Rebuild

The Holman Christian Standard Bible Chapter 4

4 When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious. He mocked the Jews 2 before his colleagues and the powerful men of Samaria, and said, “What are these pathetic Jews doing? Can they restore it by themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they ever finish it? Can they bring these burnt stones back to life from the mounds of rubble?” 3 Then Tobiah the Ammonite, who was beside him, said, “Indeed, even if a fox climbed up what they are building, he would break down their stone wall!”

4 Listen, our God, for we are despised. Make their insults return on their own heads and let them be taken as plunder to a land of captivity. 5 Do not cover their guilt or let their sin be erased from Your sight, because they have provoked the builders.

6 So we rebuilt the wall until the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had the will to keep working

We continue this series Repent and Rebuild by talking about rebuilding. The famous story of rebuilding a structure against the all odd and opposition was the wall surrounding Jerusalem. The story falls perfectly in line with our series because the israelietes have become accustomed to the broken down wall. They have lived in destruction, despair, and desolution. This wall was build to protect the city and the people inside. It was a symbol of protection from the outside forces and a sense of security for the people on the inside. However, this city has been destroyed along with the wall and it was content with it.

So where does your wall look like in your spiritual life? We already talked about repentence and turning from your sins back toward God. We lived in the muck of sin and now we want to live a life that was made for rihteousness. How do we re-build our lives? When Nehemiah heard about Jerusalem he immediately wept. This was because he knew that the Israelites, who were great people, have accepted defeat. This wasn’t part of God’s design and this is the same for you. God designed us to live a life fulfilled with his righteousness and to glorify Him. But when we are broken and have become accustomed to living in sin, how do we change our lives.

First, we need to rely on God.

The Holman Christian Standard Bible Chapter 4

Listen, our God, for we are despised. Make their insults return on their own heads and let them be taken as plunder to a land of captivity. 5 Do not cover their guilt or let their sin be erased from Your sight, because they have provoked the builders.

Nehemiah didn’t listen to the opposition and how they told him he was going to fail. Instead, he relied on God and allowed God to guide his ways. He knew that he was doing God’s plan and since God’s plan is perfect, Nehemiah knew he was going to succeed. This is what we have to do when we rebuild our lives. Rely on God’s wisdom, strength, and guidance to lead us through this life. Once we stop listening to our oppresions and take time to listen to God, then we start to build our indepences. We aren’t being beaten down by our past failures because God has already looked passed that and we can start looking forward. By looking forward we have a better view of what is in front of us. This is why the windshield in cars are so big and the rear view mirrors are so small.

Secondly, we need to reinforce our weak spots. We all know our temptations and know where we faulter. It’s time to re-inforce those weak spots by fleeing from those situations and flooding the word into our minds. If you have God on your mind, then sin shouldn’t be anywhere in your thoughts. If you keep holy and righteous thoughts, then it’s harder for sin to slip back in. This is why we have to surrender our lives to Jesus daily and have a renewing mind on God. This