SERMON: CHECKING YOUR WALLS

7 March 2010

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Nehemiah 2

11. I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days
12. I set out during the night with a few men. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on.
13. By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire.
14. Then I moved on toward the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool, but there was not enough room for my mount to get through;
15. so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and reentered through the Valley Gate.
16. The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work.
17. Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace."
18. I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me. They replied, "Let us start rebuilding." So they began this good work.
19. But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. "What is this you are doing?" they asked. "Are you rebelling against the king?"
20. I answered them by saying, "The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it."

-- in the early part of this past decade, the question arose within the evangelical community in America regarding who was going to be the new de facto leader of this movement in this country -- for the past 60 years, the Reverend Billy Graham had served in this role, being one of the most recognized and respected evangelical leaders in this country and the world
-- when major issues arose, whether spiritual, cultural, or political, evangelicals would look to the wisdom and guidance of Dr. Graham to lead us through the issue -- but, now, with Dr. Graham's rapidly declining health, the evangelical community looked within itself to see who would take the reins of leadership from this point on
-- several other prominent leaders, such as James Dobson, Jerry Falwell, and Pat Robertson were dismissed because of their age, their political involvement, or their views on evangelical issues -- some suggested Dr. Graham's son, Franklin -- others T.D. Jakes -- and others various pastors and evangelical leaders from throughout the country
-- but, without fail, the one name that was consistently mentioned as the potential heir of the evangelical movement -- the face of evangelism in America -- was Ted Haggard, the charismatic leader of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, CO -- New Life Church had started with 22 people in the basement of Haggard's home, and had grown to over 14,000 members, demonstrating Haggard's clear call to ministry and his gifting as an evangelical leader -- Haggard was appointed as president of the NAE -- the National Evangelical Association -- In 2005, Haggard was listed by Time magazine as one of the top 25 most influential evangelicals in America and was becoming the "go-to" person for the media and for the church on questions of evangelism and Christianity in America -- Haggard appeared to be the right choice to lead the evangelical movement into the 21st century
-- but then, in 2006, allegations arose that Haggard had been involved with a homosexual prostitute on multiple occasions and had purchased and used methamphetamines during their encounters -- while Haggard never admitted having a homosexual relationship, he did resign from leadership at New Life Church in November 2006 after he confessed to sexual immorality and drug use and submitted himself to Christian counseling
-- understandably, the hopes and dreams of the evangelical movement in America were shattered -- how could Ted Haggard -- a person undeniably called and gifted by God to lead His people -- give in to such temptations as sexual immorality and drug use? -- how could Haggard, a man used by God to reach so many others, fail in his own personal walk with Christ?

-- commenting on the failure of the Israelites to live up to God's commands, the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:11-12 -- "These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. -- So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!"
-- the warning from Scripture and from life is quite clear -- all of us -- no matter our position, our place in life, or our personal relationship with Christ -- all of us are prone to fall just as Haggard
-- as we sing in "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing," "Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love" -- this is part of our human nature -- the flesh that we battle with -- the part of us that wars with our spirit and that leads us astray -- that leads us to follow our own evil desires and to give in to temptation and sin and, ultimately, to death
-- sadly, the story of Ted Haggard is not an isolated event -- he stands for the myriad of other religious, political, and cultural leaders who have all slipped and fallen over the years -- more recently, we read about the fall of Mark Sanford, the governor of South Carolina and potential presidential candidate, whose extramarital affair was exposed after he disappeared for seven days in June 2009
-- and all of us are painfully aware of Tiger Woods and how he is suffering the consequences of his actions both publicly and privately
-- the message from Scripture to us is "be careful" -- for if these three religious, political, and sports figures, can fall from the pinnacle of greatness that they had achieved, we, too, can fall from wherever we find ourselves
-- so, how do we practice prudence in our lives? -- how can we be circumspect in all facets of our lives? -- how can we, as Christians saved through grace, stand firm and not fall as so many others have?
-- that is the issue that I want us to consider this morning

II. Scripture Lesson (Nehemiah 2:11-20)
-- to address that question, I want to invite you to turn with me to the Book of Nehemiah -- a rather curious selection to find ourselves in as we grapple with this subject -- but one that I hope makes sense as we press on
-- to give you the background for this passage, Nehemiah was the royal cup-bearer for the Persian emperor King Artaxerxes, whose empire included Judah and the city of Jerusalem -- Nehemiah was Jewish, part of the descendants of the Israelites who had been captured and brought to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar and subsequently put under the rule of the Media-Persian Empire when Babylon was defeated
-- Nehemiah heard of the condition of Jerusalem -- how the city and the temple had fallen into disrepair and how the wall that surrounded the city had been broken down during the various sieges and battles that had taken place -- he mourned the condition of the city and requested permission from Artaxerxes to return to Jerusalem for a short time to begin the repairs of the wall and the city to restore it to its former glory
-- as we pick up Nehemiah's story here in Chapter 2:11, Nehemiah has just made it to Jerusalem but no one knows why he is there
-- so, look back with me, if you will, at verse 11 in this passage and let's see what we can learn from the Book of Nehemiah about protecting ourselves from falling from grace

-- verse 11

11. I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days
12. I set out during the night with a few men. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on.

-- Nehemiah had come to Jerusalem because God had sent him -- God had revealed to Nehemiah that the walls were broken, and Nehemiah understood what that meant
-- in his days, the life of a city depended on the security of the wall around them -- when raiders or attackers came against the people, they would retreat inside the security of their wall for protection -- it would also let them safely defend themselves from attacks that came from the outside
-- the broken walls of Jerusalem meant that the people there lived in fear, poverty, and insecurity -- they were not protected from those who sought to harm them and they would never grow in wealth or power because others would always have the ability to just come in and take what they owned
-- God sent Nehemiah to Jerusalem to repair the walls -- but when he got there, he did nothing for three days -- not even speaking to the people there of the reason that he had come bearing lumber and men from the King of Persia
-- what was he doing during these three days? -- what could have been more important than immediately setting out to accomplish the task before him? -- the scriptures don't tell us here, but I think we know based on what we know of Nehemiah -- Nehemiah was a man of prayer -- in the first part of this book we read that Nehemiah continually sought the Lord in prayer -- that before he approached Artaxerxes to request permission to leave, that he spent days in prayer before God -- so, I think these three days in Jerusalem were spent in prayer, seeking the guidance and wisdom of God
-- the lesson there for us is that before we do anything, we need to first spend time with God -- we need to ask Him for wisdom and guidance and for eyes to see the task before us
-- we read that Nehemiah set out with his men at night from Jerusalem, and he says here that he was the only one with a mount -- now what is significant about that? -- why would he include that fact? -- was he just proud that he was the only one that had a horse?
-- no, of course not -- the reason that is in there is to make it clear who is responsible for the task of repairing the walls -- God had revealed the damage to Nehemiah and made him responsible for repairing the walls -- God would provide the resources for the repairs -- He would provide workers to aid Nehemiah -- but, ultimately, it was Nehemiah's responsibility to make sure the work was done
-- as we are looking at our lives to identify areas where we need to make improvements, never forget that you are responsible for yourself -- it is not your family's job -- it's not my job -- it's not this church's job -- to repair the weak spots in your life -- it is your job -- others can help -- but we are each responsible to God for our own lives and our own actions

-- verse 13

13. By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire.
14. Then I moved on toward the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool, but there was not enough room for my mount to get through;
15. so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and reentered through the Valley Gate.

-- Nehemiah exited the wall of Jerusalem on the west side, turned left, and made a counter-clockwise circuit around the wall, ending at his starting point -- all along the way, Nehemiah inspected the wall for damage
-- the word that he uses here that we translate as "examined" or "viewed" is a medical term -- it literally means "probing a wound to see the extent of its damage" -- this was not a casual inspection -- this was a deep look at the condition of the walls in order to find out exactly how bad things were
-- if we are to be careful as the Apostle Paul told us, then we can't just give ourselves a cursory examination -- as James says, we can't just glance at ourselves in the mirror and walk away, forgetting what we saw -- we need to probe deeply to find the wound -- to know what needs to be done -- we have to go deep -- past the surface and into the heart of things -- we have to look for hidden cracks and broken areas that need repair
-- notice the extent of the damage that Nehemiah saw -- the walls were "broken down" -- the gates were "consumed by fire" -- at one place, the way around the wall was so clogged up with debris that Nehemiah had to find a way around
-- this tells us that the enemy comes against us in many different ways -- sometimes he attacks the walls of our faith, breaking them down through trials and tribulations -- sometimes he attacks with fire -- with a little spark that ignites in our soul, burning through to the very core of our faith -- sometimes he burdens us with the worries and cares of this world -- with the busyness of this world -- so that our lives might get clogged up and our path to God is obstructed

-- the thing to consider, though, is that each of these attacks all started at a single point -- and, if caught early enough, it would take less effort and less resources to repair
-- think about a crack in the foundation of your home -- I had a friend who bought a new house near Moody several years ago -- after living there for a few years, he noticed a small crack in the foundation, but didn't think anything of it -- he thought it was just a new house settling and that the damage was minor -- but, over time, the crack widened and more cracks developed -- until the entire foundation of the house shifted and he had to have major repairs done in order to keep his home
-- it might be easier to ignore a crack than to fix it when it is noticed, but those little cracks can lead to structural failure in the long run -- if the people of Jerusalem had repaired the cracks when they appeared, God would never have had to send Nehemiah to them in the first place -- if the people of Jerusalem had noticed the damage and taken steps to correct the weakness before it went any further, then there would not have been lasting damage and they would have enjoyed years of peace and prosperity and security
-- when Paul tells us to "be careful," the message is to look for the cracks -- to look for the weak spots -- before they become big and damage our entire lives

-- verse 16

16. The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work.
17. Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace."
18. I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me. They replied, "Let us start rebuilding." So they began this good work.

-- when the cracks are small, you can usually repair them on your own -- when the cracks are small, God gives us the resources within ourselves to seal them up -- but when the damage is as great as that in the wall of Jerusalem -- when the damage is as great as that of Ted Haggard or Mark Sanford or Tiger Woods -- you need help -- you can't do it alone
-- there is no weakness in asking someone to help -- the Bible tells us that we all need someone to come alongside of us to hold each other up -- a cord of three strands, the Bible says, is stronger than a single strand alone
-- in the same way that Moses needed Aaron and Hur to hold up his arms during the battle with the Amalekites, we need others to hold up our arms when we are about to fall
-- that is the purpose of the church -- that is why we are here -- God's church is called to be a hospital for saints and sinners alike -- to be a place where people can go to find help -- to find encouragement -- to be strengthened and restored and renewed
-- the church is the place where God's people -- broken down and damaged by this world -- come together to repair the walls and to restore each other's spiritual lives
-- when Nehemiah saw the damage that needed to be repaired, he went to the people of Jerusalem and said, "I need your help -- God has shown me what needs to be done, and I can't do it on my own -- I need you to come alongside me to repair the walls" -- we should do the same as we seek to repair the spiritual walls of our lives

-- verse 19

19. But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. "What is this you are doing?" they asked. "Are you rebelling against the king?"
20. I answered them by saying, "The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it."

-- there will always be mockers -- there will always be those who point at you and deride you and say you can't be fixed -- there will always be those who doubt that you can be restored
-- but, the overall message of the Bible -- the overall message of the cross -- is that redemption is available for all
-- no matter what height you have fallen from -- no matter what shape your wall may be in -- no matter the size of the damage -- God can take care of it -- God will give us success -- as Jesus said, "with God, nothing is impossible"
-- is it possible for Ted Haggard to be restored back to Christian leadership again? -- yes -- it's already happening -- is it possible for Mark Sanford and Tiger Woods to repair the damage in their personal lives? -- yes, with God all things are possible
-- never let others distract you from what God has called you to do -- never let others tell you that what you are doing is impossible, because with God, all things are possible
-- with God, cracks can be filled before they damage a life
-- with God, walls can be repaired even if they are broken down
-- with God, gates that once protected your soul can be rebuilt
-- with God, priorities can be realigned and the clutter of this world cleared and replaced with the peace of a life with Him

III. CLOSING
-- so, as I close, let me leave you with these thoughts
-- first, never forget the warning from the Apostle Paul -- "if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!" -- we are never more in danger of falling than when we think we have it all together -- when we think that we are doing good -- be especially careful during those times, lest cracks develop unaware
-- second, always look to God -- follow the example of Nehemiah and become a person of prayer -- a person who knows God and who spends time with God -- one of the keys to preventing the cracks from developing is to stay close to God at all times
-- third, examine your walls -- make regular circuits around the walls of your life -- identify the weak areas -- the places where you are most likely to fall -- where is your weakness of character? -- where do you fall short? -- what cracks do you have in your life -- spiritually, professionally, relationally -- that might lead to failure like in the case of Ted Haggard, Tiger Woods, and others?
-- fourth, fix and repair daily -- fix the cracks while they are still cracks -- don't wait for the damage to be so great that everyone is aware of it -- don't wait for the damage to be so great that it affects not only you and your life but the lives of those around you
-- find someone to walk with you as you inspect your walls -- use someone else's eyes to see what you might have missed -- let them come along side you to strengthen you and help you repair any signs of damage or weakness you see
-- and, fifth, be the church -- don't be satisfied with just coming to church to take care of your own personal spiritual life -- but be invested in the lives of others -- be God's eyes and ears for them -- be Christ's hands and feet as you minister God's grace and His redemptive power in their lives
-- the church exists for more than just worship -- it exists for more than just you -- it exists so that we all might be one in Christ and one in power in this world -- by coming together and being the church, we all will grow together

-- so, as we end our service together, I want to invite you to close your eyes and to take a mental trip around the walls of your life -- go out the west gate and make a circuit -- look for damage -- look for weakness -- ask God to show you areas where you are prone to wander -- prone to fall -- and ask Him to help you repair the weakness before you fail and fall
-- as always, the altar is open for any who wish to come -- and I invite you up as the last hymn is played
-- let us pray