Life In The Balance

[00:00:01] Speaker A: Thanks for tuning in to the Met Church podcast. Here at the Met, we are all about connecting people to God and one another. If you have any questions or want more information about what's happening here at the church, then head to our [email protected] we would love to stay connected with you throughout the week through social media, so be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter now. Enjoy the message. [00:00:24] Speaker B: Good morning, Met Church. How we doing this morning? How many of you have had a crazy past week? I know that. Did you have any major things happen, like pipe bursts or anything like that? Everybody's pretty safe and warm most of the time. Okay. How many of you were adventurous and you went sledding? How many of you, the next few days after you went sledding, couldn't walk? How many of you made the most of it and you're with your family and you played board games? Two of you? Awesome. We got all the board games out. Some of them I didn't even realize we owned. And Isley, my 13 year old, I used to think I was good at board games. We played Battleship and she whooped my tail. [00:01:16] Speaker C: And then we played Connect 4, which. [00:01:20] Speaker B: I feel like I'm pretty good at that game no longer. I think she beat me like six out of seven times and I think she probably let me win on the one that I actually won. Anybody play puzzles? Like, do, like, put some puzzles together or anything like that? [00:01:36] Speaker C: No? [00:01:37] Speaker B: Okay, what about movies? How many of you watched? You had a movie night and a movie morning and a movie afternoon. Yes. So hopefully you had a good time and you enjoyed your time. But let's be honest. How many of you were ready to pull your hair out about third day. [00:01:55] Speaker C: With your kids not in school? Most of you. Okay, that's great. [00:01:59] Speaker B: Well, you made it. Congratulations. Snowmageddon 2026. Hopefully it's behind us and you are here where it is warm and God's. [00:02:09] Speaker C: Got something for you. [00:02:11] Speaker B: We are in our series talking about the book of Nehemiah. And when you look at Nehemiah, you see a man who is going to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was a city that's been around since 3000 BC. Think about that for a second. 3000 BC Nehemiah takes place about 445 BC. So something that was built a long time ago was now being rebuilt and built upon to continue to be something amazing that God did. Kind of reminds me of the Met Church. I don't know if you're aware of this, but this year the Met Church turns 30 years old. 30 years of amazing ministry, of life change. And here's the thing. When you look up the number 30 in the Bible, you see it as a number of something, of accomplishment, something to celebrate things that have happened. [00:03:13] Speaker C: But here's what you also see. You also see it's the beginning of something great. [00:03:18] Speaker B: Jesus, his own ministry. 30 years old when he started ministry. So this is what we believe as a staff and as a church. We believe that God has done amazing things for these past 30 years. We want to celebrate, we want to highlight. [00:03:33] Speaker C: We are so excited about what God. [00:03:35] Speaker B: Has done, but we also believe this. [00:03:37] Speaker C: That he's just getting started, that he's. [00:03:40] Speaker B: Got plans for you and for me and for Pastor Bill and our church. [00:03:44] Speaker C: And what we're going to do over. [00:03:45] Speaker B: The next 30 years is going to. [00:03:47] Speaker C: Blow our mind if we stay faithful to what God has for us. [00:03:53] Speaker B: And so when you look at the book Nehemiah, you see a lot of interesting things. And if you haven't listened to this series at all, I encourage you to go back and listen to the past messages. But I also encourage you just to go open your Bible and read the book of Nehemiah, because you can learn so much from Nehemiah and his life, but also from his leadership. You can learn a lot from good leaders, like the first mate that learned from his admiral in the British Navy. They're on the boat, they're out there getting ready because they know the enemy is coming. And as they're sitting there from the crow's nest, the man yells down. He says, admiral, one enemy ship up ahead. And so the admiral turns to all the guys on the ship and says, get in your positions and get ready for battle. And then he leans over to his first mate and he says, I need. [00:04:44] Speaker C: You to go get my red shirt so I can change into it. [00:04:48] Speaker B: Even though it's odd, it's an odd thing to ask. You know, he's the first mate, so he goes and he does what the admiral says. He brings it. The admiral puts on the red shirt. They go into battle, they're victorious. And after battle, they're celebrating. And the first mate says, I gotta ask. So, Admiral, can I ask you a question? [00:05:06] Speaker C: He's like, of course. He's like, what's going on with the red shirt? [00:05:10] Speaker B: Like, it seemed like an odd time to do an outfit change, so tell me why you put on the red shirt. And he said, I need my men to. To look at me at all times. [00:05:19] Speaker C: And be willing to follow. [00:05:21] Speaker B: I need Them to have no doubt that I'm their leader and I'm gonna. [00:05:25] Speaker C: Take them to victory. [00:05:26] Speaker B: So I put on the red shirt just in case something happens and I get wounded or I get shot and I begin to bleed. I don't want the men to see. [00:05:34] Speaker C: It and doubt my leadership. [00:05:36] Speaker B: He was like, okay, that makes sense. That's interesting. About that time, the crow's nest, the man, he leans down, he says, admiral, five enemy ships up ahead. So he turns to the man, he's like, get in your positions. Get ready for battle. And then anxiously, he turns to his first mate and he says, now go get me my brown pants. I'm going to be honest, I struggled whether to say that one or not. But it went over well in the first service, so I thought it would work. The point is, you can learn some. [00:06:14] Speaker C: Good lessons from good leaders. [00:06:17] Speaker B: The book of Nehemiah is one that's considered a history book in the Bible. It's the story of Israel's return from Babylonian captivity to the rebuilding of Jerusalem and its walls. [00:06:29] Speaker C: And it's full of great leadership lessons. [00:06:33] Speaker B: Nehemiah was a Hebrew in Persia when he heard that the temple in Jerusalem was being rebuilt. But he got real anxious because he knew that the walls were torn down. And without the walls, they would be not secure from the enemies, and also they wouldn't be able to protect their. [00:06:51] Speaker C: Water supply, which was major back then. [00:06:54] Speaker B: So he began to invite God in to say, to use me to save the city. And from the time he arrived in Jerusalem, the enemy was there, and the enemy was trying to stop him and. [00:07:07] Speaker C: The men from building the wall. He faced opposition. [00:07:11] Speaker B: Three men were known to lead the opposition. Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem. [00:07:17] Speaker C: And they used everything they could to stop the men of God from working. [00:07:21] Speaker B: They used mockery, threats of violence, false rumors of revolt, and deceitful plots to stop the work. We even see In Nehemiah chapter 6, when the men are working hard getting things done, they actually reach out. Sam Ballad and Geshem invite Nehemiah to come down from the wall to have a friendly conversation. But guess where they want to meet? They want to meet in the villages in the plain of Ono. But he knows. He knows something's up. He knows they're going to try to kill him. He so it says, they thought to. [00:07:56] Speaker C: Do me harm, and so he turned them down. [00:07:59] Speaker B: Can I tell you this morning that if you have somebody in your life who you don't trust or you think is out to get you, and they invite you to meet them in somewhere called oh, no. Your first response should be, oh, no. So to ensure the safety of. Of the men working without stopping their work, Nehemiah came up with the plan. And it was kind of like a labor and a defense plan that works simultaneous. Nehemiah, chapter four is where we're going to be to start off. [00:08:34] Speaker C: So if you have your Bibles, go. [00:08:36] Speaker B: Ahead and turn there. [00:08:36] Speaker C: If not, it's going to be up on the screen. [00:08:39] Speaker B: But if you're with me, say, I'm with you. [00:08:43] Speaker C: Three of you, let's go. [00:08:45] Speaker B: Nehemiah, chapter 4, verse 16. It says this. From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows, and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other. And each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. [00:09:13] Speaker C: But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me. Remember that part right there, too. [00:09:19] Speaker B: So he had three solutions. Nehemiah had three solutions to protect the men while they worked so they wouldn't have to stop work. And if they did, it wouldn't be for long. And here's the three solutions. In the low places of the wall, men would do their job on the wall and build the wall while the armed men would be behind them. Okay, the second way is men would do their job while they would have their sword strapped to their side. They had open carry law back then, so it was right there. And then the third men would do the work with one hand while they had their weapon in the other. And so I started to think about these three different defenses while they continued to work. And I was like, well, what would. [00:10:02] Speaker C: Be the best one? [00:10:04] Speaker B: And so I went down some rabbit holes studying the weapons and the theories and the things that they did. And here's what I came up with. They were all great, and they all did their job. But think about it. If I'm working on the wall and the men who was gonna defend me would be behind me, I would have to stop, move out of the way. [00:10:24] Speaker C: And the men would come forward. [00:10:26] Speaker B: The other one, the men that would be working and they had their sword to their side, they. They'd be working. At one point, if they got snuck up on, they'd have to throw their tool down and then grab their weapon. There was a little bit of a stall there. And I was like, but the one that had no stall at all was the one where they had their tool in their hand, a hammer for most. [00:10:47] Speaker C: Of them and a spear in the other. [00:10:51] Speaker B: At any time, they were ready to fight. And so as I studied this, I realized that not everybody could do this exact one. But the ones who could do it, that did it well, because the imbalance, the spear weighed so much. The ones who could do it and. [00:11:08] Speaker C: Did it well were ones who had great balance. I was like, man, that'll preach. [00:11:16] Speaker B: The thing is, as Christians, if you want to know what it takes to be a follower of Christ, that can work with all that you are to what God has called you to do, and also be ready to defend whatever's being attacked in your life, it takes great balance. [00:11:37] Speaker C: It takes life, balance. [00:11:38] Speaker B: And the thing about balance in our lives is not everything that our lives gets even distribution. That's not what makes a balanced life. Some things require more effort, Some things require more time. Some things are more important. So what does it take? And I came up with three directions this morning. If you're taking notes, you can write this down. Three directions that can help us have a balance life. [00:12:07] Speaker C: And the first direction is this. Upward. Upward. [00:12:13] Speaker B: No. God. I don't know how many of you are physics majors. [00:12:18] Speaker C: Nobody? Awesome. [00:12:19] Speaker B: So in physics, to have balance, you need what's called a fulcrum. A fulcrum is the fixed pivot point. It supports the axis around which the lever rotates or balances. I saw this quote that I thought was awesome. The name of Jesus is the one. [00:12:39] Speaker C: Lever that lifts the world. [00:12:43] Speaker B: See, in the Bible, the term fulcrum. [00:12:45] Speaker C: Isn'T used literally, but yet metaphorically, referring to Jesus Christ's death and resurrection as the pivotal point. The fulcrum of Christian faith around which. [00:13:00] Speaker B: All history, salvation, and spiritual life revolve. [00:13:05] Speaker C: Lifting believers from sin and to new life. [00:13:12] Speaker B: I'm a visual learner, as some of. [00:13:15] Speaker C: You probably are, so I thought that I'd give you something visually. [00:13:18] Speaker B: How many of you remember recess when you were in elementary school? [00:13:22] Speaker C: Okay, we got a picture I want to show you. [00:13:27] Speaker B: So some of you may remember one of the things at recess was a seesaw. Please tell me that you called it a teeter totter. Thank you. Thank you. So you have it there. And if you'll remember, let's just say. [00:13:44] Speaker C: The larger kid, the larger kid would get on. [00:13:48] Speaker B: And if a kid was not equal size, if it was lighter, what would happen? Big boy would go down quick, and so he would be there. And so in order to get balance or to get back level, there would have to be more force. Either on the lighter side, meaning you had to throw somebody else up there or there had to be force from the ground, Meaning big boy would push up with his legs and it would go up and down, and then you. [00:14:13] Speaker C: Would have a teeter totter. [00:14:17] Speaker B: So the interesting thing is, what could you do if you were the larger kid and there was somebody light and there was no coming up besides push up? You could actually scoot closer to the fulcrum, to the pivot point, and it would make the weight more even. So I started thinking about this, and I was like, man, that's great in physics. It's great and all. [00:14:39] Speaker C: But when it comes to God and Jesus being the fulcrum, here's what he does, which is so interesting. [00:14:47] Speaker B: He doesn't move the weight closer to him. [00:14:51] Speaker C: Let's show the next picture. He moves himself closer, closer to the weight. [00:14:57] Speaker B: I don't know what you're dealing with this morning, but I know some of. [00:15:01] Speaker C: Us have some heavy weight that we feel is on our shoulders. And what happens is when we're going. [00:15:09] Speaker B: Through something that we feel like we're up in the air and our legs are dangling and we have no hope. When we invite God into the fold, we invite God into our mess. We invite God into the heaviness that we're dealing with. [00:15:22] Speaker C: What Jesus does is he actually moves towards that weight and that heaviness to balance it out in our life and to help take on the load. Can I get an amen? This is the fulcrum. This is Jesus. [00:15:38] Speaker B: And it represents the central essential element. [00:15:42] Speaker C: That balances and transforms everything, making faith meaningful. So how do we do that when we're looking upward? How do we continue to know God and connect with him? The first way is prayer. Prayer. [00:15:58] Speaker B: When you read the book of Nehemiah, one thing you're going to notice about. [00:16:01] Speaker C: Him and his life, he was a man of prayer. [00:16:05] Speaker B: He wanted to do God's plan, God's way, rather than his own. And he was going to wait until. [00:16:11] Speaker C: He had that plan. Remember, he felt God call him to go back into Jerusalem and help repair and build back the walls. [00:16:20] Speaker B: But there was just one problem. [00:16:22] Speaker C: He was cupbearer to the king. [00:16:25] Speaker B: He worked for the king. He was the man that drank the wine and ate the food before the king did to make sure that it wasn't poisoned. [00:16:33] Speaker C: And you thought your job was tough. [00:16:36] Speaker B: But think about how important that role is. But also think about how much time Nehemiah actually spent in the presence of the king, probably more than anyone else. And so he knows that God has called him to go rebuild the walls, but at the same time, he has no clue how he's going to tell the king that he needs some PTO to go back and rebuild these walls. I mean, it's not months. This is probably going to take years of labor and work to rebuild these walls. How do you ask the king when your job is so important to his life? Literally, that I need time off to go build and rebuild a wall for. [00:17:15] Speaker C: My people, for a God that I know you don't believe in? He didn't know. So he began to pray. [00:17:21] Speaker B: And he was praying. And while he was in the presence of the king doing his job, the. [00:17:26] Speaker C: King noticed something different. And he asked him. [00:17:29] Speaker B: He goes, what's going on? [00:17:30] Speaker C: I've never seen your face like this. [00:17:32] Speaker B: And in that moment, you know what Nehemiah did? [00:17:36] Speaker C: He prayed. [00:17:37] Speaker B: He didn't pray out loud. He started to pray. And he prayed that God would soften. [00:17:42] Speaker C: The heart of the king. [00:17:45] Speaker B: So he tells the king, he prays and then he tells him what God. [00:17:48] Speaker C: Has put on his heart to go do. The king allows him to do it. [00:17:52] Speaker B: Not only allows him to do it. [00:17:54] Speaker C: He funds the whole project. [00:17:56] Speaker B: He gives him all the wood, all the rocks, everything that he's going to need to rebuild these massive walls, and he gives it all to him. Not only that, he gives them an army. He gives men on horses and people to go with him as security to get him all the way to Jerusalem. Not only that, he gives him letters. So when he passes through these cities, they see that he has a letter. [00:18:18] Speaker C: From the king where they can do him no harm. [00:18:20] Speaker B: Did I mention that he made him. [00:18:22] Speaker C: Governor of Jerusalem so that any big decision that needed to be made, he could make it? And the king said it was okay. Say God won't, because God can do anything. So he goes back and he's doing what God calls him to do. But even when he's there, we see in chapter four, it's not going to be on the screen, verse three, that he's still not done facing the adversary. [00:18:51] Speaker B: So Tobiah, the Ammonite who was at. [00:18:53] Speaker C: His side, said, what are they building? [00:18:56] Speaker B: Even a fox climbing up on it. [00:18:58] Speaker C: Would break down their walls of stone. This is supposed to be a dig. [00:19:03] Speaker B: Saying, you have these massive walls that you think are strong. If a little fox jumped on there. [00:19:07] Speaker C: The whole thing would crumble. [00:19:10] Speaker B: So Nehemiah has a choice. He can argue back. He could throw a dig at him. [00:19:16] Speaker C: He could. [00:19:16] Speaker B: He could get his men to go attack him. He could do all kinds of things. You know what he does? [00:19:21] Speaker C: He prays. [00:19:22] Speaker B: The next verse says right away it. [00:19:24] Speaker C: Says, hear us our God, for we are despised. And then he begins to lay out God, I know that you're going to do what you want to do. I'm laying this at your feet. You're in control. I lay it up. You got it. You got this. While we continue to work, he was a man of faithful prayer that knew in any decision he didn't want it to be his way. He wanted it to be God's way because God's way is always right. [00:19:51] Speaker B: Prayer the next thing is the sword. [00:19:54] Speaker C: What is the sword? When you look at Ephesians 6:17, talks about the armor of God that we are supposed to put on every day as we face the enemy. [00:20:03] Speaker B: It says, and take the helmet of. [00:20:05] Speaker C: Salvation, the sword of the spirit, which is what? The word of God. It's the Bible. Our weapon of choice is the word of God that not only is defensive and helps us when we're, when we're getting attacked, but it's also offensive where we can take it and use it for God's good. [00:20:27] Speaker B: It says other in the Bible for the word of God is living and. [00:20:30] Speaker C: Active, sharper than any two edge sword. So why would we need a weapon? We're Christians, we're peace and we're love and we're kind and we're gentle. Why would we need to have a weapon or something that can protect us? It's because there's an enemy that's coming to steal, kill and destroy. Especially when you're doing the work of God. So the thing about the devil is he's good at what he does. Now he's not God. God's already conquered him. God's already won. [00:21:08] Speaker B: We're on the winning team. [00:21:09] Speaker C: But while we're here on the earth, we have to deal with this and we have to face the enemy every day in spiritual warfare. [00:21:17] Speaker B: And so what the devil does is. [00:21:19] Speaker C: He finds what works and he does it over, over and over again. [00:21:24] Speaker B: So let's look at some tactics of. [00:21:25] Speaker C: The devil real quick. [00:21:27] Speaker B: Of the things that he does, the first thing that he'll do is he. [00:21:30] Speaker C: Lies and he twists the truth. He's described in the Bible as the father of lies. [00:21:38] Speaker B: He uses lies and half truths to. [00:21:40] Speaker C: Sow doubt about God's word and intentions, often making evil seem good and vice versa. If you don't believe me, go home and turn on the news. [00:21:53] Speaker B: And see. [00:21:53] Speaker C: People that are protesting on both sides. [00:21:56] Speaker B: Believing with all that they Are that this is true. [00:21:59] Speaker C: Believing with all that they are that. [00:22:00] Speaker B: This is true sometimes can be confusing for us. And what do we know to true? And you want to know what's true? [00:22:09] Speaker C: Use your sword, go to God's word and see what he says is true. [00:22:14] Speaker B: Whether the world believes it or not. [00:22:15] Speaker C: What he says is true is always the truth. The next thing he does is accusation and condemnation. The word Satan actually means accuser and slanderer. What he loves to do is point. [00:22:30] Speaker B: Out people's sins to make them feel. [00:22:32] Speaker C: Hopeless and drive them away from what God's doing with his forgiveness and with his mercy. The next thing he likes to do is tempt us. He uses temptation. He uses things like lust, pride and worldly pursuit to keep us away from purity, humility and kingdom pursuit. He uses division and discord. How many of you have felt that even in your own family? He wants to have disunity with individuals with families. [00:23:04] Speaker B: Can I tell you where I've seen it the most? [00:23:06] Speaker C: In the church division where somebody wants. [00:23:11] Speaker B: Something, somebody else wants something else, they. [00:23:12] Speaker C: Get mad, they get a bunch of. [00:23:14] Speaker B: People on their side. How many churches have started new churches. [00:23:17] Speaker C: Because they didn't like what was going on in the current church division? Satan loves it. He loves it. He wants to divide us, he wants to divide society at large. And he's good at what he does. And then lastly, blinding unbelievers. He keeps unbelievers from understanding or seeing the truth of the gospel. [00:23:40] Speaker B: And can I tell you that I. [00:23:42] Speaker C: Think he does that to believers too. And I think we fall into that as well. Have you ever been confused about something, even if it was something dealing with your faith? Can I tell you this morning, God is not a God of confusion. If you have felt confused about something even having to do with faith. But anything I'm telling you, it's either not of God or it's that we need to be patient and wait for God to give us the whole plan. If you feel God leading you somewhere. [00:24:21] Speaker B: Whether it's a job, whether it's a relationship, whether it's something going on, whatever it is in your life, you feel. [00:24:25] Speaker C: That God is calling you there, God will make it clear how you're going to get there. [00:24:31] Speaker B: It may not be when you want to know, but he's going to let you know. [00:24:34] Speaker C: Until then, be patient until he reveals the plan to you. Just like we saw with Nehemiah. In the Bible there's a Hebrew word called devar and it actually translates into the word and it appears in the Bible over 14. [00:24:56] Speaker B: It means the word. [00:24:57] Speaker C: It means speak, it means commandment, and it means promise. And it's powerful when you think about it. In just a few words, God created the heavens and the earth. [00:25:10] Speaker B: With just a few words, God spoke everything into existence. [00:25:14] Speaker C: Out of nothing, God devours the earth into existence. [00:25:23] Speaker B: Later you see the writer of psalms. [00:25:25] Speaker C: And in the book of Romans that there is a response from the earth and the heavens. [00:25:30] Speaker B: And the response is, the whole earth. [00:25:33] Speaker C: Speaks of the glory of God. [00:25:37] Speaker B: See, the word devar also means to. [00:25:41] Speaker C: Act, a response to the word that's spoken to you. God devours the earth into existence, then the earth devours glory back to God. The same is true for us as followers of Christ. God has given us His Word. He is telling us the plan, the. [00:26:03] Speaker B: Game plan, and what he wants us. [00:26:05] Speaker C: To be like, what he wants us to act like, what is truth and how should we follow it? And he gives us all of that in His Word. And you know what he asks of us? To devour. To act on what God is giving us to be what he says to be. To treat people how we're supposed to. [00:26:25] Speaker B: Treat them, to tell people about the. [00:26:26] Speaker C: Good news of Jesus, to love people, but speak truth. We're supposed to react to what God has done for us. And when you begin to do this. [00:26:39] Speaker B: When you begin to become a doer. [00:26:41] Speaker C: Of the Word, what happens is your life and who you are begins to change, to look more like Jesus. [00:26:48] Speaker B: And when this happens, what happens is. [00:26:50] Speaker C: You'Ve been looking upward. The next thing is you begin to look inward. You begin to look at yourself. [00:26:59] Speaker B: And as you look at yourself, one. [00:27:00] Speaker C: Of the first things that we need to do is. Is we need to deal with the rubble. [00:27:05] Speaker B: Nehemiah 4, 10 says this. Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, the strength of the laborers is giving out. And there is so much rubble that. [00:27:14] Speaker C: We cannot rebuild the wall. These walls were hundreds of feet tall. [00:27:22] Speaker B: So wide. [00:27:23] Speaker C: They were thick. They were so wide. And when they fell, imagine how much rubble, how much rock, how much debris came and landed on the ground. I can't imagine how high it was. [00:27:37] Speaker B: And what the men were saying is. [00:27:39] Speaker C: In order to rebuild the wall, we first have to clean out the rubble. Can I tell you that Satan uses this in our life as well? We all have rubble. [00:27:53] Speaker B: When you don't know Jesus, you have the rubble of sin in your life. [00:27:56] Speaker C: That keeps you separated from a relationship with God. But because of Jesus and what he. [00:28:03] Speaker B: Did for us when he came and he died on the cross for all of our sins, when you believe that when he rose from the dead that he conquered death. [00:28:12] Speaker C: When you believe this, guess what? All the rubble is cleared. [00:28:17] Speaker B: No longer is sin in the way. [00:28:19] Speaker C: Of, of you and your relationship and what God wants to do in your life because of Jesus. [00:28:26] Speaker B: But what happens then? Even those of us who have given our lives and invited Christ into our lives and we're forgiven for all that rubble. [00:28:35] Speaker C: Satan likes to remind us of all that rubble we used to have. [00:28:40] Speaker B: And so often God is calling us to rebuild a wall and do something amazing for him, but yet all we can think about is, is how all the rubble, all the sin, all the past things in our life that's gonna. [00:28:51] Speaker C: Keep us from doing anything great for God. [00:28:53] Speaker B: When God says, you know what, all that's cleared out and you know what, all that stuff you went through, let. [00:28:58] Speaker C: Me use that to glorify me in the future. [00:29:01] Speaker B: Let me use your past sin and the rubble and the things that you dealt with to help people over here that are dealing with the same thing. And you know who's gonna get the glory? God. Don't let Satan remind us of what. [00:29:16] Speaker C: God's already cleared because he wants to. We gotta look and get rid of the rubble. [00:29:24] Speaker B: The second thing is this. [00:29:25] Speaker C: Know and protect your low places. [00:29:28] Speaker B: And I don't mean get some extra. [00:29:29] Speaker C: Botox if the skin's starting to sag a little bit. I'm talking about in your character. [00:29:35] Speaker B: We all have low places that the enemy attacks, and he attacks often. Maybe it is what I talked about. [00:29:42] Speaker C: Earlier, the lust and the pride and the worldly pursuit. Maybe I don't know what it is in your life. [00:29:50] Speaker B: Maybe it's some things that you need to deal with in your character. [00:29:54] Speaker C: But here's the thing. [00:29:55] Speaker B: We all know where the low parts. [00:29:56] Speaker C: Of the wall are that we get attacked at. [00:29:59] Speaker B: So as a follower of Christ, what. [00:30:01] Speaker C: We need to do is set up boundaries, seek God. Seek people that we know that can help us to keep the enemy out. Build up those walls in those areas through prayer, through seeking God in the Word. And then lastly, what has God blessed you with as you begin to look inward? What has God blessed you with? What are your talents? What are your skills? What are your passions? [00:30:32] Speaker B: Let me ask you this. [00:30:33] Speaker C: Where do your passions and your gifts and skills meet up? Because I want to tell you this morning that God wants to use you for his kingdom work. Every one of us, he wants. [00:30:45] Speaker B: You don't have to be a pastor. You don't have to be a leader of a life group. [00:30:50] Speaker C: God wants to use all of us for his glory. [00:30:55] Speaker B: When you start to look and see your gifts and your passions and where. [00:30:58] Speaker C: They meet up, that's usually where God wants you to serve and be a part of. [00:31:04] Speaker B: Good thing is, too. [00:31:05] Speaker C: It also keeps us from going to maybe where we shouldn't serve. [00:31:09] Speaker B: And what I mean by that. Let me show you an example. It's awesome. [00:31:12] Speaker C: We're having a worship workshop coming up. [00:31:15] Speaker B: And if you are gifted in that area, you can play an instrument, you can sing, man, please come. [00:31:21] Speaker C: We need you. [00:31:22] Speaker B: We need you and met youth and met kids. We have areas for you to serve. Also. [00:31:27] Speaker C: If you can't carry a tune in the bucket, maybe God's not calling you. [00:31:33] Speaker B: To be a worship leader on stage. [00:31:37] Speaker C: I know that hurts a little bit. But here's the interesting thing. Just because you can't sing doesn't mean that you shouldn't sing when you're in worship in here. Sing loud and proud when you're in your shower. [00:31:53] Speaker B: Sing loud and proud when you're in your car, turn up your worship jams and sing loud and proud and let. [00:31:58] Speaker C: Everybody look at you like you're a weirdo. [00:32:00] Speaker B: Sing loud and proud. [00:32:01] Speaker C: Here's the great thing about what the Bible says. [00:32:04] Speaker B: It says to make a joyful noise. [00:32:07] Speaker C: Unto the Lord, not necessarily a pretty one. [00:32:12] Speaker B: What I'm saying is, look and see. [00:32:14] Speaker C: When you look inward, what is God leading you to do? What are some things that he's equipped you with, maybe equipped you with that nobody else has? [00:32:23] Speaker B: Because not only does he want to use you where you are and where. [00:32:26] Speaker C: You'Re planted in your work and all. [00:32:28] Speaker B: Those kind of things, he wants to. [00:32:29] Speaker C: Use what he's gifted you with to help the body, the church body, to do things here at the Met, to be a part of it, because he has a place for you to go. And lastly, upward, inward. And now that you've evaluated outward, where are you supposed to go? See, the church is on a mission. [00:32:51] Speaker B: Nehemiah's builders, they represent the Great Commission. Just as every laborer had a signed. [00:32:58] Speaker C: Section, every believer has a specific role. Let me show you Nehemiah 3. Starting in verse one, Eli Sheb, the. [00:33:07] Speaker B: High priest and his fellow priests went. [00:33:09] Speaker C: To work and rebuilt the Sheep Gate. [00:33:11] Speaker B: They dedicated it and set its doors in place, building as far as the Tower of Hundred, which they dedicated, and as far as the Tower of Hananel. The men of Jericho built the adjoining. [00:33:23] Speaker C: Section, and Zecur son of Emri built next to them. If you go and read Nehemiah chapter three, this is what you're going to see. [00:33:32] Speaker B: The whole chapter is just who it is, what tribe, maybe whose son they. [00:33:37] Speaker C: Are and what section of the wall that they're building. Hear me this morning. Everybody that calls themselves a follower of Christ has a place on the wall. Everyone has a place on the wall to build. Everyone has a place in ministry that God wants to use you to do amazing things. And if you're here and you're like. [00:34:12] Speaker B: Man, you don't know me. I don't know. [00:34:14] Speaker C: I just don't know where I would be fit in. [00:34:15] Speaker B: I don't know where he would use me. Here's where you can start. [00:34:20] Speaker C: The most important ministry that you will ever have is, is your family. [00:34:27] Speaker B: Start there. [00:34:29] Speaker C: You're a father, you're a mother, you're a sister, you're a brother, you're a parent, you're a grandparent, you're a child, you're a husband, you're a wife. [00:34:40] Speaker B: Start there. [00:34:41] Speaker C: If something is broken in your marriage, if something is broken in your family, swallow your pride. Seek God and work it out. [00:34:53] Speaker B: If you have not a great relationship. [00:34:55] Speaker C: With a parent or with a brother or a sister, can I encourage you today? [00:35:01] Speaker B: Man? And I know some relationships are crazy. [00:35:04] Speaker C: I get that. I'm not saying it can be fixed today. Send a text and just say, I love you. Start the path to make the broken things healed. [00:35:17] Speaker B: We got one life. [00:35:18] Speaker C: We're not here very long. God has given you one family, and some of them are crazy, and I know that. But God wants you to be a minister, and he wants you to love them. He wants you to show them who Jesus is. Maybe God has gifted you with a skill or talent that not many people have. [00:35:43] Speaker B: Can I tell you? [00:35:43] Speaker C: He wants to use it in the world, but he also wants to use it if you go to the met. Here at the met, I have the privilege of leading our missions teams. And so we get to go in different places in the world and show them the love of Jesus. And we do that in different ways. [00:35:58] Speaker B: For sure. [00:35:59] Speaker C: We do it by telling about the gospel of Jesus, the good news, but also we do other things, like construction. If you're here this morning, you're like, I work in construction, or I'm handy. [00:36:11] Speaker B: Or, man, you give me a hammer, show me where the nail. I can hit that in the wood. [00:36:15] Speaker C: Come on one of our construction mission trips, maybe you're in the medical field. [00:36:20] Speaker B: Maybe you're a doctor or a nurse. [00:36:22] Speaker C: Or you just like helping people. Come with us on one of our medical mission trips. We've done Two of each in Belize, and they've been incredible. And each year, the team keeps growing and growing. [00:36:33] Speaker B: Maybe you're bilingual. I can tell you we need that. [00:36:36] Speaker C: When we go to Belize. It's always helpful. Maybe you're in grief share. [00:36:42] Speaker B: Our ladies that started grief share here at the Met. Now when we go to Africa, they. [00:36:47] Speaker C: Do grief share with thousands of students who deal with poverty, who deal with death on a daily basis and don't know how to kind of comprehend and how to take on this grief. And. [00:36:58] Speaker B: And so we go and we use that. [00:36:59] Speaker C: That's something that was started here by some of our ladies. [00:37:01] Speaker B: And do it. [00:37:02] Speaker C: I'm telling you, you have a gift. [00:37:04] Speaker B: Maybe for you, you're like, man, I don't know. I have compassion for people, especially people in need in my community. [00:37:11] Speaker C: Go serve at the Cindy Ramsey center. [00:37:13] Speaker B: Where we serve thousands every week. [00:37:17] Speaker C: We take care of them with food every week. They need people Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. [00:37:25] Speaker B: They need people who can drive trucks. They need people who can move pallets with pallet jacks. They need people that can organize the food. If you can just turn a can like this, go serve over there. [00:37:37] Speaker C: They need you. They need you. The church needs you. Everybody has a place. Everybody. God has put a calling on your life, and it involves you serving in the body of. Of Christ. And here's the great thing. We're not meant to build or battle alone. You remember the trumpet player that was with Nehemiah? What would happen is, when the enemy would attack, the trumpet player would take off and go to that exact spot where the enemy was, and he would take his trumpet and he would play. [00:38:13] Speaker B: That thing as loud as he could. And what would happen is everybody on the wall would hear the trumpet. [00:38:19] Speaker C: They would take off running to go help defend that exact spot that was being attacked. Same goes for us as a church. If you're not a part of a church body, if you're here visiting, we're so glad you're here. We want you to be a part. [00:38:37] Speaker B: If you attend the Met and this. [00:38:38] Speaker C: Is your church, get involved. [00:38:40] Speaker B: Why? Because we are here to do this together. You may have something in your life. [00:38:44] Speaker C: Where you need the trumpet to play loud. [00:38:47] Speaker B: And when you do, others will come. [00:38:49] Speaker C: Running to be with you, to walk with you, to help you get through what it is you're going through. And here's the amazing thing. When you look at Nehemiah, when it comes to the wall, what should have taken years, years to rebuild, if not hundreds of years, Nehemiah and the men that went with him rebuilt the walls in 52 days. Why? Because they stayed focused on God and the plan that he had for them, and they did it together. It's the same calling that we have on us as a church. God has done amazing things for 30 years. He's just getting started. And if we want to see 30, 40, 50, 100 more years of God using the Met Church to do amazing things, I want you to know that you have a place on the wall and we are going to do it together. Let's pray. God, we are so grateful, God, for the stories of Nehemiah and the leadership that he has shown us and how he stayed so focused on you and your plan rather than his plan. He stayed so focused on you and not all of the enemies that were coming to stop what he was doing for you. [00:40:23] Speaker B: And God. [00:40:24] Speaker C: I pray this morning we would realize that as a church body, God, that you have a place for us on the wall. You have a place for us to work and to build your kingdom. God, may we start to look upward and grow in our faith to know you more, to know what you've called us to do. May we start to look inward to see where you have gifted us, God, where you have given us passions and where areas may be that we could be useful for you. And lastly, may we devour. May we act to your words and to your calling in our life, God. May we be the hands and feet and God, in everything that's accomplished. May you receive the glory and the honor forever and ever. God, use us to continue to build what you started so long ago. It's in your name that we pray. Amen. [00:41:25] Speaker A: Thank you so much for tuning in today. If you have any questions or prayer requests, please contact us by visiting metchurch.com so that we can follow up with you this week. We look forward to seeing you next week.