It's great to be together, and I always love coming out here and seeing all of your faces, worshiping with you. I love the four-part harmony, and the worship team is doing a great job. I appreciate all their work. The worship team gets here early every single week and does what they do. I love it. You know my name, if we haven't met before, my name is Ryan. As taller, wiser, and more awesome Ryan said earlier, we've known each other for quite a long time.

I think there might be slides up there; it's kind of like a Taylor Swift concert with a video up there. There we go. This is my family up here. So Avery in the middle is a kindergartener, and we've got the twins, Hudson, the boy, and Parker, the girl, and my beautiful wife, Virginia. We're over in Midpoint, and our life, our world, our home, it's craziness but it's a lot of fun. The twins are now on the move; Parker is walking, and Hudson is trying to, and it's crazy but it's fine.

As has been mentioned, we are going to dive into a new study in the Old Testament book of Nehemiah. So go ahead and pull out your Bibles, and you know, at first glance for those who have raised your hand and you've read through the book of Nehemiah, it could seem like Nehemiah is simply a book about building a wall. Yeah, and as the book opens, the holy city of Jerusalem (we'll get into the context a little bit) has no wall; it's defenseless. So Nehemiah and a crew of construction workers build a new one, and really, the story could just, at its simplest, stop right there. The progression is simple: no wall, construction, wall project done, story could be over there. But as we, as the staff, as we've been studying this book, we are convinced that Nehemiah is so much more than just a book about a building project. And we are really excited to go through this study over the next few weeks, and I think only to speak about building when speaking about Nehemiah is to miss the greater message of what's going on in that text. You'll see some of that as we go through it together. But I think the book is more about those who are actually building the wall, Nehemiah and the workers, and God Himself.

It's more about those who are building the wall than the actual wall that they're building. And as we go through the story, we see the builders experience victory and grief and opposition and camaraderie. We see people moved and heartbroken and inspired by the state of God's people. We see a people returning from exile to establish protection for God and for His people and for His temple. And then, you know, if you look toward the end of the story, one of my favorite parts of Nehemiah is at the end when the building project is over, the wall is complete, and there are thousands of God's people who stand together and praise God and commit themselves, pledge themselves together, as Rusty was speaking to, saying, "We will serve the Lord." It's an amazing communal pledge to who they want to be as a family, as a people for God. So yes, the Lord and His servants build a wall in this story, but I think the awe-inspiring building project is the project that God is doing in these people and in that community as the wall is being built. And it's with that perspective that we're going to examine the text over the next few weeks. Alright, so go ahead and turn to chapter one, and we are going to read through the entire chapter here in a moment, and hopefully, we'll have it on the screen.

But before we dive in, I think it's helpful to give some context. A couple of things here: One, what is going on in history, what is going on in God's story at this time of Nehemiah? We know from history, from archaeology, from the text itself that the events in the book of Nehemiah began around 444 BC, and that's an important year because the state of the Jewish people at that time is desperate. It is sad and a far leap from where they began. Both the northern and southern Jewish kingdoms had been conquered and destroyed. The northern kingdom of Israel was taken out by the Assyrians years later. The southern kingdom of Judah, which includes the city of Jerusalem, was taken out by the Babylonians. And so when the Babylonians conquer Jerusalem, they deported everyone from that area, from that city, from that region. And so now, the Jews are forced to leave the promised land and to establish and build new homes and new lives for themselves in Babylon, this foreign land.

For about 70 years, the city of Jerusalem was somewhat of a ghost town, and the Babylonian Empire eventually folds, the Persians take over, and about 70 years after that exile, the Jews actually have the opportunity to go back to Jerusalem. The Persian king allows them to go back, and so about 50,000 Jews return to the city of Jerusalem. That might sound like a lot, but that is a very small percentage of the amount of Jews who could have returned to the promised land. We'll talk probably more about that in another lesson, but when Nehemiah comes on the scene, they, well, with that 50,000 and with Ezra, they rebuild the temple in the city of Jerusalem. And so when Nehemiah comes around, there is a small remnant of Jews living in the holy city. The temple has been rebuilt; it's resumed some of its spiritual activities, but the city itself is weak and defenseless and threatened. So that is the context; that's what's going on kind of in the background here.

I think second, it might help to know a little bit about Nehemiah himself. You know, the text doesn't really tell us much about Nehemiah's upbringing, only the name of his father, which doesn't really help us very much in this story. But we do know a couple of things about his current situation. One, we know that Nehemiah is living in Persia; he's not in Jerusalem; he's in Persia when the story begins. So he's a part of that diaspora, the exile, the Jewish descendant living outside of the promised land. But not only did he live in Persia, he lived in Susa, which was the capital city of the Persian Empire, and even further, he lived in the citadel in the capital city, which was the fortified fortress palace of the king of Persia. So that's where Nehemiah's at when we start the story. Right away, we can tell he's a pretty important man.

The second thing we learn about him at the end of chapter one is that he was the cupbearer to the king. And so whatever food or drink came to the king, Nehemiah would taste it first, and if anyone tried to poison the king, Nehemiah would find out firsthand. Right, he'd be the first to know, in not a very good way. Yeah, right? But I don't know if it was just kind of growing up in Sunday school, and I always had this picture before studying it out, this picture of Nehemiah like he was this lowly servant and kind of disposable in Persia, like, you know, he's tasting things to see if there's poison, right? That sounds like a pretty disposable role in a kingdom, right? But history actually names the role of a cupbearer as one of the most trusted and important positions in the entire kingdom. The king's life was literally in the cupbearer's hands, and the cupbearer was expected to be with the king at all times. A cupbearer was even expected to counsel the king on certain important matters.

So Nehemiah is an important man, serving in an important role in an important time of history and an important place. But everything changes when he hears about what's going on in God's kingdom. So let's read together here in Nehemiah chapter one, the words of Nehemiah, son of Hacaliah, in the month of Kislev, in the 20th year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile and also about Jerusalem. They said to me, "Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire."

When I heard these things, I sat down, and I wept for some days. I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. Then I said, "Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's family, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees, and laws you gave your servant Moses.

Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations. But if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my name.' They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this, your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man, meaning the king. I was cupbearer to the king.

You know, there's one concept I want to talk about this afternoon here, and that is ruins. You know, as Nehemiah inquired about the state of Jerusalem. The report he got was one of ruin. The people were in great trouble and disgrace. The city's walls were broken down, and its gates burned with fire.

And I thought about this, you know, it's amazing how far something or someone can fall. Right as I was studying this out, these images came to mind. I remember an article coming out about those countries who host the Olympics. You know it's always a big deal who's going to get the bid and where are the Olympics going to be. But a host country takes upon themselves the responsibility to provide all of the venues for all of the competitions for the Olympics, right? So they not only get to have their country's name on those games but they have to provide the stadiums, the pools, the transportation hubs, the villages, the housing, all that kind of stuff. And countries spend billions upon billions of dollars creating these venues that will only really be used for a few weeks. And it's sad that a number of countries after the competitions are over have just let these magnificent, expensive venues just fade away.

One example is in Bosnia. It's a picture of the 1984 Winter Olympics, and I just think this is the bobsled track. Just think of all the planning that goes into a bobsled track. I don't know the first thing about that, but obviously, all the curves and the speed, it has to be safe but allow for the competition, and they build it in such a way that people can come and watch and cheer on their participants, right? And here's what it looks like today. It's just ruined, right? It is destroyed. What it was built for is no longer even possible. It's overgrown.

You know, Athens is another interesting example. This is in 2004, the Olympic Games in Athens. It was said, and this was only about 20 years ago, it was said that Athens spent over $15 billion creating the entire venue for the games. And here's what it looks like today, just forgotten, right? This is the sand volleyball stadium. This is one of the aquatic stadiums there. It's just a ghost town, just ransacked. In a way, Athens, in particular, there's pictures of just all these chairs and flags and all this stuff just thrown all over the property.

Another interesting one is Rio in Rio de Janeiro when the games were held there in 2016. So this is just eight years ago. It's reported that they spent over $13 billion on the games. This is the aquatic stadium. You can see all the cool art, and this is kind of right before the games started, and here's what it looks like today, just completely different. The art is gone, even portions of the building are gone. It's just left in ruin, forgotten. And it's amazing how incredible these venues would have been in their prime when they hosted the games, and all these spectators and competitors are pouring in and out of it. But now, they're just collecting dust, just good for graffiti, just sitting in ruin.

I was thinking about this, you know, back to our story. The report given to Nehemiah about Jerusalem is far away from the prestige and the glory that the city had once experienced. Right when it talks about the people, God's people, these were a chosen people, chosen by God to be blessed and to be a blessing. These are the people that once lived in communion with God, in covenant relationship with God. And now these people are in great trouble; they're disgraced, a long way off from where they had started.

Then it describes the city, a city of Jerusalem that was once home to priests and kings, once built in the honor of God, once a city full of praise of God as the Ark of the Covenant went through its streets and David dancing with the Covenant. Right, I love that scene. Just an amazing example of worship, right? That's what the city used to be. And now it's without a wall, and in this time, a city without a wall was not a city. If it didn't have something to protect it, imagine living in that place, imagine being a part of that remnant in Jerusalem. There's no protection; you're surrounded by enemies, but there's no safety, just living in constant stress, fear, waiting for what's coming.

The people are literally called survivors. And the first point, the first point of two here on the concept of ruins (and this might be obvious because of just the definition of the word), but ruins are the outcome of decay. You know, ruins are what's left over when things fall apart, right? When once was glorious and awesome and hopeful is now gone. And ruins are just like those pictures; they're reminders of pain, they're reminders of failure, they're reminders of loss or what could have been. And I want to ask us to consider, it's the first question you're being asked at a church service in 2024: Are there any parts of your life that you feel are in ruin? Are there any places of your life that feel hopeless, that have seemed to maybe fall from the glory of what it once was? To borrow language from the story today, what walls maybe have been broken down, what gates burned with fire?

You know, I'm going to steal a little bit from chapter two in the story, but later, it's not on the screen, but Nehemiah later in Chapter 2 leaves Persia because he has to see this, what's going on in Jerusalem for himself. And so he leaves Persia, he goes to the city of Jerusalem, stays there a couple of days, and one night, he goes out by himself and takes a tour of the walls. And I just imagine what that little trip would have been like. He's going wall by wall, gate by gate, seeing the bricks that are out of place or seeing the foundations that have been shaken or destroyed, seeing the burn marks for himself, seeing the devastation with his own eyes. And I wonder if someone were to take a Nehemiah tour through your life, what might they see? What bricks might they see are out of place, maybe in your heart, or your home, or your marriage, or your family? What might they believe needs to be restored or revived or rebuilt within you?

You know, I think there are some of us here maybe you feel like parts of your faith, parts of your walk with God are in ruin. Maybe it's your trust in him, or your prayers to him, or your love of his word, or your engagement in his church. Maybe the hope that you can be used by God to do something great. You know, maybe you feel like there are certain things about you that are in ruin, or your life that are in ruin. Maybe things you've hoped for that haven't come to pass, and so hope is waning or hope might seem gone. You know, wanting to get that job or wanting to be past that sin by now or be free from that addiction or to lose that weight by now or to have a spouse by now or to have a child by now. You know, maybe there are certain relationships you feel are in ruin, that maybe a relationship that began as close and warm now feels cold or distant.

There could be these places in our life where it can be hard to hold on to hope, right? Hard to believe, keep believing that change is actually possible, that something is going to happen, that God might even still be in this.

You know, I was thinking about this for me, and as I reflected on this, one person just kept coming up for me. I keep this person anonymous on purpose here. But you know, one of the people I'm closest to in my life and one of the people I love the most in my life has been going through different health challenges, physical health, mental and emotional health. And it seems like over the years, just one thing after another after another have brought this person to kind of where they are. And I try to take care of them, I try to look out for their care, I try to get them the care and the help that they need. But over the last, I'd say three years or so, it has just felt like nothing's moving. Like, in this person, I'm trying to look out for them, and we're trying to provide and trying to help them in what they need, but it just feels like nothing's happening.

Especially, I found myself at the turn of the new year just trying to even analyze their situation and what we need to do, and I just felt like, "Man, is this ever going to change? Is this the way it's always going to be?" I think the... I was sharing after the lesson this morning, I was talking more about the situation with someone, and I can feel my heart leaning more toward apathy about the situation over time rather than hope. And it's hard to say that, but I think the sadness comes in for me is not necessarily what this person is going through but more about what life is now like for that person. And it is heartbreaking to love someone so much and to see that their life is without joy or without purpose. I don't want that for anybody, right? And so, in these situations, right, it can be hard to hold on to hope that something's going to change or something's going to get better. Is this always the way it's going to be? And I know this topic and what I'm asking, this is a deep and potentially depressing topic to start the year on, I understand that.

It begins with the grief of Nehemiah about what is going on with God's people. So, I think we speak plenty about the victories and the blessings we share in Christ, but I think God also wants us to see and pay attention to and even name the ruins that are in our lives. Not just so that we can see them and then sweep them away like they don't exist, and not just so we can identify them and villainize them, like because of that, I'm faithless or something's messed up here.

I think God wants us to see those, to process those things, to lament and grieve if we need to. And then to hold on to the second point that with God, ruins are the birthplace of Revival. Ruins are the outcome of Decay; they are the aftermath of Destruction. But with God, ruins are also the birthplace of Revival. God has a way; He has the power to bring life out of death, to bring Beauty out of Ruin, to turn Graves into Gardens, as the song we've sung before says.

This is a theme throughout the scriptures, especially in the words of the prophets. God's prophets spoke to His people before the Exile, during the Exile, and after the Exile. So, what I want to do here is read through a few passages. You can read these with me on the screen or just listen:

Isaiah 41:17 says, "But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I've chosen, you descendants of Abraham, my friend, I took you from the ends of the Earth, from the farthest corners I called you. I said you are my servant; I've chosen you and not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. I will make rivers flow on barren heights and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into springs."

Isaiah 43:1-2 says, "Forget the former things; do not dwell in the past. See, I am doing something new! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland."

Isaiah 61:1-3 says, "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to provide for all those who grieve in Zion, to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor."

Ezekiel 36:24-28 says, "For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all of your impurity and from all of your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God."

Ezekiel 37 talks about God raising an army out of dead, dry, lifeless bones, turning what was once dead into life.

This is who our God is, and only He can make streams in the wasteland, make a way in the wilderness, put a new spirit into someone, and turn a heart of stone into a heart of flesh.

Even if you can't see it, God is on the move, and He's doing something new. We wait with faithfulness and trust in God's plan and sovereignty.

Whatever may lie in ruin today, with God, those places can become the birthplace of revival. Hearts that have turned into stone can be turned into flesh. What's unclean can be made clean, what's impure can be made pure, and what has been left in ruin can be set free and made whole.

Three practical steps as we close:

  1. Reflect and pray on Nehemiah chapter 1, considering areas of your life that might feel like ruins.

  2. Ask someone else how they are doing and how these words from Nehemiah resonate with them.

  3. Share this message with others, as it is a message that can bring hope and revival to those in need.

Amen.