Revival Starts Here | Sunday Message

Greg Laurie and Harvest Ministries present the book that kicked off the hip movie, Jesus Revolution. The author of the book is Ellen Vaughan, but it was written with me because I told her the stories. She does a deep dive into the history of the time. She tells the story of Chuck Smith, Lonnie Frisbee, and so much more that you will want to know. And we want to send you this book, Jesus Revolution, for your gift of any size.

Get your copy at harvest.org. Hey there, thanks for listening to the Greg Laurie Podcast, a ministry supported by Harvest Partners. I'm Greg Laurie, encouraging you, if you want to find out more about Harvest Ministries and learn more about how to become a Harvest Partner, just go to harvest.org. Turn in your Bibles to the book of Nehemiah. We're gonna start a brand new series and the title of this series will be From Rubble to Revival.

And I wanna also mention that our harvest groups, our small groups are relaunching. We took a break for the holidays and they too are going through the book of Nehemiah. Today we're in Nehemiah chapter one and the title of my message is Revival Starts Here.

So. I've told you this story before, but maybe some of you haven't heard it. about a a woman who was walking down the beach here in Southern California. She saw something embedded in the stand. And she reached down and brushed the sand off it, and it turned out to be a lamp, and a genie appears.

This is a true story. As I often say when telling genie jokes. And so the genie says, oh master, I will grant to you one wish.

So, this woman literally pulls a map of the Middle East out. She says, You know what, Jeannie? If I only have one wish, I'm gonna go big. I'm gonna ask for peace in the Middle East. They're always having conflict in that part of the world.

I want peace. And then she thought about it for a moment and thought, Well, wait, if it's only one wish, let's go even bigger. I want global peace. I want peace all around the world, Jeannie. That's my wish.

And Jeannie says, Are you insane? I can't grant a wish like that. That's too big. Come up with something else, she said.

Well. I've always wanted to find a good man. You know, a man that would smother me with affection and tell me how beautiful I am, a man that would help me with housework, a man that would actually pick up after himself, that would not sit on the couch and watch sports all day long, just a nurturing, loving, caring guy. That's what I want, Genie. I want one good man.

The genie said, let me see that map again.

Okay, so. Kind of a put-down joke for men.

Okay, so. Some things seem impossible. But with God all things are possible. Right? And Our nation is a mess right now, as you all know.

I mean, what a way to start a brand new year, a terrorist attack. and New Orleans. With a tragic loss of life. I have no idea why the FBI came out immediately and said this was not a terrorist attack. The guy's flying an ISIS flag on his truck.

That's the first clue someone might be a terrorist if they're flying an ISIS flag on their truck and it turned out, of course, to be a terrorist attack. What an awful way to start a new year. Then we have this woke ideology. It has infiltrated the highest levels of government. We have continuing violent crime on the rise.

We have families falling apart. It seems like the very foundation of our nation is crumbling, but we have a glimmer of hope. We have a new president. Who's going to take office? And we're optimistic and we're hoping for much needed change in America.

And I believe we're going to see it. But realistically, there's only so much one man. Or even one new administration can do. Yes, we want to see America strong again. Yes, we want to see America prosperous again.

Yes, we want to see America great again. But more importantly, I want to see America godly again. That's the key. And that's only going to happen. As a result of a spiritual awakening or what we often call a revival.

So the book of Nehemiah. It's about a man named Nehemiah that played a key role in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. But it's not just about rebuilding the walls of a city. It's about restoring a nation's heart to God. Effectively, the book of Nehemiah is a blueprint for what happens when people cry out to God, confess their sins, and return to him with all of their hearts.

And so it's a good book to look at because God has given us a template for revival that we often quote. And in 2 Chronicles 7:14, which was given initially, originally to Israel, but in principle it applies to any nation, including ours. When God says, if my people, which are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways. God promises then it will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

So we want to see our land healed, and God tells us what we need to do.

So revival starts with us. That's why I'm calling this series from rubble to revival. I don't know what state your spiritual life is in as we enter into the year 2025, but there's no better time to rebuild it if necessary and at the beginning of a new year. Our life could be compared to a wall. that is either strong and resilient or it's weak and crumbling.

And if you neglect the walls of protection in your life, they will soon end up in rubble.

So you need to be revived.

Now, we throw this word revival around a lot. I'm not sure if we even understand what it means. Let's just simplify it. I think it's overly mystified at times. The word revival simply means to revive something or to restore it.

It's to go back to original condition.

So I used to have the coolest old car. It was a 1957 Bel Air convertible.

Now, this is what it looked like. This is not my actual car, but my car looked exactly like that. That's called a Bel Air Convertible, Tropical Turquoise, with a continental package. That's that wheel cover on the back. And it had the gold package too.

I mean, and this car had matching numbers. If you're into old cars, you know what that means. It means everything was original. It wasn't a resto mod. It was the real deal, and it ran like a top.

It ran perfectly, and I got it for a killer deal. And I loved to drive this thing. It was just this massive cruising machine. The problem is I couldn't get anyone to go in the car with me. My wife didn't want to drive around with me in it.

I said, Kathy, let's get in the Bel Air and cruise. And she says, Oh, Greg, I don't want to. I said, Why? She says, I feel like we're in a parade or something. And then Jonathan would go surfing, and I would pick him up in the Bel Air.

And he'd say, Dad, could you not pick me up in that car? It's like, really? The only living creature I could get to drive with me in the Bel Air was my dog. And I'm not even sure if he liked driving in it. But to me, it was a thing of beauty to look at a car like that, as though it just drove off a showroom floor.

cruising along and that's what revival is. It's restoration, going back to original condition.

So in our context, when we talk about revival in the church or in our life, we're talking about restoration or waking up spiritually or getting back to living the Christian life it was meant as it was meant to be lived. And there's no question that our nation Has Revival in its roots and in its DNA. That's a very unique thing about the United States. How we have this in our roots and in our origins. You could arguably make a case for the fact that there probably wouldn't be an America.

Today, if it wasn't for a spiritual awakening that preceded the Revolutionary War. And so we want to pray about seeing that happen again. And so, here in Nehemiah, we're going to look at a lot of really amazing things that are found in this book. Number one, we'll learn how to deal with challenges spiritually as well as practically. You know, there's a spiritual way to do things and a practical way, and sometimes we focus on one at the neglect of the other.

We're going to learn how to plan our work and work our plan and at the same time trust God. We're going to talk about how to motivate others when morale is slipping. How to respond to personal attacks and react when lies are told about us. And finally, how to finish what we start. But before we dive in, we need a little history lesson so we can understand what's going on in Israel as we enter into this story.

So at this point, Israel, there's been a nation under the leadership of kings like Saul and David. Saul was the first king. He was rejected, replaced by David, who was the greatest king in the history of Israel. David was followed by his son and successor, Solomon.

So they had around 10 acres of strategic land in Jerusalem at that point, and they had strong fortified walls surrounding it. And during this 40-year reign, it thrived. These were the glory days of Israel and the glory days of Jerusalem.

So God promised Israel. He says, look. If you obey me and walk with me, I will continue to bless you. But if you disobey me and turn from me, I will scatter you to the ends of the earth. And it really started with Solomon.

He didn't take the sage advice of his father on his deathbed, who said, Solomon, my son, know the God of your father and serve him with an undivided heart.

Soon Solomon's heart began to go astray. And he turned to immorality and even open idolatry. And it went from bad to worse.

So when Solomon died, the kingdom split in two. The northern tribes are ruled by a guy named Jeroboam and the southern tribes by Rehoboam. And both tribes turned to idols and false gods.

So the northern kingdom fell first and they were taken captive by the Assyrians. The people of the northern kingdom were absorbed into the various cultures of the world. But the southern kingdom fell later as they were sent into exile to Babylon. Babylon at this point was a powerful world. power.

And so they took control of the Jews. Why Babylon?

Well, Babylon was idol central. There were more idols and false gods in Babylon that you could shake a stick at.

So effectively, God said, You guys want idols? I'm sending you to Babylon for 70 years. Let's see how that works out for you. And that's exactly where Israel finds himself. And so while they were in Babylon, God still was at work.

He raised up Daniel as a prophet. You remember the story of Daniel and how he spoke boldly to the kings Nebuchadnezzar and also to his grandson Belshazzar. And an amazing thing happened. Nebuchadnezzar actually became a believer. It's the most radical conversion in the Old Testament.

completely unexpected, a world leader becomes a believer in the Lord God of Israel. But his grandson, as I mentioned, Belshazzar, didn't follow the advice of old grandpa. And he went his own way. And you remember the story of the writing on the wall that happened with Belshazzar as he was going out of his way to worship the false gods. of his people and he even take these instruments that they captured from the Jews when they took over their temple and they were drinking wine out of them and toasting their false gods.

And God wrote on the wall, your days are numbered and your kingdom is divided. And along comes Cyrus and the Medo-Persian forces and they conquer Babylon and now Cyrus is ruling.

Well, Cyrus respected the Jews. And Daniel had a ministry with him too, as you recall. And it was Cyrus that threw Daniel into the lion's den and saw how the Lord delivered him. And so now Daniel has faded from the scene, but Cyrus tells the Jews they can go home again.

So in 536 BC, the first wave of Jews returns to Judah under a man named Zerubbabel.

Now I know some of you are going, oh, this is boring. Greg, where are the jokes? We need jokes.

Okay, I got a joke for you. Ready? Knock knock. Och. God bless you.

Like a chew?

Okay, one more knock knock Boo. You don't have to cry about it, okay?

So there's your jokes.

Now let's go back to the story. Why should we study history?

Well, because history is his story, speaking of God. We can learn.

So much from the past. for the present and for the future. And Malcolm Mugridge once said, quote, all new news is old news happening to new people.

So there's a lot to learn as we study history, especially biblical history.

So we have the first wave of Jews returning to Israel under Zevbababel. and they have a good start and then Ezra enters the scene. Ezra is a priest that turns the people to God, but he found problems.

So the first wave comes and they don't really get the job done. Ezra now comes after Zerubbabel and he sees that the Jewish people have intermarried with the other people. living in the land and it's caused a breakdown and a compromise. And this can happen today, of course. You know, intermarriage.

Now, God is not against interracial marriage. but he is very against interfaith marriage.

So let me say a word to you if you're single and you're thinking you'd like to get married one day. You never want to marry.

someone who is not a Christian. And not that only, but someone who is godly. Who is a real follower of Christ? That's what you want to look for above all other things in that person that you may end up spending the rest of your life with. Hopefully, you will.

And so When you marry a non-believer, let me take it a step further. When you even engage romantically with a non-believer, You're not going to pull them up. They're going to pull you down. Oh no, I'm doing missionary dating, you might say. But here's the problem: the Bible says, Don't be unequally yoked together with non-believers, for what fellowship does light have with darkness, or righteousness with unrighteousness.

You see, The problem is they're going to pull you down far more often than you're going to pull them up. I could illustrate it if I picked someone from out there and I said, come up here and see if I can pull you on the stage.

Now, despite my massive strength. Even someone relatively small could yank me off this stage. And the reason for that is, is because I'm 72 and very feeble. No, that's not the reason. No, the reason is because you have gravity on your side, you see.

So when you have a relationship with a believer and a non-believer, it's far easier for you to go backwards than for them to go forward.

So you want to look for a godly person.

Well, that's not what they were doing. They'd intermarried. And now soon the Israelites are worshiping this false God.

So Ezra calls them out. He tells them to repent, and they did. And they start rebuilding the walls of the Jewish temple because everything was lying in shambles. And walls really mattered back in these days. I don't think we understand how important walls were.

The walls of the city is where the elders would meet, it's where justice was meted out. The walls of a city in ancient times were the center of power.

Now, we have a lot to talk today about our border. and having a secure border. and how important it is to have a secure border. And by the way, that's biblical. Because in Acts 17, 26, it says, From one man he made all the nations that they should inhabit the whole earth and mark out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their land.

So a nation needs secure borders. A nation needs to protect itself. And Israel needed that as well, but their walls were down. and their borders were broken and ungodly influence was coming and it was getting worse and worse and their problem was growing greater. And by the time Nehemiah enters the scene, it's just a complete disaster.

the once proud, strong walls that surrounded God's city of Jerusalem are now lying in rubble and ruin. And so Nehemiah is such an interesting person. For God to choose. Because Nehemiah wasn't an architect. He wasn't a builder.

Nor was he a priest or a prophet. He was a different guy altogether, but what he was was he was available. He was available to God. And as I've often said, God is not looking for ability. As much as he's looking for availability.

He's just looking for someone, well, like you. To say, Lord, here I am. I'll do whatever you want me to do. I want to be an influence in my sphere of influence. I want to make a difference in the place you have called me to.

So, Nehemiah was called to a very unique position. He was called the cupbearer of the king.

Now, this is a very important position. If we were to compare it to a position today, it would be like being a member of the presidential cabinet. Maybe you could compare it to being chief of staff. Because Chief of Staff controls who goes into the Oval Office. And they have the presidents here.

And they're usually in close proximity to the president. They're a counselor and an advisor to the president.

So that's similar to what Nehemiah was, but his basic job was really quite simple. Cupbearer means he tried the food before the king ate it because people would want to poison kings back in those days.

So he'd try the food.

So your job could end really quickly. One bed meal, party's over. And oh, you died?

Well, I need a new cupbearer. But the fact of the matter is, because you would be around the king every time he ate, you soon would have the king's heir. You would be advising the king. Bottom line, this was a really cushy job. Not a job that you wanted to miss.

But despite this luxurious life, Nehemiah was living. He was a Jew and he had a heart for his fellow Jews and he wanted to do something about helping them. He wanted to be with them. In fact, he wanted to be with them and their struggles even more than he wanted to be in the luxuries and the comforts of the palace. Reminds us of Moses.

Who, of course, was adopted into the Pharaoh's home, and some believe he was being groomed to become the next Pharaoh of Egypt. But we read: Moses chose to suffer affliction with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.

So of course, Moses ultimately led the Israelites out of Egypt into the promised land, but Nehemiah is similar. He's thinking, what can I do to help the Jews? What can I do to help God's people? Because I want to do something, I care. I want to be with God's people.

Is that how you feel? Are you glad you're in church right now? That's good. We should look forward to going to church. Like the psalmist said, I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go to the house of the Lord.

Not I was mad when they said, Oh, church again. Or I was sad, oh no. No, you should be glad. You should be joyful. And when you're living a godly life, you will want to be with godly people.

Let me flip that around. If you're not living a godly life, you will not want to be with godly people. And because Nehemiah was a godly man, he wants to be with God's people. You know, the last great spiritual awakening in America was called the Jesus Movement or the Jesus Revolution. And a movie was made about it, of course.

Uh in fact, right now it's on um on the Peacock network, the NBC network. It just debuted there.

So, you know, this tells the story of the last great awakening. And I was privileged to come to Christ right as it was really exploding. And I can tell you this, no one was ever late for church. Are you listening to me, third service? His first service, okay, that's one thing, but you know, no one was late for church and no one left early, and people showed up with their Bibles with a sense of expectancy.

I think that we contribute to what a service becomes. We expect everyone here on the stage to do all the heavy lifting, do all the work, lead us in worship, preach us good sermons, you know, move us, motivate us.

Okay, we have our job. But you have your job. Come with an open receptive heart. Right? That's your job.

In Acts 2:42, it says, They continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, the breaking of bread and worship and gladness and singleness of heart. It meant that they came giving their attention with intention, they came with a sense of expectancy. See, you need to prepare your heart as you come to worship with God's people. And when our amazing worship team leads you in worship, you should engage and join them, not stand there, you know, looking at. Instagram or Looking around or whatever it is.

No, engage. It's a time to worship. And then when we open the word of God, say, Lord, speak to my heart right now. That's an indication that you are living in a state of revival, and we can fall away from this. Jesus in Revelation chapter 2 spoke to the church of Ephesus.

First, he commends them for all the things they were doing right. Loose paraphrase, he says, hey, you guys are discerning. You work hard. I commend you for all that. But I have something against you.

I have something against you, Jesus says. You have left your first love. Remember, therefore, from where you have fallen and do the first works quickly, or I will remove your candlestick from its place.

So, what does he say to this church? You've left your first love. He doesn't say you've lost your first love, he says you've left it. And then he says, Remember from where you have fallen and do the first works quickly.

So, the three R's, according to Jesus, of getting right with God, the three R's of personal revival are remember, repent, and repeat. First you remember, look at your life. Ask yourself the question, was there a time in my life where I was more passionate? about my relationship with God. Was there a time in my life when I was stronger spiritually than I am right now?

So remember it now. Repent. Change your direction and repeat. Go back, Jesus says, and do the first works quickly. If you want to see revival, do revival-like things.

Do the things that you used to do again. Don't wait for some emotion to overtake you. Just start doing those practical things. And you will in time see Personal revival in your life. Did you used to talk to people about Jesus more than you do now?

Oh, yeah. You know, the best evangelists are brand new Christians. God bless them. They're so full of zeal. Bringing people to church every week.

I've got to bring more people. That's great, but then time passes, you can't remember the last time you brought someone to church. That first love passion. Oh man, I can't wait to open up the Bible. And maybe you don't do that anymore.

Or you don't pray about things anymore. You just. Stress about them and worry about them instead.

Now get back and do those things again, and the emotions of revival will come into your life as well. Remember from where you have fallen. Anyway.

So let's look now. at the book of Nehemiah. And just one little other thing I wanted to say. Let's all make a commitment. You know, beginning of the year, the old resolutions roll out, right?

I'm going to go on a diet. I'm going to get in shape. I'm going to spend more time with my family. I'm going to do X, Y, and Z, and then we break those resolutions pretty quickly. How about some New Year commitments?

And how about just starting with this, real simple? I'm going to make a New Year's commitment to go to church every Sunday without exception. I'm not going to miss church. That guy's going to do it. I'm going to be looking for you every Sunday.

I know who you are. And we should all be like that. That's right. Like, this is it. This is what we do on Sunday.

Hey, I'm going to ask you to do something else. I'm going to ask you to get involved in a small group. This is really important. Why do you keep talking about that, Greg? Because it really is going to help you spiritually.

And it's going to get you deeper into the word of God, and you're going to build new relationships that you don't have right now. See, We find that when people are in small groups, they don't come in nearly as often. for pastoral counseling. Because they have a group of people to talk with and a group of people to pray with and a group of people to pitch in and help them. We see this so often.

So I really want you to do that. And so you that aren't involved in a small group after this service today, try to get involved in one. But let's come now. to our scripture, Nehemiah chapter one. I'm going to read verses 1 to 3 as we sort of set the stage, and I'm reading from the New Living Translation.

In late autumn, in the month of Kislev, that's around November, December. In the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes' reign, I was at the fortress of Susa. Hanani and one of my brothers came to visit me with some other men who had arrived from Judah. I asked him about how the Jews were doing who had returned there from captivity and how things were going in Jerusalem.

So we talked about the The first wave of the Jews returning under Zerubbabel, then under Ezra. How are they doing now? How are things going? They said to me, things are not going well. For those who return to the province of Judah, they're in great trouble and disgrace the wall of Jerusalem that's been torn down and the gates have been destroyed by fire.

So here's Nehemiah living in the lap of luxury in a super cushy job, working for the king. And he hears us really bad news. How does he react?

Well, he's deeply moved. And he realizes God put me here for a reason. I can make a difference because I have the ear of the king. And I'm going to use this opportunity now. Who does Daniel remind you of?

Esther. Number hurt? She won a beauty contest. Ended up as the queen. of the kingdom of Persia.

And there was a plot hatched by a wicked man named Haman to eradicate the Jewish people. And Esther was a Jew. And she decided to go to the king and put it all on the line. And use her influence and try to save her people. And of course, she was successful in that.

Because God put her where she was for a reason. And as Mordecai, her cousin, said to her, Who knows that God has not placed you where you are for such a time as this? I think Nehemiah discovered the same thing. And that's what has happened to you as well. You are where you are because God put you there.

Sometimes you say, well, why am I here? Why am I in this? Neighborhood, why am I in this job? Why am I in this place? Why?

It doesn't make sense. I'm going to change my circumstances.

Okay, maybe that you can make a case for doing that, but did it ever occur to you that you are where God wants you to be for such a time as this? Leverage your relationships. Use your influence. You see, Esther did her part at an earlier time. in the history Of her nation, and now Nehemiah is going to do something as well.

But before he does anything, he prays. Go back to Nehemiah 1, look at verse 4. When I heard this, Nehemiah says, I sat down and I wept for four days. I mourned and I fasted and I prayed to the God of heaven. I said, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love and those who love him and obey his commands, listen to my prayer.

Look down and see me praying day and night for your people Israel. I confess that we... Have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned. We have sinned terribly in not obeying your commands.

Wow, what a prayer that is.

So a lot we can learn about prayer from that prayer. Um You want your prayers answered?

Well, this prayer was answered.

So what did he do? Let's see what we can learn together. First he wept. First he cared. Have you ever wept?

Over the broken walls in your own life or in your family or. over people you loved or others who have turned their back On God.

So you start there. But here's some principles from his prayer. That we can apply in our prayer. And if you're taking notes, here's point number one: he acknowledged the greatness of God. He acknowledged the greatness of God.

Verse 5, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love to those who love him and obey his commands. Oh great and awesome God. When you pray, remember who you're talking to. You're talking to the creator of the universe, the Almighty God. And his riches are unsearchable, and his power is unlimited.

And he's literally listening to your prayer right now.

So get that in mind because sometimes we come to God with big problems, but we need to realize we come to God who's bigger than our problems. Right? So Jesus taught us to pray. In this manner therefore pray. And then he went on to give what we call the Lord's Prayer.

But it's not just a great prayer to pray, though, it is that. But it's a template for all prayer. What does he say? After this manner, pray. Or here's a template for prayer.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And then he goes on to the petitions that follow. But it starts with. In acknowledgment of the awesomeness and the power of God our Father who art in heaven.

And that's exactly how Nehemiah begins his prayer, acknowledging the greatness. and power And sovereignty of God. Number two, Nehemiah reminded God. of its promises. He reminds God of the promises that he made.

Was that to jog God's memory? Of course not. God doesn't need any help with his memory. But it's to remind himself of what God said. And I love to do this in prayer.

I love to remind God of his promises and remind myself as well. A salmon comes and says, Will you pray for me? I'm sick.

Okay, let's pray. Father, we come to you now. in the name of Jesus. And you've promised if there's any sick among you, we should call for the elders of the church that should pray for these people and anoint them with oil. And then you promised that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man will accomplish much.

Well, Lord, we are righteous men and women here, not because of what we've done, but because of what you've done. And now, standing on your promise in scripture, we pray for this person.

So what did I just do? I reminded myself of what the Bible says.

So when I start to worry, Lord, you promised me in your word that I should not worry about anything, but I should pray about everything. And the peace of God that passes all understanding will guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus.

So immediately before I've even given the prayer, I'm reminding myself of the promise of God. And that immediately brings calm to my heart. Do you know what I'm talking about? Have you done this? And you realize, oh, wow, you know, the Lord is.

is so powerful and he's going to help me through this. And there's so many promises like that. down in the pages of scripture. God promises he'll get you through whatever you're facing. God promises he'll provide your needs.

Philippians 4.19. My God shall supply all of your needs according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. Lord, I have a financial need right now, and you promised you'll provide all of my needs according to your riches and glory.

So, therefore, I pray. He's promised to forgive us. Of our sins. Lord, you promised me in scripture, 1 John 1:9, if I will confess my sin, you're faithful and just to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me from all unrighteousness.

So, Lord, I receive your forgiveness because of the blood of Jesus that was shed for me on the cross of Calvary. And I'm going to walk in that forgiveness now. That's taking hold of a promise of God. Because here's the devil trying to beat you up and kick you and fill you with guilt. You failed.

Yeah, I did fail. But God's promised to forgive me. And I'm going to accept that forgiveness and walk in that forgiveness right now. That's what we need to do.

So, number three. Nehemiah confessed his personal sin. Look at verse 7. I confess that I've sinned against you. Yes, my own family and I have sinned.

We've sinned terribly by not obeying your commands, decrees, and Regulations. Wow. He says, we, my own family. I have sinned, but you know, as you read the story of Nehemiah, you don't really read of him sinning.

Now, he did, of course, sin. But my point is He was quick to acknowledge his own responsibility. And that's something we don't like to do today. We like to blame everyone. and everything for our problems.

It's not my fault. It's the fault of that teacher. It's the fault of that parent. It's the fault of that boss. It's the fault of this.

It's the fault of that. And all these people that we're having conflicts with, these people are all wrong. It's their fault. Did it ever occur to you, you're the problem? You seem to be the source of conflict at the heart of all of these issues, and you need to go and say, Lord, I have sinned.

Because sometimes we'll hear a message and we'll say, like this, and say, oh, I wish so-and-so were here today. They really need to hear this message. Oh, yeah, okay.

Well, guess what? You're here. This message is for you.

Now if you want to send a link to it to so-and-so, that's fine. Maybe they do need to hear it. But the point is, we're so quick. Oh, this person needs to hear that. And oh, that person needs to change this other thing.

Maybe they do, but what about you? What do you need to change? See, Nehemiah starts with himself and acknowledges his sins. Says, sometimes we'll pray. for someone to change Lord Change my lousy husband.

He's the worst. He just doesn't love me enough. He doesn't appreciate me. Move in his life and maybe judge him a little and then change him. I don't know.

Lord, this ungrateful wife of mine, change her. Get her to stop nagging me and bothering me. Oh Lord, change this, change that. Why don't you start by saying, Lord, change me? And make me a better husband.

Lord, change me, make me a better wife. See, God changed Nehemiah. And Nehemiah changed things. And I like that because prayer will change things, but prayer can change you. See, so we have to start there.

And so off Nehemiah goes now with a desire to serve God. And I love the fact that he prayed for days. He says in verse 6, look down, Lord, and see me praying day and night.

Now, this isn't boasting. He's just saying, Lord, look, I'm praying. I'm doing what you told me to do. And if we miss everything else, let's not miss this. Whatever you're facing right now, whatever walls are falling down in your life or in the life of your family, or in your job, or with your friends, the first thing to do is go to God.

and call out to him. God says in Jeremiah 33, 3, Call to me and I will answer you and I will tell you great and mighty things that you do not know.

Okay, so point number four. Nehemiah was specific. in his request to God. I love this prayer, he prays. Very clear.

Verse 10, Lord, Please hear my prayer. Listen to the prayers of those who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success today. Make the king favorable to me. Putting in his heart.

to be kind to me.

So Nemai says, okay, Lord. I'm going to bet the farm. I'm going to go for this thing and I'm going to go to the king and I'm going to ask for his help. to basically underwrite this whole idea. that I have to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

And I'm going to ask you to touch his heart right now.

So, Lord, give me success, but don't miss the fact that before he prayed this specific prayer, he spent time waiting on the Lord, seeking the face and the heart of God. And I think when you spend time in scripture and spend time in God's presence, it will change the way that you pray and it will change what you pray for. And Nehemiah certainly shows that. In this prayer, then he prays, Lord, give me favor.

So he's gonna go to the king and he's gonna say, I want to build a wall and you're paying for it. You're gonna pay for it. What do you think of that king? But that's exactly what he did. And he went to the king with this request And of course, as we're going to see as we get into this book, he faced a lot of opposition.

as he undertook this project. And he faced difficulties and he faced challenges. And it reminds me of a statement from Alan Redpath. Alan Redpath was a wonderful. British gentleman of years gone by that I had the privilege of getting to know personally.

He's written a lot of amazing commentaries, but Alan Ridpath said this from his commentary on the book of Nehemiah, quote, there is no winning without warfare. There is no opportunity without opposition. There is no victory without vigilance. Whenever the people of God say, let's rise and build, Satan will say, let's rise and oppose. End quote.

When you're doing something for God, you better expect opposition.

Some of you would say, Greg, I get tempted all the time. These bad thoughts come to my mind, that these challenges come, the persecution comes. What am I doing wrong? Maybe you're doing something right. If you say to me, Greg, I can't remember the last time I've been tempted.

I can't remember the last time I faced opposition, I'd say, Maybe you're not worth tempting. See, the fact is, when you're serving God, you're going to face opposition, and that opposition is a confirmation you're on the right path, not on the wrong one. Right? So Get ready for it. And that's what Nehemiah faced.

In conclusion, As we come to this first Sunday of 2025, let's make a commitment. Let's make a commitment to pray for revival in our own life and pray for revival in our nation. As I said in the beginning, It starts with us. The title is Revival Starts Here. Here.

One other thing I would bring up is in Nehemiah 7.3, it says, That they were to appoint the residents of Jerusalem to act as guards, everyone on a regular watch.

Some will serve at sentry posts and some in front of their own homes.

So here's the point. As they're putting the plan together, Nehemiah doesn't just hire a bunch of people to do it. He says, everybody is going to do this. We're all going to do it. See, I mean, sometimes we may say, you know, I go to the church and it's the job of the pastors to do this and the job of the staff to do this other thing.

Yeah, well, they have their roles and their positions and they're here to serve you, but we all have a part to play. We are the church. We are the body of Christ. You're a part of this. I'm a part of it.

We're all a part of it. And so You need to say, Lord, what role do you want me to play? Another challenge I have for you at the beginning of this year is not only say I'll go to church every Sunday and that I want to get into a small group, but that you volunteer to serve here somewhere. Because there's so many needs here. And great opportunities for you to develop the gifts that God has given to you.

And it will change the whole way you look at church. You know, and you'll come and say, Oh, man, I've got this role and I take this seriously, and this is what I do for God's kingdom. And then one day, after a time of service, someone comes and says, Man, I see you're really faithful in these things, and we have this other thing we're wondering if you'd be willing to help with. I'd love to help with that. And then a little time goes by, and someone says, Man, we'd like you to do this other thing.

You know, one opportunity opens up after another. I remember when I was very new Christian. And I was going to Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa. And I wanted to serve the Lord, so I went into Pastor Chuck's office. I was so bold.

I wanted an appointment with Pastor Chuck.

So I sat down. I said, Hi, Chuck. I'm Greg Laurie, and I want to serve God. And I was thinking maybe Chuck would say, Well, Greg, why don't you speak next Sunday morning? Or, you know, who knows?

Who knows? And Chuck just said to me, Oh, that's nice, Craig. Why don't you go see Romaine?

Now I didn't know who Romaine was. But Romain, his name was Laverne Romaine.

Now you know why he went by Romaine. He hated it when people called him Laverne.

So Romaine used to be in the Marine Corps. And he was a drill sergeant. And he loved to whip young guys into shape.

So I went to Romaine and I said, hi, Romaine, Pastor Chuck sent me to you because I want to serve the Lord. Romaine knew exactly what that meant. Free janitorial service for the next six months. That's exactly what I did. Here's a broom.

Go sweet. Go clean up. Do this, do that. And they just had me do, I'm in the bathroom cleaning things. I'm with, I want to serve God.

Exactly. They were saying, if you want to serve God, be faithful in the little things and greater opportunities will open up for you. And if we're not willing to do those little things, why would God want to give us greater things to do? See, you're never too small for God to use. You're only too big.

But if you're willing to say, I'll serve wherever, you'll see what a blessing it is. And so, notice how everybody was given a job to do. In front of their own homes, it starts with you. You can talk all day about all the need in America today, and these people should do. Hey, how's your family doing?

And how's your kid how are your kids doing? How are you doing? In the family. I mean, start with your home. Start with your life.

Don't be so quick to point fingers at everybody else. Start with yourself and start building the walls there. Our most effective tools are prayer. and gospel proclamation. We need to rise up and do that, but let it start.

here. Let it start with you. And let us start with your relationship with God. One more knock-knock joke. Ready?

Knock, knock. Jesus. Jesus Christ. Who stands at the door of your life? And knocks.

Well, that's not funny. It's not a joke. It's for real. He stands at the door of your life and he knocks and says, If you hear his voice, and opened the door. He'll come in.

And I was shocked that you didn't know who Jesus was. You're like, Jesus who? No, I'm kidding. I know, that's how the jokes go.

Okay, so. So it starts by asking Christ into your life and then saying, Lord, revive me.

So we're going to close. with a prayer. I want to invite people to believe in Jesus if you have not done it yet. And we're also going to pray for personal revival. And we're also going to pray.

for revival in our church. And we're also going to pray. For revival in our state, boy, do we need it. More people are leaving California than any other state in America. The number one export of California is Californians.

A lot of people want to write our state off. Don't forget the last great spiritual awakening happened in California. We're going to pray God does it again. And then we'll pray for an awakening for our nation. Let's all stand up as we do this.

Lord, we come to you today. As your people. And I pray for any who have joined us who do not yet know you, if they've not yet asked Jesus to come into their life, let this be the moment they do it. And while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed, and we're praying, if you've not asked Jesus to come into your life. You can do that right here, right now.

You just pray, Lord Jesus, forgive me of my sin. Thank you for dying for me on the cross and rising again from the dead. I turn from my sin now and I choose to follow you. from this moment forward. In Jesus' name I pray.

Now as we're praying. Lord, we pray for revival. Let it start with us. Let it start with me. Lord, we admit we fall short.

We acknowledge that Perhaps we have left our first love. We don't do those things we once did. Help us to do them again as you tell us to, Lord. Help us to have. A passion.

for prayer. A hunger. For the word of God, a desire to be a functioning, living part of your church. And we pray for this church. We thank you for raising it up over 50 years ago.

And we pray that you will bless our church. and provide for us and protect us. and lead us and guide us and use us. In our communities. in our state.

In our nation, and Lord, we pray for our state, California. The golden stay that's called. We pray you'll send another great spiritual awakening. to this state. where the last one happened.

And finally, we pray for our nation. Lord, we pray that you will send a spiritual awakening to the United States of America. We pray for our new president, Donald Trump. We pray for his administration. We pray for the people that serve us in public office.

that you'll move in Washington, D.C. and bring people to you, Lord. Bring people to repentance. Republicans, Democrats, Independents, just bring people to Jesus. That's the most important thing of all, more important than anything else.

You can do this. You've raised this nation up, Lord, to be a light to the world. Imagine a world without America, how you've used us, but Lord. We have forgotten you, but you have not forgotten us. Send A revival.

to America. And let it start. With us. Right here. Right now.

In Jesus' name we pray. Hey everybody, thanks for listening to this podcast. To learn more about Harvest Ministries, follow this show and consider supporting it. Just go to harvest.org. And to find out how to know God personally, go to harvest.org and click on know God.

Mm-hmm.