposition grows.

In verse 7,

in verse 7,

the city is now actually

sort of surrounded

with enemies.

Sanballat from Samaria

in the north,

Arabs in the south,

Ammonites in the east,

the Ashdodites in the west,

they are literally surrounded

by their opponents.

And the people get discouraged

in verse 10.

Seeing the opposition

growing,

their work songs

actually turn into

sort of songs of despair.

What they say in verse 10

actually sort of has

a kind of meter to it

in the Hebrew.

One translator rendered

verse 10 this way,

the builders are pooped,

the rubbish piles up,

we're in over our heads,

we can't build this wall.

And yet by the end

of the chapter,

the discouragement

and fear of verse 10

has given way

to renewed energy

and courage to work

in verse 21,

from the break of dawn

until the stars come out.

So what happened?

What changed?

Well, what we see

in Nehemiah 4

is that the opposition

to the task

is no match

for a great

and awesome God.

The opposition

to our task

is no match

for a great

and awesome God.

Verse 14

is the turning point.

Nehemiah says,

do not be afraid

of them.

Remember the Lord

who is great

and awesome

and fight.

Now as Paul says

in Ephesians 6,

today the church

is not waging war

against flesh and blood.

This is now

a spiritual battle

we are in.

The people of Nehemiah's day

had one hand

on the work

and one hand

on the weapon,

the sword

and the trowel

as Charles Spurgeon

so famously put it.

But the armor

that we take up today

is not the literal

steel of a sword.

No, today we actually

reject that kind of violence

for the way of the cross.

Rather today

what we take up

is the spiritual armor

of God,

the sword of the spirit

to fight discouragement,

to withstand

even physical threats,

to overcome our fears.

Paul says

it's the belt of truth

that we fasten on

when the lies

come streaming in.

and it's a breastplate

of righteousness

that we put on

when the accuser says

we're not worthy

of God's acceptance

in God's people.

And it's the gospel

of peace

that becomes shoes

for our feet

when our doubts

begin to trip us up.

And it's the shield

of faith

and it's a helmet

of salvation

that allows us

to withstand,

yes,

even threats of violence

that may come our way.

And it's the word

of God

that is the sword,

the sword of the spirit.

That word,

as Hebrew says,

that is sharper

than any two-edged sword,

piercing to the division

of soul and spirit,

discerning the thoughts

and intentions of the heart,

engaging even our enemies

with the grace

of the gospel.

Now, I know this battle,

this warfare language

can sometimes make us

uncomfortable.

I get it.

But friends,

we are in a spiritual fight.

The church

is a liberation movement

behind our great

liberator, Jesus.

And he has stationed us

behind enemy lines

to get about the work

of setting captives free.

Free from sin

and guilt

and shame

and condemnation

and dread

and addiction

and self-pity

and pride

and fear.

But these enemies

don't go down

without a fight, friends.

The work of the kingdom

means one hand

on the shovel

and one hand

on the sword.

Are you taking up

the resources

for this fight

in the word of God

and in the gospel?

But notice,

Nehemiah doesn't just

tell the people to fight.

They have their responsibility

to take up

their defenses, yes.

But underneath

and around

and over

their human responsibility

to fight

is the sovereignty

of God

who fights for us.

Remember the Lord

who is great

and awesome.

At the head

of the church

then

and now

is a great

and awesome God.

But friends,

don't you see

how God

has revealed himself

even further

in the gospel?

that we have

a captain

who took the field

on our behalf

and who strode

into battle

against our greatest foe

sin and death

and hell

and who triumphed

not with the sword

but with a cross

by laying down

his own life

so that you and I

might live.

Do you remember

when Jesus

was in the Garden

of Gethsemane

praying

and the soldiers

came for him

and for his disciples

and he said,

who are you seeking?

And they said,

Jesus of Nazareth

and what did Jesus do?

Did he shrink back?

Did he sort of

lose himself

in the crowd

of disciples?

No,

just the opposite.

He steps forward

to meet them

putting himself

in between

their enemies

and his people

and says,

I'm the one

you're looking for.

Let them go free.

Don't you see,

friends,

in our place

Jesus meets

his accusers

and ours

so that we can go free.

In our place

Jesus bears

our sin

and guilt

so that we

can go free.

That's how

the battle's

been won.

So that whatever

the world throws

at us,

so whatever

the evil one

threatens us with,

they're no match

for our great

and awesome God,

the Lord Jesus Christ.

Friends,

have you come

to trust

in this

captain

of souls,

this loving

Lord

who will always

protect you

and never

lead you astray?

If so,

then do not fear.

Do not fear

the magnitude

of our task.

It is great,

but he's made us

one body

in himself,

every member

a minister

to complete

the work before us

and do not fear

the opposition

to the task.

It will be fierce

at times.

Do not be surprised.

It may grow

as the work continues,

but remember the Lord

who is great

and awesome.

He has already

won the battle

and we can stand

strong in the Lord

Jesus and in the

strength of his might

to withstand

whatever may come.

It may seem

like an impossible

task before us,

church,

but what is impossible

for us

is much more

than possible

with God.

And so,

brothers and sisters,

to him who is able

to do far more

abundantly

than all we ask

or think

according to the power

at work within us,

to him be glory

in the church

and in Jesus Christ

throughout all generations

forever and ever.

Amen.

Let's pray.

Amen.

Father, we pray

that you would send

out your spirit

upon us now.

Cause the seed

of your word

to take deep root

in the soil

of our hearts.

God, we know

that as soon as

we step out

those doors,

there's going

to be birds

that want to

snatch this seed away.

There are going

to be cares

and concerns

that want to

choke it out.

There's going

to be rocky soil

that wants it

to just stay shallow,

but God,

would you do

a sovereign work

and bury this word

deep in our hearts

and change us

from the inside out.

Clothe us

with your gospel,

we pray,

Lord Jesus,

as we go out

into the world today.

Lord,

help us not

to fear

or grow discouraged

when the task

seems big

and the opposition

seems great.

Help us

to keep our eyes

on you,

Lord Jesus,

the captain

of our souls.

You will hold us fast.

You will allow us

to rise up

and do the work

that you've called

us to do.

Oh God,

help us

to keep in step

with your spirit

as we do so.

In Jesus' name

we pray,

Father.

Amen.

Well,

friends,

in response,

let's stand

and we're going

to sing a song,

Oh Church Arise,

which is about

taking up the armor

of God

for this spiritual

calling that he's

given us as a church.

So let's sing

this song together.

Amen.