There's No Place Like Home

Welcome

Psalm 122:1 (CSB)

I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let’s go to the house of the Lord.”

It is so good to be with you today. I am so glad that you have decided to worship with us. Today marks a significant day for our church family. Today is the day that we move forward. Like many, we have endured A LOT…but God! The enemy tried to shut us down…but God! We had some challenges…but God!

Today we celebrate the goodness of God and how He has preserved us through every effort to silence the people of God. Today we enter a new season but same God. New venue, same God. No matter where you are joining us today, I want to say, welcome home!

Scripture(s)

Nehemiah 6:15–16 CSB

15 The wall was completed in fifty-two days, on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul. 16 When all our enemies heard this, all the surrounding nations were intimidated and lost their confidence, for they realized that this task had been accomplished by our God.

Nehemiah 7:1–6 CSB

1 When the wall had been rebuilt and I had the doors installed, the gatekeepers, singers, and Levites were appointed. 2 Then I put my brother Hanani in charge of Jerusalem, along with Hananiah, commander of the fortress, because he was a faithful man who feared God more than most. 3 I said to them, “Do not open the gates of Jerusalem until the sun is hot, and let the doors be shut and securely fastened while the guards are on duty. Station the citizens of Jerusalem as guards, some at their posts and some at their homes.” 4 The city was large and spacious, but there were few people in it, and no houses had been built yet. 5 Then my God put it into my mind to assemble the nobles, the officials, and the people to be registered by genealogy. I found the genealogical record of those who came back first, and I found the following written in it: 6 These are the people of the province who went up among the captive exiles deported by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Each of them returned to Jerusalem and Judah, to his own town.

Prayer

The people of God have been scattered for years. Nehemiah was compelled to do something about it. When something stirs your heart, it should activate your hands and motivate your feet. After 52 days, the wall is complete. Now it is safe for the people of God to come home. I want to talk for a few minutes on the subject of coming home and I have entitled today’s message, There’s No Place Like Home.

Heavenly Father, we are so thankful for moments like this when we can gather in your name. I pray that you speak to us, inspire us, challenge us. Give us open eyes that we can see you, open ears that we can hear you and open hearts to receive everything you have for us. In the name of Jesus, Amen!

Illustration

There is a deep connection to our hearts and our home. We have all heard it said, home is where the heart is. In a few short weeks, we will kick off our yearly series, Heart for the House. Our home is critically important. So here is the question, what is home? What does it represent? For some, home is a place where we experienced pain. For others, it is a place of growth and safety. Maegan and I watched a movie last week where there was an attack on earth from alien forces, people were scattered and the story followed a family’s journey to get home. If they could just get home, they would be safe, strong, and could face whatever opposed them TOGETHER! Naturally, it was incredibly difficult for them to get home. They faced so many challenges and all they wanted to do was get home. There‘s no place like home.

Our journey to intended destination is often met with great resistance. I recall driving home and getting caught in traffic, snow storm, crashing, being stuck for hours. Many times I wanted to give up. However, I knew if I could just make it home, it would be ok.

Transition

I don’t believe everything is the devil but I do think he looks to exploit moments in an effort to detour us from our destiny and destination. To rob God of glory and honor. I have noticed a pattern in scripture. Every person that has been given a God breathed assignment, faces opposition. I am of the mindset that the enemy of our soul uses a strategy to wear us out and kill us off before we reach our potential, in infancy. Moses. Jesus. The early church…they all faced immense opposition.

Could it be that if we can hold on and truly let God use our current season to develop our future calling the impact we could have.

Philippians 1:6 CSB

I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Context/Background

God’s people have had their fair share of challenges. Bondage in Egypt, wilderness, promised land…only to lose it all. God’s people have been in exile for 70 years. They are scattered. Northern Kingdom. Southern Kingdom. Their temple was destroyed and the gates of the city were torn down. Nehemiah catches wind of the condition of Jerusalem and the Temple and is grieved. So grieved that he feels compelled to act. When something truly stirs your heart, it should activate your hands. With the kings approval, Nehemiah begins the rebuilding process. He gathers resources and recruits.

Opposition and Resilience

Initially people thought he was crazy but as he began to make progress, he faced some serious opposition. I suppose this is why I find myself flipping through the pages of Nehemiah several times a year because his narrative reflects a man on a mission from God. It wasn’t easy. It wasn’t popular. He had more opposition then he had support. What do you do when God places something in your heart but what’s in your hand doesn’t seem like it is enough? The enemy loves to exploit the space in between the miracle and he will often use people.

The text tells us about Sanballat, the ringleader of opposition. Sanballats name literally means sin that gives life. It is the type of resistance that takes on a life of its own. His primary strategy was mocking, criticism, bringing confusion, intimidation and threats, attacks on character and people. In spite of this, Nehemiah had a made up mind. Never underestimate the power of a made up mind. Most of life’s battles are won or lost in the mind. The prodigal son had a made up mind. The woman with the issue of blood had a made up mind. I am thoroughly convinced, that a person with a made up mind is the most impactful person on the planet. We live in a world of group think, consensus, social media, etc. We have to upgrade our software. (Rom 12:2)

Ephesians 4:14 CSB

Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit.

James 1:8 CSB

being double-minded and unstable in all his ways.

Do you see the picture here? Imagine the energy we waste constantly re-deciding what we have already decided. Marriage, job, church. It puts us in a posture to be impressed instead of leaving an impression. The children of Israel wandered for 40 years because they couldn’t make up their minds. Everyday was compared to when they were in Egypt. We can cheat on the future because we romanticize the past. I made up my mind a long time ago, divorce is not an option and now I steward that choice. Make up your mind instead of letting your feelings make you…give up, turn back, move from very place God placed you. Many times God will use the tension to develop us, to build us, to do something bigger than us.

Perhaps you are feeling a bit of opposition, you are in good company. On November 14, 1960, was the first day of school for a young girl named Ruby Bridges. She arrived and it was anything but normal. The 6 year old girl was the first African American to attend an all white school and she faced opposition from adults, teachers, students. She had to be escorted by federal marshals. Why would she go through such opposition and hatred, because her parents knew it was going to break a barrier. It was going to make a difference. It was bigger than their comfort. MLK faced resistance. Moses faced resistance. John the Baptist faced resistance. Jesus faced resistance. As long as their is hope, healing, restoration, breakthrough, wholeness…there will be resistance. Opposition isn’t the absence of God, it is the by-product of purpose and progress.

Observations/Points

As Nehemiah successfully finished his project, It was time for the people of God to come home. However, Nehemiah also knew, just because we finished the work, it doesn’t mean our work is finished. He needed to put something’s in place to ensure what was built up won’t be taken or destroyed. Don’t let your progress lead you to be complacent.

Nehemiah 7:1 (CSB)

When the wall had been rebuilt and I had the doors installed, the gatekeepers, singers, and Levites were appointed.

Stay on Guard

What is the extent that you go through to protect what is yours? We have face recognition on our phones. Pin numbers for our bank accounts. We have doorbell cameras that notify us when someone is at the door. In a neighborhood just down the street from us, a man was carjacked in his drive way. They were able to catch the perpetrators because he had cameras outside of his home. We put these things in place to protect us, our family, our possessions. When we moved into our home, the first thing we got was a state of the art alarm system. We even put the sign in the yard as a deterrent. Wanted to send a message that this house is protected. It makes me wonder, when the enemy strolls by our house, is it clear that we are protected? Can he see that we are covered?

They had been attacked on every side. It’s like, home is under attack, work, school, finances, health…everything you have a care for, the enemy has his hands on. We have to have a plan to guard what’s yours. If we wait for a crisis, we may lose sight of where Christ is. Nehemiah put a plan in place. If we wait for a crisis, we may lose it.

When we were moving, Maegan lost her ring. I asked the movers if they had seen it? I didn’t like the way they responded. I told them to look up and pointed at the camera and told them to smile. I said I am going to review the footage and we will see what happened to the ring. Wouldn’t you know, it was a miracle. They found the ring under the sink. If we didn’t have a plan in place it would have been a loss. However, we had an eye in the sky that was keeping watch. Our prayer life keeps us on guard. Don’t pray for then stop praying about it. Staying on Guard means living a life in communion with God even if things are going good.

Prioritize Worship

I love all types of music. It really sets the atmosphere. I have a date night playlist for Maegan and I. I have a gym playlist. I even have a payday playlist. However, there is nothing like worship music. It sets the atmosphere. It ushers in the presence of God. Nehemiah understood the importance of worship. He would have been familiar with the statement, send Judah first. (Judges 20:18) He understood the lifting of voices brought down the walls of Jericho. He understood for Gideon and his 300, that lifting their voices before God brought them victory. He even saw how when he was under attack while building the wall that he positioned people with trumpets around the wall so that when they spotted the enemy the would blow the trumpet and the reinforcements would show up. Nehemiah, understood the power of worship. Even though things were good. The family was back together, he kept his worship playlist strong.

What is on your playlist right now? Too often we have so many voices in our ears that when the enemy attacks, we don’t have a go to playlist we can pull from. Sometimes you need a little Fred Hammond, Maverick City, “make me brave”, Jireh, The Battle is not Yours…What is on your battle playlist. Perhaps everything is good, perhaps everything is bad, perhaps its a little of both…prioritize worship! Your worship ushers in the presence of God. Instead of listening to the opinions of man, we need to be reminded of the goodness of God!

Make Room

Nehemiah had to get everything in order. There were going to be a lot of people coming home. New people. Old people. They had to make room. Are you making room for the new things God wants to bring to you? Are you making room for the new relationships God wants to introduce?

Closing

Nehemiah 7:3 CSB

I said to them, “Do not open the gates of Jerusalem until the sun is hot, and let the doors be shut and securely fastened while the guards are on duty. Station the citizens of Jerusalem as guards, some at their posts and some at their homes.”

Nehemiah instructed the guards to leave the door locked but during the day, keep them open. As the word was getting out, he knew others would still be coming home and he wanted to ensure they knew they were welcome.

I had the privilege to officiate a wedding just a few weeks ago. While at the rehearsal dinner, it was really beautiful. The mother of the groom addressed everyone that was there. She gave a powerful speech about tradition and family. She ultimately concluded her time saying…we are all family and even though many of us are just meeting, this is a family reunion…I hope you feel at home.

It is a family reunion…I hope you feel at home. No matter where you came from, no matter how you got here, I pray that you know, the door is always open to you.