HANDS THAT REBUILD

Intro

EXHORT

“I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me. They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work.”

‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭2‬:‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

TODAY I WANT TO TALK TO US BRIEFLY FROM THE TOPIC- HANDS THAT REBUILD

Today in this text we read about a man named Nehemiah.

Some of yall know the story, for those in the room tonight who dont, this is a man of great faith.

He is a leader among leaders.

He reminds me of alot of the men in this room tonight.

What i love about this story is the boldness and risk taking Nehemiah makes to restore Jersalems crumbled walls.

Last time i spoke at the Net , i spoke about self participation. How God can can place something in your heart, but some things require our participation.

Some things require our hands, our obedience, and our YES

Now, i am a terrible handyman. Like if i dont have instructions to even put a coffee table together, it aint getting put together or its gone be all messed up when im done

Im pretty sure i failed my wood making class in high school. I knew from a very early age, im alot better with my brain than i am my hands?

Any amens? Nope just meee okayyy lol

And many of us are using the wrong blueprint to building our lives

Maybe youre in this room and you dont have the blueprint, you dont even know where to find the blue print

When we try to do everything ourselves, when we value and priortize systems, schedules , deadlines and our brain power

We diminish work that the Lord can do through us. We forsake him.

His power and His strength becomes an after thought.

Context

In the 580s BC, a ruthless empire rose to power: the Babylonians. They sacked the southern kingdom of Judah, destroyed Jerusalem, burned the temple of Solomon to the ground, and carried off the Jewish people into exile. Out of roughly two million Jews, many were taken captive to Babylon.

But even in that dark season of captivity, God did not abandon His people. Through prophets like Jeremiah, He spoke words of hope:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

Those words weren’t a promise of instant escape—they were a call to trust God while living faithfully in exile for 70 long years.

Then, in the 530s BC, another group rose: the Persians, led by Cyrus the Great. They conquered the Babylonians. And remarkably, the Persians showed favor to the Jews. Cyrus decreed that the Jewish exiles could return to their homeland. He even encouraged them to rebuild the temple that had been destroyed.

History records that a man named Zerubbabel led the first group back to Jerusalem and began rebuilding the temple.

Some years later, another man rose up—Ezra, a priest and scribe. He led a second group of Jews home and reintroduced them to the spiritual life of God’s law and worship.

Now fast-forward to 445 BC. Thirteen years after Ezra arrived in Jerusalem, a group of men traveled from Judah all the way to the Persian empire. They came to the palace in Susa and spoke to a Jewish man named Nehemiah.

Nehemiah wasn’t a prophet or a priest. He held a regular—but very important—job in the Persian government. He was the cupbearer to the king (likely Artaxerxes I). His role was to taste the king’s wine and food before it reached the royal table.

If it was poisoned, Nehemiah would die first. Kings kept men like Nehemiah close because they needed people of proven integrity around them. A man without character could corrupt the entire court.

One day, these men from Judah told Nehemiah about the situation back home.

Nehemiah asked them, “Tell me about the people who survived the exile—the remnant who are back in Jerusalem.”

Their report was heartbreaking:

Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.

See in our Western culture we dont understand what these walls represented.

In ancient times, walls were everything. They represented fortification—protection from invaders. They stood for peace and serenity inside the city.

They symbolized beauty, safety, and the glory of God surrounding His people. Without walls, there was anarchy. People lived in constant fear. Homes were vulnerable. The city was distressed. The people grieved. They were sad, ashamed, and disgraced.

The city that bore the name of God lay in ruins.

Fellas, it’s 445 BC in the story—but it feels a lot like 2026.

In our society today, walls have been broken down.

• Walls of morality have crumbled.

• Walls of family have been weakened.

• Walls of Christian faith and biblical truth have been assaulted.

• Walls in the church have been compromised.

• Even on social media and in our culture, the reputation and glory of our God have been disgraced.

When Nehemiah heard this report, his heart broke. The Scripture tells us he sat down and wept. He mourned for days. Then he turned to God in prayer—in the month of Kislev (around November/December).

He prayed with confession, with humility, and with bold faith, asking God to remember His promises and to grant him favor with the king.

THIS IS WHERE WE PICK UP IN THE TEXT

PRAYER COMES BEFORE STRATEGY

When we pick up in the 2nd chapter we are in the month of Nisan (considered april or may)

This is 4 months from chapter 1 when we received the news of the wall

Nehemiah was been praying for 4 months

Hes been crying out to God for 4 months.

He didnt receive this burden and then immediately go do something.

He waited for the right moment

You see this shows the Power of the SECRET PLACE

This was where he was BUILT

This was where he became PREPARED

(DELAY) WHAT IF THE DELAY IS ACTUALLY STRATEGY AND NOT REJECTION?

Oh you thought he became anointed when the king granted his wish?

The anointing was BIRTHED in his secret place

STORY

I remember watching the forge - it’s a movie about brother hood and discipleship and I really got inspired

And I remember praying for something like that to be apart of it

And I just remember at that time I was doing a little Bible study going thru Roman’s. Me and drake would send reels to each other all the time, we never met but we would send reels and I invited him first time was March 13th . And kept inviting him. This was in March of 2025 and then he showed up once and then again

We formed this bond this brother hood. And I just remember praying to God to have favor on us. To prepare us, to give us an opportunity

And on June 15th 3 months later. He texted me “it’s time” and that’s how fishers was birthed

But we didn’t have a strategy, but those months of praying and interceding the Lord

We prayed before we had strategy.

END OF STORY

Are you building your plans and then inviting God into them? Or are you letting God build the plans through you?

Strategy matters, but prayer strengthens the plan. It Recenters your heart to align you with His will

You see people like to say “Lord bless my plan”

But what we should be saying is Lord build your plan THROUGH me

The bible doesn't say “manifest” a good business plan. It Doesnt say Manifest a good marriage.

It doesnt say Manifest breaking this addiction.

The bible says SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM!!!!!

I’ll never forget my favorite line in the FORGE was

You see we can’t treat prayer like some spare tire that you only pull out in an emergency.

It’s got to be more like the steering wheel!

That you hold tightly everyday no matter where you’re going

Thats what Nehemiah did because he prayed and got in alignment with the Lord ,

It steered his plans and it lead to fruit

He was being positioned for 4 months. That consistent prayer produced obedience when the opportunity presented itself.

When was the last time you let God change your plans not just bless them?

NOT EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW TH BLUEPRINT

We live in a time where people love to promote their calling before they even step into their calling

Some of us need be like Nehemiah , when were rebuilding

Nehemiah didnt go and tweet or make an instagram posts of his plans

He didnt even go and tell his friends.

No verse 12- i told noone what God had put on my heart ...

Some things God put on your heart needs to operate like a secret mission.

Some things only you have the clearance for. This classified information. And if this gets into the wrong hands, the mission can fail.

Even tho nehemiah had people with him, people who the king sent to fulfill his mission, he had enemies around him

When God puts you on mission to fulfill his purpose/ will there will always be an adversary

Sanballat and Tobiah … were greatly displeased. Their mention here is a reminder that whenever you are going to do something right, enemies will show up. Satan has an agenda. But remember: “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against … evil” (Eph 6:12)

Nehemiah went to go to examine the walls of jerusalem- this shows us that we when things break, when things of our life fall down, weve got to go inspect and access not only what happened but how can we fix it.

And none of that requires attention from other people. None of that requires a spotlight

Some of the most successful missions in history and wars, Were Secret missions.

Nehemiah, is saying hey, God gave me the blueprint. Not everyone needs to know. This is CLASSIFIED

Why are you trying to get people to understand a blueprint God never gave them??

Everybody cant carry what God gave you and if you keep looking for validation , youll delay your obedience

You see obedience doesnt require a PLATFORM.

The platform doesnt produce obedience, it exposes it.

What you tolerate without the platform will show up when you get the platform.

THE ONLY TOOL YOU NEED TO REBUILD IS THE HAND OF GOD

Some of us dont need more tools, we need more trust.

During this whole process The hand of God was on Nehemiah, from when the news comes about the wall, during the DELAY, to being SAD in the presence of the king, which was a risk, to giving him the BOLDNESS to request this mission to the King,

To being in the midst of enemies and going out to inspect the walls.

The hand of God is all he had in his tool belt.

It was all he needed !! He didnt need a good plan. He didnt even need a great plan. HE NEEDED A GOD PLAN

And yes The Lord obviously blessed Nehemiah with certain gifts, but HIS HAND WAS ON HIM

EXHORT- I KNOW THERES A FEW PEOPLE IN HERE WHO CAN TESTIFY THAT THE HAND OF GOD WAS ON THEM

IF IT WASNT FOR THE HAND OF GOD GRABBING YOU OUT OF DARKNESS AND REBUILDING YOU IN THE LIGHT.

HE REBUILT YOUR IDENITY

HE REBUILT YOUR MARRIAGE

HE REBUILT YOUR HEART

I KNOW ITS SOME PEOPLE IN HERE WHO CAN SAY GODS HAND PROTECTED YOU FROM SOME THINGS

HE HE GAVE YOU FAVOR WHEN YOU DIDNT EARN IT

HE GAVE YOU STRENGTH WHEN YOU WANTED TO QUIT

HE OPENED SOME DOORS YOU DIDNT EVEN KNOCK ON!

Thats what the hand of God looks like

And fellas, this is how the gospel works, when we submit to the hand of God. We throw out all the other tools, we throw out the pride. We throw away our anger, we throw out we need to control outcomes .

We allow the the Lord to orchestrate his plans in US and THROUGH US!

When nehemiah testifies that “the hand of my God which has been good upon me - this is a pattern of active divine intervention and then we , as the people need to respond.

This mirrors the Gospel. When we receive grace - obedience has to precede it!

Just as Nehemiah mobilizes the people to rebuild, because of God's favor , When Christ died on the cross for us. He became the ultimate tool for restoration.

Nehemiah said Gods hand is on me lets rebuild

Jesus said my hands will be pierced so you can be rebuilt

He is the ONLY one that can restore the walls that have crumbled in our lives. He is the ONLY one who can restore us to become pure

He is the ONLY one who can restore and reconcile our SOULS AND OUR SPIRIT to be with the Father.

And that same God who had his hand on nehemiah, that same hand was pierced to rebuild you, internally

And to have access to the father

CONLCUSION

Look at what happens the moment Nehemiah testifies to the people:

“I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me. They replied, ‘Let us start rebuilding.’ So they began this good work.” (Nehemiah 2:18)

That’s the power of a testimony anchored in the hand of God.

Chapter 3 is one of the most beautiful chapters in the Bible. It’s not dramatic. There’s no lightning, no angels, no big speeches. It’s simply a long list of names—priests, goldsmiths, perfume makers, rulers, merchants, and ordinary families—each rebuilding the section of the wall right in front of their own house.

Different people. Different skills. Different strengths.

But one hand was upon all of them.

Some built with skill. Some built with tears. Some built in the place where they had once been broken.

But every single one of them built because the gracious hand of God had been put on display.

Fellas, that’s what God is doing right now.

There are walls in your life that have been broken down—walls of integrity, walls in your marriage, walls in your mind, walls in your walk with God. Some of you have been living in the rubble longer than you want to admit. Shame has moved in. Fear has taken residence. Hopelessness has become normal.

But tonight the same God who stirred Nehemiah is stirring hearts in this room.

He doesn’t need you to have the perfect plan. He doesn’t need you to have all the tools. He doesn’t even need you to be strong.

He just needs you to recognize His hand—the same hand that was good upon Nehemiah—is the same hand that was pierced for you on Calvary. The same hand that pulled you out of darkness before. The same hand that gave you favor you didn’t deserve. The same hand that can rebuild what you thought was beyond repair.

So i want to invite you.

If you’re tired of trying to rebuild with your own strength…

If you’re done making plans and then asking God to bless them…

If you’re ready to let the hand of God do what only He can do…

Come up here right now.

Let Him rebuild your heart.Let Him rebuild your mind. Let Him rebuild your identity.

Let Him rebuild the walls that were meant to display His glory in your life.

This isn’t about trying harder.

This is about surrendering to the only hands that can truly restore.

The gracious hand of God is here tonight.

(Altar Call – Pray and lay hands)