We'll be looking at this today at chapter 2, verses 1-18.
Join me in a word of prayer.
Father God, we recognize this morning that this is your word.
!
And you spoke it to us in various ways and different means,
but all of it was inspired by your spirit and it is sufficient for us.
And I pray, Father, this day that you'll help us to relish it,
to appreciate what it is that it has to say to us in our time now
as we're studying this story of Nehemiah and what was happening then.
It has implications for us now.
And I pray that you'll help us to take these things to heart.
We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.
So, just to give us this kind of a summary up to this point,
we've worked our way through chapter 1 in the past couple of weeks here.
We have seen that Nehemiah is the cupbearer to King Artaxerxes.
He is in the Persian Empire.
And we're now at kind of the tail end of the remnant of Israel
that had been taken away during Babylonian captivity, being taken back.
They've been able to travel back now to Jerusalem.
And word reaches him by way of his brother that the city is still in shambles.
The wall is still broken down.
We can see this through the beginning of the chapter through verse 3.
And when he hears this, he sits down and he weeps and he mourns for days.
Not simply because his people, his nation is in shambles,
but more so because his God is being ridiculed.
Because God's visible glory on earth at this time was the state of his nation.
The state of Israel.
And Nehemiah then launches into a prayer.
And that's what we looked at together last week and the very nature of this prayer.
Today I want to show you in verse 2 some themes that are kind of showing back up here again
from when we studied in Romans chapter 15, the life of Paul.
And those themes are prayer, planning, and providence.
Prayer, planning, and providence.
And we looked last week at length at this prayer that Nehemiah prayed.
Now, recognize that he was praying for approximately four months.
Fasting and praying continually.
This was a huge task ahead of him.
Not only the task of building the wall,
but even getting the permission to go and build the wall.
Obtaining the means necessary for the building of the wall.
It was a balancing act there, wasn't it?
It was a massive, massive task ahead of him.
I misspoke a little bit last week and said that King Artaxerxes had issued an edict 20 years previous.
It wasn't quite that.
It was about 13 years prior.
To stop the building of the wall.
Within the seventh year of his reign,
word had reached him that the Israelites were beginning to build the wall again around Jerusalem.
And he issued an edict saying,
You will not build this wall.
No glory will go to your God because all glory belongs to me as the king.
So here, the cupbearer, lowly Nehemiah,
is going to face the king and ask him to reverse his edict.
Which was a big deal.
We change our mind all the time.
I'll tell you all the time that I was wrong then.
We're going to do something different now.
Kings didn't do that in these days.
So it was an admission of their own frailty.
Kings were worshipped as deities.
They were gods.
In their own minds, they were gods.
So if they were to go back on their own word,
they were admitting that they have faults.
In addition to that, we kind of get this idea.
I think some people read chapter 2 and they think that Nehemiah and the king were kind of buddies.
You'll read that often the cupbearer to the king kind of became endeared to him
because he risked his life every time the king drank wine.
And kings drank a lot of wine.
And they often became counselors to them.
But the position stayed the same.
The king was still the king.
And the cupbearer, the cupbearer.
They weren't buddies.
He didn't walk in and stride up onto the platform and sit down next to him next to the throne and say,
Hey, my people are kind of in a rough spot.
I'd love to go help them out.
What do you think?
He had to go face this king.
He had to go present something to him which was to say,
You were faulty in your original edict.
And I want to go build something that's much more glorious than you.
I want to steal from you your glory.
This was the presentation he was to make before the king.
So for four months, he fasts and he prays.
Presented to you a Latin term, sine qua non, without which nothing.
He fully understood for the task ahead of him that if God was not with him in it,
through his prayer, nothing would be accomplished.
And we saw that his prayer was persistent.
That it was saturated by God's character.
That it was motivated by God's promises.
And that it was humble and intercessory.
He admitted both his guilt and the guilt of the nation.
I exhorted you last week that we ought to be more patient in our prayers.
Psalm 27, 14 says,
Wait for the Lord, be strong, and let your hearts take courage.
Wait for the Lord.
Psalm 130, 5 and 6,
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope.
My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning.
More than watchmen for the morning.
And this was the way in which he prepares himself for what we're about to see happen here.
And I promise we're going to read the text together.
But this is the stage being set.
So we see the prayer on his part for this task that's ahead of him.
So let's begin reading in verse 1 of chapter 2.
And I'm going to stop along the way and bring some commentary into this as we go through it.
And then we'll go back and visit the themes.
Verse 1.
In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king.
Now I had not been sad in his presence.
And the king said to me,
Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick?
This is nothing but sadness of the heart.
Then I was very much afraid.
I said to the king,
Let the king live forever.
Why should not my face be sad when the city, the place of my father's graves, lives in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?
Now, recognize that as he's approaching the king,
What a great time for God to orchestrate this conversation.
Because he has now tasted the wine.
He's shown how faithfully he's willing to serve the king.
And the king is now endeared to him in this way.
Yet, as I talked previously about their position,
it was a very dangerous thing to be sad in the presence of the king.
If you were sad in the presence of a king, it was to say to the king,
The way you're ruling is not ample for my joy.
And kings wanted people in their presence to think that they hung the moon.
Everything is great in your kingdom.
We are so, so very happy with all that's going on because you rule over everything.
So to be sad in the face of the king could potentially lead to beheading.
Just imagine some of the conversation that may have happened as the report of this went out.
Somebody said,
Can you believe what Nehemiah said to the king?
He was sad in his presence and this is what he said?
And that the other buddy would have said,
Oh man, when is he getting beheaded?
I'd love to watch that.
And they go,
The king granted him his wish.
Can you believe it?
What a shocking thing this would have been to have taken place here.
So Nehemiah was afraid, we see there in verse 2.
Because the king recognized his sorrow.
Recognized that he wasn't content with the way things were.
And I want to believe that as Nehemiah had the scriptures to this point,
He took heart in things like Psalm 56, 3 and 4.
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
In God whose word I praise, in God I trust.
I shall not be afraid.
What can flesh do to me?
So here's a man that has been communing with God in prayer for the past four months.
And he's willing to be sad in the presence of the king to make known his request.
Now verse 3, you'll notice that he talks about the tombs of his fathers and the gates.
A tomb was a place of honor where respect was shown for the dead.
And a place that the living hoped to one day join their ancestors.
Recognizing the Jews knew there was an eternal state.
But they wanted their bodies to be laid along with their ancestors.
And the gates were emblematic of the life of the city.
This is where traffic happened.
Many meetings happened.
Courts were adjourned at gates.
So the city gates being burned meant that the people had no community.
There was no livelihood happening in this place.
Verse 4.
Then the king said to me,
What are you requesting?
So I prayed to the God of heaven and I said to the king,
If it pleases the king,
And if your servant has found favor in your sight,
That you send me to Judah, to the city of my father's graves,
That I may rebuild it.
Now notice again the pause here for prayer.
And some scholars have suggested that he went away,
Spent more time in prayer,
And returned with this plan.
And I don't believe so.
I have no way of knowing that for sure.
But it seems ludicrous to me that the king would have granted him permission to do that.
He asked him a question.
He wanted an answer to the question.
And I believe that in this case,
Nehemiah did a quick little,
Now God?
Like, this thing we've been praying about,
This vision you give me for what needs to be done,
Should I speak up now?
You better put your hand over my mouth,
Because I'm about to say it.
I think this is the prayer that Nehemiah prays at this point.
And I believe Nehemiah would have understood completely what Paul meant in 1 Thessalonians 5.17
When he said,
Pray without ceasing.
This continual conversation happening with the Lord.
So when the king asked the question,
He said,
Now God, go?
Is this the moment we've been waiting for?
God said yes.
And off he goes into this conversation with the king.
Nehemiah is often considered the Old Testament counterpart to Paul.
Because he had such a grand, holy ambition,
Just as Paul did to take the gospel to the Gentiles.
And he had such a beautiful life of prayers.
I've said before, there are ten prayers recorded in the thirteen chapters of Nehemiah.
So he prays.
Verse 6,
And the king said to me,
The queen sitting beside him,
How long will you be gone?
And when will you return?
So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time.
Now just an interesting note,
I believe the introductory paper I gave you,
This note saying that the queen was sitting beside him
Probably meant
That there was some endearing quality
That had been passed down
For the Jews.
Recall the story of Esser.
Esther was likely
King Artaxerxes' stepmother.
She was married to Xerxes.
And she would have had great influence over the current queen.
She would have taken her under her wing
And probably passed along
A love for the Jewish people.
So just an interesting note for you there.
Verse 7,
And I said to the king,
If it pleases the king,
Let letters be given me
To the governors of the province beyond the river,
That they may let me pass through
Until I come to Judah.
And a letter to Asaph,
The keeper of the king's forest,
That he may give me timber
To make beams for the gates
Of the fortress of the temple,
And for the wall of the city,
And for the house that I shall occupy.
And the king granted me what I asked,
For the good hand of my God was upon me.
Then I came to the governors
Of the province beyond the river,
And gave them the king's letters.
Now the king had sent with me
Officers of the army and horsemen.
But when Sambalat the Horonite
And Tobiah the Ammonite's servant heard this,
This pleased them greatly
That someone had come to seek the welfare
Of the people of Israel.
So when the king asks him what he needs,
Seems that he cashes all of his chips in,
And he asks for letters for safe passage.
It's about 800 miles distance
That he had to travel from where he was
In Susa, where they were wintering,
To Israel.
It would have taken them about three months,
And there would have been a lot of peril
Along the way,
If they didn't have the permission of the king.
If the king hadn't given them a pass,
So to speak.
But he goes even a step beyond that,
Because the people needed the resources
By which to rebuild.
And forests at this time
Were highly, highly guarded.
Wood was a high commodity in this region,
As if you've ever seen photos or traveled
In the Middle East,
You can understand that very thing.
So not only does Nehemiah ask for permission
To go to relinquish his duty as the cupbearer,
To go rebuild something
That's going to compete with the glory of the king,
But he also asks for the king to pay for it.
He asks for letters
To go to Asaph,
Who governs his property
To get wood for the rebuilding.
It's a bold, bold,
Very bold thing he did.
And beyond this,
Beyond what he asks,
You'll notice in verse 9 and 10
That the king sends with him an armed guard
To protect him to that degree,
Because the governors were not pleased
With the work that was going to be done.
Verse 11,
So I went to Jerusalem
And was there three days.
So we fast forward this three months journey.
So I went to Jerusalem
And was there three days.
Then I arose in the night,
I and a few men with me.
And I told no one what my God
Had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem.
There was no animal with me
But the one on which I rode.
I went out by night,
By the valley gate,
To the dragon spring,
And to the dung gate.
And I inspected the walls of Jerusalem
That were broken down,
And its gates had been destroyed by fire.
Then I went on to the fountain gate,
And to the king's pool,
But there was no room for the animal
That was under me to pass.
Then I went up in the night
By the valley,
And inspected the wall,
And I turned back
And entered by the valley gate,
And so returned.
And the officials did not know
Where I had gone,
Or what I was doing.
And I had not yet told the Jews,
The priests,
The nobles,
The officials,
And the rest,
Who were to do the work.
So once he gets there,
He sets out,
He spends three days
Making a very careful plan.
In fact,
Travels by night
To inspect the work
That's ahead of them.
The record here
Of these gates
And the sections of the wall
Are of interest,
But only historical interest.
They really add no weight
Or bearing
To the text itself.
But it does help us see
That the record is accurate.
That the way the city was built,
The state that it was in
At this time,
Even the fact that he had to
Get off of the animal
And travel through a narrow area
Gives record that there's
Some accountability here.
There's legitimacy
To the text itself.
So he goes out
And he surveys
And he plans.
Verse 17,
Then I said to them,
He addresses the people,
You see the trouble we are in,
How Jerusalem lies in ruins
With its gates burned.
Come,
Let us build the wall of Jerusalem
That we may no longer suffer
Derision.
And I told them
Of the hand of my God
That had been upon me for good
And also of the words
That the king had spoken to me.
And they said,
Let us rise up
And build.
So they strengthened their hands
For the good work.
Now notice here again,
He addresses them
In verse 17,
He says,
That we may no longer
Suffer derision.
And I want you to always remember
That the state of the people,
They connected their state
To the glory of God.
So he's not saying,
Let's build this for us.
We don't want to be ridiculed.
Let's do this for us.
When he spoke these words to them,
They recognized fully
What he was saying.
Let's do this
So we're not ashamed
Because when we're ashamed,
Our God is ashamed.
And then it says,
They put their hands
To the good work.
Means they became
Resolute
To build the wall.
And the picture in my mind
Of this is when you're
Getting ready to do something
Hard with your hands.
So you're going to
Dig a hole with pulse hole diggers
And a guy cracks his knuckles
And gets ready for that
Kind of a work.
Or a boxer who tapes his hands up
And gets ready to go.
You're going to have to do
A lot of dissuading
To keep that guy
From getting into a fight
Once that happens.
Right?
They were resolute.
They got themselves ready.
They strengthened themselves
For the good work
That was ahead of them.
So we saw already
Nehemiah's prayer
Leading up to this
In the midst of his request
To the king.
He also planned.
Three ways he planned.
He knew
That he needed to go.
God had directed him
In his time of prayer
To know that he was
The one that was meant
To go back
And lead the people
In the rebuilding.
Remember he's a three month journey
Eight hundred miles away.
Could he have not
Written a letter?
Dispatched a plan?
Sent it along?
And had somebody else
Build it?
Certainly God could have
Reconstructed the wall
In that way
And used Nehemiah
To that degree.
But Nehemiah knew
He was the one
That was meant to go.
To be so bold
As to ask the king
To let him relinquish his duty
And leave.
He knew
It was him.
It's in verse five.
Verse six.
He knew how long
He needed to go for.
He must have had
A very clear plan
For the work
That was ahead of him.
He had it to see the wall.
But he was able
To give the king an answer
As to when he would return.
And in verses seven and eight
He knew what provisions
He needed from the king
As well.
He had already plotted it out.
He had thought about the journey.
Once he got there
He thought about the things
That were going to be available
For the rebuilding.
And he knew what to request
Of the king.
So the planning was
Very very important here.
But the planning is not devoid
Of the providence of God.
Rejoice John MacArthur said
Making sensible
And careful plans
For serving God
Does not conflict
With reliance
On his providence.
And reliance
On his providence
Does not excuse
Failure to plan.
Notice
In the last half
Of verse eight
He says
And the king granted me
What I asked
He granted me my plan
Why?
For the good hand
Of my God
Was upon me.
So he prayed
And he planned
But he fully recognized
The providence of God
Which is necessary
For any work
Any holy ambition
To come to pass.
So let's look some more
At this providence.
We see it again
In verse 18.
It says
And I told them
Of the hand of my God
That had been upon me
For good.
He encourages the people
To do the work
This work
That they had been
Ordered not to do
Thirteen years previous.
This work
That had yet
To be completed
For the 90 years
That they've been
Back now
In Jerusalem.
They were encouraged
By his report
Of his presentation
To the king.
They would have said
The king did what?
You're here with letters
Protection
An armed guard?
You got his credit card
To get wood
For this building?
Incredible.
It was an encouragement
To them.
Proverbs
They had these
Proverbs by the way
These scriptures.
Proverbs 16
3
Commit your work
To the Lord
And your plans
Will be established.
16
9
The heart of man
Plans his way
But the Lord
Establishes
His steps.
Proverbs 19
21
Many are the plans
In the mind of a man
But it is the purpose
Of the Lord
That will stand.
Nehemiah
Certainly knew this
As he set a course
As he thought through
What needed to be done.
How foolish would it have been
For Nehemiah
To stand in front of the king
And the king says
What do you need?
What are you requesting of me?
Nehemiah goes
I don't know.
Can I have a little bit of time
To think about it?
Would the king have responded
Favorably to that?
Probably not.
He would have said you fool.
Probably would have beheaded him
In this case.
He had a plan.
He knew when it was time
To press on
And act.
He had it all
Plotted out.
A couple of weeks ago
We had one of our
Project Grow outings
And we did our
Annual boat race
Where we bring together
A bunch of
Junk cups
And styrofoam plates
And things of that nature
And we build boats
And we race them
Down Yuhula Creek
Just for fun.
It's always a good time though.
We always have a blast.
The whole boat
Has to cross the finish line
So that's always the joys
They come down in pieces.
These boats have no power sources.
They usually have some sails.
Some really creative people
Put sails on them
But it's never windy enough
Really to propel the boat
Down the river.
So all of these boats
Are kind of victim
If you'll allow
To the current.
Right?
We line people up
Across the creek
And I always try to get people
To be smart about
Where they put the boat in
The current.
You know?
Because there's logs
And things that are going to
Cause them to get caught up.
But ultimately
Once you let the boat go
You have no control of the boat
The boat just moves its way down
And the boat certainly has
No control of its own.
God's providence is like that
An undercurrent providence
That carries us along.
Now in real life
A boat has no power
Out on the ocean
It's just going to get tossed
To and fro
By the waves
Until you put it under power.
You put a boat under power
You have it move faster
Than the water around it
And the rudder then actually
Has some ability to turn.
The same is true on a river
If you're paddling a canoe
If you're just drifting in a canoe
You can't turn the canoe
You speed the canoe up a little bit
And you can use the paddles
To steer the boat
Down the river.
In our lives
We have power
We have minds
We have ability
But recognize that even that
Is a gift of God.
Even that is providential.
So everything we do
There is an undercurrent
That carries us along.
Romans 8
28-31
And we know that for those
Who love God
All things work together
For good.
All things.
No matter what you do
Or anyone does to you
All things.
No matter what major calamity happens
No matter what economy fails
Or mudslide goes down
Or tornado comes
And rips your house apart
All things.
Work together for good.
For those who are called
According to his purpose.
For those whom he foreknew
He also predestined
To be conformed
To the image of a son.
And there's our definition of good.
Work together for good
To be conformed
To the image of a son.
In order that he might be
The firstborn among many brothers.
And those whom he predestined
He also called.
And those whom he called
He also justified.
And those whom he justified
He also glorified.
What then shall we say
To these things?
If God is for us
Who can be against us?
The undercurrent of providence.
And so the encouragement in that
Is to strengthen your hands
For the good work.
Why not?
The providence of God
Is presented to us.
We know that his goodness
Is upon the good work.
Strengthen your hands
For the good work.
That would bring us back
To the Old Testament again.
Again a story
That Nehemiah
And the people he was speaking to
Would have been very aware of.
Genesis chapter 39
We see the story of Joseph
Being sold into slavery.
And he is now a slave
In the house of Potiphar.
In verse 2
It says the Lord was with Joseph
And he became a successful man.
And he was in the house
Of his Egyptian master.
His master saw the Lord
And the Lord caused
All that he did
To succeed in his hands.
So Joseph found favor
In his sight
And attended him
And he made him
Overseer of his house
And put him in charge
Of all that he had.
Verse 3
The Lord was with him
And the Lord caused
All that he did
To succeed in his hands.
Later
We know Potiphar's wife
Tries to be with him.
Accuses him
Of trying to be with her.
Potiphar has him
Thrown into prison.
Beginning in verse 20
Of chapter 39
And Joseph's master
Took him
And put him
Into the prison.
The place where
The king's prisoners
Were confined.
And he was there
In prison.
But the Lord
Was with Joseph
And showed him
Steadfast love
And gave him favor
In the sight
Of the keeper
Of the prison.
And the keeper
Of the prison
Put Joseph in charge
Of all the prisoners
Who were in the prison.
Whatever was done there
He was the one
Who did it.
The keeper of the prison
Payed no attention
To anything that was
In Joseph's charge
Because the Lord
Was with him
And whatever he did
The Lord
Made it succeed.
The keeper of the prison
Gave him charge
Of a section of the prison
And said
I don't have to worry
About that anymore
Because Joseph the prisoner
Has got it handled.
He'll take care
He'll keep everything
In order.
Right?
Because the Lord
Made it succeed.
And of course
If we go on
In that story
We see Joseph
Having visions
Being put in charge
Of all of the crops
Of Egypt
Storing them up
To save the Egyptians
And later
We find out
The Jews
From famine.
Right?
We see God's providence
As an undercurrent
Working through the story
And I believe that
The people here
Would have known this
And they're seeing
Evidence of God's providence
In the working
Through Nehemiah
To come back and build
So they strengthen
Their hands
For the work.
Need some further
Encouragement?
I hope not
But you're getting it
Anyway.
Colossians 1.16
Paul, speaking of Christ
Says,
For by Him
All things were created
In heaven and on earth
Visible and invisible
Whether thrones
Or dominions
Or rulers
Or authorities
All things were created
Through Him
And for Him
Now, catch
I always
Grab hold of the beginning
And I grab hold of the end
For by Him
All things were created
That's awesome
All things were created
Through Him
And for Him
But notice the list
Of things that were created
By Him
And for Him
All things in heaven and earth
Visible and invisible
Whether thrones
Or dominions
Or rulers
Or authorities
Reigns over
All of those things
Certainly
In the case of
Artaxerxes
We see that God
Shapes
The heart of this man
To go back
On His own edict
To basically say
To His people
I was a fool then
To send off
A people
To build a fortress
Against Him
And His reign
To rob
Some of the glory
That He felt
Was due Him
The name
Artaxerxes
Means
Righteous
Ruler
And we can certainly
See here
That He was ruled
By the
Righteous ruler
Jesus Christ
All the rulers
Of this world
Those that we face
Today
Are ultimately
And finally ruled
By Jesus Christ
They were created
By Him
And
For Him
Is this true
Of our president
It certainly
Is
How about
Of Kim Jong-un
Right
We probably
Could label him
One of the most
Evil men
Alive now
He's the
Succeder to his
Father
Kim Jong-il
North Korea
If you know this
Right
You know he's not
The president
Of North Korea
The presidency
Belongs to
His grandfather
Who apparently
Will be the
President forever
His father
Is the supreme
Leader
Who will be
The supreme
Leader
Forever
So
Kim Jong-un
Has had to come up
With some of his
Own titles
And in seven
Months time
He's come up
With six
You ready for them
He is the
Marshal of the
Democratic People's
Republic of Korea
The first chairman
Of the National
Defense Commission
First secretary
Of the Workers
Party
Chairman of the
Party's Central
Military Commission
Member of the
Presidium of the
Party's Political
Bureau
And supreme
Commander of the
Korean People's
Army
This is Kim Jong-un
He is ruled
By the Son of
God
The right arm
Of the Lord
The Lion of Judah
The Great I Am
No title
No matter how
Lofty
Will ever
Place a man
In charge of
The greatest man
The one who
Walked this earth
Fully human
And fully
Divine
The one that we
Call Jesus Christ
He reigns
Supreme
Over all
So here we
Have
The Jews
Living in
Shambles
Their walls
Torn down
The glory of
God defaced
In this way
And they hear
A report
Of the providence
Of God
God working
Through
Nehemiah
And they're
Encouraged
To strengthen
Their hands
For the work
We're going to
See the work
They do
It's incredible
They complete
This wall
Hasn't been
Completed
In 90
Years
They do
It in 52
Days
They work
Tirelessly
We'll talk
About that
Next week
An incredible
Incredible
Effort
And they're
Encouraged
To do this
By the
Providence
Of God
How much
More should
We
Be encouraged
To work
Because we
Now have
The full
Revelation
Of the
Providence
Of God
We have
Jesus
Christ
The finisher
Of all
Of that
All the
Promises
Of God
Are yes
And amen
In Jesus
Christ
We should be
All the
Much more
Encouraged
So let me draw
Out the connection
For you
As we talk
About these
People
Who are
Building a
Wall
Visible
Glory of God
On earth
What is now
The visible
Display
Of God's
Glory
On this
Earth
It's me
And it's you
It's the
Church
This is
Redeemed
People
1 Peter
2
1
Let's go
And turn
There
With me
It's too
Much goodness
Here for you
Just to listen
To me
Say it
1 Peter
2
1
Peter's giving
Instruction
To the way
These people
Ought to live
What their lives
Should look like
So put away
All malice
And all deceit
And hypocrisy
And envy
And all slander
Like newborn infants
Long for the pure
Spiritual mick
Though by it
You may grow up
Into salvation
If indeed
You have tasted
That the Lord
Is good
As you come
To him
A living stone
Rejected by men
But in the sight
Of God
Chosen and precious
You yourselves
Like living stones
Are being built up
As a spiritual house
There's the key
To this
Whole connection
Right
As you come to him
Being Christ
Right
You're able to put off
These things
This type of living
Long for the pure
Spiritual milk
Jesus is the
Saver
Of God
He is the
Very
Flavor
That the Lord
Is good
So as you come
To him
To Christ
A living stone
Rejected by men
But in the sight
Of God
Chosen and precious
You yourselves
Like living stones
Are being built up
As a spiritual house
To be a holy priesthood
To offer spiritual
Sacrifices
Acceptable to God
Through Jesus Christ
For it stands
In scripture
Behold
I'm allaying
In Zion
A stone
A cornerstone
Chosen and precious
And whomever
Believes in him
Will not be put
To shame
So the honor
Is for you
Who believe
But for those
Who do not
Believe
The stone
That the builders
Rejected
Has become
The cornerstone
And a stone
Of stumbling
And a rock
Of offense
They stumble
Because they
Disobey the word
As they were
Destined
To do
So we're
Being built up
Into a spiritual
House
We're not
Building
Houses
It's not
The point
Of us
To build
Elaborate
Grand
Buildings
To God
It's us
We're being
Built up
As a spiritual
House
And for those
Of us
Who place
Our faith
In Christ
Jesus
Is the
Cornerstone
And we
Will not
Be put
To shame
Verse 9
But you
Are a chosen
Race
A royal
Priesthood
A holy
Nation
A people
For his
Own possession
That you
May proclaim
The excellencies
Of him
Who called
You out
Of darkness
Into his
Marvelous
Light
There is
The work
We may
Proclaim
The excellencies
Of him
Who has
Called us
Out of
Darkness
And into
His
Marvelous
Light
Once you
Were not
A people
But now
You are
God's
People
Once you
Had not
Received
Mercy
But now
You have
Received
Mercy
Beloved
I urge
You as
Soldiers
And exiles
To abstain
From the
Passions
Of the
Flesh
Which wage
War
Against your
Soul
Keep your
Conduct
Among the
Gentiles
Honorable
So that
When they
Speak
Against you
As evildoers
They may
See your
Good deeds
And glorify
God
On the
Day of
Visitation
This is
The work
That's
Before
Us
Have
We seen
The providence
Of God
I sure
Hope so
We see it
In the story
Of Nehemiah
We see it
In the personal
Work of
Jesus Christ
We're given
The promises
Of scripture
Whether or
Not you
Feel it
Day to
Day
You're being
Carried along
On the
Providence
Current
It's happening
Even now
You're here
For a very
Specific reason
Not just by
Happenstance
Did you show
Up today
God brought
You along
By his
Providence
To be here
Today
So do
Do you
Have a
Plan
I'll make
This
Really
Simple
Do you
Have a
Plan
For this
Week
About how
It is
That you're
Going to
Proclaim
The excellencies
Of God
That you're
Going to
Live out
Righteous
Lives
In front
Of
Evil
Doers
So they
May glorify
God
On the
Day of
Visitation
If you're
Part of
A community
Group
This is
The week
That we're
Not meeting
In order
To meet
With our
Neighbors
Do you
Have a
Plan yet
For who
You're
Going to
Meet
With
Who
You're
Going to
Work
Toward
Sharing
The gospel
With
You should
Plan
You should
Set up
Time
Specific
Times
To meet
With people
To build
Relationships
Find strategies
For turning
Conversations
To spiritual
Ones
That you
Might share
The goodness
Of our
Lord
Make
Plans
Do you
Know that
Our church
Has a
Plan
We call
It the
Plan
Of
Action
For
2013
Here
It is
Some of
You may
Or may
Not
Have
Actually
Seen
This
Or may
Have
Forgotten
Already
That it
Exists
It's
Beautiful
Isn't
It
We'll
Present
Another
One
In
October
The way
In which
We believe
God
Is
Directing
Us
There
Are
Some
Men
In
This
Church
That
Have
Gone
Out
At
Night
And
We've
Surveyed
The
Wall
And
We've
Come
Up
With
A
Plan
For
This
Year
We're
Going
!
To be
Coming
Up
With
One
For
Next
!
Year
A
Way
It
And
Our
Calendar
Comes
Out
Of
The
Way
In
Which
We
Believe
God
Is
Leading
Us
So
Prayer
Planning
And
Providence
I hope
That
These
Are
Realities
In
Your
Life
Let's
Pray
Together