>> Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Steadfast Baptist Church.
See everybody here.
If we can go ahead and find our seats, we will get started.
Let's all grab a hymnal, and this morning, our first song will be "260."
Song number "260," able to deliver the song number "260."
We sing that out together.
Lord, we love you.
We just thank you so much for this great church.
Thank you so much for the opportunity to sing unto you and hear your preach, Lord.
We love you, and we just ask you to bless this service and fill it with your spirit
and it's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.
For our next, let's go to the tier towards the back, Joyce in the Lord, Joyce in the
Lord.
The Steadfast Baptist Church, if you need a bulletin, just raise your hand.
One of the ushers will get one to you.
Pastor Shelley, he's in Oklahoma City this morning, and so Lord willing, he'll be back
on Wednesday.
Just be in prayer for safe travels for him.
If you look on the front there, we have our Bible memory passage.
It is Psalm chapter 53, on the inside we have our service times.
We have our church-wide soul winning as well.
We have regional soul winning listed there.
There's a soul winning time every single day.
No excuse not to go out.
Our church stats are listed.
We have the expecting ladies and upcoming events, a choir practice is happening after
the evening service.
November the 16th, we have the turkey bowl.
November the 29th, we have a ladies Christmas party on December 5th.
November 16th already passed, so I'm not sure why I even read that one.
Let's keep going here.
December 8th, Christmas caroling.
We have on the 21st, the children's choirs are going to get up and perform.
Additionally, there's a cookie bake-off happening on the 21st where you can vote on your favorite
cookie.
The one time where the church is a democracy.
There's a Christmas candlelight service happening on Christmas Eve the 24th.
And then, men's preaching and pizza.
Not just preaching, but you get some pizza as well.
That's happening on the 31st.
Be there for that one.
There's always events happening.
Never a dull moment at Stepfast Baptist Church.
We have a prayer list there that will go over on Wednesday, but pretty much all I've got
for announcements.
So we'll move on to the next song.
Brother Dustin Conner will lead us.
Let's go to our Psalm of the Week, Psalm 139.
Psalm 139 in your binders.
Psalm 139.
Sing that out together.
Me to Nehemiah chapter number two, Nehemiah chapter number two, Bible says, and it came
to pass in the month Nisan in the 20th year of our tax or sees the king, that wine was
before him.
And I took up the wine and gave it unto the king.
Now I had not been before time sad in his presence.
Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick?
This is nothing else but sorrow of heart.
Then I was very sore afraid, and said unto the king, Let the king live forever.
Why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my father's sepulchers,
lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?
Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request?
So I prayed to the God of heaven.
And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favor
in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my father's sepulchers,
that I may build it.
And the king said unto me, The queen also sitting by him, For how long shall thy journey
be?
And when wilt thou return?
So it pleased the king to send me.
And I set him a time.
Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors
beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah.
And a letter unto Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber
to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertain to the house, and for the
wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into.
And the king granted me according to the good hand of my God upon me.
Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king's letters.
Now the king had set captains of the army and horsemen with me.
When Sanballoth the Horonite and Tobiah the servant the Ammonite heard of it, it grieved
them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days.
And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me.
Neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem.
Neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon.
And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to
the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof
were consumed with fire.
Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, to the king's pool, but there was no place
for the beast that was under me to pass.
Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back and entered
by the gate of the valley, and so returned.
And the rulers knew not whether I went or what I did; neither had I as yet told it
to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest
that did the work.
Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste,
and the gates thereof are burned with fire.
Come and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.
Then I told them of the good hand of my God, which was good upon me, as also the king's
words that had spoken unto me.
And they said, Let us rise up and build.
So they strengthened their hands for this good work.
But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Gisham the
Arabian heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing
that ye do?
Will ye rebel against the king?
And answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us.
Therefore, we his servants will arise and build.
But ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial in Jerusalem.
Let us pray.
Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you for this day.
I ask you to please give Pastor Shelley and other safe travels to OKC and back.
I thank you for the work that Pastor Alles is doing.
I ask you to please bless his church.
Please also bless Brother Ben now as he preaches your word to us.
Please fill him with your Holy Spirit and help him to deliver the message you've laid
on his heart.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Man, I want to thank Pastor Shelley for inviting me to fill the pulpit for him this morning
and congratulations as well to Anchor Baptist Church for their anniversary.
It's a great church up there and we need to keep praying for them to do mighty works
for God as they have already been doing just to keep moving forward.
Nehemiah chapter 2 is where we're going to start, notice in verse 13 where the Bible
read, "And I went out by night by the gate of the valley even before the dragon well
into the dung port and viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and the gates
thereof were consumed with fire."
Just to bring you up to speed with what's happening in the story here in Nehemiah, the
southern kingdom of Judah had devolved into wickedness to the point that the scripture
tells us there was no remedy other than destruction, other than captivity is actually what happened.
It was a 70-year captivity courtesy of the Babylonians but that lasted until the Babylonian
empire was conquered and we know that they were conquered by the Medo-Persian empire.
The Persians come in and they're represented by the chest and the arms of Nebuchadnezzar's
statue in Daniel chapter 2 but my point is, is Nehemiah is born into that captivity.
Now once we reach the end of this era of captivity, there's a restoration that takes place.
There's a rebuilding that takes place in Jerusalem.
The wall is rebuilt.
So the temple, the second temple is built, it's referred to often as Zerubbabel's temple.
Nehemiah is known as the guy who built the wall.
We know someone else who enjoys building walls.
Well Nehemiah was the first before the president of the United States was even a twinkle in
his daddy's eye, alright?
Nehemiah was the first.
And in verse 17, the story continues, "Then said I unto them, ye see the distress that
we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.
Come and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem that we be no more a reproach."
Nehemiah, he's upset with the fact that what he sees in Jerusalem is utter devastation.
That's what's happening here.
It has been devastated.
There was catastrophic damage that occurred to the city.
The walls are broken down.
They need to be built again.
The wall needs to be built.
He wants to take over that task.
He wants to deputize people to achieve this goal.
He does just that in the very next chapter.
It's just a bunch of different companies that rise up and build.
This group rises up and builds.
Another group rises up and builds.
That's the great story here.
This is what Nehemiah is known as a builder.
Look at verse 18.
"Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me," in verse 18, "as also
the king's word that he had spoken unto me.
And they said, 'Let us rise up and build.'"
Let us rise up and build.
So they strengthened their hands for this work.
Jerusalem as it lays in devastation.
The gates are burned.
Nehemiah's mind is set on building.
And notice how he informs them that God's hand is on him.
Don't let that just kind of go through one ear and out the other as we look at this passage
here.
He says, hey, God's hand is upon me.
I have a work that needs to be done.
And everything in the Bible, I believe, can be applied.
There has to be a practical application.
I think for us at Steadfast Baptist Church, let me let you in on a little secret.
God's hand is on Steadfast Baptist Church.
There's something different about this place.
I think we can all acknowledge that.
If this is your first time here, let me warn you.
There's something different about Steadfast Baptist Church.
But I don't think it's just this church.
I think there's something different about our friends churches as well.
I think there's something different about Faithful Word.
I think there's something different about First Works.
I think there's something different about Sure Foundation.
I think there's something different about Anchor.
God's hand is on those churches.
It's not just those churches as well, okay?
I think there's other churches that God's hand is on too that we have nothing to do
with.
So don't get the wrong idea.
But my point is that when God's hand is on you, there's sort of like this special, there's
a power that you have to do something great for God.
And that's why God's hand is on people.
Because of course through his foreknowledge, he knows what you're going to accomplish.
But see, there's something we need to do about that in response.
It's obvious God's hand is on this place and other places like this one.
You say why?
How about the fruit?
Over 1,400 saved in the Bahamas.
I think that proves my point.
That's all I need to say.
It's all about the works.
You say, "Well, how could you say that God's hand is on you?
That's kind of an arrogant statement."
No it's not.
It's just reality.
I'm just pointing out reality.
Over 1,400 people saved in the Bahamas, people getting saved every day.
There's a soul-warning time every day here.
Notice the response from the rulers, the priests, the nobles, the Jews.
What do they say?
They say, "Hey, rise up and build."
All right, there's devastation, there's a problem.
It needs to be solved.
You know, one of the things I love about Nehemiah, he's a problem solver.
He recognizes an issue.
He wants to fix it.
He wants to build.
And he convinces these people here, "Rise up and build."
That's their response.
"Rise up and build."
That's the title of my sermon.
Rise up and build.
Folks, here's a common attribute, here's a common denominator with all the great, mighty
men of God that you read about in the scriptures.
Notable men.
They all have this one thing in common.
They're builders.
Obviously, not every single one is known for having built something, but a lot of them
have.
I mean, we look at some of the notable men in scripture, and they built something.
Noah built an ark.
I get it.
There's a miraculous component to that, but still, my point still stands.
He was a builder.
A five-year-old could tell you that.
They know the story.
Noah built an ark.
It was Moses through Betheliel and Aholiab that built the tabernacle.
We know also that Solomon built the temple of God, Solomon's temple, okay?
On Mount Moriah, not Temple Zero, at Mount Moriah.
Read your Bible.
It's clear.
Zerubbabel built the second temple.
We have Nehemiah.
We read about him.
He's building the wall in the book of Nehemiah.
And I would challenge you to think about this morning.
What are you building?
You look at these guys.
They built things.
They accomplished something tangible in their life.
What are you building?
Hey, what am I building?
What are we building?
What are we accomplishing?
What are we leaving behind for the next generation?
Purpose in your heart to build.
Purpose in your heart to rise up and build.
But again, I have to warn you.
If you rise up and you build, there will be adversaries.
There will be enemies.
There will be naysayers.
There will be trash talkers.
There will be antagonists.
Folks, there are going to be people who come against you and talk crap about you.
There will be enemies as we see in verse 19.
Look down in your Bibles at verse 19 and notice the trash that comes out.
They slither out of their little hole to come out and try to stymie and hinder the work
of God.
We know exactly what that's like.
Verse 19, "But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the servant the Ammonite and Gisham
the Arabian," giving a real bad name to Arabians.
I'm not like this.
Don't you dare think that I fit this description right here.
"Gisham the Arabian heard it.
They laughed us to scorn."
Isn't that interesting?
You know, what are they, what is Nehemiah and his people, what are they doing that's
so bad other than just trying to build a wall, other than trying to restore Jerusalem, other
than trying to accomplish something productive?
And then you have these guys come in and they start laughing and they start mocking and
they, and you know, they have to come in, they have to be these naysayers and they got
to talk their crap and they got to try to discourage the work of God.
And it's something we deal with as well at steadfast and other churches.
So the sand ballots, the Tobias, they want to come out, slither out of their hole to
hinder the work of the Lord.
See, because building for God can be a catalyst for enemies to come seemingly out of nowhere
and give you an opinion you didn't ask for.
You know, last time I checked, Nehemiah didn't take a survey to try to figure out what sand
ballot thinks about this restoration project.
The guy just comes out of nowhere and starts laughing at them.
Well, who the hell are you, sand ballot?
Why don't you go away?
Go back into your hole.
Nobody asked for your opinion.
No one cares.
Literally no one.
You say you seem upset.
Yeah, this gets me kind of mad, but alas, I'll continue.
It says, what is this thing you do?
Starts laughing at him.
Pay attention to this part of the verse as well.
By the way, it says in the latter half of it, and despised us.
Despised us.
That's a strong word.
That's a particularly strong brand of hatred, isn't it?
Now, why did they despise them though?
Because they were trying to hinder this project.
And it's funny, you have people that their whole life revolves around trying to destroy
this church.
Their whole life revolves around trying to stop us from doing the work of the Lord, trying
to destroy Steadfast, and then they'll say, "Oh, but we don't hate you though."
You know what?
Give me a break on that.
Yes, you do.
I'm not even going to argue about it.
Here in my Bible, I read that Sanballat despised Nehemiah and his men, and all he did was try
to hinder the work of God.
If you're trying to hinder us from accomplishing the great commission and doing something great
for the Lord, yeah, you do despise us.
It's 100% accurate.
There's a juxtaposition here between the wicked and the righteous.
What is it?
The wicked aren't building.
Did you notice that in the text?
In chapter four, that's made apparent as well, but the wicked, they don't build anything.
They just want to tear down.
That's all they can do is destroy.
That's all they could do is slay.
That's all they could do is discourage.
That's all they could do is just demoralize.
That's all they've got.
But the righteous are building, aren't they?
The righteous are building.
The other side is tearing down.
The Bible tells us in Psalm 37, "The wicked ploddeth against the just, and gnasheth upon
him with his teeth; the Lord shall laugh at him, for he seeth that his day is coming."
And Sanballad and Tobiah, they laugh.
The wicked who are gnashing on us with their teeth, they're laughing at us right now.
They're throwing all their little emojis up on social media, but at the end of the day,
it's God who will have the last laugh.
It's amazing to me, people who claim the name of Christ, and yet they despise us, and yet
they despise this place.
In my mind, they're good for nothing.
They're just a bunch of good for nothing, just fakes, frauds, good for nothing, but
to be cast out and to be trodden underfoot of men.
And you know what?
They gnash on us with their teeth all day long, but God will prosper us anyway, just
like he did in this story, just like Nehemiah said, "Hey, God will prosper us."
It doesn't matter how many of them gnash on us with their teeth, it doesn't matter
how many of them will just foam out their own shame, how many of them foam out a bunch
of evil and malicious railing and evil surmising until the cows come home, God will prosper
this place because His hand is on us and they can never change that. Nothing they say can
change that, there is nothing they can do to take that away from us and so we, instead
of worrying so much about them and feeding the trolls, need to just rise up and build.
That's what we need to do. We just need to rise up and we just need to build. Nehemiah
is exemplified, or excuse me, Nehemiah exemplifies the idea of rising up and building in the
face of opposition. And I want to exhort you to be a builder, obviously that's why I called
the sermon Rise Up and Build, but specifically I want to make this statement here. We oppose
a lot of things that this church prays God for that. There's nothing wrong with that.
And frankly, even when you hear attack sermons coming from our crowd, you're still getting
a sermon that's chocked full of doctrine. You're still building. So it's not just a
tearing down. It's also a building up because there's often an application for us. There's
doctrine that we're learning in these attack sermons. And additionally, I would argue when
there is an attack sermon from our crowd against someone, you're being told not just who not
to follow, you're being told who to follow. You're getting an endorsement of good churches
in response to the bad churches out there and the false prophets and the false teachers.
And I think that the men of God have set an example for us of being well balanced in this
area where yeah, they tear down. There's a time for battle. There's a time for war. There's
a time to slay and destroy, but they're also building up at the same time. They're also
builders at the same time. And we need to take that example and we need to be not just
opponents but proponents as well. Don't just oppose everything. How about you actually
support something too? Don't just be an opponent. Be a proponent because proponents are builders,
folks. Proponents build churches. Proponents bear fruit. Proponents help and encourage
other Christians. Proponents make disciples. Proponents go out on soul-winning trips. Proponents
go on mission trips. Proponents reach the lost with the gospel of Christ. Proponents
will rise up and build. So be a proponent as well. Let's look at Nehemiah 3. Nehemiah
3, and I'll talk about some things that we should be building, some specifics. Rise up
and build. Here's the opposite of that. "The wicked watcheth the righteous and seeketh
to slay him," the Bible says. They're not building, they're watching. And look, this
is very clear. Just look at the left today. Tell me what they're building that's actually
productive and tangible. Because, of course, the Bible talks about how there are inventors
of evil things in this world. We know that the left is building abortion centers. We
know they're building Planned Parenthood. We know they're building wicked, ungodly false
churches that are flying a rainbow-fag flag. We know that's happening. We know that's what
they're building, evil and satanic garbage. We know that's what they're doing. But what
are they building that's actually tangible? They wake up every morning and figure out
new ways to tear something down. They're just obsessed with Trump. And I'm not saying, look,
you've heard preaching against Trump from our church that's actually legitimate, and
I agree with it. But you know what? We don't wake up every morning obsessed with the guy.
That's what they do. They wake up every morning. It's Trump in the morning for breakfast, Trump
at lunch, Trump for dinner, Trump every day, all day. That's all they can think about.
They're acting like the guy is some kind of fundamental Baptist or something. It's like,
bro, if you knew the guys we support, your heads would explode. If Trump is really that
extreme for you, boy, have I got some pastors to introduce you to that might make you have
just a complete aneurysm and you might just fall on your face and die right there when
you figure out the pastors that actually exist in this world who are, you know, just a little
bit more hardcore than the president and of course I'm being facetious with that, a lot
more hardcore.
But the first thing I want to talk about here is rise up and build your sanctification,
your sanctification and I think we see this in Nehemiah 3.
Now the walls of Jerusalem, again, they had to be built again, they had to be built along
with the temple.
We know the book of Ezra talks a lot about that but the wall I would say represents sanctification
because the wall separated Jerusalem.
It was a method of sanctification for the city that set it apart.
And that is what sanctification is, it's being set apart.
Holiness is another way to describe it.
The wall set Jerusalem apart just as your personal sanctification sets you apart from
everyone else.
And upon believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, you were set apart spiritually.
You were sanctified spiritually in your identity.
But that doesn't mean that you're automatically sanctified in practice.
Because there's a difference between who you are and how you walk.
There's a difference between who you are in your identity and how you walk practically.
Some people, the hyper-grace crowd, they're apparently incapable of understanding this,
which is why they twist it.
They think these two ideas are one and the same.
But again, there's a difference between who you are in your identity and who you are in
practice.
And that's why, yes, we're sanctified spiritually, but we need to be sanctified in our everyday
life.
We need to be sanctified and set apart in the way that we live our life, the way that
we walk.
And in Nehemiah 3, I think this is pictured, verse 1, it says, "Then Eliashib, the high
priest, rose up with his brethren, the priests, and they built the Sheep Gate.
They sanctified it and set up the doors of it, even under the tower of Meir, they sanctified
it under the tower of Hananiel.
The wall is built and then the gate here, sanctified, this is set apart.
It sets Jerusalem apart.
The Sheep Gate was built for the benefit of the house of God, for the sacrifices to come
in.
In the Old Testament, there were animal sacrifices that were just a picture of the Lord Jesus
Christ.
They did not bring salvation whatsoever.
They helped Israel to be right with God.
But just as sure as this Sheep Gate was used for the sacrifices, we know that the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, he sacrificed himself for us.
And it's through that sacrifice that we're sanctified in our identity.
We're sanctified spiritually.
But after we get saved, after receiving that salvation, which was brought to us, bought,
purchased, paid for 100% by the Lord Jesus Christ, we need to be sanctified practically.
And one of the best ways to do that is to offer up, as Romans 12 says, your own body
as a living sacrifice.
So you can figuratively walk through that Sheep Gate to sacrifice even your own body
for the Lord, giving him everything you've got.
That's what we see here.
Of course, for salvation, we walked through the straight gate, but we need to walk through
the Sheep Gate, practically speaking, to be sanctified practically and to offer up our
bodies as a living sacrifice.
I think Jesus enabled us to do that by purchasing our salvation.
Look at verse 3, "But the fish gate did the sons of Haseniah build, who also laid the
beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof."
I don't think it's a coincidence that the fish gate comes next, because after receiving
that spiritual sanctification, even offering your body as well as a living sacrifice, well
now you're supposed to be a fisher of men.
Now you need to go out and you need to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
You need to set yourself apart, sanctify yourself, make yourself holy by reaching the lost with
the gospel.
Going out and knocking doors and soul winning and becoming a fisher of men.
Verse 6 it says, we're going to skip down, I'm not going to go through all the gates
because then we'll be here until the evening service.
I could preach on just this like all day if you want until 4.30 but I would be in trouble
for doing that so we're not going to do that.
Let's look at verse 6, moreover the old gate repaired Jehoiada the son of Pessiah and it
lists the rest of the names in this company and it talks about the doors everything like
that.
They were repaired by this group and again if you want to be sanctified I think the building
of the wall pictures that if you want to be sanctified if you want to be set apart if
you want to be holy you need to go back to those old paths wherein is the good way folks.
I'm talking about the timeless truths of the King James Bible given to us by the ancient
of days I am the Lord I change not this world can change this world will change its standard
on how women should dress on how men should dress on how men and women should act on how
they should speak on how they should conduct themselves the standards of this world are
constantly evolving but this King James Bible never evolves even down to the very word to
the very jot and tittle we never have to worry about an update to this and in the same way
we never have to worry about the standards and practices that we get from this book they
will never change because they're the old paths they're the old ways they go back all the way to
eternity past because the word of God is eternal and settled in heaven the Bible says let's go
back to those it's funny we call ourselves the new IFB but in reality all we're doing as a movement
is going back to the standards and the practices that have been abandoned by a bunch of watered
down liberal churches i'm talking about feminism i'm talking about progressivism i'm talking about
these novel ideas that didn't rise up until the modern era thousands and thousands of years people
thought feminism was insane because it is look at the women who've been infected by it like a disease
they look like mental illness patients and they act like it too because it is a disease that
destroys them from the inside out folks it totally destroys them and it's a novel idea didn't come
around until the modern era when we started giving women quote-unquote rights and then by the way
not a coincidence they also grew to become unhappier than they've ever been look it up for
yourself if you don't believe me we don't budge with the rest of society that's called being set
apart no matter what they do out there no matter what they want to destroy out there no matter what
standards change out there we stick with this period doesn't matter who it angers doesn't matter
who it pisses off i don't care you say i don't like what you're saying right now give me a chapter
and verse because i don't run by emotion people come at me like oh especially on x how dare you
say that and then they give me a bunch of emotional drivel oh i'm sorry i missed the chapter and verse
there could you give me one oh yeah you can't because everything i believe comes straight from
the word of god women should be in the kitchen making their husband a sandwich bible says they
should be guiding the house that's bible you say i don't like that chapter and verse please often
they can't provide one because they're just giving you their feelings well facts don't care about
your feelings let's look at first thessalonians chapter 4 also in nehemiah 3 the dung gate was
repaired you say what does dung mean crap which is real simple there's another word for it but i
won't say it crap okay that's dung hey you got to get the crap out of your life to be holy to build
your separation you got to get the crap out of your life you got to get the sin out of your life
the garbage out of your life the waste out of your life first thessalonians 4 says that it says for
this in verse three excuse me verse three it says for this is the will of god even meaning specifically
your sanctification that's what i'm talking about that you should abstain from fornication that every
one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor so again i know i've
hammered this and repeated myself a bunch but i really want to make sure that no one's confusing
what i'm saying when you get saved you're sanctified in your identity it's a done deal
spiritually it's finished but practically in your walk the way you behave you have to be sanctified
practically you know carnally you could argue and in verse three it talks about that it says hey this
is your separation this is what makes you holy abstain from fornication going to bed with a woman
who isn't your wife when both parties are not married that physical relationship is sin the
bible says every one of and it says that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel
and sanctification that should be our goal you have a vessel it's called your body treat it
the right way be separated from this world be holy set yourself apart build your separation
build your holiness offer spiritual sacrifices to god be a fisher of men stick with the old
paths and get the waste the dung the sin out of your life that's how you can rebuild that
part of the wall let's go back to nehemiah we'll look at chapter six nehemiah chapter six how about
this one rise up and build your skill set just as this wall was deteriorated devastated broken down
there are many of us who our skills have atrophied after a while they're broken they need to be built
up and you could use your skills for spiritual accomplishments for a spiritual goal that you
have spiritual things that you could do you know think about this one acquiring languages
can be used for god almost every door i knock i need to learn spanish i'm preaching against myself
because i literally like almost every door encounter someone who doesn't speak english now
it's possible they're just claiming that they don't speak english a strange arabia knocked on
their door and they're just like no ingles and they're just like maybe that'll get them to go
away but that's where i say hey al camino biblico el cielo you know ten minutos all right i stole
that from someone in this room but here's the point we need to make sure that we collectively
if we're going to learn languages use it for god so what does that mean you know let's find a
language that we could use to get people saved that's what i'm talking about hey music skills
can be used for god those of you who get up here and play an instrument i commend you for that keep
it up get better because that skill can be used for the lord to play hymns to god to sing under
god public speaking can be used for god there's pastors who are very gifted speakers in this
movement and they've used that for the lord to build the house of god nehemiah 6 it says so the
wall was finished verse 15 nehemiah 6 verse 15 i forgot to give the verse there so verse 15 it says
so the wall was finished in the 20 and fifth day of the month elul in the 50 and i'm sorry in 50
and two days the wall completed in 52 days and i highlight this because i think it's an accomplishment
for it to be done that quickly in 52 days considering the opposition they faced so in
my mind and yeah i'm adding to the text a little bit here but it's okay all right in my mind this
was something that took a lot of skill for them to finish in 52 days they must have had skill
they must have known what they were doing especially because they had opposition trying
to stop them we need to build our skills we need to rise up and build our skill set and for the
men in the room we do this so we can provide for our home you know the bible tells us in first
timothy chapter 5 you don't have to go there but if any provide not for his own and especially for
those of his own house he had denied the faith and it's worse than an infidel man that's some
strong language right there in scripture i can't hold a candle to that you know these guys who are
sitting around not working not providing for their home playing playstation instead of going out and
getting a job the bible says they're so bad they denied the faith they're worse than an infidel
that's what the bible says you say i don't like that take it up with god i didn't write that verse
we need skills we need to rise up and build our skill set why so we can provide for our house so
we can put food on the table so we can put food there on the table for our family and something
that you'll realize when you start to have kids single guys as they get older let me let you in
on a little secret they love to eat somebody's got to feed them and you know what they ain't
going to be satisfied with ramen you're going to have to go out you're going to have to work hard
you're going to have to build that skill set so you can provide for your house and i get it the
ai takeover is here i understand that and some people are scared about that some people are
fearful of what's happening with technology evolving and wondering like am i going to lose my job
but we need to take this as a challenge take it as a challenge to grow your skill set evolve it
so that you can be useful even when ai comes in and takes over and kills us all all right
the thing is i'm just obviously that part's a joke but what i'm saying is you know let's evolve our
skill set a little bit you know one area that i can think of if i want to be specific is probably
like seo you know a lot of people are experts in this search engine optimization to make it to
where your website appears higher in search rankings when you look for it on google but
the importance of seo is diminished now because of ai it's diminishing a little it's less important
now than it's ever been so you're seeing people who are experts in this field evolve their skill
set and they're learning geo genitive engine optimization which basically makes it to where
you're optimizing your website so that ai is more likely to use it to grab information so they're
evolving their skills to fit the new world that we live in today the new world order i'm just
kidding but the thing is like yeah ai is taking over i get it but you know what let's not just
cry about it and be a bunch of victims let's evolve with the times let's rise up and build
our skill set so we can provide even in a time where technology is starting to come and make
some jobs obsolete you know you read books about your career that's how you can grow your skill
set you can watch youtube videos if you're a woman this applies to you as well let's say you're a
stay-at-home mom rise up and build your skill set become a better cook become a better home school
mom become a better teacher learn the bible better you know praise god i have a wife who's
always building she's always building something she's always trying to learn how to make a better meal
and i get to benefit from that she's always learning about how to be a better home school
teacher a home school wife so that my kids can grow up and have some wisdom and be smart you know
she's always learning something she's always building something and there's a lot of women
in the room that fit that description as well they're learning they're building they're growing
their skill set they're not just a bunch of busy body obnoxious turned after satan incessantly
railing loudmouth keyboard warrior hags who don't know when to shut up throw a hot pocket at their
husband and say shut up i i have these big bad pastors that i have to attack online okay i lost
my train of thought here oh yeah good women so good women they build something all right they
accomplish something in their life they're doing a work you know the bible says every wise woman
build at their house in proverbs 14 let's go to nehemiah 4 rise up and build how about this one
wisdom rise up and build wisdom we need to be smarter 10 years from now than we were 10 years
ago nehemiah 4 verse 7 nehemiah 4 verse 7 but it came to pass that when sand ballot and tobiah and
the arabians and the aminites and the ashtadites heard that the walls of jerusalem were made up
and that the breaches began to be stopped then they were wrought the breaches in the wall were
sealed and the enemy was upset about that if you see any holes in your wisdom you need to fill them
just like this wall had breaches and they were filled you may have some holes in your wisdom
that you need to build you have to rise up and build your wisdom you say how step one is you
have to acquire knowledge that means that you just learn something step two is you have to acquire
understanding comprehend the information that you just absorbed and then wisdom will teach you
how to use that information to guide your life i think that's the distinction between these three
concepts but look at proverbs 24 if you would proverbs chapter 24 it's through wisdom that you
learn how to apply knowledge how knowledge can be used to guide your life the bible tells us in
proverbs 9 the fear of the lord you're going to chapter 24 i'll just read this to you while you
get there the fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the holy is
understanding what's the scripture telling us the beginning of wisdom fearing god fearing almighty
god hey it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living god and the bible is saying
that to a group it's for it's for the saved is my point that scripture is for the saved you know
contrary to what joe jones believes yeah we need to fear god folks you show me someone who has no
fear of god and i show you a stupid person devoid of wisdom it's that simple they're idiots they're
morons to discount the power of god to judge them to clout up and reign on their life the beginning
of wisdom is to fear the lord understanding that he could take away our prosperity he could take
away our health he could take away our finances he could take away our physical life take us
home to heaven early if we transgress his law enough that's wisdom right there to recognize
that and to respond by keeping the law keeping the law that's what wisdom says follow the commandments
it's unbelievable that i even have to emphasize this but you have bozos teaching the opposite
the hyper grace lie that no matter what you're right with god now no matter what you're saved
no matter what you're saved but your actions will determine the quality of your life here on this
earth period because of the chastisement of the lord proverbs 24 where i had you turn look at verse
three through wisdom proverbs 24 three through wisdom is in house build it and by understanding
it is established and by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant
riches so the bible speaks very highly of wisdom and even personifies christ and other passages
we need to be men and women of wisdom this idea of like baptists who present themselves as
bumpkins who can't even put a sentence together is just ridiculous i'm not for it i don't endorse
it getting up and saying that you can't even understand the words on the page that you're
reading like a moron i don't like it and let me tell you why people say this about themselves
they're trying to present themselves as humble well i'm just an idiot i'm not the sharpest drawer
in the knife you know what it is it's like bro you're not it's not you're not being humble you're
just making a fool of yourself and you're making the word of god look bad adorn your doctrine with
wisdom so that when people out there look at you they don't think wow that guy's like a bucktooth
weirdo no they think like well this guy's got wisdom this guy's smart he can put a sentence
together he's coherent he doesn't drool all over himself and you know the guy can like tie his own
shoelaces he's smart he's knowledgeable he's got something interesting to say that should be what
characterizes us as Christians men and women who have wisdom what's going to give you wisdom
well look at psalm 119 if you will psalm 119 what will give you wisdom how about wise counsel the
bible says he that walketh with wise men shall be wise hey you teenagers in the room you be careful
who you hang out with they'll rub off on you and i'm sure your parents are okay with me saying this
they probably say the same thing you be careful who you hang out with you be careful who you allow
to influence you because they can either make you stupid and foolish or they can make you wise
and for the rest of us hey that still applies be careful who you hang out with the guy who's going
around making an idiot of himself online on social media with public pranks or the guy who knows his
bible or the guy who's got a real job or the guy who's actually doing something and building
something with his life that's who you should get counsel from who are you going to hang around
with today how about the guy who can give you wise counsel on how to run your marriage how about the
guy who can give you wise counsel on how to build your finances how about someone who could give you
wise counsel on how to be a better soul winner a better husband a better wife a better christian
somebody who could teach you how to rise up and build those are the people we need to be around
and get counsel from some people choose fools instead and they're destroyed psalm 119 and verse
11 psalm 119 and verse 11 thy word have i hidden mine heart that i might not sin against thee
hiding god's word in your heart will build wisdom there's nothing that builds wisdom more than the
bible hey we can read a lot of books i'm for that we need to gain instruction from the secular world
they have something to offer but at the end of the day though if it doesn't line up with the
scripture it needs to be thrown out because the wisdom of this world is foolishness with god
and memorizing the bible will enable you to be a wise person so go ahead you could start today
psalm 53 there was jude the last bible memory passage that we did that we memorized was jude
you have psalm 53 and you say well how do you memorize the bible you say a verse 10 or 20 times
in a row it's really that's all there is to it you say it now sometimes you have to break the verse
down into smaller components then put them all together but it's really just about repeating it
over and over again there's also an app you can get i think it's just called bible memory where
you can record your own voice upload it to the app and listen to yourself saying the verse a hundred
times if you want and then you could do other things while you memorize the bible now that
doesn't necessarily work for me because i cannot uh what's the word here i can't focus on two things
at the same time multi thank you i cannot multitask folks so for me i have to like focus
just on the memory but my point is that you just repeat it a bunch of times you get it then you
Then you move on to verse 2 after you quote verse 1.
You memorize that one, repeating it 10, 20 times.
You move on to verse 3.
Here a little, there a little.
Before you know it, you'll have the whole chapter memorized.
And then after you have it memorized, here's how you retain it.
Every day you quote it every day for a week.
Then you quote it every week for a month.
Once a week for a month.
Then you quote it once a month for a year.
Then you quote it once a year till Jesus comes.
And then you'll have it retained.
Let's look at Nehemiah 8, Nehemiah 8.
Here's another one.
Rise up and build the next generation.
Just have one more point after this and I'll be done.
I'm starting to begin to land the plane.
But Nehemiah 8 it says in verse 1, rise up and build the next generation.
Notice verse 1, and all the people gathered themselves together as one man.
All the people into the street that was before the water gate and they spake unto Ezra the
scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had commanded to Israel and
Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women and all
that could hear with understanding upon the first day of the seventh month and he read
therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday
before the men and the women and those that can understand and the ears of all the people
were attentive unto the book of the law the walls here are finished but at the street
before the water gate we see the word of God is espoused biblical law being read publicly
in front of everyone and I want to take a moment to emphasize a concept that we have
in this church that I think is very very important and we shouldn't take it for granted let me
tell you what it is it's called family integrated services family integrated services meaning
the children sit right next to us listening to the same sermon you're listening to right
now rather than putting them in a clown show where you don't know what's going on in there
you don't know who's teaching them it could be some pot belly it could be some weirdo
it could be someone you don't want around your children in a room that you can't see
instead we put them right here in the seat getting yelled at like the rest of us by the
pastor and you know what they notice I know the Bible says with understanding but you
know don't sell your kids short they understand a heck of a lot more than you think I mean
my son is five and he'll just like randomly bring out a point that the pastor made in
a sermon and I'll turn to him and I'll just be like how did you how'd you how'd you hear
that how'd you understand that you know I sold your sword short buddy I'm sorry you
know you're actually this is gonna sound bad you know you're actually pretty smart right
but he is and look a lot of the kids are smarter than you give them credit for they can understand
the preaching and they'll learn something and look even if they're not getting every
single thing you know at the very least you know what they're seeing they're seeing a
man get up here and lead the music they're hearing the godly hymns they're saying a man
get up a guy with hair on his legs a leather lunged bible preacher get up and rip some
face and that makes an impact on them because they know what church is actually supposed
to be like they're not seeing some effeminate skinny ripped jeans guy get up there you know
expounding on the niv in a smoke show room watering down the message with more estrogen
in him that a woman's coffee hour that's not what they're seeing they're seeing a man
of god get up with some strength thundering forth the word of god and that folks makes
an impact they know what church is actually supposed to be like and they take that with
them and then when they grow up and maybe they move away chances are they'll go to
a church like the one they grew up in not saying it's automatic they're adults who
go rayward and I get that but you know at the very least I want to make it to
where if God forbid that happens we could look at ourselves in the mirror
and we could say we did our part at least we did our part look at Matthew 19
the future of our movement is right here in this room and let's not take that for
granted this means a lot to me you know and look it's one of my issues with the
old IFV is that they won't let you have the kid or they'll let you have them in
the service but then the second that it like makes even the tiniest little noise
that you could barely hear everybody's just like it's like when the pastor
mentions McDonald's and everybody's like pal you hear that Ben and it's just like
yeah I heard it okay I got it all right he said McDonald's I get it and I go to
McDonald's all right but my point is like the kid will just barely say
something everybody will look it's like you're like the redheaded stepchild or
something of the of the church service that's not nice like no one wants to go
through that it's awkward people look at you weird you know not here but we have
mother baby rooms if the kid gets rowdy you could always take him to the mother
baby room we have that and I had you turn to Matthew 19 but the Bible tells
us in Deuteronomy 6 these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine
heart and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children and shall
talk of them when thou sittest in thine house and when thou walkest by the way
when thou liest down when thou risest up yeah we should do family Bible time I'm
for that we need to make sure that we're reading our kids the scripture I'm for
that but you know one of the best ways that we can build the next generation
one of the best ways we could rise up and build the next generation is by
bringing them to this church bringing them to steadfast Baptist Church and
watching them get built up by the preaching of God's Word folks that's how
we build the next generation because here's another statement for you that I
believe wholeheartedly church it's for the whole family I wish I could bring
even my extended family in they just won't step foot in the building you know
it's for the whole family it's for parents it's for husbands it's for wives
it's for children as well they will get something it will make an impact on them
the preaching will make a difference on them I think church is for the whole
family you know what grandma too don't be ashamed bring your grandma to the to
this church service as well it's for everyone it's for great grandma if
you're blessed to have one of those no it's just sad because our youth they're
just being influenced by like filth and a bunch of smut and you know Jewish
media they're being influenced by things that are going to destroy them so why
don't we make our kids different why don't we make our kids separated why
don't we make it so that instead of being influenced by the tick-tock and
the brain rot they're coming to church and hearing the word of God being
preached how about that Bible says gather the people together men women and
children this is a consistent theme in the scripture so I think our model is
biblical with the kids sitting right next to us and that's why when you have
for example a preacher who came in from the old IFB to preach for us he was
thinking like wow the kids are able to sit and listen to the sermon and act
normal that's pretty cool you know what I mean it looks really great for the
doctrine of Christ to have our model in my opinion not to mention it's good for
the next generation this is how we build the next generation we rise up and we
build the next generation by bringing them to church among other things as
well but I wanted to highlight that here's my last point rise up and build
your inheritance rise up and build your inheritance Nehemiah 13 is where I want
you to go Nehemiah 13 then we'll turn to one more place and I'll be done rise up
and build your inheritance what's the point of the sermon for you to rise up
and build for you to actually do something tangible with your life to
produce something to bear fruit to leave something behind for the next generation
to be productive to be builders like Nehemiah like Zerubbabel like Moses like
Solomon you know Noah as well look at Nehemiah 13 verse 30 thus cleansed thy
them for all strangers and appointed the wards of the priests and the Levites
every one in his business then it says in verse 31 and for the wood offering at
times appointed and for the firstfruits pay attention to this part remember me oh
my god for good we have the restoration of the priesthood the Levites given
certain responsibilities in this passage but the part that I wanted to highlight
is where Nehemiah says remember me oh god why because he cares about his
inheritance in my mind he cares about his spiritual inheritance that's why
he's asking God to remember him so that he can be blessed he could be blessed
for the work that he's doing the restoration of Jerusalem now turn to
first Peter one and I'll be done that's the last verse we're going to first
Peter chapter 1 so we see through the story the narrative of Nehemiah he's a
builder he's a restorer he has a project that he's trying to complete
building the wall he deputizes men to get the the sacrifices and the godly
religion going again and he says remember me for good because he cares
about his inheritance we need to rise up and build our inheritance look at first
Peter 1 in verse 3 blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively
hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead verse 4 to an inheritance
incorruptible undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in heaven for you
here's the thing about the word inheritance in the Bible you got a
rightly divide not like the dispensationalists I'm talking like
legit here you have to legitimately rightly divide the way that this word is
used in Scripture it can sometimes be in reference to just your salvation what
God has promised you eternal life access to heaven we know that is not of the law
as the book of Galatians says concerning that specific portion of your inheritance
but there's another portion of your inheritance that we get by working hard
the rewards that are waiting for us in heaven the mansion waiting for you in
heaven the blessings God wants to reward us with unspeakable things that's the
inheritance that I think it's talking about in 1st Peter 1 and we need to
build that inheritance we need to rise up and build that inheritance so you
have something waiting for you after this life and what does it say about
this inheritance hey it's incorruptible it's undefiled it fades not away
meaning what it's eternal and yet you still have people who think that you
could lose your reward somehow give me a break on that I mean the scripture
couldn't be more clear it's undefiled it's uncorruptible you'll never lose it
the Bible tells us this you don't have to turn there in Matthew 6 it says lay
not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust of corrupt and
where thieves break through and steal but lay up for yourselves treasures in
heaven where neither moth nor rust of corrupt and whether and where thieves do
not break through nor steal for where your treasure is there will your heart
be also the fancy car that you get here on earth one day will be no more that
nice house the nice house that you have one day will be no more the wealth the
carnal wealth that you have one day will be no more you can't take it to heaven
God's not going to look at you and commend you for all the carnal wealth and
the treasures that you've built up in this life he's going to commend you for
the spiritual treasures that you've built up in heaven and we need to
recognize that and not be so closed-minded and short-sighted focusing
only on this life now understand this every time you go soul winning every
time you knock a door every time you get someone safe you're building that
spiritual inheritance every time that you devote yourself to reading the Bible
and memorizing the Bible understand you're rising up you're building your
inheritance every time that you give to the house of God to try to help build
the house of God you are building your inheritance when you're heavenly minded
when you seek those things which are above you're rising up you're building
your inheritance when you do the other things I talked about in this sermon
when you build your sanctification you're building your inheritance when
you build your skill set and use it for God you're building your inheritance hey
when you build your wisdom godly wisdom you're building your inheritance when
you build the next generation and bring it in to steadfast Baptist Church to
learn things all things whatsoever Christ commanded you're building your
inheritance you know don't be like the losers don't be like the losers they're
building nothing folks the enemies are building absolutely nothing unlike them
rise up and build rise up and build so that when they attack and they will when
the sand ballots come at us and they're just like tearing us down all day every
day completely obsessed you could say I'm sorry I can't I can't hear you I'm
too busy building I'm too busy building something for God see I've decided to
rise up and build right I can't I can't hear you over the sound of over 1400
people saved in the Bahamas I'm sorry I can't I can't hear you over the sound of
the fire-breathing Baptist fellowship I can't hear you over the sound of all the
soul winning being done in this church I can't hear you over the Bible memory I
can't hear you over the spiritual treasures that we're building up in
heaven I just can't hear you bud rise up and build Noah built an ark Moses built
a tabernacle Solomon built a temple here's my question for you I'm asking
myself this as well you know what are you building and look there's a lot of
things that I could have covered and gone on for ages and ages all right what
are you building think about that as you walk out this morning and you try to
take an application examine yourself examine your life look at what has
deteriorated look at what hasn't been focused on in a while what you've
neglected and rise up and build let's pray father in heaven we thank you for
this church and for the truths that you've compacted into your Bible I pray
Lord that you would just help us to be builders rather than losers help us Lord
God to build something tangible help us Lord God to do something great for you
help us to rise up and build Jesus name amen all right in closing let's go to
song number 49 song number 49 meet me there on number 49
together