Sermon Cloud

Nehemiah 1:1-11a: "The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the capital,  2 that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem.  3 And they said to me, ‘The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.'  4 As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.  5 And I said, ‘O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,  6  let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father's house have sinned.  7 We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses.  8 Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, "If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples,  9 but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your dispersed be under the farthest skies, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there."  10 They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand.  11 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.' Now I was cupbearer to the king."

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Garden to a City

 

The true story of the world begins in a garden and ends in a city.  Eden is an amazing and beautiful place that God planted for the first humans to enjoy and cultivate. 

 

Adam and Eve are given the great honor and command from God to not only steward His creation, but also to have children and fill the earth.  By their offspring and stewardship they are to create a culture that will show off the splendor of this incredible God in all they do.

 

God wanted them to work to build culture for His name, but they desired to be a law unto themselves and attempted to build their own name in selfish rebellion.   

 

This rebellion is repeated again and again until we come to the tower of Babel where culture is being formed and a city is being built, but this city and its foundation are motivated by pride and a desire for the fame of their own name and not God's (Gen. 11:4).  This particular city becomes a model of rebellious and sinful humanity attempting to live as its own lord and king.    

 

God's desire was that we would build a culture and city of justice, love, compassion, mercy, truth, righteousness and most importantly, deep fellowship with Him as we live out our designed purpose of making His name great in this world. 

 

In fact, God chooses a particular place called Jerusalem where His name is to be loved and glorified, His people are to love and serve one another, and they are to be a city before the nations.  Even though the whole earth is His, Jerusalem will be His house and the Temple will be His living room. 

 

Jerusalem is mentioned almost 1000 times in Scripture and she is to be a city that shows off what it looks like to live under God's gracious rule.  She is to be an example for the world.  She's supposed to show the character of God in the way her citizens spend their money, work their jobs, raise their children, care for the poor, seek justice for the marginalized, have sex, build their economy, treat their employees, create and cultivate, and live simple yet stunning lives together as His people.  

 

The New Jerusalem: Reverse Engineering

 

Since this storyline is from a garden to a city, Jesus is living in a city right now called the New Jerusalem which He's been preparing for some 2,000 years.  Think about that.  If He could simply speak into existence the garden in one day, what must a city being built by the Great Carpenter, Jesus, look like? 

 

When we turn to Revelation 21 and 22, we're given a glimpse of what this massive urban city will look like when Jesus returns to bring the New Jerusalem down to us where the dwelling place of man becomes the dwelling place of God (Rev. 21:3). 

 

We're not sure if we should take this as literal or figurative, but the dimensions are so massive that it's hard to imagine:

 

* The city is measured by an angel and its dimensions are reported to be 12,000 stadia which is the equivalent of 1,400 miles in length, width, and height (Rev. 21:15-16). In fact, we're told this measurement is given in "man's measurement" which leads us to believe it is an actual description. 

 

A city this size would stretch from Canada to Mexico and from the Appalachian Mountains to the California border.  The New Jerusalem's height is assumed to be 1,400 miles high in its highest buildings.  This is two million square miles.  This is forty times bigger than England, and fifteen thousand times bigger than London.  It's ten times as big as France or Germany.

 

This city is described as having a "great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates.  On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.  There were three gates on the east, north, south and west" (Rev. 21:12-13).

 

As we'll see in the book of Nehemiah, city gates are very important.  They were a place of defense from enemies.  The gates of a city were shut at night to keep out any enemies.  Yet we're told in Scripture that there will never be a day when this city's gates will ever be shut (Rev. 21:25).  They remain open because the gates are guarded by twelve angels to remind all its citizens that they are safe.  Plus, there will be no more enemies outside the city gates-the entire New Earth will be filled with the knowledge of God (Hab. 2:14). 

 

Our true home, the New Jerusalem, will give its citizens responsibility and privileges.  Where God's people were once wanderers looking for a true home, one day they will finally settle in the New Jerusalem.  The foundation of this city is built by God Himself and He will dwell with them. 

 

It will be filled with natural wonders, rivers and tress, as well as incredible architecture, thriving culture and will have no crime, pollution, overcrowding, sirens, traffic accidents, drunk drivers, garbage, prostitution, drug addictions, pick pockets, hold-ups, or homelessness.  Hunger, disease, cancer, paralysis, death and tears will all be fully eradicated in our new city.   

 

We will enjoy arts, music, and we'll eat and raise our glasses to toast the King, who will be glorified in every pleasure we enjoy. 

 

Jesus' fingerprints will be seen everywhere in this great city.  Every feature speaks of His attributes.  We'll experience His beauty, His accessibility, His creativity through senses that are not failing and by hearts that are not filled with sin. * 

 

This is the story of the Bible, from a garden to a city.  Our future home will not only have lush land and beautiful countryside, but also a city of which the likes of men have never seen in their wildest dreams.

 

The Importance of the City

 

The city is where culture is made and the center of power is exercised.  When a city is transformed, the powers of commerce, trade, economics, politics, police, justice, etc. all flow into the suburbs and then rural areas.  As the city goes, so goes the culture. 

 

God's Heart for Cities

 

God seems to be committed to cities.  So much so that even when Jerusalem was taken in 586 and the Jews were carted off into exile in Babylon, God desired that His people, though broken and punished for their rebellion, wouldn't just sit on the hills outside the city of Babylon (ours suburbs), but would love and care for that city.  The very city of Israel's enemies!  Jeremiah says this:

 

Jeremiah 29:4-7: "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:  5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce.  6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease.  7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the

LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare."

 

Again, when we look at the story of Jonah, a prophet who was running from God because he didn't want to love the people upon whom God was going to pour His grace, we're shown God's compassion for their city:

 

Jonah 4:11: "And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?"

 

Jonah is sitting on the hillside like the Jews in Babylon, waiting for God to nuke the Ninevites.  He had no love, no compassion for this city.  He wanted God to judge them.  Yet God had a concern for "that great city," so much so that his heart went out to them (which is what pity means). 

 

He desires that His people would have the same concern, the same compassion, the same heart for the cities in which they live as Nehemiah did for Jerusalem.

 

As we think of the New Jerusalem where Jesus dwells and is preparing for His bride, the church, we are to look at this description of God's city and begin working backwards.  This is called reverse engineering, where we look at a finished product and then begin to work backwards and break it down.

 

Jesus speaks of what we're to be in this world.  He calls us the light of the world and a city on a hill.  This becomes an identity for us and not simply another task.  And we're to be this city within the city in which we live, all over the world as we spread the good news of this beautiful King and make disciples of all the nations.

 

We were never created or redeemed to be a bunch of individuals doing our own thing, but rather we're to be God's people who have come together do be a smaller city within the cities of the world, specifically the city of San Diego. 

 

The book of Nehemiah isn't simply about building some walls for a city.  It's about Jesus who is building His church and calling people to come together around Him to become a little city in our great city of San Diego. 

 

Nehemiah is going to give us some incredible insights about our God, about human nature, and about giving yourself away for the cause of our true city and living faithfully as His community before this world. 

 

Let's jump into the text.

 

STUDY

 

Just a Man

 

Verse 1: "The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the capital." 

 

Nehemiah is working in a position that isn't paid Jewish ministry.  He's in the courts of a pagan King and working his job as a servant.   

 

He is an example for almost every person here who's not a paid religious professional.  He's just working his job as a cupbearer to the king.

 

Too often we believe that in order to make a substantial difference to the church or this city, we have to be seminary-educated, a pastor, or already in some paid position.  But Nehemiah wasn't a prophet, a priest, or a king.  He simply was working a servant's job.    

 

Nehemiah writes the first seven and thirteenth chapters as journal entries.  He keeps an account of these various entries to show us what took place during this great project of rebuilding and restoration.

 

This was in the month of Kislev which is in November of the 20^th year of Artaxerxes reign in about 445 BC. 

 

He's in Susa, the capital of the Persian Empire and the winter residence of the king.  This palace would have been opulent and beautiful, a place of protection and security.  Nehemiah is willing to give whatever is necessary and do what is necessary for the sake of God's people.    

 

The News

 

Verses 2-3: "that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem.  3 And they said to me, ‘The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.'" 

 

This is like hearing the news of 9/11, hurricane Katrina, and the Oklahoma City bombing all at once.  It is terrible news to receive.

 

There is quite a bit of debate about this news.  The debate from the commentators is whether this is new news from Ezra 4, or news that Nehemiah would have always known from events that happened 141 years earlier. 

 

The challenge is that even though Ezra has gone before Nehemiah and taken 1,500 Jews with him to resettle the city and build the Temple, when their work is halted, it says nothing about breaking down walls or destroying the gates by fire.  It simply says the work is stopped.

 

The language of broken walls and burned down gates is language used to describe the events of 586 BC.  So it leaves commentators wondering if this is new news.

 

However, it is likely, even though there were some new events taking place, that Nehemiah was broken over something he's known for some time.  It seems as if God is opening Nehemiah's heart to begin to sense the horror of God's people being so far from what He intended. 

 

Like Nehemiah, we have a tendency to get used to what's wrong so that it no longer affects us.  We become numb to the pain and devastation around us and we find ourselves apathetic. We no longer identify with Jesus' heart for His people and for the sin that is rampant in our city.

 

Let me ask you a question: Are you moved over anything you see broken in our city?  On the way here, did you notice anything that you knew wasn't intended to be this way?  What has your heart been broken over?

 

The brokenness of our churches:

 

It seems that in some churches the walls have been broken down and the gates have been burned and left in ruins, even though the buildings are pristine.

 

Just a couple of years ago, a large Christian religion settled for 198.1 million dollars for 144 childhood sexual abuse victims.  144!  And, some of the abusers were known abusers but allowed to continue in ministry because the leaders turned their heads.

 

Just a few weeks ago, a worker who had worked in three or four churches in San Diego who was molesting children was finally caught. 

 

There are churches within a few blocks from here that are total heretics and preaching that Jesus is just one of many ways to God, that you don't really need to believe the gospel, and that everyone is going to heaven.

 

There are adulterers who've been caught, still leading churches because "he's the Lord's anointed."

 

Heresy, moral bankruptcy in leadership, embezzlement, child abuse and fraud are not uncommon in churches in our city.  Adultery is at its peak and a large majority of Christians are sleeping together prior to their marriage and completely destroying what God intended for them.   

 

Not to mention that divorce is as high (some argue higher) within the church as outside of the church. 

 

• Giving to the ministry has dropped for the last 25 years straight.  There have been a greater number of church splits over the last 20 years. 
• 80% of churches are in decline or plateau. 
• 3,500 churches fail each year in our country and about 80% of churches planted in San Diego will fail within the first two years on average.
• Greater San Diego has about 3.2 million people and only 6% are actually following Jesus and believe the Bible is true and salvation is by God's grace.  This means that there are only 184,000 Christians in this city out of 3.2 million.  This is about the same as some communist countries! 
• From 1990-today, due to population growth, we needed to plant 450+ churches just to keep up with population and maintain our status quo. 
• An estimate claims there will be another one million people living here by 2030.  That's only 20 years from now.
• The national average is 12 churches for every 10,000 people, but San Diego has about 3.7 churches for every 10,000 people.  If we want to bring ourselves up to the national average, we'd need to plant about 2,500 churches today and then we'd need to plant another 1,250 churches by 2030.  We'd be overjoyed to have eight churches for every 10,000 people, which means we have our work cut out for us. 

 

The brokenness of our city:

 

• Once a week someone is murdered
• 1-2 women a day are raped
• 2 people are robbed at gunpoint each day
• 3.5 people a day are mugged
• 10 people a day are victims of aggravated assault
• 17 people a day are victims of violent crimes
• 21 homes are burglarized each day
• 29 cars are stolen each day

 

There are child-pornography rings in San Diego and we have one of the largest markets for human trafficking for prostitution in the country.  We have a growing teen homeless population.  Meth houses are still a problem.  Drug smuggling is still a problem.  Spousal abuse, racial problems, gangs, and broken homes are still a problem. 

 

All of this not to mention our materialism, greed, waste, and general apathy to all of these issues are a huge problem that affects most of us here this morning. 

 

What is our response to these things?  What do we do with the horrors we encounter in our cities and in this world? 

 

How does Nehemiah respond? 

 

Weeping and Mourning

 

Verse 4: "As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven." 

 

When we turn to chapter two, we see that Nehemiah weeps and mourns for four months.  He is overwhelmed at what he's heard.  He feels the weight of this news and it feels like it's crushing him.  Have you ever experienced news that felt like it was going to crush your chest?  That sick feeling that buckles your knees and causes you to weep and mourn in deep, deep grief-this is what Nehemiah is feeling.

 

Having the heart of Jesus in weeping for the city of Jerusalem.  Jesus grieved.  Jesus wept.  Jesus mourned.  So we must learn how to do the same.  This is a beautiful response to horrible news. 

 

I believe Jesus gave Nehemiah a sense of His heart for Jerusalem.  He is giving Nehemiah eyes to see and a heart to feel what He's feeling. 

 

Nehemiah had the heart of Christ for His city, Jerusalem.  We're to have the same heart for our church and for our city. 

 

Luke 19:41-42: "And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, ‘Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.'"

 

Matthew 23:37: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!"

 

Nehemiah, though, doesn't simply complain and withdraw.    He weeps and mourns and feels the brokenness of sin and the consequences of sin, yet he doesn't only weep and mourn. 

 

If we're detached and unbroken over sin and brokenness in our city because we're supposed to just look out for ourselves, we don't have the same heart that Jesus has for sin, death, and brokenness.  If we don't feel anything, something is wrong.  If we're not moved at the brokenness we see in our church and in our city, something is wrong. 

 

We're told that Jesus was a man who was acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:3).  We're also told that He was someone who wept (Luke 19:41, John 11:35).  He felt the full range of human emotions as God's perfect Son. He expressed pain, suffering, righteous anger and loss.  He experienced abandonment from His closest friends, betrayal and disappointment in them.  And yet He consistently was marked by compassion and sympathy. 

 

To be like Christ doesn't mean we walk around like Spock spewing out data.  It also doesn't mean we picture Christ as a kind of guru sitting in a lotus position that lets pithy statements that sound like fortune cookie sayings drip from His lips.

 

What does Nehemiah do with the weight of this truth that has become real to him?  Nehemiah goes to God in the humble and needy position of prayer.

 

We have nine of Nehemiah's prayers in this book.  He is a man that realizes his dependence upon the only one who can fix what is broken.   

 

Turning to God

 

Verses 5-6a: "And I said, ‘O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 6a  let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants."

 

You learn quite a bit about yourself when you pray to God.  It is a way of showing how much we know of our God and how much we trust Him.  What can be lost in books of action like Nehemiah is the main point of this entire work, God.  Nehemiah's prayer teaches us what he knew to be true about the God he worshipped. 

 

Nehemiah looks to God's character and begins to pray to the God of heaven who is great and awesome.  He prays to a God who keeps His promises, and keeps His covenant.  He prays to a God who is not only faithful and awesome, but a God of continuing, steadfast love.

 

Nehemiah begins his prayer by worshipping what He knows about God.  That He is the sovereign God of heaven.  He prays to our great and awesome God of heaven, and a God who is always faithful.  In a world of deceit, lies, and unfaithfulness, Nehemiah knows this God is one who keeps His covenant, His promise.

 

Nehemiah also knows that this God is a God of steadfast, never-failing love, unlike the flippant love our world.   

 

Do you take the time regularly throughout the day to simply thank God for who He is?  Is that part of your normal conversing with Him, meditating on Him?

 

Repentance and Confession

 

Verses 6b-7: "confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father's house have sinned.  7 We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses." 

 

Nehemiah is confessing the sins of his family, the sins of his people.  He isn't simply complaining about the "others" who have ruined the city and have destroyed God's people.  He places blame upon himself, his family, and the very people of God.

He takes ownership for his sin, his own rebellion against God, his own apathy. 

 

What sin is keeping you from seeing the brokenness of the church and of this city?  Do you still think it's "out there."  Or are you taking ownership for your own sin, the sin of your family?  Are you simply pointing the fingers and blaming others for all that is wrong or are you bowing before God and confessing to Him?

 

Hating Sin

 

I have to be honest with you.  After this last couple of years in ministry, I have developed a new kind of hatred for sin that I've never had before.  I absolutely hate it.  I hate it in my heart.  I hate my pride and tendency to judge and criticize.  I hate lust that lurks in my heart.  I hate my self-righteousness and quickness to speak and become angry.  I hate my impatience and immaturity.  I hate it.  I hate what sin does to people.  I hate having to watch people destroy themselves in sin.  I hate watching the effects of a husband's sin crush his bride.  I hate gossip, backbiting and slander that so easily flow from our lips.  I hate the sins of wives who pick their husbands apart until they are nothing but a shell of a man.  I hate to see the sins of the parents laid upon their children though abuse, shame, guilt, and all other horrors that crush a child under the weight of sin.  I hate it!  And I can't wait for my King to return and destroy it once for all by removing its presence.  I can't wait until my heart is so knit to His that every desire of my King becomes my greatest delight and pleasure. 

 

Do you hate sin?  Does it disgust you?  Does it make you sick?  Or, like old news, has it become normal and just part of life?  Have you grown accustomed to it?  Has it lost its ugliness? 

 

You see, nothing will change until we become a people who begin to hate sin and learn to weep over it and confess it to our God. 

 

How much do you find yourself complaining?  Do you tend towards criticism and take shots at the church and the people in it?  Have you become a seismologist because you're so gifted a fault finding that you've lost the ability to weep and mourn, confess and repent of your own sin?

 

It's natural and easy to take shots at the church, its leaders, the city, and all its problems.  It is a very difficult thing to admit that the primary problem with church and city is you!  That takes a work of God's grace.   

 

Are you giving yourself to the work of God in this world through His city, the church?  And if you are, are you giving yourself with a heart of confession and awareness of your own sin?

 

Are you humble when someone rebukes you?  Or are you like the Israelites, proud and rebellious? 

 

There is a heartbreaking account in Ezra 4, where a letter is sent to Artaxerxes to warn him about the Israelites.  It basically says that they are rebuilding this rebellious and wicked city and when it's done, they won't even pay tribute or toll to the kingdom.  What is sad is that even though it was a slam from the enemies of the Jews, their description was accurate. 

 

The church is known for its demands to get land and buildings, but also for its lack of generosity.  Many years ago, before I was a Christian, I worked for a period of time as a waiter at Cheesecake Factory in Woodland Hills.  I worked a ton of hours and was willing to pick up any shift, but the one shift I didn't want to work was Sunday brunch.  You know why?  I would wait on groups of Christians who had their various Christian trinkets on and yet they were the most demanding, rude, ungracious and impatient people and were notorious for tipping the worst.  You worked twice as hard on Sunday and made half the money.

 

I used to wonder to myself if they gave to their church the same way they tipped.

 

This is not what God intended for His city on a hill!  He desired we would be a light to the world or salt to the earth.  And I think the reason why it is so rampant in the church is because we talk a lot about sin in this world but have lost the ability to repent of our own.  As long as sin is "out there" you'll never find your heart beating with grace "in here."  Pride is the enemy of hope because it kills the life-giving power of repentance and our deep awareness of our need.

 

Nehemiah knew that He needed God.  He needed God to forgive his sin and the sins of his people.  He needed God to lead his people to restoration and rebuilding. 

 

One of the ways to ensure that we don't get stuck in our own sin is by remembering God's promises and God's power.  Look at what Nehemiah prays next.

 

Remembering God's Promises

 

Verses 8-9: "Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, 9 but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your dispersed be under the farthest skies, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.'"

 

Nehemiah is remembering the promises of God.  He is a man who seems to be well soaked in God's word so that his thoughts and prayers are led by what he knows to be true about God from His word. 

 

The gospel is the promise of God, the news of what God has done, is doing, and promises for our future hope.    

 

Nehemiah is all about God's name.  We must be all about making Jesus' name great in our church and in our city. 

 

Remembering God's Power

 

Verse 10: "They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand." 

 

We need to remember not only God's promise, but God's power.  He is powerful enough to redeem and His hand is strong for the task of not only redeeming this church and this city, but you! 

 

He is not only a wonderful counselor, He is also a King that has the power to redeem you by His great power. 

Some of you don't believe this.  You are unintentionally assuming your sin, your despair, and your brokenness is stronger than the redemptive power of God's strong hand of grace. 

 

Nehemiah is remembering how God has worked to redeem His people. 

 

Verse 11a: "O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name."

 

Nehemiah is looking to the future and asking God to enable and empower him for the task to which God has called him. 

 

He realizes that he and God's people are all His servants and that their primary aim is to delight and fear, to glorify the name of God. 

 

It's easy to simply enjoy the luxury of our moment.  Nehemiah most definitely could have.  He was the cupbearer to the king, and yet he is reminded that he is the servant of one far greater, the true King.  Nehemiah is willing to spend himself in whatever way he could be good servant for this great and awesome God. 

 

He humbles himself and turns to God, realizing that if God does not act, his grief, his call, his work will all be in vain.  God must work.  God must show up.  Nehemiah's vision is so great that if God doesn't show up, nothing will happen. 

 

Do you have this same heart, the heart of Nehemiah which is the heart of Jesus?  We may feel totally overwhelmed and without any idea of where to start.  Let's begin like Nehemiah. 

 

We can begin by asking God for:

• A broken heart over the brokenness of our city
• Eyes to see the needs of our church and our city
• Lips to confess our sins
• A broken heart over our own sin
• A stronger sense of God's grace, love and forgiveness
• A love for His name to be made famous in San Diego
• An awakening in our church
• More leaders to step up and lead God's mission
• A strong unity and love for one another as His body and city
• To help us release our grip on things and money
• To teach us how to grieve

 

This is the mission of God.  His mission is to restore everything broken and wrong with this world.  And He's doing so by saving broken people who come to love Him together as His people so that the world not only sees, but is invited into God's restoring mission.

 

What are the burned down and broken walls of your life?  What gates of security have come crashing down that God needs to rebuild by His grace in your life?

 

How is Jesus rebuilding your life and restoring you even now?

 

Before we can build this church and be a city within a city, we must first see that we're broken and need to be restored.

 

The True Temple: Our Only Hope

 

Mark 14:58: "We heard him say, 'I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.'"

 

The true Temple of God, Jesus, was torn down and broken for us.  He had all the gates of His security ripped off their hinges and was crushed under the burden of sin.  But this Temple could not stay in ruins.  Three days later, as promised, this Temple was rebuilt and Jesus opens the way for all of us to come to the true Zion, the true city of God, to be loved by Him, forgiven by Him, empowered by Him, hidden in Him so that we might never be utterly overtaken and besieged by sin and distance.

 

P.S. If you call Kaleo home, please don't use the church.  Love it, serve it, and give yourself and your resources to it for the sake of God's glory and this world.  If you live in San Diego, please don't use this city, bless it as God intended.  We are not redeemed to use people and the city for our own interests.  We are saved so that God might use us to bless people and the city for His interests. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* Most of this was directly quoted from the book Heaven by Randy Alcorn.