From Heartbreak to Bricklaying: A Theology of Humble Restoration

[00:06:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:06:59] I am a current Davidson Fellow here at Story Hill. I just wanted to say welcome. We're so glad that you're worshiping with us whether this is your first time or you've been here a lot and to those worshiping with us online we're so glad you're here as well. I want to draw your attention
[00:08:17] to the Connect cards that are in the tables as you come in and out of the sanctuary.
[00:08:21] If you're looking to get more connected, you can scan that QR code or this one and see what is going on in the life of the church or just join our weekly newsletter to stay connected on all that's happening.

[00:08:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]
[00:08:36] Thanks, Mary Gray.
[00:08:37] My name is Ezra, and I'm a sophomore at Davidson College.
[00:08:42] And I'm grateful to worship with everybody here this morning.
[00:08:45] If you'd join me in a quick prayer.
[00:08:47] Thank you, Lord, that we get to come together and worship as one church, one small part of your larger body.
[00:08:58] I'm just grateful that we're here this morning to serve and to praise you.
[00:09:02] And that in this, as we enter the season of Lent, that you let it be a reverent time for us to get to know you better and to, yeah, just stay faithful to you, Lord.
[00:09:15] I pray that you just be here this morning as we worship, and I'm so grateful for your love and how it works through us.
[00:09:22] In your name we pray. Amen.

[00:09:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:09:25] Amen. Will you stand with us?
[00:09:57] So many of the songs that we get together congregationally, the fun thing about lyrics is a lot of times they're kind of self-evident.
[00:13:37] Like you get into it and it's like, oh, I get what, I understand what that means, right?
[00:13:40] and then there are those songs every once in a while that really benefit from a little bit of a kind of a preview a zooming out of of the lyrics of the whole and this next song is actually one
[00:13:51] of those it's a beautiful old hymn how firm a foundation anybody know this song yes we got a few that know this song so the way i knew this song and sang this song for years not actually
[00:14:01] recognizing that that there was a sort of a change up between how the what the first verse was and what the second third and fourth verses are the first verse kind of sets up this uh this call
[00:14:13] that we we recognize together that that that god has has set us on a a firm standing when it comes to the things that he's told us in his word about how to live our life um the second third and fourth
[00:14:27] verses so actually go slide through a couple of those we had how firm a foundation second verse fear not, I am with thee, or be not dismayed. Those are God's words to us. Like, that's the
[00:14:36] foundation that we get to stand on. Keep going. We have, when through the deep waters I call you to go, the rivers of sorrow will not overflow. Those are God's words to us. One more. The soul
[00:14:48] that on Jesus says, lean for repose, I will not desert to expose. Those are God's words to us.
[00:14:54] So, as we enjoy this second song as a congregation, just sort of note that. It's a fun way to sing it

[00:15:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[00:15:01] when you know where it's going from God's holy word this morning our

[00:17:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:17:57] scripture from the Old Testament book of Nehemiah chapter 1 at verse 1 the words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah in the month of Kislev in the 20th year while I was in the citadel at Susa Hananiah one of my brothers came from Judah with some
[00:18:18] other men and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile and also about Jerusalem. They said to me, those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of
[00:18:36] Jerusalem is broken down and its gates have been burned with fire. When I heard these things I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. Chapter 2 verse 1. In the month of Nisan in the 20th year of King
[00:18:55] Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before, so the king asked me, why does your face look so sad when you are not
[00:19:10] ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart. I was very much afraid, but I said to the king, May the king live forever.
[00:19:50] so that I can rebuild it.

[00:21:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[00:21:03] As we look to you this morning,

[00:25:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:25:06] all of the brokenness that we see around you, around us, not around you, But we invite you into the middle of it because we know that you can do something with it.
[00:25:19] You do something with broken things every day that we wake up.
[00:25:22] And so we ask that you would receive the position of our hearts this morning as worship for your glory.
[00:25:29] In the name of Jesus, we come. Amen.

[00:25:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:25:32] Well, good morning again.
[00:25:36] My name is Mary Gray, and I am part of the Davidson Fellows class this year here at Story Hill.

[00:25:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]
[00:25:45] And my name is Ezra Smith.
[00:25:47] Like I said, I'm a student at Davidson College, and I did the summer ministry internship here at Story Hill last summer.
[00:25:55] So I'm here to talk mostly to the college students here, but also to all of you who might know a college student who might be interested in this opportunity this summer.
[00:26:05] So in case you're wondering, it is first open to college students, any level.
[00:26:11] So it's open to everybody who's interested there.
[00:26:14] And we have three goals in this internship, which were so much fun to push for and to, I think, hopefully achieve.
[00:26:24] The three goals.
[00:26:26] So to grow in faith, to grow professionally, and to grow in community.
[00:26:32] First, obviously, like to grow in faith.
[00:26:35] We got to serve in a church and be influenced by mentors and supervisors and other interns and formed in our faith in that way, which also plays into the community aspect because it was wonderful to be here and to be in community with all the people in leadership of this church
[00:26:50] and to have that opportunity with other interns as well.
[00:26:53] And also to grow professionally.
[00:26:55] You build real skills that are applicable in the professional world too.
[00:27:01] So also some important things are it starts on June 1st and runs for 10 weeks.
[00:27:06] It is part-time in a specific area of ministry.
[00:27:09] So I worked in youth ministry, but I had friends who did communications or helped out with the grounds and everything that Patrick does.
[00:27:22] So it's like he does so much.
[00:27:24] I don't feel like I can fit under one title.
[00:27:26] But there's many different opportunities here to do.
[00:27:29] So applications are open.
[00:27:31] Please apply if you are interested or you know someone else who is interested.
[00:27:35] Please tell them to apply.
[00:27:36] It was so much fun.
[00:27:37] I had a great time.
[00:27:38] I was in youth ministry, and so I had the wonderful job of hanging out with youth all the time.
[00:27:43] So high school kickoff was a ton of fun.
[00:27:46] We went to a big lake house, and we hung out with them and just sought to mentor and give them, show them who Jesus was.
[00:27:55] But we also had things with all the interns, like serving at Ada Jenkins and communing with everybody every week to check in and do a little Bible study.
[00:28:05] So it was really a life-changing summer.
[00:28:09] It was a front-row seat to what God's doing here in Story Hill, which was so cool to be a part of.
[00:28:15] You can feel free to email college at storyhill.org.
[00:28:18] You can see it up there.
[00:28:20] And talk to Katie or somebody else who is in charge here.
[00:28:24] I'm happy to share more of my experience, too.
[00:28:26] So, yeah, let me know if you have any questions.

[00:28:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:28:29] And so, like I said, I am doing the Davidson Fellows Program right now, which you're probably wondering.
[00:28:35] I mean, some of you might know.
[00:28:36] But if you don't know, it is a nine-month career and leadership program where you are surrounded by families and friends and mentors, all learning how to help you pursue intentional community, Christian community.
[00:28:53] And so it has been such a joy for me to be in this space.
[00:28:58] I went to Davidson College, but getting to dig into Davidson in a different way has been such a gift.
[00:29:03] I've especially loved getting to live with the host family and learn from their daily rhythms, getting to work at Ambassador Christian School and seeing what it's like to live or to work in a school as I try to decide what I'm doing next.
[00:29:15] I have loved getting to do our seminary class on Thursdays, getting to walk through the Bible and dive deeper into scripture.
[00:29:22] serving in kids ministry on Sunday mornings and serving in the community on Thursday mornings but I think the greatest honor and gift for me has been walking side by side with eight other friends who are also trying to figure out and we're learning together what it looks like to pursue
[00:29:38] Christian community and to keep God at the center of everything we're doing and so what's really exciting is there's still spots open for next year's program and if you know someone we would love for you to encourage them to apply. The deadline is, the spring deadline is March 15th,
[00:29:57] and if you know someone, please send their information to caesar at storyhill.org to start the conversation. Sometimes it really just does take a simple nudge or an invitation

[00:30:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]
[00:30:08] to get people involved. These are two wonderful ways that this church raises leaders, and we are very grateful that we got to be part of them. So now, if you would stand up and turn to your
[00:30:21] neighbor and ask them, now make sure you get this, would you rather have a spoon every time you need a knife or a knife every time you need a spoon? Good luck. Good morning, everybody. Good morning.

[00:32:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:32:05] Good morning. Very good morning, everybody. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning.
[00:32:33] I'm Michael Flake. I'm part of the pastoral team here. Great to be together as a church family this morning, worshiping in the sanctuary and worshiping online. We love being together as a church family. As Mary Gray told you, be sure to grab one of those small connect cards on the
[00:32:48] sanctuary tables as you enter or exit so that at the very least you can get signed up for the weekly newsletter and find ways to plug into the life of the church. We would love that.
[00:32:59] We want to begin this, the sermon this morning, before the sermon this morning, we want to celebrate a confirmation of baptism. So I'll ask Pastor Katie and Ashley to join me, but as they do, just so you know, baptism is what's called a sacrament. That means it is both
[00:33:15] a sign and a seal, both a symbol and an assurance of God's promise, His covenant with His children.
[00:33:21] There's the recurring sacrament of communion, and then there's the one-time sacrament of baptism.
[00:33:26] Baptism points to faith. When little ones are brought for baptism, it is because their parents desire to raise them in such a way that one day they will invite Christ into the center of their
[00:33:36] lives. And when that happens, we will invite them to come into the center of these circles and continue the ancient tradition of the church, confirming their baptism, remembering it, celebrating that baptism. When all others come for baptism, that looks backwards that they have
[00:33:51] come to faith, they're backwards to their faith. They have come to faith in Christ and they desire to follow Jesus into the waters of baptism. We will have a baptism at the 11 o'clock service
[00:34:00] today. But here we are. Hello, Ashley. How are you? Good. Wonderful. You are a sophomore at Davidson too? A lot of sophomores at Davidson today. Wonderful. I was that for two years, but it was a good two years. Katie was that for like half a year probably.
[00:34:21] Yeah. Well, we are so excited. You were presented for baptism as a little one. You have come to put your faith in Christ and we desire to celebrate that and to confirm your baptism today. So,
[00:34:33] Ashley, one question for you. Do you profess Jesus Christ to be your Savior and Lord? Do you desire to live as a new creation, to show the Holy Spirit's fruit, to be marked by generosity,
[00:34:44] to live a life that points people to God? Do you? Wonderful. For that, all of eternity rejoices.
[00:34:52] Do you, the ministry partners of Story Hill, take responsibility for the continued Christian growth of Ashley, promising to set a godly example in your own life and to pray for her life of faith do you excellent got a lot of people cheering you on a lot of people here to help
[00:35:07] well i will invite you to right here so that katie can confirm your baptism amazing ashley we are so

[00:35:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:35:14] excited for you and we are grateful that you are part of our church family yes and like michael said today we're going to continue an ancient tradition of the church by confirming your baptism and so Ashley tell me your full name Ashley Nicole wrangle amazing well Ashley Nicole wrangle today
[00:35:34] we remember and celebrate God's faithfulness as we remember and celebrate your baptism in the name of the Father and in the name of the Son and in the name of the Holy Spirit amen no actually wait wait wait one moment can I pray for you as well yes no you're good let's pray
[00:36:04] father thank you so much for Ashley and for her heart and willingness to come before you today and have her baptism be confirmed I just thank you for how you've gone before her and leading
[00:36:15] her up into this moment i pray that you would continue to lead her and guide her as she becomes more like your son jesus please empower her by your holy spirit to help her grow in love for you
[00:36:27] and love for those around her and may she exhibit the joy and the peace and the fruit that comes from knowing you we pray all this in the name of your son jesus amen amen thank you ashley

[00:36:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:36:40] Yes. Well, we also today get to begin a new series of sermons for the season of Lent.
[00:36:58] We are going to look at the book of the Bible called Nehemiah, and our emphasis will be on rebuilding the broken. Lent is the 40-day season before Easter. It is a time when followers of
[00:37:11] Jesus have historically reflected on our lives, reflected on our need for Him. We have recognized our own fallenness, our own frailty, and so we engage anew with one or more spiritual disciplines, those being routines that make us stronger as we try to grow closer to God, grow in our relationship
[00:37:30] with God. I encourage you to find a way to engage in this season, not being afraid that you're doing it wrong, so to speak, but with an anticipation that God will meet you even in a humble attempt.
[00:37:43] So you might consider, for instance, reading the book of Nehemiah between here and Easter as a way to renew the habit of Scripture reading.
[00:37:51] Or you might use the 40 Days of Decrease book that we read together last Lent.
[00:37:57] Or you might consider fasting, fasting from a habit, fasting from food during this season.
[00:38:03] Fasting is not simply about what you give up.
[00:38:05] A friend of mine who's sitting right over there once described fasting as creating a little pocket of longing in your life.
[00:38:12] take something out it makes a little pocket of longing and the question is what am i going to put in that pocket so don't think of fasting just as pulling out but also is what am i putting
[00:38:23] into the pocket of longing that's created so consider that as a potential discipline consider setting aside money that you might be able to give to god's work to help the poor consider setting aside time each day in the morning in the evening and both to pray pick a way you might
[00:38:39] engage and grow closer to god not in your strength but in your weakness in this season we're also emphasizing that god is doing something in this world god is rebuilding god is restoring god has
[00:38:52] done this for his people and through his people in the past he is doing it for his people and through his people today and he invites us to join in with that he invites us to join in his work not to give
[00:39:04] into fatalism not to give into despair when we look at our lives when we look at our world but to see big broken lives and to see a big broken world as a chance for god to work and for you and
[00:39:17] me to join god in that work this brings us to nehemiah nehemiah lived around 450 years before the birth of jesus he wrote a book of the bible that is in the old testament that's the half of
[00:39:33] of the Bible that predates the earthly ministry of Jesus. And when Nehemiah wrote, we're sort of near the end of the historical era of the Old Testament. We're at the part of the Old Testament
[00:39:45] where things are really starting to unwind. They're not going so well. And it gets so bad that God actually sends his people into exile. This means that outside nations come in, take them over, burn most of what they love to the ground, and then ship them off to various places.
[00:40:04] Nehemiah is one of these Hebrew people he is part of God's people who live in exile and in exile what happens to Nehemiah is he becomes the cupbearer for the king of Persia how do I know this you ask well Nehemiah chapter 1
[00:40:19] verse 11 says I was cupbearer to the king you too can study the Bible now cupbearer is a pretty interesting job this means that you would inspect and taste the drinks before the royalty would drink them to ensure they were not poisoned that is a
[00:40:41] job that ai cannot do i am told that a few years from now ai will be able to write better sermons than me and so y'all will just wheel a little robot out here and plug in the sermon and it'll
[00:40:55] say number one number one number number number one so if any of you are hiring for a cupbearer I may be interested here in a few years King Artaxerxes of Persia has such a deep trust in Nehemiah a deep trust in his
[00:41:15] Integrity that he has made him his cup bearer So this is how the book begins the words of Nehemiah son of Whenever I say it how Pete said it was correct son of Hakaliah in the month of Kisev in the twentieth year
[00:41:33] While I was in the citadel of Susa Hanani one of my brothers came from Judah with some other men and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile and also about
[00:41:46] Jerusalem so Pete read earlier from a little bit of chapter 1 a little bit of chapter 2 of Nehemiah the big picture is that Nehemiah is visited in exile by one of his brothers We don't know the exact reason for the visit, but we know the brother comes with a group of people
[00:42:03] they've recently been to Judah, that's where Jerusalem is, and he and the men give Nehemiah this report about their homeland. This is the report, verse 3. They said to me, those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace.
[00:42:20] The wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates have been burned with fire. So trouble, disgrace broken down burned down does that sound like any life you know does that sound like any world you know throughout my 14 and a half years of pastoring this here fine church one of the
[00:42:51] things i've most often been criticized for is not talking enough about current events now you are free to disagree with the approach i take but this does go back it's not a recent criticism. It goes back to the very first year of the church. Now, I and the other preachers
[00:43:10] and our community group leaders, we do try to teach the ethical implications of the Christian faith. We don't do all of them every week, but we try over time to teach them so that you and I can
[00:43:20] make sense of the world in a Christ-centered way. And when we do bring current events into this time that is focused on worshiping God together, it is because as best I can discern, God has asked me to
[00:43:32] do so because the situation is local or because it is actionable or both but my deep conviction for fourteen and a half years has remained the same that we myself included we spend too much time looking at screens and not enough time
[00:43:49] looking out the window a recent study has said that the average person the United States spends how many hours a week looking at screens 50 5-0 now some Some of that is for work and let's say they're wrong by a factor of two, but some of that
[00:44:09] is for work and not all of it.
[00:44:15] And we have to be aware of the way that 24 hour news and social media, which is now cleverly disguised 24 hour news and the algorithm that drives all that the way that it radicalizes
[00:44:26] people because it has learned how to tell us what we want to hear in a way that makes us either afraid or angry so that we will come back later for another hit. In the last years,
[00:44:39] our sphere of knowledge has grown significantly and our sphere of influence has only grown a little bit. And so mostly what has happened in that is that we sit and simmer and stew. I'm with
[00:44:52] you in this. Sit and simmer and stew about a world that feels like it's spinning out of control.
[00:44:58] and I don't say this callously like a top-of-mind example as I say this is for those among us who have experienced who have survived the evil of sexual assault and this current news cycle is incredibly challenging for you it is
[00:45:16] stoking fundamental doubts that you have to which the only real reassurance is that Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead and I'm so thankful you're part of a church, so that you have 3 a.m. friends and community group leaders and Bible
[00:45:35] study leaders who can walk with you through that challenge to which there is no simple and easy reassurance. And I see you. I cannot be the one who walks with you, but I see you. I take my job
[00:45:50] as the chief physician in this hospital very seriously. So I say all this to say sometimes it does feel like the world is spinning out of control, and that may feel heightenly so for some
[00:46:01] of us right now. So all this is spinning around, and then we come into this little more than an hour when we try to focus on loving God, loving people, keeping Christ at the center. And honestly,
[00:46:14] some weeks it hardly feels like a drop in the bucket. And yet I remain hopeful that this time will become the lens through which we interpret our lives instead of our lives being the lens
[00:46:30] through which we interpret this time. The fast way I say that is we need to look out windows more than we need to look at screens. Nehemiah asks his brothers and the people with him,
[00:46:47] his brother and the people with him, not just one person, but relies on the words of many.
[00:46:51] He says, I care about our homeland. Tell me what you saw with your own eyes. And the report is, it is in trouble, it is disgraced, it is broken down, it is burned down.
[00:47:04] Trouble, disgrace, broken down, burned down. Does that sound like a life you know? Does that sound like a world you know? What do you and I do with the big broken things that are actually somewhere
[00:47:22] in our sphere of influence? Be that our character, be it a relationship, be it an injustice, be it a dream, how do we proceed? We learn a few things in the first chapters of Nehemiah.
[00:47:38] Number one, number one, number, number, number, point number one. Nehemiah takes his heartbreak before God. What do we learn from Nehemiah? Well, first he takes his heartbreak before God. Verse four says, when I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and
[00:47:57] prayed before the God of heaven, which sounds a lot like Lent. He heard multiple people give him firsthand account of the grim condition of his homeland. The people of Jerusalem are in trouble and disgrace. And in these ancient times, city walls and city gates did provide protection,
[00:48:17] but they also functioned kind of how downtowns function today. They would give you a really quick sense of whether the town's best days were ahead of them or behind them.
[00:48:26] Nehemiah's heart is broken because he hears this report but he does not leap right to action he takes his heartbreak before God and he just grieves in God's presence he fasts he prays and he prays and he prays he lets God mold and shape
[00:48:45] him and when I read this that for some days he did this I figure okay probably did that about one or two days and then he leapt into action but we look at this a little interesting detail and nehemiah 1 1 tells us that he got this report in the month of kislev
[00:49:06] and then nehemiah chapter 2 tells us that he mourned fasted and prayed about this until the month of nissan nison according to chapter 2. how many of you know your jewish calendar okay you're not ready for jeopardy quite yet neither am i i had to write it down
[00:49:27] Kislev is followed by Tevet, is followed by Shevat, is followed by Adar, is followed by Nisan.
[00:49:39] He mourned, fasted and prayed for at least four months.
[00:49:46] In our world, that would be like getting heartbreaking news in November and fasting, mourning and praying about it until March without doing anything else.
[00:50:00] And may I suggest there's wisdom here.
[00:50:04] as a follower of jesus or if today or sometime in the near future you become a follower of jesus how beautiful on a day when we get to celebrate people's baptism to think about that right that
[00:50:17] saying i am depending on jesus the question that you heard ashley say yes to what would it happen if you could say yes to that question if you would say yes to that question when we trust
[00:50:28] jesus to give us forgiveness and purpose and everlasting reunion with god the thing that our hearts long for as a follower of jesus we are filled with god the holy spirit god the holy spirit comes into our lives transforms our lives our heart our body our soul our mind he transforms
[00:50:45] us from the inside out so as a christian as a follower of jesus you do and i do get promptings from the holy spirit we do get guidance from the holy spirit as we take in the world around us and
[00:50:58] yet discernment is required because not everything is from the holy spirit not every prompting is from the holy spirit not every gut feeling is from the holy spirit if you are a christian the war
[00:51:10] inside you is one jesus is the victor but there's still a battle going on inside of you which is why there's great wisdom in nehemiah's pause for four months he takes his heartbreak before god as if he's trying to figure out what if anything in this heartbreak is from you what if
[00:51:35] anything in this heartbreak is from you god and what of it grows out of my own shortcomings and frailty faced with bad news what does my heart actually long for and are you the one molding
[00:51:51] that heart molding that longing faced with bad news what does my heart actually long for and are you the one molding my heart and molding my longing so that's point number one point number two is that nehemiah recognizes he is part of the problem faced with this situation of trouble
[00:52:13] disgrace broken down burned down nehemiah pauses for at least four months to seek god and in those four months he comes to the recognition that he is part of the problem nehemiah prayed this in the part of chapter 1 between what Pete read he prayed I confess the sins
[00:52:34] we Israelites including myself and my father's family have committed against you we have acted very wickedly towards you we have not obeyed the commands decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses God is doing incredible rebuilding
[00:52:50] and restoration work in this world he's doing it in our lives he's doing it in our homes he's doing it in our community he's doing it in charlotte he's doing it in the cities from which we came it's a great privilege to join god in his work and point two reminds us that our
[00:53:05] heart matters the position of our heart matters in all this i have checked every job board that i can find and the world is not hiring for a savior right now that position has been filled
[00:53:21] And so when we walk into a situation that is troubled, that is disgraced, that is broken down, that is burned down, we are headed to a grand wipeout if we walk in as a savior,
[00:53:33] as the only one who can truly understand it and fix that situation.
[00:53:38] And I have seen this time and again in ministry here in Davidson and in the high poverty ministries I was in before Davidson.
[00:53:44] so in his prayer Nehemiah admits how his people his family he himself are part of the problem Jerusalem got ransacked and God sent his people into exile because the hearts of the people had turned away from God and Nehemiah confesses that we
[00:54:04] are part of that I Nehemiah am part of that now here's an interesting detail Nehemiah was not alive when the exile started his point is the problem in those people who turned away from you, God, that same problem is in me. And so I come to this work,
[00:54:29] not as a savior, but as someone who humbly wants to join God's work. I am reckoning with the fact that I am, or I could be part of the problem in the midst of what is broken. And when you and I
[00:54:42] will struggle with that, we'll reckon with that. It puts our heart in the right place as we begin to act. Now you may not be part of the problem, but at least we struggle with the idea that we
[00:54:53] could be. It puts our hearts in the right place as we act, not as saviors, but as the humble servants of God. But then point number three, number three, number, number, number, finally, last point, point
[00:55:08] number three, Nehemiah affirms that the cry of his heart is to rebuild the broken. So he's confronted with the bad news. He spends at least four months taking his heartbreak before God. He draws near to
[00:55:20] God in fasting, in weeping, in weakness, not in strength. He reckons with his own fault, his own responsibility to proceed not as the Savior, but as the humble servant of God. And then is the time
[00:55:33] for action comes. And his first step looks like this. King Artaxerxes one day, we're now in the month of Nisan, King Artaxerxes one day, notice Nehemiah looks sad. The king remarks to his trusted cupbearer, you look sad. You're not sick. You're not sick, are you? Cupbearers are
[00:55:57] encouraged to use vacation days, sick days, judiciously, as you probably know. You're not sick. Is your heart sick? Is your heart sad? And Nehemiah nervously told the king what he was grieving, grieving the destruction of Jerusalem. The king listened and replied this way. The king
[00:56:22] said to me, what is it you want? What a great question. What is it you want? Then I prayed to the God of heaven and I answered the king. Imagine being afraid to talk to a person but not afraid to
[00:56:40] talk to God. I prayed to the God of heaven and answered the king. If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in your sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors
[00:56:53] are buried so that I can rebuild it. And as the book goes on, we realize, and I think Nehemiah realizes too, he was not rebuilding the broken city. He was part of rebuilding the broken city.
[00:57:10] We have a part to play, but you and I do not need to be the great rebuilder. The great rebuilder has come. Jesus the Christ, fully God, fully human, who came to rebuild, who came to restore our lives
[00:57:28] first and foremost by reconciling us to God, reconciling our relationship to God, but he also then invites us to join in the rebuilding work that he is doing in our lives and the rebuilding work he is doing in this world. Even as we know that people and situations will only become fully
[00:57:50] whole in God's unveiled presence. But as he died on the cross, as he died as the perfect sacrifice who took our sin upon himself, that it would be judged, that it could be forgiven. This is the
[00:58:04] cry of his heart from the cross in Luke chapter 23. It says, when they came to the place called the skull they crucified him there along with the criminals one on his right the other on his left
[00:58:17] jesus said father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing for all those who have turned away from god for all those whose sin held jesus to that cross from the depths of his heart
[00:58:36] the cry of his heart that came out of his mouth was father forgive them and it is through Jesus crucified and resurrected that we can receive forgiveness we can receive purpose we can receive the eternal reunion with God
[00:58:58] for which our hearts long and so what about you what is the cry of your heart as we enter into Lent and prepare for Easter? As King Artaxerxes asked Nehemiah, let the Bible ask each of us this morning, what is it you want? What is it you want? Trouble? Disgrace?
[00:59:38] Broken down? Burned down? When we see this in our world, when we see this in our lives, what do we do what do we do with the big broken things where we these things are some part of
[00:59:57] these things are actually in our spheres of influence be it our character be it a relationship be it an injustice be it a dream be it a community we do sit we do simmer we do stew
[01:00:14] but the encouragement i'm trying to offer myself and us is to take our heartbreak to god so that through prayer fasting mourning confession so that drawing close to him in our weakness he might mold our hearts mold our longings and give us a
[01:00:39] christ-centered answer to the question a christ-centered answer to the question what is it you want what is it you want and then as a humble servant of God not as a savior as a humble servant of God we can be part of the solution by God's
[01:01:10] grace with God's help for God's glory you can grab a brick just grab a brick and do a little rebuilding just grab a brick just grab a brick just grab a a brick. Just grab a brick and do a little rebuilding. Let's pray together. Let me give
[01:01:47] you a chance to pray, a chance to talk to God, to listen to God about whatever he's stirring up in your heart or your mind. Just take a quiet moment for personal prayer. Lord, we praise you as the
[01:02:44] God of hope. And I pray for this, our church family, I pray against fatalism. I pray against despair. I pray that you as the God of hope will fill us with all joy and peace as we trust in you,
[01:03:08] that you and I, that we might abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
[01:03:17] Lord, as we prepare this year for the celebration of Easter, we celebrate your resurrection every week, but it's beautiful to celebrate it with every one of Christians around the world that day.
[01:03:28] As we prepare for the celebration of Easter, Lord, may we be willing to meet you in these hard places. May we listen to how you are stirring inside of us. May we sit quietly with you and
[01:03:47] answer the question the scripture poses, what is it you want? And Lord, when we find a Christ centered answer to that question, may we join you humbly in the rebuilding work. I pray for all
[01:04:03] those who maybe for the first time today heard the cry of your heart, which is father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing. If we need to meet you in your forgiveness, if we need
[01:04:17] to meet you as our savior. May we do that now. May we say, yes, Jesus, I will follow you and let you repurpose my life. We pray all this in your matchless name. Amen. Amen. Let's respond together.

[01:05:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[01:05:38] So as things get stirred up in the worship services or throughout our time of Lent,

[01:11:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[01:11:34] we would love to meet you up there pray with you pray for you after our services on sunday as we've done today continue to look up continue to look around that together we might find life as we
[01:11:45] love god love people in all things keep christ in the center amen amen we'll see you next week