The Building Plan
Battle and Build • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Battle and Build Review
Battle and Build Review
God called Nehemiah to go to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
Nehemiah faced opposition to what God called Him to do.
All of them conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause a disturbance in it.
Remember, the battle is not against flesh and blood.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
But we prayed to our God, and because of them we set up a guard against them day and night.
Remember who is fighting for you.
When I saw their fear, I rose and spoke to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people: “Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses.”
You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
God will do His part, but He want’s us to do ours as well.
When our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had frustrated their plan, then all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work.
In spite of the opposition, we have to keep building
So, we build and battle.
Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens took their load with one hand doing the work and the other holding a weapon.
If God calls you to do it, He will see you through it.
So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations surrounding us saw it, they lost their confidence; for they recognized that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.
The Armor of God
The Armor of God
Belt of Truth
Breastplate of Righteousness
Shoes of the Preparedness of the Gospel of Peace
Helmet of Salvation
Shield of Faith
Sword of the Spirit
The Battle Over Truth and The Battle of the Mind
The Battle Over Truth and The Battle of the Mind
We can’t let our guard down, or stop the work.
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.
Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens took their load with one hand doing the work and the other holding a weapon.
This is part 2 of the Series:
The Building Plan
The Building Plan
The main thing that God is building: A Family.
We see from God’s promise to Abraham 3 types of families.
A Promised Seed/Nation/Land: Specifically, Isaac, the Jews, and the nation of Israel.
Genesis 15:4–5 (KJV)
And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
Genesis 12:1–2 (NASB95)
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing;
Genesis 15:7 (NASB95)
And He said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it.”
The Promised Seed: 2 Applications
Family #1 - God created this world for us to grow a physical family.
Adam and Eve
Already preached on this last January and February
Focus on family: Men’s Bible Study kicking off will bleed into other family studies.
The Seed = Jesus
Although the initial reference was to Isaac, we know ultimately The Seed was Jesus Christ.
Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ.
God sent Jesus to grow a spiritual family.
Which takes us to our next point and application.
The Promised Nation:
Family #1 - The Seed: Physical Family.
Family #2 - The Nation:
And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
We are a family of families
That family is what the Bible also calls the ekklesia
the called out ones from the world.
called to the body of Christ.
translated: the church - local
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
The church, and the building up of it, will be the point of emphasis for this part of the sermon series. But before I go there...
The Promised Nation:
Family #1 - The Seed: Physical Family.
Family #2 - The Nation: Local Spiritual Family.
But Ephesians 2:19-22 also refers to the universal body of Christ generally called the universal church.
The Promised Land:
Family #1 - The Seed: Physical Family.
Family #2 - The Nation: Spiritual Family.
Family #3 - The Land: Heavenly Family.
This would be a reference also to what is known as the universal church. Those believers from all times and locations who will one day live together in the The New Heaven and on the New Earth.
At some point I will do a sermon series on this
By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.
The Promises to Abraham:
Family #1 - The Seed: Physical Family.
Family #2 - The Nation: Spiritual Family.
Family #3 - The Land: Heavenly Family.
But this part of the building of God’s spiritual family is the main emphasis of this build and battle series
When I saw their fear, I rose and spoke to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people: “Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses.” When our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had frustrated their plan, then all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work.
The spiritual application is that just like we aren’t fighting against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies,
So too, we are fighting for and building more than just flesh and blood families, but we are to be fighting for and building up our spiritual families.
Psalm 127
Unless the Lord…
Just like in Nehemiah, we are letting God strengthen us for the fight and relying upon Him fighting for us, so too we need to rely upon the Lord to build the house.
We see the same three-fold family dynamics based upon Abraham’s promise in the word house.
Beth - can mean physical families - House,
Beth can mean temple - church
Beth can mean palace - state, which we see by the second phrase of watching over the city.
The Lord should take a central place in our physical families, churches, and nation.
The Lord has to be central to the mission and so many churches have taken Jesus off the main stage.
In relying on the Lord, then, we must rely upon His Word.
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
In Vain
In context it is going after material wealth which would be akin to pursuing other gods.
It’s trying to live above your means.
Doing things in vain occurs when you do not do things God’s way and you pursue other ways of doing things.
When we take Jesus off the main stage, we are working in vain.
when He is not central to your lives,
the church,
and the nation.
Children
Pastor Tim’s challenge to extend this beyond our immediate family.
Ben - Children - sons
Ben - adopted child
Ben - grandsons
Ben - a member of a group - AWANA, or our spiritual children - the church
Arrow metaphor implies several things.
training / discipleship / release
discovering your spiritual gifts
Training for ministry teams to use your gift
Being shot out into the culture
gifts are to be used inside the church and outside the church
Quiver full
fulfillment, satisfaction, complete
The key thought is legacy
Not be ashamed.
confident
collected/controlled
courageous
We want to make sure we are seeking the Lord for the building up of this house.
We want to make sure we are doing what He says to do in the building up of His house.
We will explore more of God’s building plan starting in 2 weeks.
Communion
As Eph 2 tells us, we are God’s household being built with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone.
We’re going to take a moment now and remember why we are here and why we do what we do.
Song: Once Again
Closing Song: If The Lord Builds the House