Kingdom Re-Build - Nehemiah 2 // Nick Serban IV

Message Transcript:

a cupbearer to a carpenter to a kingdom builder.And we want to be, as a church, kingdom builders.We want to, we want to rebuild and build the kingdom of God everywhere around us.And, uh, something that I, that I shared last, uh, week, and I'm gonna probably share it every week, Jesus is a builder.Yeah.He's, he's not a deconstructor.He doesn't come into a church and try to divide it.That's right.He doesn't come in and try to tear it down.He is a, a builder.Jesus said that, "I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."Amen?Amen.That's what we believe as a church.And we believe that in this year especially, in 2026, that we as a church are becoming more and more like Jesus.And that's our desire.Not just for, for, for us, but for this city, that we would become more like Jesus.That other churches throughout this, this city and this county will become more and more like Jesus.That they would be discipling people to be more like Jesus.And, and we canAnd do this by praying like Jesus.We can do it by fasting like Jesus.We can do it by believing for miracles and trusting God, just as Jesus had to do when he walked the Earth.And Jesus said that we would do greater things than he ever did in the Earth.Right.And what, what did Jesus do?He healed the sick, he cast out demons, and he raised the dead.That's right.And he's called us to do even greater than that.So again, remember, Nehemiah is the cupbearer to King Artaxerxes of Persia.And, uh, being a cupbearer means that he would taste the food and, and drink before the king to make sure it wasn't poisoned.So it's a fun job.Um, in, in Nehemiah 1, uh, we hear, or Nehemiah hears that the people of Israel are scattered, that they're in great trouble, and that the entire city, the walls and the gates of Jerusalem are in ruins.He, he hears this and, and it, it moves his heart.His, his, his love for the people of Israel, th- it'sIt motivates him to begin to pray and begin to fast.He doesn't, likeHe doesn't start complaining.He doesn't start, you know, going in circles 0 of trying to find ideas of what to do.He, he drops to his knees, he sits down, and he begins to pray and fast and weep for days on end.And that should be our first response as a church, always.His ideas are so much better than our own.Amen?Amen.He's got wisdom that I, I haven't even comprehended that he wants to pour out onto his people.And again, there wasn't like a burning bush moment that, that Nehemiah had where God said, "Go do this."He was just moved.And this is what I love so much about this story, because I think we read about Moses sometimes, and we go, "Oh, God, give me the burning bush, and then I'll do the thing."Yes.And, and God's like, "No, I'm gonna put things before you.And when your heart begins to move, what's your response gonna be?"Right.He drops to his knees, and he begins to pray.He was moved with compassion.He was moved by the, the need.And I'm believing for this for us as a church, that we would be moved by the need in front of us.We would be moved by the desire to build his kingdom, that we wouldn't just sit waiting on God to speak to us or inspire us, but we would say, "God, I want to be all in, um, what you have for me here and now."Again, Nehemiah, he began to confess that he's sinful, that he's complacent, that he's been living in a palace, comfortable with being enslaved, and so he asks God to forgive him.And he prayed that God would grant him success in the coming days.He begins to confess this, "God, give me success.God, give me favor."And it builds up to this, this moment where hisAgain, he moves from prayer to action, and that's what we're gonna get into here in, in chapter 2.Because again, it's, it's one thing for us to just pray about something.It's another thing for us to do something about it.That's right.Like, like, we can, we can pray and pray and pray, but if you're not gonna get up and, and go, what's the point?Right?I know that sounds a little, a little weird, because I know prayer is powerful, but God requires our, our natural in order to bring out his supernatural.Amen.Yes.James 2 even says this, it's not enough to just have prayer and faith, but to add to our prayer and faith with good works.So again, he didn't just think and pray.He realized that he has the ability to make a difference.And, and let me justUh, uh, there's one more caveat.Like, there are ideas in this church for, for businesses, for networking, for, for ministry strategies and kingdom vision that may have been stuck between our ears.It may still be stuck between our ears.And maybe we're just, we just continue to pray about it, but if we would trust God that he will open up the doors for us and take a step of faith, then it can become reality.Do you believe that today as a church?Amen.But again, it takes a believer that's willing to get moving.Let God work out the details.We just need to step into it.So, uh, if you're taking notes today, my first point is, kingdom builders seek favor with God and people.Yes.It doesn't say just seek favor with God.It says, "And people."If you remember Nehemiah, he ends this chapter, chapter one, confessing these things, and he says, "Oh, Lord, grant him mercy in the sight of this man."And what he's saying is, "God, would you grant me mercy in the sight of the man," being the king?Nehemiah wanted favor and mercy with the king.And so we go into Nehemiah chapter 2.It says, "In the month of Nisan, in the 20th year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and I gave it to the king.Now, I had not been sad in his presence.And the king said to me, 'Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick?This is nothing but sadness of the heart.'"This is, this is really interesting because here's the king of this entire nation stopping and caring for his cupbearer, for a slave, for someone he may have interactions with, but at the end of the day, the king is up here and this dude is, is the bottom of the totem pole.But, but I believe it was the Holy Spirit, it was the Spirit of God that began to move the heart of the king to recognize how his heart was moved, how Nehemiah's heart was moved.Right?There's no reason that he should've cared about him.But, but here's what wild.Nehemiah has access to the king and because he has access to the king, that's why he began to pray, "God, would you give me mercy?God, would you give me favor with this person?"The king notices that Nehemiah is sad and he decides to ask him.It says, "Then I was very much afraid and I said to the king, 'Let the king live forever.Why should not my face be sad when the city, the place of my fathers' graves lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire."This is, this is so important to me.I, I want us to lock in this teaching moment here.What motivated Nehemiah to speak up in this moment was love for people and love for his city.It wasn't out of selfish ambition.And, and I think what's so interesting too, and, and I'm skipping way ahead in my notes because th- it's just so good.Why didn't Nehemiah say something sooner to the king?And, and, and I, and I want you to look even in your own heart and your own life.There, there are times where God begins to reveal to us the influence that we have.God begins to show us when we draw close to him, when we pray and we fast, he begins to show us the open doors that are around you.He begins to show you the opportunities that he's laid out.But, but prior to drawing near to God, Nehemiah didn't see that he had influence with the king."I'm just a slave.I'm just, I'm just in this position.I'm, this is just my lot in life.This is just where I'm at."But it was getting close to God, it was praying and fasting that revealed to him, "I am in a position of influence."And I, and I wanna speak this to us as a church today.I, I believe all of us in this room are placed strategically in places of influence for the Kingdom of God, for His glory, whether you realize it or not.And when we draw near to the Lord, He begins to reveal those things to us and gives us favor.And this is what I, what I love about God because so many times we can just get in our own head or see the circumstances around us and think, "This is it."But God has this amazing way of bringing all things into alignment for His glory.Amen.And this is what happens here because he wasn't motivated by selfish ambition.Again, if he was, if he was selfish ambition, he probably would've said something sooner.Like, "Oh, great king, like if you could get me some money so that I could live a better life.Oh, oh, great king, I could, I could really use some tickets to this next game that's coming up.Like, oh, great king, like I, could you get me this, this car?Could you get me this house?"Like, but it wasn't for himself.It was for his people.Yeah.When our hearts are, are motivated for something beyond ourselves, it gives us more access and more influence and more favor than when it's just for our own selfish gain.Do we hear this today as a church?Again, I've met, I've met so many people who love living in Franklin and love living in Middle Tennessee.And, and again, we can complain about the, the prices, the politics and all the different things, but the people here in the city itself, there's nothing quite like this city in all of the US.Yeah.Right?Part of being a kingdom builder is that we love the people where we are.That we love the place that God has planted us in.And I wanna challenge us today that w- to love the people and to work at loving the people around us, in this place that God has called you to.Again, Nehemiah was moved because his heart was for those people.And his passion actually moved the king.Check this out.It says, "Then the king said to me, 'What are you requesting?'" This, again, this is just wild that this king would even allow Nehemiah to request anything.Like, like, th- sorry, I'm just too excited about this word today.I, so he says, "So I prayed."This is s- this is crazy.So he, he re- he says, "What are you requesting?"And immediately Nehemiah prays.He, in the middle of the request he just goes, "God be with me."He prays, "'God of heaven, come.' And I said to the king, 'If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah.'" Send me to Israel, send me to Jerusalem."'To the city of my fathers' graves, that I may rebuild it.'" Y'all, this is wild.The king is the one who made the offer.He goes, "I see that your heart is moved, so what can I do?"What canAs a kingHere I have all of these resources at my disposal, and now you get access to them.This is crazy.Nehemiah, he's found favor with God, and he's found favor with the king.The stakes were high.The king asks.Nehemiah prays.And he begins to say, "Would you give me these things?"Again, it, it's, it's so important that we get this because I think so many times we can push, push, push people, and we end up looking like moochers.Right?We end up looking like, "I only call you when I need something."Right?And here, Nehemiah just had such a passion, not for himself but for others, that it moved the heart.And, and it was so clear.I belie- I believe so, so surely that the king saw the purity of his heart in that moment, and that is why he allowed the request to be made, to go back.Again, it's, it's more than a strategy.We need to seek the Lord first and what he wants to do, and then th- that allows him to pour out his favor in a way that he would want to see done.It, it, itI'm, I'm just being honest, like, I could not imagine myself asking a king or some, some millionaire business leader for anything.I've done it, but I don't like it.Like, I, I'm still growing in this.Like, I don't like asking for help.Is anybody else like that?Like, I'm doing a thing, I don't need your help.Like, that, that's just me.But I, but I know that, that when I allow people to help me, they're able to come in and bless me.And bless the work that I'm doing.And I, and I've, I've been learning this, especially now a- as the pastor of this church, like, there's been so many times where I'm just doing a thing and I'm actually keeping people from stepping in and being blessed.Because when we come together in unity and collaborate, God receives even more glory, because now we're doing things in unity, which is a desire of the heart of God, that we would be in unity.Again, I don't, I don'tI know what it feels like to be taken advantage of.So I'm, I, personally I don't like feeling like I'm taking advantage of somebody else.Anybody else this way?Yeah.But here's, but here's Nehemiah.Again, we don't know how long he was the cup bearer.We don't know how close they were.But this all shifted and it began to be revealed to him that this was the moment to speak.This was the moment to share.And I, and I, I really want us to, to h- I wanna hit this home one more time.Like, I'm believing in 2026, that as we draw closer to God, that he would reveal these strategic positions and relationships and influences to us, where we may have been ignorant before but now God is opening the way.And, and, and hear me today.I said it, I said it last week, it was so funny, like, we always dog the year prior to the year we're stepping into, right?Like, last year was a dumpster fire.Last year was this.Like, all, all this, all the negatives, right?But this year's gonna be different.It's always interesting to me because I think we, we say, "Rah, rah, let's go.New year, new me."But many times we just accept the reality of what we're walking in, and just go, "I can't change it, so this is the way it is."And so we can either accept our lives as they are, maybe enslaved to sin, enslaved to other people's plans, enslaved to a mediocre life, enslaved to fear.afraid of stepping out, but church, fear is so boring.Fear is so boring because fear just keeps you where you are.The adventure is taking steps with the Lord.When you begin to step out, that's when th- that, that's when God begins to open up doors.FearIf you're, if you never move because you're in fear, you're never gonna experience all that God has for you.For, for, for us as a, as a church, following Jesus is the adventure of a lifetime.Yeah, there's, there's suffering and there's tribulation and there's difficulty, but I get to do it with my Savior.Right.Yeah.And that's the adventure.I step into, to chaos and brokenness and, and I'm like, "God, how are you gonna fix this?How are you gonna do this?Like, this is so cool.Like, I, I can't work this out on my own, but, but you can."Yeah.Amen?Amen.Again, let the Holy Spirit lead you into positions for potential miracles.Let him open your eyes to the circles of influence that you're a part of, the, the prophetic wisdom that he wants to pour out, the open doors.And so, uh, going back to Nehemiah, "And the king said to me, the queen sitting beside him, 'How long will you be gone and when will you return?' So it pleased the king to send me when I was given him a time.And I said to the kee-" Oh, gosh, I am voice cracking all day."And I said to the king, 'If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province beyond the river that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple and for the wall of the city and for the, and for the house that I shall occupy.'" Again, this is, this is amazing.He's, he's, he's asking for all these things.Nehemiah, he's got insane favor, and so he gets released to do God's work.He gets, like, passports and paperwork stamped to pass through all these places unharmed.He's given favor with, with contractors and, and wood and all these different things.It's amazing, right?Yes, it is.The king gives him these resources, and again, it's so bold that he would request these things in this way.It's so, it's so Spirit-empowered.It, it, it was because of the time that he spent in prayer, in fasting, weeping for this city, weeping for this need, that God begins to give him the unction to even speak and ask for these things.But if you, if you want favor with God like this, you need to walk in a way that pleases him.Yeah.We need to seek the Lord.We need to obey his word.We need to be humble and live closely to God.A- a- and just, just throwing this out here, that's how you get favor with God.If you want favor with, with man, if you want favor with people, be kind.Like, keep your word.Show up when you say you're gonna show up.Work hard.Care about other people.And show respect.If we're going to build something great for God in our homes, in our, in our city, with our church, if we're going to be kingdom builders and do something awesome for God here in Franklin, we need to be people of favor with God and with people.Again, it's not using people, but it's walking in the boldness of the Holy Spirit for the glory of God.And again, uh, I have missed outI have missed out on more opportunities and blessings from God from keeping my mouth shut when I should've spoken up.Amen.Yes.And I missed out on even more opportunities from running my mouth when I should've kept quiet.How do you know the difference?Ask for wisdom.Yes.Ask for God to lead you.Like, listen to him when he says, "Now."And listen to him when he says, "Shut up."You know?He has the ability to speak to us in this way.Again, this is so cool, like, Jesus grew in this way too.It says in Luke 2:52, I don't h- I don't think I have it on the screen.It says that Jesus grew in wisdom and favor with God, and man, and people.Again, the difference has always been the posture of your heart.And some of us in this room, you have audiences with kings.You have audiences with bosses, and leaders, and people of influence, people with resources.And, and, and many of us are, are one connection away from connecting someone who may be far from God to the kingdom of God.Yeah.Like, like, not in my notes, side note.Like, there is vision that we have for this church.Like, I, I know that, you know, this is a big room and everything, but we don't have enough parking spaces for the, the amount of people that we would love to see fill this place.And so we've talked about looking for other buildings and other properties and other things.We wanna have a much bigger kids space.Like, we, we, we've got so many kids and they're awesome.We're raising up the next generation, right?But I can cast vision all day long, but until I'm connected, until we're connected to resources to see it happen, it's not gonna happen.Yeah.And we know that God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, we know that, that's the truth of his word.how many times have we seen God brings people in to connect and bless and resource the work of the Lord?Yeah.And it speeds on the work of the Lord.And, and I'm not saying that, that none of y'all don't have the resource.I'm saying that there is more available to us as a church if we would be willing to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us and network us and connect us to those people.Yeah.We live in Franklin, Tennessee.Like, last time I checked, it's, it's like a million dollars to buy a house here.Right?It's crazy.I got, I got real estate agents in the room, like, "Yeah."It's wild.But I believe that God has strategically se- been sending people from all of these other states to this area to build his church.Not build a building, but to build something that can reach the lost and raise up the next generation following him.Yeah.Connecting priests and saints to kings.Amen?Amen.Again, if our heart and our motive is, is beyond for ourselves, but for others, God begins to pour out his favor.And again, I want revival to take place- Yeah.in this church, in this city, in your family.Even, even more than I want it for myself.I've experienced revival.God has brought so many things back to life in my life.I am more radical than I think I've ever been in my entire life.Yeah.I am fired up, and I know that God has more.Yeah.He has so much more.Don't, don't get apathetic and complacent because you think that you've discovered all of God's ways.He has so much more for you, church.Yeah.All right, that was my first point.Here we go, second point.I'll move quick after this, y'all.I'm just so excited about what God is doing here.Number 2, building God's kingdom will attract critics and opposition.Y'all, y'all already know this.Nehemiah 2:9.Then I came to the governors of the province beyond the river and gave them the letter, the king's letters.Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen, but when Sanballat and Horonite and Tobiah, the Ammonite servant, heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.It displeased them greatly.I love this.They were displeased.Uh, Sanballat, Tobiah, all these guys.And, and, and we'll hear more about them later, 'cause they, they actually caused a lot of drama.Um, they even tried, they even wanted to try to kill Nehemiah.Um, we'll hear, we'll hear more about that later.It's great.Um, people critical of God's call and God's favor, many times, oftentimes, most of the time, are fueled by fear and jealousy.Fueled by fear and jealousy.And I, and I want you to hear this, because whenever you decide to step into something great for God, do something great for God, be ready for criticism.Yep.And sometimes it's the people that are closest to you.And that doesn't mean that they're like demonic, right?It doesn't mean that they're bad people.There just may be some fear.Yeah.And there may be some jealousy that God has spoken to you about something but that didn't speak to them.And that doesn't mean that we make enemies out of people that criticize us.Yeah.Right?Hear me.Again, what God is about to do in your life has never happened before in your life.What God wants to do in this church has never happened before.And so there's going to be opposition.There's going to be pushback.And that's okay, 'cause I'm with Jesus.Amen.Yeah.I'm walking, I'm walking with him.And again, usually critics, they think they know what they're talking about.Or critics are usually, they're not really involved in what you're doing, they're just watching and then they're talking.Right?They're not, they're not necessarily joining in on what you're doing, they're just observing.And, and here's my thing, this ain't in my notes.I believe that there are critics of your life-that God wants to make supporters of what you're doing.If you'll continue to do the work, I believe God will make a way for those critics to either leave your life, or to become part of what God wants to do in your life.That's right.It'll sharpen you.It'll give you wisdom on how to handle things and handle people, and how to cast vision and steps in your life the right way.Yeah.Again, it's, it's really easy to be critical.But it's hard to accomplish something great with your life.It's easy to be complacent.It's easy to just sit back.But God has called us to do hard things.That weThat's what we say to my kids all the time.Whenever my kids are crying about doing anything, I say, "What's your last name?"They say, "Serbin."I say, "What do Serbins do?""We do hard things."They all say that.Like, Le- uh, Levi did it the other day.He was just bawling his eyes out.He's like, "Serbins do hard things!I can do this!"I'm like, "Go!""Do it."God may be calling you to do something that you've never done in this year.God may be calling you to, to, to fast and pray.God may be calling you to diet.God may be calling you to, to work out, and all the different things.And, and, come on, I'm here for it.But God may be calling you to be a part of our 24 hours of prayerand put in, like, 3 to 6 hours.Hey.It's a Saturday, for half the day.Just come in at 6:00 AM, and you're there 'til noon, and then we all go get lunch.It'll be great.Yeah.Come on, somebody.That's great.Maybe God has call- calling you to lead someone to Christ.And it's not just a one-time thing.It may be like a"We're gonna disciple you until we get you to the kingdom."Right?Maybe God's called you to lay hands on somebody that you don't know.At Walmart.And pray for healing.Hey.Maybe God is calling you to start that company.Start that non-profit, that, that, that ministry.Or maybe apply for that new position.Come on, God's got raises for you, and, and promotions for you, if you'll just step out.Right?Right.Maybe God's calling you to raise your kids differently than what they tell you on social media.Please do that.Yeah.Raise your kids biblically.Don't listen to those TikTok people.They don't know what they're talking about.Walk in purity.Maybe God's calling you to walk in purity and be set apart from our culture in this next year.Maybe God's calling you to start tithing.Maybe God is calling you, in this yearI know He's calling me to do this, to give the biggest offering that I've ever given, to this church.Like I, I went through my budget this last year, and I'm like, "Man, this is so amazing what God has done.Every time that I've given and I've sown into the church, or I've given and sown into missionaries, or, or projects around the world, God has just blessed my socks off with more.And then I give more the next time.And I getThis is going to be the biggest year for my family that we've ever given."And I'm fired up about it, because God has found me trustworthy.Yes.And I've received His favor in this way.And it's incredible.Maybe God is calling you to, to starthelp your church start new ministries in this community.Like, I, I got, I got so many things I want to talk to you about.Of, of people in our church, I said it already, that are just one conversation away, one connection away from us, like, being all across this city, doing incredible work.Helping with, with detention centers, and, and jails, and helping with, with people that are, that are, that are in nursing homes, and, and even helping those that are struggling with drug addiction and mental health.Like, all this different stuff, it's, it's all, like, bubbling up to the surface during this time of prayer and fasting.Launching men's ministries, and even more powerful women's ministries.And so many things are beginning to happen in this church.And maybe you're just one decision away from being a part of it.Maybe God's calling you to serve those in need and pray for the lost around the world.Again, when you're building God's kingdom, critics are going to criticize.Don't let those voices be louder than the voice of God in your life.Let God build your life.Let God build your family.Let God build this church.Let's do things that no one has ever done before.Number 3.Be faithful, focused and proactive.Nehemiah, he gets to Jerusalem and here's what happens.It says, "So I went to Jerusalem and there, was there for 3 days.Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me, and I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem."This is kinda, this is really key here.He doesn't tell anybody what he's doing."There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode.I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire.Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King's Pool and there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass.Then I went up in the night by the valley, I inspected the wall, I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate and so returned and the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing.And I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials and the rest who were to do the work."I justI gotta be expository here for a second 'cause this isn't in my notes at all.I- I love that he told nobody what God had put in his heart.I said this last week and I need to say it again.There, there arethere are times, there are seasons where God gives you the idea to pray for it.God gives you the, the passion and the desire for something to begin to, to work it out.And we receive wisdom from him.I believe it was wisdom for Nehemiah to not share this thing with everybody in the moment.He will share it, mind you.It will come out at some point but he's in that, those beginning strategic processes of- of- of seeing the work done.And what he could have done is, he could have shared it with everybody before even inspecting the problem and seeing what's going on and then, and then get distracted by criticism and ideas and all these different things from everybody else.There's wisdom in holding the thing close to your heart that God has spoken to you and then choosing the right time with the Lord and the right people to share it.When the, when the strategies and things are in place.Okay, I'm moving on.Nehemiah, he's doing the work when no one else is working.When no one else is distracting him.And again, he doesn't wait for people to approve what he's doing, he's just circling around and checking things out.He's saying, "What is the need here?What's the situation?"And he's learning what needs to be done to begin to solve the- the problem, solve the issue that is before him.Listen, when- whenever God has called you to do something to build his kingdom, start doing it.Get to it.Get after it.I think sometimes, uh, I- I've said this many times, we can get, we can get high and excited and enthralled with planning, right?And then never actually do the thing.I can't tell you how many diet plans I have bought on Instagram, okay?And they send you this PDF and then I- I get all excited about it and then I'm like, "I can't do this."Right?I see, I see all the work that- that needs to be done and I'm just like, "No.I'm done."Right?May- maybe that's you.Okay.Th- that's definitely me.Um, but here's the thing.If your heart was moved or you- you've heard from God, like don't wait on others to give you, affirm you or to give you some kind of a title.Start moving forward.Start taking steps.Maybe you don't have the whole plan of what God is gonna do, 'cause here's what's great about following God, he loves to change your plan.Right?He directs the steps of the righteous.He- he's got plans that are greater than our plans.We just have to trust him and take the steps.Again, be faithful to whatever God has called you to do.Be focused on whatever God has called you to do.Don't get distracted, especially if you've shared your plans with, with people that don't really need to hear the plan 'cause then they're gonna start distracting you and pull, pull you in.Like, like church, you don't need another prophetic word to tell you what you already know, right?Like I love bringing prophets in this place but there's a lot of times I get the word and I'm just like, "Nah, I already knew that.I've just been sitting on my butt not doing the thing."Right?Hear from God and do what he says.Hear from God and do what he says.Step out and be proactive.Like don't wait on all the contingencies to pursue what God has called you to do.Again, he'sNehemiah's taking these steps.He's seeing the, he's seeing it before him.He's actually touching, touching grass around the- the issue and the problem, getting ready to- to do what God has called him to do.Again, as a church, we need to take risks sometimes.To do something great for God.Like, likewhat do you have to lose when it comes to serving the Lord?It's all going to burn up anyways.Right?Like, like, everything we have is God's.And everything that we are is God's.This is what I love so much about him.Like, I can take big risks for God and he always takes care of me.Because I've gone to him in prayer and in fasting.I've gone to him, I've drawn close to him daily.And he's, he's given me plans, he's given me a passion, he's given me a vision.And then he always backs up on the thing that he's called me to do.Again, "Whatever your "Ecc- Ecclesiastes 9:10 says, "Whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might."Number 4.Let's get to work building for God.Band, y'all can come.Nehemiah 2:17 says, "Then I said to them, 'You see the trouble that we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned.Come.Let us build the wall of Jerusalem.' That we may no longer suffer derision."So he finally shares."Hey, let's do this thing."He doesn't give the whole plan of, "Here's how we're gonna build this brick and how we're gonna do that thing."He just says, "Let's do something.""Let's build this.Let's, let's shift things.Let's, let's do something different and shake things up.We know that there's a need, we know that there's a problem, we know that we have to, to fix it, so let's do it."There's clarity, and there's vision.Church, there should be nothing that we love to do more than build God's kingdom.Because his kingdom is eternal.It's not just happening here and now, it's what we will enjoy for eternity.Bringing heaven to earth.God's hand is on us when we build for him.His favor is upon us.Do, do you sense his favor today, church?Do you sense his favor in your life?And if you don't?Pray.Fast.Draw near to him, he will draw near to you.Wh- we can goAnd when we go from complacent to kingdom building, there is an increase of his power, direction, and favor on your life.Let him direct your steps.Nehemiah 2:18."I told them of the hand of God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me, and they said, 'Let us rise up and build.' So they strengthened their hearts" They'reOh, sorry."Strengthened their hands for the good work."Here's what's so cool.He shared the vision.He shared what God had spoken to him.He shared that he had backing, and that the resource was there.And the people were like, "Yeah.God is with you, so I'm gonna be with you."And this i- this should be a, a, a, a point of focus for us when we begin to share things that God has put on our hearts.When we can say, like, "I, I can't shake this, but I know God has spoken to me.I, I, I, I, I don't understand it fully, but I justI've been getting closer to the Lord and he continues to bring this scripture up in me."Or, "He continues to direct my heart in this way.I've made him the, the center of my life.And now allHe's just speaking to me constantly."And when you start to share those things with people, it'll, i- it can resonate with many when you start to say, "You know, God spoke this to me."And don't get me wrong.I've heard people say, "God said it," and God never said it.I've, I've been in those manipulative places before but, as a church, God is calling us to purity.God is calling us to that place where we, we truly hear from him and bring the right people around.God's gonna bring the right people around you- Yeah.to begin to share that thing.So it doesn't bring division or criticism.It just, it just brings the right people that say, "Okay, let's do this."For some of you, that may be a close friend or maybe your spouse.It may be your, your kids, it may be your family, it may be other friends and people in business that you're networked with and connected with.If, if you would begin to just share, like, "God has placed this on my heart and it's not for me, it's for him."What would it look like for us to come together and see it done?Again, many of us, we struggle in this area because when God gives you vision for something, only you can see it.Right.Nobody else can see it and, and it's a, it's such a heartbreaking thing because you can feel so alone carrying that vision.You can feel so alone, especially when you're the only parent that wants to see changes take place.You can feel so alone when, when you see the problem and nobody else thinks it's a problem.But I'm telling you today, if you'll just focus on the Lord and continue to bring it before him again and again and again, he is gonna grant you favor.He's gonna show you the pathway to see it done.And it may be done better and greater than what you expected.Yeah.In fact, I know it will be done better because God only does stuff better.Yeah.Listen.God is calling us to reach our city, to reach our neighbors, to reach our, our family, to walk in greater vision in these, in these next days.And even at the end of, of Nehemiah.Re- just beRemind yourself there's going to be drama, there's going to be fools, there's going to be toxic, critical people.I'm not even gonna read the, the scripture.You can go read it for yourself.God is up to something great in you right now and in this world.God is building his, his kingdom because God is a builder.God is using you and me to be kingdom builders with him.So just a couple of little notes at the end, if you're taking notes.And I'm all done.Don't listen to the critics, listen to God.Don't wait on approvals from the world, follow God's voice.Amen.Take a risk and focus on what God is asking you to do.And I'm asking all of us, get to work.And then I wrote, like, 20 other things down there.Invite someone to the church.If God has so moved your life, don't you want that for those around you?Amen.And it doesn't have to be this church.Just get them in a church.I'm not trying to build up this, I'm trying to build up his kingdom.Yeah.Right.Come on.Call people out for Christ.Call them to higher places.Call them to be focused on the Lord in this year.Invite people to church.Give your biggest gift this year.Pray and fast for the lost.Lead your family to follow Jesus, not our culture.Yeah.Be the prayer warrior for the salvation of all your coworkers and all the people around you.Let's be kingdom builders.Amen?Amen.Can we all stand?