Living Among the Ruins Nehemiah 1 1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. It came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the citadel, 2 that Hanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. 3 And they said to me, The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire. 4 So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 5 And I said: I pray, Lord God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments, 6 please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my fathers house and I have sinned. 7 We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. 8 Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations; 9 but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name. 10 Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand. 11 O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the kings cupbearer. Jerusalem was in ruins. All around, the signs of destruction were visible. The destruction itself was an ACTUAL and REAL reminder of the failure of the people to follow God. Every day in the city, people walked…people worked…people gathered…children played…people dined…lives went on. Yet, as everyday life continued, the very signs of DISOBEDIENCE stared Jerusalem in the face! Make no mistake: the enemy was NOT the reason for the condition of Jerusalem! The reason for the destruction was DISOBEDIENCE…a failure to obey and follow God. The condition of Jerusalem was caused by the allowance and continuance of SIN. But notice the situation: the people of Jerusalem had become ACCUSTOMED to walking amongst the ruins! It is amazing the power of Satan to blind the eyes of those who SHOULD know and DISCERN the situation in which they find themselves! Nehemiah would go on to oversee the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. As he did, he experienced OPPOSITION from some in the city...from those who had been content to live in the devastation, knowing that their own influence was tied to the RUINS in which they had kept the people! But my concern here is simply this: A WILLINGNESS TO LIVE IN RUINS. As I have stated, we know through the reading of the Word of God that Jerusalem was ALLOWED by God to be attacked and laid waste…because of the DISOBEDIENCE of the people of Israel. DISOBEDIENCE has consequences! Yet, regardless of the reasons…looking past that truth…why would the people wish to live with NO FORTIFICATION?? The walls represented PROTECTION. The walls represented SECURITY. The walls represented STRENGTH. The walls represented BOUNDARIES. The walls represented OBEDIENCE. Every day the people of Jerusalem came face to face with TRUTH: that they had failed God. Yet, they had become COMFORTABLE in that fact. Somehow, daily…the people had learned to live in their RUINS. The comfort of the surroundings allowed them to make no REPAIRS. And, in accepting their conditions, they simply had made their home in RUBBLE. How often do we find this today…in the Church? Today, the Church finds itself in a place of COMPROMISE. False doctrine and false teachings are running ROUGH-SHOD over the landscape…with false teachers and false prophets in almost total control of the major pulpits and platforms across America. And, much like those who opposed Nehemiah, those in control actually BENEFIT from the ruinous condition within the Church: as people seek for answers, the false prophets and false teachers are there with FALSE ANSWERS and FALSE HOPES. Just like the people of Jerusalem, the people seem unaware that the “powers-that-be” are PERFECTLY CONTENT in the present conditions…and to keep the people in a state of denial is their primary goal. Even though the walls are in PLAIN SIGHT…the RUINS are scattered around them…the people STILL buy the lies of those in leadership, which declares to them “Blessing! Provision! Wealth! Prosperity! Favor! New Dimensions!” Just as the Word of God spoke several times before, the Spirit of God is crying out today: “The prophets speak lies to my people!” Yet…the Church rejects the very conditions which are visible around them, only to accept the lies of those who claim to be speaking for God. In truth…they are following the PIED PIPER, who mesmerizes the people with seductive music and performance, only to be led to their deaths as they mindlessly follow Satanic deception over the cliff of “secretly introduced heresies” and “fables”, as Scripture calls the false teachings and false doctrines which these messengers of LIES speak to the Church. Sadly, none of the deceived realize that those who claim to “care” and that say they “are looking out for your interests” are actually EMPOWERED by KEEPING people in their ruins. And…this is oft times the method of leadership to keep the people IN NEED…never wanting to actually help people find freedom for fear that the people will not see the LEADER as necessary any longer! It is born out of INSECURITY…accompanied by SELF INTEREST and SELF PRESERVATION. Church…THE WALLS OF JERUSALEM ARE TORN DOWN IN YOUR MIDST! The Church is NOT sitting high and mighty in truth: it is, instead, wallowing in the putrid refuse of false doctrine and false teaching! All around, the truth of the RUINS speak volumes to the people…yet, they allow CHARLATANS to “make merchandise” of them! Appealing to the flesh, the false prophets promise “earthly blessings”…telling all who will listen that THEY…each and every person who will listen and OBEY their FORMULAS and KEYS and PRINCIPLES…will find the “gold at the end of the rainbow”. And they promise each and every one of their followers that GOD is the one promising them FINANCIAL WEALTH AND FAVOR. Here is the puzzling truth: why do these people never realize that it is the FALSE PROPHET who prospers financially…all the while, those who follow that FALSE PROPHET are always promised that same prosperity at some point IN THE FUTURE? The promise is always KEPT BEFORE the people as a GOAL…yet that goal is never achieved (at least not by the “formulas, keys, and principles” which are touted by the CHARLATANS). And…the FALSE TEACHINGS and FALSE DOCTRINES extend even further, branching out into twisted doctrines of GRACE which promote lies, attacking the need for REPENTANCE and CHANGE within the HEART and LIFE of a believer. In so doing, the TRUE GOSPEL of Jesus Christ…which recognizes salvation by grace alone, but which also recognizes that the work of grace brings about a SUBSEQUENT OBEDIENCE to God’s Word…is distorted into a doctrine unrecognizable in the true teachings of Jesus and the Word of God. From there, all manner of heretical teachings are catching hold within the Church. Just as in the days of Nehemiah, the Church needs men…and women…who will stand up and recognize the condition of the Church. And, in so doing, there needs to be an all-out effort to organize the people for the REBUILDING PROJECT ahead. But that REBUILDING will not be with tools of labor…it will be done through REPENTANCE…then PRAYER AND FASTING! God wants the walls rebuilt! God wants a STRONG, PROTECTED, SECURE, OBEDIENT Church which honors the BOUNDARIES set by God Himself! Only when the Church is HEALTHY again can the Church be the ARMY OF GOD which God has called it to be! And, once healthy, the GATES OF HELL can no longer stand against the spiritual onslaught that the Church can bring against it! No…we will not be made strong to simply DEFEND our territory: we will be made strong to GO AND TAKE THE TERRITORY that Satan has stolen from so many! And that is NOT equated to WEALTH and RICHES! This territory is SOULS! Who will help sound the alarm: THE WALLS ARE DOWN! Then…who will help rebuild them? If you say “I will”…then the first order of business is REPENTANCE and SURRENDER TO GOD in OBEDIENCE. As we do that…we then join forces together UNDER THE BANNER OF THE SPIRT OF GOD…united under our Lord and Savior JESUS CHRIST!
Posted on: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 04:11:18 +0000