Man who cried out to an awesome God

Amen and amen.

Are you excited about building the wall?

I hope you are, because it's time.

And when we think about building the wall, we're not just talking about physical walls.

We're talking about as we're going to look in Nehemiah.

And turn with me in your Bibles this morning to Nehemiah chapter 1.

Nehemiah 1 · chapter mention

And wall builders is more than just physical walls.

It's literally understanding how we can protect ourselves from the enemy of Satan.

Because what you must realize this morning as one of the main purposes for Nehemiah, being burdened by God to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls, was for protection from the enemy.

Walls back in those days were built around cities for protection from the invaders, from the enemies, from the other armies that would try to come in and take over.

So this morning, as we start our new series on wall builders, God is calling each and every one of us to be a wall builder.

We're to be wall builders for our family.

Can I get an amen?

We're to be wall builders for our church.

We're to be wall builders for our community.

It's so important that we understand that this morning.

And it's exciting to see our building going up, and it's exciting to see the physical parts of the growth of a church.

But what's really the most important is the inward group of people that God burdens to take on the task of exalting and glorifying God and reaching out to their community to be a difference, to be a lighthouse, to meet those needs that are so important.

And they are a multitude of needs, and we'll be looking at that.

But look with me in Nehemiah chapter 1.

Nehemiah 1 · chapter mention

And what a tremendous, unbelievable understanding of where we are.

You know, at the beginning, when God laid this on my heart, uh, I had no idea what was going to be going on in America at the time.

But I did understand what goes on in building buildings and building ministries all my life.

In fact, uh just uh I say a couple of years ago, I was just toying with all the 40 plus years of ministry God's given me and what my real task was and sharing a little bit with Susan about that.

And she said, honey, I'll tell you what your task is.

You're a wall builder, you're a builder.

Everywhere I go, I went to open door with 35 folks, and we watched God build a great ministry there over almost 13 years.

Left there, went back to Liberty University at one of its lowest peaks.

Financially, student, I mean it was a mess.

And Dr.

Falwell called me back to ask him to help take the university to the next level.

And we saw God do that.

Now look at it.

It's just we were on the campus this for about a week and a half.

Oh, it's a major.

I'm talking about university that will stand with the University of Virginia or Virginia Tech there.

It's absolutely gorgeous.

And I was there and I was standing there where I saw this beautiful monument of uh of the seminary tower, the tallest building in Lynchburg now for the seminary, and I was thinking there was a tent.

I went to class in a tent.

And then the Lord sent me here with my blood brother, David, to start this church, to see where it started and to see where it is now, but to see where it's going, and I see it.

And I looked back and I said, Yes, maybe I am a wall builder.

So thank you, Lord.

Thank you.

So Nehemiah, the words of Nehemiah, the son of Hechaliah.

And it came to pass in the month of Chesley, in the 20th year, as I was in Shushan, the palace, that Hananiah, 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.

They said unto me, The raiment that are left of the captivity there in the providence are in great affliction and reproach.

The wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates there are burned with fire.

And it came to pass when I heard these words that I sat down and I wept and I mourned certain days and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.

And then verse 5, and said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and if it's you're reading out of the New King James or the King James, it says, terrible.

The word terrible there in Hebrew means awesome.

I love it.

He says, I prayed unto the awesome God.

Now you see where the title of the message came from.

The man who cried out to an awesome God was Nehemiah.

And he prayed to the awesome God of heaven and said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments.

In verse 6 he says, Let thy ear now be attentive, and thy eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night.

There's the key to bringing the rebuilding of the walls, is praying day and night.

And I heard you had a great prayer time here.

That's what we did during our break.

Susan, I prayed and prayed, and I was praying and thinking and asking God to just give us discernment on all the decisions we have to make, that we make his decisions, not our decisions.

We do not want to do what we want to do.

We don't want it man, we never want this ministry to be man-centered, but God-centered.

And he cried out, day and night, which I pray before thee now day and night.

For the children of Israel, thy servants, and confess sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee both.

I and my father's house and have sinned.

There's 2 Chronicles 7.14, right there.

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sins and heal their land.

Right here, you see Nehemiah really just so burdened for his homeland, but yet, understanding, before you can be a wall builder, you've got to be pure.

You've got to have your home in order, your life's in order.

And so he cries out.

Wow.

So, you know, today people cry about a lot of things.

My wife cries about a lot of things.

We cry at weddings.

We cry when our children are born, when our grandchildren are born.

We cry at sad movies.

We do a lot of crying.

But when is the last time we cried out loud for our community, our city, our state, our country, broken hearted with a burden to see God move and change things.

He that goeth forth weeping, bearing precious seed.

Now listen, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his shees with him.

Seeing a result, seeing lives change, seeing communities change, seeing states, countries change.

Would you not love to see that today?

Oh my goodness.

Oh my goodness.

They cried.

He wept.

He fasted.

Look at it.

He did with everything he has.

Now, I'm going to be making an assumption that I hope is true for every one of us watching online, and that is that you want to be used by God.

See, a lot of times people get saved because they're kind of emotionally stirred, and that's okay.

But they get saved because they want to be happy, they want to live happily ever after, and they want to be successful.

I've had people witness to people and say, gotta change your life, gotta make everything okay.

And that's true.

But I'm so concerned that we, when we make a profession, or many of us Christians, our religion and our thought process is man-centered and not God-centered.

And this is what I see in Nehemiah.

His heart was God-centered, not man-centered.

Because if it had been man-centered, Nehemiah had the best job in the whole kingdom.

He had the most cushiest job.

I mean, this man was the cupbearer to the king.

And let me tell you something about a cupbearer.

It wasn't just going around tasting wine for the king or tasting a meal before he ate it.

This guy was the most trusted subject, the king bearer.

I meant the king had was his cupbearer.

He confided in him.

I mean, this guy had to be sharp.

I'm sure he was a nice-looking man.

He had to be well educated in the etiquette.

He had to be, I meant, the sharpest of the sharpest.

And he was, in fact, a lot of theologians believed that he was probably could be almost second in command because he had that kind of relationship with the king.

Administrative powers.

So if you were sitting back and you're a Jew and you're thinking you could easily be man-centered, why in the world would I want to leave all this and go to a broken down city where my people are being persecuted?

The Jews hadn't changed today.

And why would I want to leave all this to go back and try to rebuild the city?

But even though the temple had been rebuilt, but to rebuild these unbelievable walls for them, why would I want to do that?

Let somebody else do it.

God's using me here.

Hello?

But that wasn't the case.

That wasn't the case at all.

In fact, this book falls into two basic sections.

Rebuilding the walls, chapters 1 through 7, and then rebuilding the people in chapters 8 through 13.

And let me just say something right here.

If there's ever been a time that the walls need to be rebuilt, and I'm talking about the walls of the church.

It's today.

We've lost our voice.

We have succumbed to the pressure of politically correct garbage.

And we no longer have a voice.

Like we once did.

The whole purpose of what Satan's doing now, and let me go ahead.

It's not Republicans against Democrats.

It's, hey, it's not your philosophy against my philosophy.

What's going on in America today is a war against good and evil.

And they're trying, evil, Satan's trying to use everything he can to divide us.

To divide the good from the evil.

And let me tell you why.

Somebody said, well, why would he want to do that?

Because he knows that if the good, the righteous, when the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice.

But when the wicked bear through, the people mourn.

This election is going to be the most, and you hear this every four years.

But we are in a spiritual war.

And it's, hey, either right or wrong.

And it's, you know, they used to camouflage it.

It's not even camouflage now.

Killing millions of babies.

Having every kind of sexual immorality.

Okay.

Guys, wake up, church.

Where's the voice?

Thank God.

There was a man named Nehemiah.

That God laid on his heart to do something.

And he did it.

He listened.

You and I have a commission.

I want you to look at 1 Peter 4.

I want you to see what your mission is when we talk about rebuilding the walls of the church.

Look at 1 Peter 4.

This is awesome.

Verses 10 and 11.

As every man or woman hath received the gift.

Once you and I get saved, we receive the gift of salvation.

And then we receive spiritual gifts.

Even so minister the same one to another as good stewards, the manifold grace of God.

We are called of God to bring his glory and his honor to wherever God places us.

I don't care what you're doing.

Hey, that's your platform.

That's your position.

God has placed you to bring glory and honor.

Whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever you do, you do all to the glory of God, 1 Corinthians 10 31.

You don't back down, you don't wimp down, you stand in the gap for the land.

I've not backed down, folks.

And I'm not going to.

No way.

If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God.

If any man minister, let him do it as with the ability which God giveth, that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ to whom be praise and dominion forever and ever.

There it is.

There it is.

That's what God's called us to do and to be.

Wow.

Nehemiah knew most of the facts before this encounter with his brothers.

But this graphic firsthand description of the scene by Nehemiah's brother, including the news of things after the ban by Artaxerxes, they had tried to two years prior to go back in and start trying to rebuild the walls again.

And because of opposition and protesters, I'm talking about violent protesters.

They were unable, and so Art, the king Artaxerxes, who Nehemiah was a cupbearer too, called it off, said, quit doing it.

Don't try to rebuild the walls again.

So Nehemiah knew all this.

But once he heard the descriptive scene of how the Jews there in Jerusalem were being persecuted by the wealthy.

How that they were being claimed as not even real citizens.

The oppression, losing jobs, the economy, depressed, everything that you've seen happening the last three or four months right here in America.

Everything.

Just like it.

Just like it.

That's what was so enlightening to me as I'm studying this.

History of all this taking place.

And by the way, you say, well, history's not important.

Why do you think they want to erase history from our schools?

It's vitally important.

Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

Romans 15.

Powerful insight here.

So Nehemiah, after knowing all that, and constantly knowing what's going on, because for the last five or six years, since the temple's been rebuilt, but but they're trying to rebuild the walls, they're trying to get the you know Jerusalem back to where it once was, and it's God's chosen people, God's chosen land.

He knows all this, but he was going on about his own business.

There was no, he didn't have a burden.

He didn't, he he wasn't real concerned.

I mean, I'm sure he'd lift up a prayer for his because he knew the prophecy about Israel and the temple, and I'm sure, but he had not been gripped.

Now he hears the descriptions of the people and how bad it really is.

Look up here, folks.

Look at me.

Watching by online, you better listen.

Look at me.

It's pretty bad.

Don't hey, a lot of us hadn't been affected yet.

But if God doesn't intervene, it's gonna get worse.

You better listen.

You're scaring me.

No?

I'm not scaring you because I know who wins.

We win.

We win, church, we win.

But it's time we start fighting back.

We've got to stand in the gap.

We gotta do what Nehemiah did.

When he got the burden, he said, That's enough.

I'm going back, and with God's help, you've given me this burden, we're gonna rebuild the wall.

And not only he, hey, he didn't take him two years, he did it in 52 days.

When God gets in it, get out of the way.

Amen?

He wept, he mourned, he fasted, he prayed.

There's the answer.

You want the answer?

Verses four and five, there's the answer.

When he heard how bad it was in verse three, he wept, he mourned, he fasted, he prayed for days.

I told Rick, y'all had a great week.

We're gonna start praying at least once a month, if not more.

And then right before the election, we're gonna be here every night just begging God to move.

First Nehemiah saw the great need, which burdened his heart.

He also saw what God wanted to accomplish, and then he committed himself to doing it.

That's the three points today.

Number one, the person God uses has a burden for his people.

I got to thinking, there's so much going on.

The single mothers who are destitute.

I just wrote, I wrote a few things down this week when I was thinking about the needs in our community and where we are, the single mothers who are destitute, the children who are physically and mentally or sexually abused, the poverty stricken who are hungry, thirsty, or homeless, the unemployed who have lost their jobs, especially in this coronavirus episode, and cannot find adequate employment to support their families, the widows, the widowers, and divorced who must face a new life on their own, the masses who are lonely, empty, and without purpose, the masses who are diseased, injured, dying.

And that's just the tip of the mountain.

But we live in this every day of a, is that not true?

The person God uses has a burden for his people.

Under that, let me give you a Nehemiah's burden, it stemmed from feeling the people's great need.

He felt their need.

That's how he wept and mourned and fasted.

You'll not do anything or take on any ministry to make a difference unless you're not burdened with it.

People all the time, for 40-something years, they'd come up to, Pastor, oh, I think we need to do this.

We need, we need, we need, we need, we need.

And basically what they were telling me most of the time, Pastor, you need to do this.

You need to get the church to do this.

It didn't take me long, a few years.

Then you know how I started answering people?

I said, are you really, John, burdened for that?

Yes, yes, Pastor, I'm really burdened.

I said, now how burdened are you?

In fact, John, here's what I want you to do.

I want you to take this next month.

I want you to pray and fast and really think through this.

Pray down, write down some things God's laying on your heart on how you could meet this need and come back with to me in about a month and let's go have lunch and pray about it and look at it and see what happened.

Do you know how many people I've had come back?

Hello.

No, they just got emotionally stirred and said, oh, they need we we need a home for pregnant ladies so we they won't abort their babies.

Okay.

We need a home or a place that we could take the homeless off the streets and help them and get them educated.

Whatever we need to assimilate them back into society.

Okay.

I had a plan.

I had a plan to do that, and and guess what happened?

The church council, I'm not going there.

You'll get me in the flesh, you know?

No, no.

What I'm saying is, folks, you've got to have a burden.

And when you read chapter 1's and then chapter 2, when when Nehemiah, when he first heard about this, he did not jump into it and say, okay, I'm going, hey, we're going to do it.

We're going to leave next week.

Hey, King, I need help.

No.

No, it was four months.

Three to four months.

He prayed, he fasted, and the burden kept getting larger and larger.

And he waited for the right opportunity to be put in the right position at the right place at the right time to ask the king.

Bam! Happened overnight.

Everything he needed.

God's timing.

We miss the boat so many times by missing the timing of God.

And you know why?

Whoa, this is good.

You know why we miss the timing of God?

Because it's man-centered and not God-centered.

What's best for me?

What's best for my business?

What's best for this?

Have you ever wondered what's best for God?

Well, God's leading me.

Boy, God gets blamed for a lot.

Tell me why God's leading you.

Tell me.

Show me.

Where's the times in prayer?

And you're fasting, and he gave you this, and here's the steps I feel like God wants me to do.

And then give me the why.

Why?

Because see, the next thing we're going to look at, not only was I Nehemiah's burden for his people, hey, but look, not only did we see the feeling, but notice the second thing.

Two, is that Nehemiah's burden was focused by seeing the people's great sin first.

And we talked about that.

He cried out from in verse 6, my sin.

And he started with himself, my sin, my family's sin.

We got to get right with God.

Can I say something?

Next time you have a major burden, you better make sure before you jump out of the boat, hey, that your heart's pure and right and your relationship with God's right.

So you're hearing from God and not Satan.

Amen.

Amen.

I know that's tough.

But over the years of ministry, I've learned, because I I know you don't believe this about your pastor, but I can be very.

Spontaneity?

Spontaneous?

Impulse.

I don't like that word.

In other words, now I like focus.

In other words, I can leap before I look down to see if there's any place to land.

Hello! You know, yeah, let's go.

Let's jump off this cliff.

Let's go get them.

Yeah.

Oh no, there's no water.

No parachute.

Oh, I left it back on the bank.

What I'm saying is, folks, Jesus told in Luke says, Count the cost before you move.

Hello?

Nehemiah didn't just haphazardly jump.

He prayed for three to four months.

For God to make sure this is exactly what God wanted him to do.

Wow.

That's awesome.

And we see that right here, which leads me to the second thing.

Not only does a person God used have a burden for his people.

And by the way, let me give you two thoughts before I go to point number two, because this is very, very important.

Two thoughts.

Here's some my thoughts.

I wrote them down.

The needs are so many, Lord, I gave you a few.

And so great.

I can't possibly respond to them all.

How do I discern which particular need God wants me to get involved with?

Is that not a good question?

Is that not a real good question?

Two thoughts God gave me.

Thought number one.

First, don't let the immensity or the magnitude or the bigness of the needs paralyze you so that you end up doing nothing.

Hello?

It's so great.

My little, my little, my little 10% or my little, you know, little bit of work setting up these chairs or taking them down or keeping the nursery.

Oh, that really doesn't matter.

Yes, it does.

If we all thought that way, nothing would ever get done.

Every little bit matters.

In fact, the best way to build a wall is one block at a time.

Can I get an amen?

And everybody's gifts, I just read it to you in 1 Peter, matters.

And you're to minister it, you're to exercise it, you're to use it for God's glory and for building God's church.

That's it.

Now, here's a second thought.

Don't commit yourself impetuously to something just because the need is there.

The need had been there for Nehemiah, but he did not commit himself until God grabbed his heart, burdened his heart, and once God grabs your heart, burdens your heart, now listen to me, now listen to me, what happens is God's ready to provide for what you need to get it done.

Woo! That's good.

That's real good.

So I know what you're already saying, I did.

The things that I thought the Lord wanted me to do, and I started them and it didn't work out.

Now that tells me one or two things.

Either God failed or I failed.

Which one do you think is the answer?

Y'all not answering that question, are you?

I know, you don't want to say it because it hurts.

I understand.

That's why I said it for us.

So how important it is, very important, to know that God's in it.

And how do you do that?

Through prayer, fasting, wait, be still, and know that I'm God.

Psalms 46, 10.

God I should.

Well, then I won't ever do anything.

Well, then you're not talking to the same God I'm talking to.

You know, it's never been my problem what I needed to do, it's which one's the right thing I need to do.

Hello?

And that leads me to the next question.

Why don't I have this burden?

One or two reasons.

Ooh, this is gonna hurt.

One, you're lost.

Because God doesn't save you to sit.

God saves you to serve.

Didn't I just show it to you in 1 Peter 4?

The minister of gifts, of grace of God, where God plants us.

Okay?

Or you're saved and you're so man-centered that you're missing what God has for you.

I know.

That hurts.

Everything I'm preaching to you, your pastors have been pondering for over a month, these questions.

These are the questions that Nehemiah pondered.

He knew the problem.

He knew the situation, but it had not personally grabbed him.

You understand that?

Come on, church, be with me here.

I need you to follow me.

Do you understand that?

All those needs that I told you, they're all here.

But until God grabs you and says, this is the need he wants you to help fulfill.

Can we all say, oh me, together?

Which brings me to the third thing under that point.

Nehemiah's burden.

Now watch this.

You're going to get ready to have a Pentecostal spell.

Nehemiah's burden was fixed by seeing the people's great God.

It was lightened by seeing the people's great God.

That awesome God, he said, I know I've got the answer.

And I know that this burden that's been laid on my heart and my soul is gonna be fixed.

It's gonna work out because we serve the people's awesome God.

Is that not good, church?

Come on.

Woo! I was depressed till I saw that.

We serve, hey, for 40 years I've been going around hollering Jesus is awesome.

But that's why.

He can fix it.

Say this with me: God can fix it.

God can fix it.

God can fix this mess.

Somebody said, well, what if he takes us out and doesn't fix it?

That's a pretty good fix.

Anybody gonna vote against the rapture of the church?

Not me.

Kind of like the beloved John, behold, come quickly.

I'm scared of what my grandchildren are gonna grow up in.

If what we're seeing today, I don't want my grandchildren in that mess.

I want God to fix that.

And I can make a difference.

Our church can make a difference.

You can make a difference.

We can.

We can.

I need some water.

Darren, you forgot my water.

What's hey, you my you're my cupbearer, man.

I need some water.

Hey, notice the second thing.

Yeah, I've missed that man.

I love Darren High more than he'll ever know.

He has been such a blessing to this church.

He really has.

Helping on that land of the property.

Men like Paul.

Bob back there.

Oh my goodness.

All of you.

The children workers.

All of you.

That's here faithfully day in, day out, that's been right here with me from the very beginning of this church.

And I just say thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

We are making a difference.

We are.

And you hadn't seen anything yet.

I'm telling you.

You wait, you watch, you'll see.

Or let me tell you the other thing.

Do you know what else then?

We're all going to be with Jesus.

Hallelujah.

You can't lose.

Amen.

Why do you come to church to hear a message like this?

So you'll get so excited, so fired up that you forget about the virus and you charge hell with a water pistol.

Amen.

It's right against wrong.

Don't ever take this personally.

I didn't fall.

I love what he says.

Look at this in verse 10.

Nehemiah's praying, and he says back to God, they are your servants and your people whom you redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand.

Let me reword that.

CCW, you are his servants.

You are his people, whom he's redeemed by his great power.

And by his strong hand.

Five times in that verse, he repeats, you and yours after say that these aren't, hey, these aren't my people.

Nehemiah said, these aren't my people that I want to go help.

They're your people.

Wow.

See Nehemiah knew something about what God wanted to do with his people.

Look at verse 9.

Which brings me to the second point.

The person God uses has a vision for his purpose.

Look at verse 9.

Nehemiah knew something about what God wanted to do for his people.

He says, I will bring them to the place where I have chosen to cause my name to dwell.

Woo-hoo!

Babylon wouldn't do.

Oh, I can serve God wherever I want to be.

Out here on my boat, I can be.

No, no, no, no, no.

You serve God where he wants you to be.

Not where you want to be.

See the difference in man-centered and God-centered?

Hello.

I wouldn't have chosen Chelsea, Alabama.

I had my own plan.

Man-centered or God-centered?

He knew Babylon would not do God's purpose.

Notice what it says, you see in verse 9.

It involved his name, his glory being made known in Jerusalem.

It was his city, his place, where he wanted to be honored and glorified and raised to the King of Kings and the Lord Lord.

And that's good.

God's purpose in this age.

Now let's come from Nehemiah to right now, the church age.

Now I'm going to apply it for us.

God's purpose in this age involves the church.

That's why they're wanting to close the churches down.

That's why they don't want us here.

Do you hear me?

You know why they're trying to shut the church's doors?

This is God's purpose, his church in the New Testament.

You better listen.

They're trying to shut it down.

But Jesus said, Upon this rock I'll build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

The church is to be on the attack, not the defense.

That's why you're seeing preachers raise up all over this country now and saying, No, we're going to church.

They're trying to shut us up.

They're trying to shut us down.

And I know that's going, oh, I'm going to get lamb blessed.

I don't, I do care, but sorry.

I'm going to stand before God, and my job is to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

And I'm here to tell you right now, Revelation chapter 5, Jesus said, I will build my church in Matthew 16.

Revelation 5 · chapter mention

But then in Revelations 5, 9 says, Jesus purchased for God with his blood, men from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation.

But why does he want to save people from around the globe?

Hey, be careful how you answer that because I'll tell you why.

It's God centered, not man centered.

Racism, prejudice, all This that's been brought up.

All that's man-centered, not God-centered.

Red, yellow, black, and white, they're all precious in his sight.

This church has never been racist, never will be racist.

It's not a race part in me.

And y'all know that.

If you know me, you know that.

We live in such a man-centered age that we easily can fall into the error of thinking that God's purpose to save people because, now watch this.

I wrote this down.

He loves them and wants them to be happy.

But that is a man-centered goal.

Now watch.

Now don't hear the whole thing.

God's purpose is not man-centered, it is God-centered.

God does love people.

God does want people to be happy.

But not as the final end in itself.

Saving people is a means toward God's purpose, but it's not the end of God's purpose.

Paul makes it clear in Ephesians Susan's teaching through the book of Ephesians, chapters 1 through 3.

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

God's purpose involves building his church for the sake of his name and his glory.

Ephesians chapter 3, I don't have time, but Ephesians 3, 8 through 11.

Ephesians 3 · chapter mention

Yeah, I am.

I'm going to read it.

Watch this.

Ephesians 3.

Here we go.

Unto me, verse 8, who am less, Paul says, than the least of all the saints.

He shows you where he stood, and he's the greatest writer of the New Testament.

Is this grace given that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable, there it is, riches of Christ, and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ too.

Now what?

To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church, the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose.

There's his purpose to make his glory and honor known and his grace through the church, which is purpose.

There's that word again in Christ Jesus our Lord.

And then the verse 12, I throw this in.

And access with confidence by the faith of him.

I am bold and confident in saying this coronavirus cannot and will not stop the church of the living God.

Not gonna happen.

No.

If God be for us, who can be against us?

God created the church and the world.

Why?

He created the world as first that the glory of God might be magnified throughout the universe.

1 Corinthians 10, 31.

And that Christ ramps people, that's us from all times and tongues and tribes and nations would rejoice in God above all things.

In other words, rejoicing in God and glorifying God are one.

And that one thing is the aim of world missions through his church.

Somebody say that's good.

Paul, that's why you go.

Darren, that's why you go.

Todd, that's why you go to these third world countries and preach the gospel to bring glory and honor of the magnificent grace of God.

Wow.

Wow.

John Piper made this statement.

God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied with him.

You need to write that down.

God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied with him.

Man, that's good.

Let me ask you, church.

Watch him online.

Are you really most satisfied with him?

Are you allowing the world?

I'm speaking to me.

I'm telling you everything I'm preaching.

I've been woo-hoo all month.

That's why it does good to get away.

He has ripped me up one side and down the other.

Because I have a tendency to be most satisfied with what I think.

And I justify by saying what God wants us to do.

Instead of being satisfied with just the Thinky first, you know it.

But this really brings the application to it.

Think he first thinking and his righteousness.

And all these other things should be added.

Then I close with the last point.

The person God uses.

Not only does he have a burden for his people and a vision for his purpose, but he has a commitment to his purpose.

Neobi was willing to commit himself to the task and to stick with it in spite numerous difficulties.

Because the rest of the book is about him facing difficulties.

In fact, let me tell you next week's message.

The title of next week's message is The Reality of Serving God.

You're going to see it's one difficulty after another.

And here's it.

Two things.

When we hear about the distress of God's people and the dishonor to God's name, is it a costly sacrifice for all of us?

Yes and no.

Watch this.

Yes, I had to give up all the comforts that he enjoyed, endured a lot of hardship, but no, in that he could no longer be happy doing what he had been doing.

Now listen to me.

And I saved it to the end.

If you are walking with God wholeheartedly, that means you've dealt with your sin.

Remember?

And I started out with dealing with his sin.

His house.

Then the people's sin.

2 Chronicles 7.14.

This is what the church in America's got to do.

And it starts individually, in cooperatively in our church, each a family.

Got to get the hearts right, the homes right.

Now listen.

And then you've got to pray like you've never prayed before.

And here's the way you know when God gives you a burden or something.

Are you ready?

When you can't do anything else for what God's burdened your heart to do.

And if He's burdened your heart to do it, you will be miserable until you do what God tells you to do.

Every head bow, every eye close.