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The Build Back Part 1 | Church, Just Do It with Karl Hartman

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  1. Welcome to Hub City Vineyard.

  2. To get connected or to give online go to connect.hcv.church or give.hcv.church.

  3. If at any point during this message you feel called to make a change in your life, text

  4. change me to 970-00.

  5. Thank you and enjoy the message.

  6. Well now you guys have set a precedent.

  7. I know how loud you can get so I expect that if I say anything this morning that touches

  8. your heart you're going to give me that same level of enthusiasm.

  9. Good morning church.

  10. I want to start off by saying what an absolute privilege it is to be able to share God's

  11. word with you this morning.

  12. For those of you who don't know who I am, my name is Carl Hartman and I am one of the

  13. worship leaders and music directors here at HCV.

  14. If you're joining us here for the first, second or third time, welcome to Hub City Vineyard.

  15. If you're joining us online, thank you for welcoming us into your home or space.

  16. We're so honored that you chose to tune in this morning.

  17. As you can see, Chris is out of town for the weekend and he's invited me to help kick off

  18. our series for the month of October.

  19. Our series title is The Build Back and we're going to be looking at the book of Nehemiah.

  20. Now before I get too deep into the message this morning, I wanted to take a quick second

  21. and honor our leaders, Chris and Jess.

  22. You all know how lucky we are to have two incredible, passionate leaders like Chris

  23. and Jess who are completely sold out for God's mission for this community of faith.

  24. It is such an honor to serve alongside of them and I wonder, would you join me in giving

  25. them a huge round of applause?

  26. Now as I mentioned, our series for the month of October is based on the book of Nehemiah

  27. and over the next four weeks, we're going to be diving in and looking at some of the

  28. principles and values that enabled Nehemiah to step out in faith, to overcome challenges

  29. and to lead his community to do incredible, good works.

  30. This morning, I want to give you a brief overview of the book of Nehemiah and then I want to

  31. look at some of the lessons that we can learn from his example.

  32. The book of Nehemiah is found in the Old Testament and to understand the context, we need to

  33. look at how it fits into the overarching biblical narrative.

  34. All throughout the Old Testament, God was continually inviting his chosen people, Israel,

  35. into a covenant relationship with himself.

  36. In this relationship, Israel was responsible for following God's laws and commands and

  37. in return, God would pour out his blessing on his chosen people.

  38. Over and over again, Israel would agree to enter into this relationship only to turn

  39. around and be disobedient to God.

  40. Ultimately, God allowed Israel's enemies to come in to destroy the city of Jerusalem and

  41. to carry the people off into exile.

  42. After a period of time, the nation of Babylon, where they were in exile, was conquered by

  43. the kings of Persia and this opened up the door for Israel to go back to Jerusalem and

  44. to rebuild the city.

  45. That's the back story or the backdrop against which the book of Nehemiah was written.

  46. The book of Nehemiah was written about 450 years before the birth of Christ and it's

  47. written largely from the first person, from Nehemiah's point of view.

  48. In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah discusses the vision that God laid on his heart to go

  49. back to Jerusalem and to rebuild the city walls.

  50. He also discusses the challenges that he faced as well as the spiritual awakening that occurred

  51. as a result of the restoration of Jerusalem.

  52. By occupation, Nehemiah was the cupbearer to the Babylonian king Artaxerxes and he was

  53. an otherwise ordinary individual who simply chose to say yes to God.

  54. One of the primary themes of the book of Nehemiah that we're going to be looking at this morning

  55. is that God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary work.

  56. So here at HCV, we regularly encourage our people to step out in faith and serve.

  57. And I believe that for some of us here this morning, that may be a bit of a challenge.

  58. Perhaps you've tried to serve in church in the past and you've had a bad experience.

  59. Or maybe you feel like there's something in your past that disqualifies you from stepping

  60. out in faith and serving God.

  61. Perhaps you're sitting here right now thinking to yourself skeptically, how can God use

  62. me?

  63. My goal is that by the end of this message, you'd be able to ask that question more earnestly,

  64. embracing a better perspective and truly ask, how can God use me?

  65. Before we jump into the message for this morning, I want to give you a quick illustration.

  66. By a show of hands, how many people here this morning are familiar with the popular home

  67. renovation television show, Fixer Upper?

  68. Okay, that's about 50%.

  69. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the show, the show follows a couple, Chip and

  70. Joanna Gaines, as they work with individuals who are purchasing homes with the intention

  71. of transforming and restoring them.

  72. These individuals sit down with Chip and Joanna Gaines.

  73. They discuss their vision and then they pass their house over for the Gaineses to work

  74. on.

  75. At the end of each episode, there's this incredible segment where the home buyers get to come

  76. back in and see the work that Chip and Joanna Gaines have done to their home.

  77. Now I want you to imagine that you wake up tomorrow morning and you receive a phone call.

  78. Your home has been chosen to be featured on the show, Fixer Upper.

  79. In fact, Chip and Joanna Gaines are on their way to your house right now.

  80. You quickly scramble and set up temporary living arrangements and then you sit down

  81. with Chip and Joanna Gaines and you discuss your vision.

  82. You hand over your keys and tens of thousands of dollars and then you wait.

  83. After several weeks, you receive a phone call that your home is nearing completion and a

  84. date has been set for the big reveal.

  85. And as the big day approaches, you're filled with anticipation.

  86. You walk up to the front door of your house where Chip and Joanna Gaines are waiting to

  87. welcome you inside and as you walk through your front door, you're overcome with emotion.

  88. There's a new open floor plan, updated lighting and furniture, miles and miles of shiplap

  89. adorn the walls.

  90. Joanna Gaines is waiting to take you from one space to the next to show you all of the

  91. time and effort that she's put into restoring and transforming your home.

  92. As you move from one room to the next, you're overcome with joy and gratitude.

  93. You have this vision of raising your children in this home and growing old here.

  94. This has truly become your forever home.

  95. As the day winds down and Chip and Joanna Gaines prepare to leave, Chip leans over and

  96. hands you the keys and he says to you, I just need to let you know that the county came

  97. by last night and your home failed the inspection.

  98. It's been condemned.

  99. You can own it, but you can't live in it.

  100. I want you to think about the emotions that you'd be feeling in that moment, the anger,

  101. the frustration, the disbelief.

  102. You put everything that you had into restoring your home and you are all in on the vision.

  103. You're in a state of complete disappointment because you know that your home has been restored

  104. for a reason, which brings me to the title of my message for this morning, restored for

  105. a reason.

  106. See, I believe that each one of us here this morning can bear witness to the good works

  107. that God has done in our lives.

  108. Many of us have been pulled from darkness and addiction and brought into the light,

  109. into a new relationship with Jesus.

  110. We've been given meaning and purpose.

  111. Much like the houses in the show, Fixer Upper, God has been working within us, tearing down

  112. walls, transforming us from the inside out.

  113. We have truly been restored for a reason.

  114. As we dive into our study of the book of Nehemiah, I want to encourage you this morning to begin

  115. to think about the good works that God has prepared for you to do.

  116. It's not a question of whether or not you've been called to serve.

  117. The only question is how will you respond?

  118. So Holy Spirit, come.

  119. I pray, Lord, that you would open our hearts, open our eyes, open our minds, God, to the

  120. words that you want us to receive, Lord.

  121. I pray right now that you would silence every distraction and that you would create in us

  122. a willingness to hear your voice calling us into action.

  123. Bless us now in this time.

  124. In your name we pray.

  125. Amen.

  126. We'll look at your neighbor and tell them it's a good day for a good work.

  127. My first offer this morning is this.

  128. God's faithfulness is not derailed by our failure.

  129. In Nehemiah chapter nine, the religious leaders gathered the people together and they began

  130. to lead them in a time of prayer.

  131. And in this prayer, they lay out this summary of exactly how Israel had ended up in exile

  132. in the first place.

  133. And I want to pick it up in verse 28.

  134. But as soon as they, Israel, were at rest, they again did what was evil in your sight.

  135. Then you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies so that they ruled over them.

  136. And when they cried out to you again, you heard from heaven and in your compassion,

  137. you delivered them time after time.

  138. And in this verse, we can see this continual cycle of Israel failing, crying out for rescue.

  139. And this happens over and over again.

  140. Continuing on in verse 30.

  141. For many years, you were patient with them.

  142. By your spirit, you warned them through your prophets, yet they paid no attention.

  143. So you gave them into the hands of the neighboring peoples.

  144. I think we can all relate to Israel in this passage of scripture.

  145. Each one of us has areas of our life where we struggle to remain faithful to God.

  146. Whether it's an attitude, a mindset, or a habit, we take one step forward and feel like

  147. we're taking two steps back.

  148. But as we study this passage of scripture, something that we need to understand is that

  149. Israel had failed.

  150. But God's faithfulness remained intact.

  151. Look at the very next verse, Nehemiah 9.31.

  152. But in your great mercy, you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a

  153. gracious and merciful God.

  154. God's faithfulness is not derailed by our failures.

  155. Right here at the very beginning of the message, I felt called to address anyone here this

  156. morning who's struggling with feeling like a failure.

  157. Maybe you've made some bad decisions in your life and you feel like your life has been

  158. defined by failure.

  159. Or maybe you've made some poor choices and you feel like you're failing God.

  160. And I want to speak this truth to you this morning, and I need you to hear this.

  161. You may have failed, but God's faithfulness hasn't.

  162. You may have failed, but God's promises didn't and they won't.

  163. There's no failure that you can experience in your life that can separate you from God's

  164. faithfulness.

  165. And I felt like I needed to read this verse over you this morning.

  166. So I want to invite you all just to close your eyes and receive the word of God.

  167. Romans 838, for I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,

  168. neither the present nor the future nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything

  169. else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ

  170. Jesus our Lord.

  171. There's no failure in your past.

  172. There's nothing you're struggling with in the present.

  173. There's no failure that you can experience in the future that can derail God's faithfulness

  174. in your life.

  175. God's faithfulness is not derailed by our failures, which brings me to my second thought

  176. for this morning, number two.

  177. Our failures don't determine our future.

  178. The fact that Israel was led into exile in Babylon is significant.

  179. All throughout the biblical narrative, Babylon stands as a symbol of humanity's pride and

  180. rebellion.

  181. The fact that God would have chosen the very nation that came to symbolize rebellion to

  182. correct his chosen people who were behaving rebellious would have been very humbling for

  183. the nation of Israel.

  184. And as I was studying Israel's exile, I came across this powerful truth.

  185. While it's true that Israel was in exile as a result of their decisions, we need to understand

  186. that exile is not the end.

  187. Look at the very next verse, Nehemiah 9.31, but in your great mercy, you did not put an

  188. end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.

  189. Our failures don't determine our future.

  190. At the very beginning of the book of Nehemiah, we're introduced to the main character, Nehemiah,

  191. and the mission that God laid on his heart to go back to Jerusalem and to rebuild the

  192. city walls.

  193. As I mentioned, Nehemiah was the cupbearer to the Babylonian king, Artaxerxes, and at

  194. just the right time, he presented his request to the king.

  195. Because of God's grace and his favor, the king granted Nehemiah's request.

  196. And then he provided for Nehemiah resources, letters of passage, and the military escort

  197. to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls.

  198. Not only did God use Babylon as a source of correction, he used them as a source of blessing.

  199. How many people here this morning know that God can bring blessings from Babylon?

  200. That boss that you can't stand, God can use them to bless you.

  201. Those plans that you had that fell apart, God can work through the failure to bring

  202. a blessing into your life.

  203. It may not be like what you expect though.

  204. It may be the blessing of a new perspective.

  205. You thought when the relationship failed that your life was over.

  206. But I need you to know this morning that when they walked out on you, they were just making

  207. room for a better blessing.

  208. Come on, God can bring blessings from Babylon.

  209. You see, church, what we need to understand this morning is that exile is not the end.

  210. God doesn't intend for us to live in the exile of our mistakes.

  211. What he intends is that we experience restoration through Christ, which brings me to my third

  212. thought for this morning, number three, we are restored for a reason.

  213. The nation of Israel was designed to operate as an earthly embassy for the kingdom of heaven.

  214. And what I mean by that is that God's design and his desire for Israel is that they would

  215. be a witness to the surrounding nations of what it would look like if a chosen people

  216. came together and were obedient to God.

  217. Nehemiah understood this and he references it as he's praying to God in chapter one.

  218. He says, remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, if you are unfaithful,

  219. I will scatter you among the nations.

  220. But if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the

  221. farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen

  222. as a dwelling for my name.

  223. Nehemiah understood that Israel was in the process of being restored for a reason.

  224. And that reason was so that they could bear witness to God's goodness and his grace.

  225. Friends, we have been restored through Jesus for the same reason, so that we can bear witness

  226. to God's goodness and his grace.

  227. And we do that when we step out in faith and do the good works.

  228. Paul puts it this way in his letter to the church in Ephesus, Ephesians chapter two.

  229. For it is by grace you have been saved through faith.

  230. And this is not from yourselves.

  231. It is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.

  232. For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared

  233. in advance for us to do.

  234. Paul says we're restored for a reason.

  235. And that reason is so that we can do the good works that God has called us to do.

  236. Notice we're not saved by our works.

  237. We're saved by grace.

  238. The works that we do are a response to the grace that we've already received.

  239. Look at your neighbor and tell them, I got it.

  240. I got it.

  241. I got the grace.

  242. I got the grace.

  243. But I also got the gift.

  244. And I think sometimes we get confused about this.

  245. Every year around Christmas time, my wife and I gather all of the presents that we've

  246. purchased for our kids.

  247. And we have this little party where we wrap all the presents.

  248. Inevitably every year she'll hand me an interesting toy or game that's meant for our son Jake.

  249. And I'll look at it and I'll say, oh, what's this?

  250. And her response every year is always the same.

  251. It's not for you to play with.

  252. See, in that moment, my role is to be a conduit receiving the gift that my wife has given

  253. me and preparing it to give to my son.

  254. Every person in here has been given talents and gifts.

  255. But I need you to know they're not for you to play with.

  256. They're for you to use to bring God glory, to build his kingdom.

  257. Now listen, as I was studying this verse, I want to show you one last thing.

  258. I was studying this verse this week.

  259. God showed this to me and it was a complete game changer for me as an individual.

  260. Maybe you can relate.

  261. One of the greatest struggles in my life is this overwhelming feeling of being unqualified

  262. and insufficient for what God has called me to do.

  263. But God showed me in this verse something that silenced the voice of the enemy.

  264. Okay?

  265. So let's look at this verse.

  266. We are God's handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance

  267. for us to do.

  268. If God can be trusted to prepare the work, then he can be trusted to prepare the worker.

  269. If God's called you into it, then he's put everything that you need inside of yourself

  270. to be able to carry it out.

  271. And it doesn't require any additional qualifications, which brings me to my fourth thought, number

  272. four.

  273. Jesus uses ordinary people to do extraordinary works.

  274. We see this principle all throughout the Bible in God's selection of Noah, Abraham, Jacob,

  275. Joseph, David.

  276. We see it in the New Testament in Jesus' selection of his disciples.

  277. He chose ordinary people like you and I instead of the most prominent religious figures.

  278. He chose ordinary people to carry out his mission.

  279. We see it in the selection of Peter, Paul, and Mary.

  280. John, Paul, George, and Ringo.

  281. I'm kidding.

  282. I'm kidding.

  283. We might be the hippie church, but even I know that the Beatles aren't in the Bible.

  284. However, they are an example of ordinary people who did extraordinary work, just not for the

  285. kingdom of heaven.

  286. But Nehemiah is an example of this as well.

  287. See, unlike his biblical contemporary, Ezra the priest or Malachi the prophet, Nehemiah

  288. was simply an ordinary guy who chose to say yes to God.

  289. And when he said yes to God, God used him to do incredible work.

  290. In Nehemiah chapter two, Nehemiah departs from Babylon and he comes to Jerusalem and

  291. he begins to survey the damage that's been done to the walls.

  292. And he brings the people together and he says this in Nehemiah 2, 17.

  293. Then I said to them, you see the trouble we are in.

  294. Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates have been burned with fire.

  295. Come, let us rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and we will no longer be in disgrace.

  296. I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to

  297. me.

  298. They replied, let us start rebuilding.

  299. So they began this good work.

  300. Now I want to pay close attention to these verses.

  301. In the middle of encouraging his community to step out in faith and join him in doing

  302. the work of rebuilding the walls, Nehemiah provides them with a testimony of what God

  303. has already done to bless the mission.

  304. This testimony was only possible because Nehemiah had first said yes to God.

  305. And so many times in our life we fall into this thinking where we just want to see God

  306. move.

  307. We just want to see God do the supernatural so that we have a testimony to share.

  308. And while we're waiting on God to move, God is waiting on us to say yes to him.

  309. And if we will simply say yes to God, I promise you will have a testimony to share.

  310. In Nehemiah chapter 3, we're introduced to the names of the individuals and the families

    Nehemiah 3 chapter mention

  311. who helped to rebuild the wall.

  312. In this list, we're given several examples of these individuals' occupations.

  313. They include priests, merchants, goldsmiths, perfume makers, and the women worked right

  314. alongside the men.

  315. No one was disqualified in joining in to do the good work that God had called Nehemiah

  316. to lead.

  317. What's conspicuously absent from this list?

  318. Stonemasons, carpenters, architects, the type of people that you would expect to see building

  319. a wall.

  320. See, God used the ordinary people of the community to do the good work.

  321. God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary work.

  322. Now, I want us all to do a quick exercise this morning.

  323. I want us to reflect on this question.

  324. Growing up, who was the single most influential person in your life?

  325. Let's just reflect on that for a second.

  326. For some of us here this morning, that person may be a parent or a grandparent.

  327. For some of us, it may be a teacher or a coach or a youth leader.

  328. I don't know who the most influential person in your life has been, but I'd be willing

  329. to bet that that person has never been the president of the United States.

  330. I'd also be willing to bet that that individual does not have a Nobel Prize or a PhD.

  331. In fact, I'd be willing to wager that the single most influential person in your life

  332. was simply an ordinary person who chose to speak into your life.

  333. What I'm trying to help us to see is that this principle is inherent in our own life

  334. experiences.

  335. And beyond that, I believe that each one of us here this morning has the potential to

  336. be the most influential person in somebody else's life, and it doesn't require a PhD.

  337. It does, however, require a PHS, a willingness to partner with the Holy Spirit.

  338. So how do we do this?

  339. How do we step out in faith and do the work that God has called us to do?

  340. I think it's simple.

  341. I think we need to follow the steps that Nehemiah took as he was rebuilding the wall.

  342. So our first action step for this morning is this.

  343. Pick your perspective.

  344. When we're given the opportunity to step out in faith and serve, we can either choose

  345. to see the pain or the payoff.

  346. And how we view these opportunities that we've been given directly determines how we respond

  347. to them.

  348. As Nehemiah began the work of rebuilding the walls of his community, the opposition came

  349. and they began to mock and criticize the work that Nehemiah was doing.

  350. We read this in Nehemiah chapter two.

  351. But when Sam Ballad the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshum the Arab heard

  352. about it, they mocked and ridiculed us.

  353. What is this you are doing, they asked?

  354. Are you rebelling against the king?

  355. These men came and began to mock and ridicule Nehemiah's work, but Nehemiah remained confident

  356. in the payoff.

  357. Look at his response, Nehemiah 2.20.

  358. I answered them by saying, the God of heaven will give us success.

  359. We his servants will start rebuilding.

  360. But as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem.

  361. What we need to understand about these men is that they were the leaders of the surrounding

  362. towns and they were threatened by the work that Nehemiah was doing.

  363. They didn't want Jerusalem to regain its status as a regional powerhouse.

  364. And so they began to mock and ridicule Nehemiah.

  365. And as they're doing this, they appeal to the highest authority that they know.

  366. They say, are you rebelling against the king?

  367. And I love Nehemiah's response because Nehemiah responds by appealing to a higher authority.

  368. He says, the God of heaven will give us success.

  369. And what I want us to take away from these verses is this, that when we have an opportunity

  370. to serve and all we can see is the pain, we need to be willing to appeal to a higher authority

  371. so that we can see the payoff.

  372. We have to choose to pick our perspective.

  373. Number two, pick a wall.

  374. So by this point, you may be thinking to yourself, Carl, how do I know where God wants me to

  375. serve?

  376. Great question.

  377. Let's go back to the text, Nehemiah chapter three, verse 28 and 29.

  378. Of the horse gate, the priests made repairs each in front of his own house.

  379. Next to them, Zadok son of Emar made repairs opposite his house.

  380. Nehemiah led the people to repair the sections of wall that were right outside their homes.

  381. I believe that this was partly logistical in nature.

  382. It would have just made sense for the individuals to work on the walls that were right outside

  383. their home.

  384. They'd be close to their amenities.

  385. They'd have an incredible commute.

  386. But I also think it's a psychological in nature.

  387. I believe that Nehemiah knew that by having the people work on the walls right outside

  388. their homes, he was enhancing their level of buy-in and ownership in the project.

  389. Nehemiah knew that if these individuals were going to have to see that section of wall

  390. every time they went in and out of their house, they were going to make sure that it was rebuilt

  391. correctly.

  392. So this is what I want to ask you this morning.

  393. What has God placed in front of you?

  394. What gifts, passions has God placed in your heart?

  395. How has God positioned you in the community to make a difference?

  396. In short, what has God placed right outside your front door?

  397. I believe these are areas, these are clues to where God wants us to step out of faith

  398. and serve.

  399. So number one, pick your perspective.

  400. Number two, pick a wall.

  401. Number three, pick up a stone.

  402. Now we're winding down here, but I want to play a quick game with you.

  403. I want to test your collective knowledge of modern day advertising jingles.

  404. So here's what I want to do.

  405. I'm going to start a jingle and I want you, I'm going to point you all and I want you

  406. all to finish it.

  407. The first jingle that I've chosen is from a company you may have heard of called McDonald's.

  408. Now I know that nobody in here ever goes to McDonald's because of all the salt and the

  409. cholesterol, but I'm certain that you've been exposed to this advertising jingle.

  410. So again, I'm going to start it and I'm going to point to you and I want you to finish it.

  411. So here we go.

  412. Nice.

  413. Excellent.

  414. I'm loving it.

  415. All right.

  416. So for the second advertising jingle, I've chosen a candy bar that comes in a red wrapper.

  417. Big hint.

  418. So here we go.

  419. Break me off a piece of that.

  420. Let's go.

  421. Two for two.

  422. All right.

  423. So we started with McDonald's, then we went to a candy bar.

  424. So for my third one, I'm going to give you the slogan for Meredith's Health and we're

  425. all going to go get a triple bypass.

  426. I'm kidding.

  427. I'm kidding.

  428. I simply want to direct your attention to my footwear made by a company called Nike.

  429. As many of you know, Nike has a popular three word slogan.

  430. Don't say it yet.

  431. Don't say it.

  432. Popular three word slogan.

  433. The first word starts with the letter J. And so what I want to do is I'm going to count

  434. to three and on the count of three, I want you all to shout out as loud as you can the

  435. slogan for Nike.

  436. All right.

  437. So here we go.

  438. One, two, three.

  439. Let's go.

  440. Listen, when we're given an opportunity to step out in faith and serve and we know that

  441. God has called us to step into our calling, we need to take the time to pray.

  442. We need to take the time to prepare.

  443. But ultimately we need to be willing to do the work and to pick up a stone.

  444. Look at Nehemiah chapter two.

  445. Nehemiah says this to his community.

  446. He says, come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and we will no longer be in disgrace.

  447. They replied, let us start rebuilding.

  448. So they formed a committee and they talked about it.

  449. Oh, I'm sorry.

  450. They replied, let us start rebuilding. So they started a Facebook group and they voted

  451. on it.

  452. That was the Gen Z version.

  453. I'm sorry.

  454. Let me get the right translation.

  455. They replied, let us start rebuilding.

  456. So they began this good work.

  457. The walls of Jerusalem were restored one stone at a time.

  458. Our community is restored one act of obedience at a time.

  459. My challenge to you this morning, what's your wall?

  460. What is God calling you to do?

  461. In what ways is God calling you to step out in faith and serve?

  462. Now we're gonna get ready and close out this morning.

  463. Before we do, I started this message with a story.

  464. Now I wanna end it with a story.

  465. I wanna tell you my story, how God has worked through this community of faith to bring restoration

  466. into my life.

  467. And I'm gonna try to hold it together.

  468. I grew up in a Christian home with two incredible parents who regularly modeled for me what

  469. it looked like to walk in obedience to God.

  470. From an early age, they had me involved in church.

  471. And some of my earliest memories of serving were running the overhead slide projector

  472. while my dad helped to lead worship.

  473. It was like the OG music director position.

  474. As a young teen, I grew in my faith.

  475. And later in my teens, I would meet the woman who would go on to become my wife.

  476. We got married young, really young, like right out of high school.

  477. And in the first five years of our marriage, I began to serve in our church's worship ministry.

  478. Simultaneous to that, I took a career in the financial services industry.

  479. In both my career and in my serving in church, I began to grow in my position and in prestige.

  480. In this same period of our life, we had our first child, our daughter, Kira.

  481. Looking at my life from the outside, by every external measure, I was a success.

  482. But inside, it was a different story.

  483. And everything was about to come crashing down.

  484. It was Super Bowl Sunday 2012.

  485. And I remember for weeks leading up to this moment, I had been struggling to connect with

  486. God and to connect with my family.

  487. And I felt this incredible sense of turmoil inside myself.

  488. Looking back in reflection, I could see that I had been running.

  489. But that day, God brought me to my knees.

  490. I went to my wife and I began to pour out my heart.

  491. I'd been struggling with an addiction to pornography.

  492. Not only that, but there had been boundaries in our relationship that I had crossed.

  493. I'd gotten too close to some friends at work and I'd allowed them to influence my decisions.

  494. There were lies, secrets.

  495. Standing in the wreckage of my decisions.

  496. I knew that I needed to make a drastic change in my life.

  497. So ultimately, I quit my job and went back to my previous employer.

  498. We sold our house, left our church and our friends and moved to West Virginia.

  499. Part of that move was because I had a desire to give my family a chance at a new start.

  500. And I wanted to experience healing inside.

  501. But there was another reason.

  502. Much like the house in my earlier illustration, I had failed God's inspection.

  503. And I just felt layers and layers and layers of condemnation.

  504. And in that moment, I felt that the best thing that I could do for myself was to put myself

  505. in exile.

  506. July of 2020, I'm sorry, July of 2012, we started attending HCV.

  507. And for the first several weeks, all I could do during worship was weep.

  508. See, God had placed on my heart this incredible dream to write worship music for the church.

  509. But I had failed in a big way.

  510. And so I buried that dream and I put away my guitar until one Sunday, this incredible,

  511. talented worship pastor got up to preach.

  512. He was preaching a message about endurance, using as an example Joshua and the walls of

  513. Jericho.

  514. And at the end of his message, he just encouraged us, go one more lap.

  515. I know it hurts.

  516. Go one more lap.

  517. I know you're tired, but just go one more lap.

  518. I know it feels like you can't, but just go one more lap.

  519. Because while you're walking around the walls that are keeping you out of the promise that

  520. God has for you, God is working to strengthen you so that when those walls come down, you

  521. can receive the promise that he has over your life.

  522. And in that moment, I knew that God was calling me back into serving.

  523. And so a few months later, I joined the worship team at Hub City Vineyard.

  524. And shortly after that, Rhett and I began writing worship music for this community of

  525. faith.

  526. And what I want you to know, church, is this.

  527. Worship is my wall.

  528. And the stones that I pick up and contribute to that wall on a regular basis, those stones

  529. are the songs that God has borne out of the testimonies of everyone in this community

  530. of faith.

  531. Highest King runs wild, no looking back, God of miracles, Adonai.

  532. So how do I know?

  533. How do I know that God's faithfulness is not derailed by our failure?

  534. How do I know that our failures don't determine our future?

  535. Ask me how I know that exile is not the end, that God can bring blessings from Babylon.

  536. How do I know that we've been restored?

  537. How do I know that we've been restored for a reason?

  538. That God can use ordinary people to do extraordinary work?

  539. Because I'm living proof.

  540. I'm living proof.

  541. We sang it this morning.

  542. You pulled me from the fire.

  543. Now I'm walking on waves.

  544. That's a testimony of my life.

  545. There's no impossible, I believe that you are working now.

  546. So pour it out.

  547. Oh pour it out.