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Nehemiah Builds the Wall - The Book of Nehemiah · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. Think upon me, my God, for good,
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  Speaker 1: according to all that I have done for this people.
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  Speaker 1: Nehemiah 5.19 My Lord, as I look around and observe
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  Speaker 1: all of the blessings that you have bestowed upon me,
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  Speaker 1: quicken my heart to be mindful of your children who
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  Speaker 1: have yet to lay hold of all the promises that
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  Speaker 1: you have in store for them. With this quickening of
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  Speaker 1: my heart, I pray that you will give me the
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  Speaker 1: vision and resources needed for me to carry out the
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  Speaker 1: rebuilding of your children. Like the wall in the book
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  Speaker 1: of Nehemiah, I now understand that I am called to
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  Speaker 1: help build the walls of hope in the hearts of
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  Speaker 1: your children who are lost. I thank you for uncommon
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  Speaker 1: favor with powerful kings like Artaxerxes. I thank you that
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  Speaker 1: the deed has already been written for me to receive
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  Speaker 1: all of the provisions and protection needed for me to
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  Speaker 1: act out the next assignment for my life. I decree
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  Speaker 1: and declare that I will not allow the voices of
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  Speaker 1: those who are jealous of your favor to stop me
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  Speaker 1: from building and completing my mission. I decree and declare that,
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  Speaker 1: like Nehemiah, you quicken and multiply the works of my
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  Speaker 1: hands so that I will be able to accomplish more
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  Speaker 1: in less time. I command every limiting thought that would
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  Speaker 1: hinder my momentum to be removed and cast away. I
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  Speaker 1: can and I will rebuild the lives of those around me,
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  Speaker 1: because you have anointed and appointed me to do so, Lord.
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  Speaker 1: In Jesus' name.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Listening to these daily prayers strengthens your relationship with God.
• 2:02
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• 2:06
  Speaker 1: in a Year. Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: Nehemiah builds the wall. In our last story, the invisible
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  Speaker 2: and silent hand of God was used mightily in the
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  Speaker 2: life of Esther. In the presence of a great threat
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  Speaker 2: to the Jews in the Persian Empire, an unlikely hero
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  Speaker 2: was raised up to save them. Now we learn of
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  Speaker 2: another hero sent by God, Nehemiah. Nehemiah oversees the rebuilding
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  Speaker 2: of Jerusalem's temple. He gives them hope and encourages them
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  Speaker 2: to trust in the protection of God. Yet no wall
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  Speaker 2: could truly protect them from their real enemy. Inspired by
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  Speaker 2: the book of Nehemiah.
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  Speaker 4: In our previous episode, we heard how God used Esther,
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  Speaker 4: a young Jewish woman, to save his people from the
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  Speaker 4: evil plan of Haman, which was to wipe out the
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  Speaker 4: Jews in Persia. We see her courage to speak up
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  Speaker 4: for her people at great personal risk. And we see
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  Speaker 4: it demonstrated again that God doesn't need the strong and
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  Speaker 4: powerful to accomplish his purposes. He can do amazing things
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  Speaker 4: through people who are available to him. There are really
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  Speaker 4: two abilities that are needed, availability and expendability. And today
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  Speaker 4: we're going to hear of another who was willing to
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  Speaker 4: step up and do what God put upon his heart
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  Speaker 4: to do for him. A man by the name of
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  Speaker 4: Nehemiah will see the sorry state of Jerusalem and mourn
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  Speaker 4: for his homeland and his people. But then he will
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  Speaker 4: hear the call to boldly act to rebuild and restore
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  Speaker 4: what had been lost. Let's listen now to God's Word.
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  Speaker 2: The sun was shining on the empire of King Artaxerxes.
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  Speaker 2: The mighty nation of Persia shone in the light of day,
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  Speaker 2: gleaming with prosperity and power. Serving in the great halls
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  Speaker 2: of the king was Nehemiah. He was a Jew by birth,
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  Speaker 2: a descendant of the exiles, and loyal to the God
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  Speaker 2: of Israel. He served as the king's cupbearer and had
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  Speaker 2: his undying trust. Nehemiah served the king diligently and with joy.
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  Speaker 2: The two became very close. However, Nehemiah's heart always longed
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  Speaker 2: for the promised land. The exiles had returned home to
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  Speaker 2: the great city of Jerusalem. Nehemiah had caught word that
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  Speaker 2: the temple had been rebuilt, and the exiles were creating
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  Speaker 2: new lives for themselves. Nehemiah asked his brother how the
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  Speaker 2: new settlement in Jerusalem was faring. When asked the question,
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  Speaker 2: his brother's face turned bleak. I am afraid the remnant
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  Speaker 2: is in great shame. The walls were broken to begin with,
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  Speaker 2: but now they are completely destroyed. They are vulnerable and
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  Speaker 2: live in constant fear. As soon as Nehemiah heard these words,
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  Speaker 2: his knees buckled. He wept on the floor for his
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  Speaker 2: kin in Jerusalem. He beat his fist against the floor,
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  Speaker 2: imagining the women and children of the city lying awake
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  Speaker 2: in fear every night. A city without walls was a
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  Speaker 2: city without hope. Nehemiah mourned over them. He knew what
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  Speaker 2: must be done. His forehead pressed against the stone floor.
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  Speaker 2: His prayers echoed in his palace chambers. Oh, Lord. he whispered.
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  Speaker 2: Grant me favor for what I am about to do.
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  Speaker 2: The next morning, Nehemiah was serving food to King Artaxerxes.
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  Speaker 2: Nehemiah's usually jovial demeanor was replaced with deep contemplation. The
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  Speaker 2: king took notice of this.' What troubles you?' he asked
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  Speaker 2: as he was finishing his breakfast.' You are usually filled
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  Speaker 2: with the joy of your god. Something must have changed.'
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  Speaker 2: Nehemiah froze with fear for a moment. He and the
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  Speaker 2: king were close, however, he was still considered a god
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  Speaker 2: in the land. To be on his bad side was ill-advised.
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  Speaker 2: Live forever, my king, Nehemiah feigned a smile. Forgive me,
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  Speaker 2: but my face reveals a sorrow for my people. Their
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  Speaker 2: city is in ruins and the gates are destroyed. The
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  Speaker 2: king looked closely at Nehemiah. Artaxerxes has heard many stories
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  Speaker 2: of the Hebrews from his grandfather Darius. He had heard
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  Speaker 2: of Daniel, David, and Moses. Like his grandfather, he held
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  Speaker 2: a soft spot for the Hebrews. His stepmother, Esther, was
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  Speaker 2: also a Hebrew. He had learned much from her.' What
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  Speaker 2: are your true desires, Nehemiah?' Artaxerxes asked plainly. The cupbearer
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  Speaker 2: bowed and said,' If it pleases you, I would like
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  Speaker 2: to see my people and help them rebuild the wall.'
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  Speaker 2: As you know, I am a skilled architect.' Nehemiah's words
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  Speaker 2: resonated with the king. Artaxerxes looked at his wife, who
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  Speaker 2: was beside him. She seemed to agree that the cause
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  Speaker 2: was noble. So Artaxerxes allowed for Nehemiah to go. Not
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  Speaker 2: only did he allow for his departure, but he funded
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  Speaker 2: the project himself. He sent money, resources, laborers, and architects
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  Speaker 2: to aid in the building. Nehemiah and his team traveled
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  Speaker 2: for days, and finally returned to the once great city
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  Speaker 2: of Jerusalem. Its high towers and low valleys filled Nehemiah's
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  Speaker 2: heart with joy. He had always imagined visiting the great city.
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  Speaker 2: Now his dreams had finally come true. Nehemiah could smell
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  Speaker 2: the faint odor of burning mortar from a distance. As
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  Speaker 2: he drew closer, he could see that parts of the
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  Speaker 2: walls were still smoldering from their previous attacks. He walked
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  Speaker 2: the whole distance of the walls. holding his hands against
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  Speaker 2: the broken stone. The walls represented the fortitude of God's people.
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  Speaker 2: As long as these walls were broken, so would their spirits.
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  Speaker 2: Nehemiah gathered the tribes and elders together. They planned through
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  Speaker 2: the night, taking note of which repairs needed to be
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  Speaker 2: addressed first. Each tribe and family was responsible for overseeing
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  Speaker 2: their own portion of the wall. With the funds of
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  Speaker 2: the king, Nehemiah's guidance, and the favor of God, the
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  Speaker 2: wall began to find its strength once again. Men, women,
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  Speaker 2: and children all did their part to see the wall
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  Speaker 2: reach its highest potential. As the walls rose, so did
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  Speaker 2: the spirits of the people. However, the project was not
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  Speaker 2: without opposition. The tribes that lived on the outskirts of
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  Speaker 2: Jerusalem hated the exiles. Since their return, resources had been
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  Speaker 2: more scarce, and land was disputed over. They jeered and
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  Speaker 2: snickered at the builders, seeking to demoralize them. Look at
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  Speaker 2: these feeble little Jews trying to rebuild what's broken, they scoffed.
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  Speaker 2: Be careful that a fox does not brush its tail
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  Speaker 2: against your wall, lest it fall again. The men laughed.
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  Speaker 2: The Jews already lacked confidence, since they lived most of
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  Speaker 2: their lives as exiles. Now they had to listen to
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  Speaker 2: the ridicule of their oppressive neighbors. Yet they kept working,
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  Speaker 2: and the wall continued to grow. The borderland armies could
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  Speaker 2: not bear the thought of Judah reclaiming its power, so
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  Speaker 2: they joined forces to rise up against them. The exiles
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  Speaker 2: stirred in fear. They were vulnerable and had very little
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  Speaker 2: to defend themselves with. Nehemiah did not waver. He put
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  Speaker 2: a sword in each man's hand and set up watchmen
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  Speaker 2: to take guard over the workers. The men continued to work,
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  Speaker 2: but their confidence was waning. Nehemiah saw this and stood
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  Speaker 2: before them. Listen to me, he shouted. Our God will
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  Speaker 2: fight for us. Keep building. If you hear the trumpet,
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  Speaker 2: rally to us and we will watch the Lord defend us.
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  Speaker 2: So each man worked with a hammer in one hand
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  Speaker 2: and a sword in the other. Weeks had passed and
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  Speaker 2: the Lord had thwarted many plans to assassinate Nehemiah. Each
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  Speaker 2: time the Borderlands would try and lure him out into
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  Speaker 2: a meeting, Nehemiah was spared by warnings of their true plans.
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  Speaker 2: The wall grew day by day, as did the confidence
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  Speaker 2: of the people. It was as if building the wall
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  Speaker 2: itself was what the nation really needed. They needed to
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  Speaker 2: come together for a common cause and purpose. That served
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  Speaker 2: as a greater protection than the wall itself. Nehemiah began
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  Speaker 2: to plan for life after building. He gathered the leaders
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  Speaker 2: of Israel together and instituted a day where all debts
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  Speaker 2: were forgiven in the land. Nehemiah knew that a land
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  Speaker 2: could not thrive if the people were continually indebted to
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  Speaker 2: one another. This would prove as a powerful image of
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  Speaker 2: things to come, a day when the Lord would forgive
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  Speaker 2: the debts of humanity. After 52 days of labor in
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  Speaker 2: the hot eastern sun, the walls stood as a monument
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  Speaker 2: of hope for the entire nation. For the first time
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  Speaker 2: since exile, God's people were able to sigh a breath
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  Speaker 2: of relief. They no longer had to live in constant
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  Speaker 2: fear of ambush and violence. They could live in peace.
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  Speaker 2: They could worship in peace. Nehemiah called for Ezra to
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  Speaker 2: come before the people and read the word of God.
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  Speaker 2: There they bowed before the Lord and confessed their sin.
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  Speaker 2: They basked in his forgiveness and responded to the call
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  Speaker 2: to be better. Feasts and festivals were held to celebrate,
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  Speaker 2: yet all of it fell flat. No wall could truly
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  Speaker 2: protect them from the real threat. No brick could shield
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  Speaker 2: the people from their true enemy. The enemy of sin
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  Speaker 2: still existed. It still bore its teeth like a hungry lion.
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  Speaker 2: No wall would ever be large enough to protect them
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  Speaker 2: from their own hearts. That would take an act of God.
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  Speaker 2: That would take an act of the Messiah.
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  Speaker 4: In today's scripture, we meet Nehemiah, a Jew who, like
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  Speaker 4: other Israelites before him, had worked diligently even as a
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  Speaker 4: captive at an exile and had gained therefore favor with
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  Speaker 4: people in power. In Nehemiah's case, it was King Artaxerxes,
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  Speaker 4: the Persian ruler. Nehemiah was one of the most trusted
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  Speaker 4: servants of this man. He served as the cupbearer to
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  Speaker 4: the king and therefore served him food and drink, protecting
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  Speaker 4: the king from poisoning by his adversaries. He was close
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  Speaker 4: to the king. Nehemiah knew of the work of Ezra
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  Speaker 4: to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, and this brought him
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  Speaker 4: great joy to know that his homeland was being restored.
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  Speaker 4: But he wasn't there, so he wanted to know what
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  Speaker 4: was actually going on in Jerusalem. And when he asked,
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  Speaker 4: the news disturbed him greatly. The city wall, their first
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  Speaker 4: and best defense against invaders, was on the ground in shambles.
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  Speaker 4: The remnant was living in constant fear in this rubble.
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  Speaker 4: They were living in shame for the sad state of
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  Speaker 4: their homeland. Nehemiah was broken. He was distraught. He knew
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  Speaker 4: that the walls of Jerusalem represented hope and peace and
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  Speaker 4: the glory of God. And he couldn't imagine his brothers
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  Speaker 4: and sisters living without God's glory, without God's hope in
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  Speaker 4: their lives. So Nehemiah weeps. He mourns. And then Nehemiah
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  Speaker 4: went to action. And his first action The first thing
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  Speaker 4: he did was to get on his knees. He knew
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  Speaker 4: that unless he had God's favor and blessing upon his life,
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  Speaker 4: none of his efforts would be fruitful. We can learn
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  Speaker 4: here so much from Nehemiah. Prayer is not our last chance.
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  Speaker 4: It is always our first choice. Too often we are
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  Speaker 4: quick to act and react, to reach out to those who,
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  Speaker 4: from a human perspective, had power and resources to help.
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  Speaker 4: And while there's a proper course of action, we must
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  Speaker 4: never forget to go first to God, who is our
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  Speaker 4: source of strength, who is our source and our resource always.
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  Speaker 4: We are to submit to his will and ask for
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  Speaker 4: his blessing and favor and for his provision. Nehemiah understood this,
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  Speaker 4: and it made all the difference in what he was
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  Speaker 4: going to do next. Before Nehemiah even spoke to the king,
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  Speaker 4: God prepared the king's heart. And so when Nehemiah went
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  Speaker 4: before this powerful man the following day, Anazerxes took note
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  Speaker 4: of the change in the countenance of his trusted servant.
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  Speaker 4: He noticed that he was full of faith and courage.
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  Speaker 4: This opened the door for Nehemiah to tell the king
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  Speaker 4: that Jerusalem was in ruins. And amazingly, the king not
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  Speaker 4: only allowed Nehemiah to return home with his protection and blessings,
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  Speaker 4: but he sent resources and workers for the enormous work
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  Speaker 4: that needed to be done, the rebuilding of the walls.
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  Speaker 4: Once again, we see how God uses people just like
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  Speaker 4: you and me to accomplish his purposes. Everyone has a
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  Speaker 4: place on the wall. Everyone has a place of service
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  Speaker 4: to rebuild and restore what God is doing. Nehemiah arrived
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  Speaker 4: to Jerusalem with great anticipation. but also an understanding of
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  Speaker 4: the massive responsibility. He gathered the elders and the people
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  Speaker 4: to survey the work that needed to be done. Here again,
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  Speaker 4: we learn a valuable lesson from Nehemiah. He knew he
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  Speaker 4: had God's favor, but that did not mean it would
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  Speaker 4: be smooth sailing or that he could just mail it
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  Speaker 4: in without a plan. God had granted Nehemiah wisdom and
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  Speaker 4: skill at developing and planning and leading. And so he
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  Speaker 4: did not just dive into the work, he developed his
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  Speaker 4: plan and his strategy with the people. As we have heard,
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  Speaker 4: Nehemiah's campaign to rebuild the wall was not universally embraced
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  Speaker 4: or accepted. As is the case with any work that
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  Speaker 4: God has ordained for his glory, there was fierce opposition
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  Speaker 4: to the work. It didn't stop with derision and doubt
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  Speaker 4: and danger. There were actually people who tried to stop
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  Speaker 4: the plan and undermine the work that Nehemiah was set
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  Speaker 4: to accomplish. But Nehemiah, reassured the people that God was
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  Speaker 4: on their side, saying to the leaders and to the
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  Speaker 4: people in Nehemiah 4, 14, Do not be afraid of them.
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  Speaker 4: Remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight
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  Speaker 4: for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and
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  Speaker 4: your homes. What a great challenge for us in the
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  Speaker 4: 21st century, that we would fight for our families, for
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  Speaker 4: our husbands and our wives, our children and our grandchildren.
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  Speaker 4: His words, the words of Nehemiah, sound like the words
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  Speaker 4: of Paul, who would later write, If God be for us,
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  Speaker 4: who can be against us? We are more than conquerors
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  Speaker 4: through Christ. The people were emboldened by his words and
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  Speaker 4: pushed on, even against hardship and opposition. Step by step,
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  Speaker 4: brick by brick, the walls came up and the city
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  Speaker 4: was protected by outside threats. But there were still threats
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  Speaker 4: internally and Nehemiah set out to bring the people together
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  Speaker 4: And when he did, debts were forgiven, the poor were
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  Speaker 4: ministered to and cared for, and the nation continued to heal.
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  Speaker 4: Then Nehemiah called Ezra to read God's word in the
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  Speaker 4: presence of the people. Their forgetfulness of God's ways had
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  Speaker 4: brought them to their lowest point, and only in turning
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  Speaker 4: back to God's word could he preserve this newfound peace
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  Speaker 4: and prosperity among the people. As the people listened, revival
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  Speaker 4: came to his people. Through this podcast, we have seen
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  Speaker 4: time and time again of the cycle of sin and
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  Speaker 4: judgment and restoration, revival among God's people. I pray that
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  Speaker 4: it has been apparent to you that this tragic cycle
• 19:05
  Speaker 4: can happen again and again. And it is happening in
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  Speaker 4: the world today. It is happening in America today. And
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  Speaker 4: the only solution for the problems we face is spiritual awakening.
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  Speaker 4: That God would rescue his people and revive us again
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  Speaker 4: in the midst of the years. Dear God, we thank
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  Speaker 4: you for your word. We thank you for the Old
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  Speaker 4: Testament with so many exciting stories, sobering stories, stories that
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  Speaker 4: remind us that you and you only are God. May
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  Speaker 4: we find our strength and our favor and our valor
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  Speaker 4: in you. Help us to do always what you have
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  Speaker 4: called us to do, to build and rebuild the things
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  Speaker 4: that you desire. And we pray, O God, that your church,
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  Speaker 4: called by your name, would faithfully advance your kingdom until
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  Speaker 4: you come again. In Jesus' name, amen. Once again, thank
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  Speaker 4: you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 4: I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Let me encourage
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  Speaker 4: you to download the Pray.com app and make Bible study
• 20:10
  Speaker 4: and prayer are a real priority in your life. And
• 20:14
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  Speaker 4: has a powerful impact upon people's lives. And if you
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  Speaker 4: grow in your faith, develop as a disciple and follower
• 20:32
  Speaker 4: of Jesus, be sure to visit me at jackgram.org. We
• 20:37
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  Speaker 4: you for life. God bless you.