Dr. Michael Youssef, Beginning today's leading the way with questions about your influence and impact in your church. If every member of the church is like me, What kind of a church would that be? If every member shared Christ as often as I do, If every member attends. Like I do.
If everyone gives like I do. If everyone serves like I do, if everyone prays like I do, what kind of a church would it be? Hello and welcome to Leading the Way. with pastor and author Dr. Michael Youssef.
In the Old Testament pages of Nehemiah, people from all social, financial, and occupational backgrounds come together for a common purpose. without prejudice and in unity. How this real life event is an example and a challenge for you and your church coming up next on Leading the Way. This program and the worldwide ministry is listener supported, meaning that doctor Youssef and his leadership team rely on God's provision through the generosity of God's people to maintain and expand the reach of leading the way. Learn ways that you can stand with Dr.
Youssef. Go to ltw.org. Or call Speak with a ministry representative at the call center. 866-626-4356. Here now, Dr.
Michael Youssef continuing his series to help you better understand Nehemiah. Rebuilding our broken walls. The Sheep Gate. That's where it all begins. Those are the gates in which people go in and out of the city of Jerusalem.
Every so many yards there's a gate. One of those gates is that sheep gate, and it's really probably one of the most significant. In John chapter 5, Jesus healed the paralyzed man in the salon. Right next to the sheep gate. Jesus himself had to have gone Through the sheep gate.
out into Golgotha.
Now the Bible does not say that he walked through the sheep gate, but Most likely As he was bleeding, Disfigured carrying the crossbar. on his shoulders. He would have gone through the sheep gate. There is a A significance why? Jesus went through the sheep gate because that sheep gate was the gate through which Thousands upon thousands upon thousands of sheep.
have gone through. Into the temple. to be sacrificed for the people of God's sin. And all of these thousands of sheep would basically represent, they are prefiguring of the Lamb of God The perfect Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And that is why he would have walked.
through that, but also because it's the nearest to Golgotha. There is a reason why Nehemiah, in his memoirs, as he writes in this book. Inspired by the Holy Spirit. He says, and they started at the sheep gate. Our healing.
begins at the sheep gate. For us. To have peace with God and peace with one another can never take place. Unless It is through the perfect Lamb of God who takes the sin of the world. And let's all begin in Calvary.
There is no power to heal. in rebuilding any of the broken walls of our society today, of our culture today, of our homes today, and of our churches today, other than the power of the perfect Lamb of God who died on that cross. And that is why in Nehemiah chapter 3, the building of the broken walls of Jerusalem had to begin at the sheep gate.
Well, there are three principles in this chapter. Let me share them with you. And if you're taking notes, write them down. There is consolidation. There is cooperation.
And there is confirmation. Every one of those principles in magnificent display in this chapter. Let's look at them together. The first is consolidation. Throughout Nehemiah chapter 3, there is one phrase that is repeated over and over and over and over again.
One phrase. In fact, that's the pattern. And it's a key to understanding this chapter. Verses one and two. Eliashab and the high priest and his fellow priests went to work and rebuilding the sheep gate.
That's natural because that's where the sheep are going to go in order to be sacrificed for the sins of the people. Everything, as I said, begins at the sheep gate. Everything begins. with first repairing your relationship with the perfect Lamb of God. It is whenever your relationship with the perfect Lamb of God is out of kilter, not only your life, not only your family, but also the church that you go to is out of kilter.
Everything begins at the sheep gate. Then the statement is repeated. and next to him. And next to them. And next to them.
And next to them, and next to them. Did you count them? One of my colleagues did twenty-one times. Here in chapter 3. Here's the literal translation from the Hebrew language.
At their hands. At their hands. What does that mean? It means that these people around The wall. In family groupings, They were literally hand in hand.
That's what I mean. They're hand in hand. In other words, they were like a human chain without a break, without a gap. It's a human chain that had no division between them. It's a human chain with no disunity.
Beloved, this is the secret to victorious living. It is the secret to a victorious church. In fact, the Apostle Paul makes the same argument in 1st Corinthians 16, 16 and in 1st Thessalonians 5, 12. Jesus is building and consolidating his church with your hand and mine. Hand in hand.
We have to work hand in hand. We have to serve side by side. We have to leave no gaps. No gaps. It doesn't mean that we don't Agree on some things, of course.
but were united on the very core of the gospel. We are united. On the belief in the inspiration and the infallibility of the Word of God. Beloved, we get into trouble. When we begin to forget that we are co-laborers with Christ.
That we are co-workers with Christ, that we are to work as consolidated force. And that is why through the years, those who could not unite with us on the heart of the gospel, those who could not unite with us on the infallibility of the scripture, could not stay. And that's fine because that way God can really work with the remnant. He can really work with those who are left to serve and witness. and believe and walk in faith.
And that's why I'm excited about the future. I really am. I'm excited about the future. and the vision that God has given us for the future. If you look at Nehemiah 3, actually there's a list of 39 names, 21 groupings.
And you would not believe the diversity of this mob. I mean they were as different as chalk and cheese. And yet Each group was working on a certain section of the wall or a certain gate together hand in hand. Even the priests who normally do not do windows, I mean, these guys do not do menial work. They've exchanged their vestments for a pair of overalls.
They were getting their hands dirty. Even powerful politicians were working side by side with the merchants, the perfumers, and the carpenters, and the potters, and on and on and on. Work together. They came from far afield. They were not a homogeneous group.
I mean, they came as far, and those of you who know geography understand, they came all the way from Jericho. And they came all the way from Gibeon. Long distances.
Some of the noblemen working together with the blue collar workers. Hand in hand. Men and women. In fact, he notices mention some single women there. What a great way to meet single men.
And working the w doing the work of God. Why? Because my beloved friend, listen to me. The ground At Calvary is level. There's no one greater than the other.
There is no one higher than the other. Jesus did not build his church to be an arena for spectators. He has called every one of us to the playing field. Jesus called every one of us to be an active member. to be part of the same body.
Part of the same team. Imagine an orchestra where every instrument player is actually playing a different tune. In the same way, Jesus consolidates us in a single united force. The only people that there's no room for are those who are too prideful. To do the Lord's work.
The task of building the walls of our culture, listen to me, the task of rebuilding the churches, the task of rebuilding the walls of bringing those who have lost their way back to Christ, the task of rebuilding broken lives, the task of building discipleship is not easy. I know that, and you know that. It is not easy, but we have the message of eternal life. We have the message of the good news of the gospel. It's the only message that's worthy of the name.
And we must never be ashamed of the gospel. Never be ashamed of the gospel. Here's some questions. I want every one of you to to ask yourself that question. If every member of the church is like me, What kind of a church would that be?
If every member Shared Christ as often as I do. If every member brought people to church, As I do. If every member attends Like I do. If everyone gives like I do, if everyone sacrifices like I do, if everyone serves like I do, if everyone prayed, Like I do. What kind of a church would it be?
Would it be a vibrant, spirit-filled, Bible-believing church? The principle of consolidation is the secret to a vibrant people of God. Consolidation, then there's cooperation. As the people of God got consolidated together, They become united in cooperation with one another. You see, Peace within.
And peace around. cannot happen without the power of the Holy Spirit of God uniting us. The bond of peace and the unity of the Spirit must go hand in hand. Factions and dissension does not bring peace. Unity does.
But the human nature the way it is, personality differences, personality types and indifference to the call of God, suspicion and conflict, all make the task of rebuilding the walls very difficult if not impossible. But when all of that is buried and set aside for the sake of Christ. when all of that is submitted to Christ's authority, when all of that takes a back seat to the love of Jesus Christ, when all of that is set aside for the task of obedience to Christ. Watch out and see what God can do. At that point God gets the glory.
But we get the blessing. We get the blessing individually and we get the blessing corporately. When every member of the body discovers his spiritual gift and uses his or her spiritual gifts, God is honored and we are rewarded. I can't think of a better way than that. And that is why Paul, 1 Corinthians 12, verse 4, he said, there are different kinds of gifts.
Here's a diversity. But then the same spirit that's in unity. And Nehemiah building team was as varied, as diverse as they come. I already told you. And yet they work together.
Why? So that the name of the Lord be lifted.
Some remove debris.
Some mixed mortars, some were foremen, some were chiseling and shaping stones, some were laying stones. Everyone. was doing something. But sadly, like it is the case often, There are some. Who decided To just sit.
And watch the others. Work. And it happened here, believe it or not, right here in chapter 3. Look at the second half of verse 5. But the nobles of Takoa, would not put their shoulders to the work.
Under the supervision. Apparently There was a bunch of those people who just thought they really a cut above.
So they sat in the shade. Sipping lemonade. Or whatever they had back then. Watching. People working in the heat of the sun.
Let me tell you, when that happens, The other workers, the people who are really working and giving of themselves and sacrificing, they're not going to be discouraged. They're going to be exhausted and they're going to be burnt out. But there's something else here I don't want you to miss. Nehemiah lists only the heads of the households. Who were taking part in the rebuilding?
I want to explain that, it's important. Back then, they really had large families. I mean, they really did. They have very large families. And if they put all the names down, you're going to have to need not just one chapter, you're going to need several books.
And so They did not mention every individual who had taken part in the building of the wall. They did not mention each individual task that was taking place. And you might think Listen to me. You may think That this was lost to history. And it made me.
That these individuals will lost to history. But, beloved, listen to me, make no mistake about it, these names were not lost to God. He knows what every individual did in the rebuilding of the wall. In the same way People might not notice. All that you do in serving God.
Okay. People may not notice. The quiet contribution that you are making for the work of God. People may never know the incredible sacrifices that you are making to meet needs and to allow the gospel to be proclaimed. But God knows and He never forgets.
And he's the only one who can truly reward you. Listen to Hebrews 6.10. God is not unjust. He will not forget. Can you say that?
He will not forget. Your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. Here's the good news, and the good news is this. He is the only one. who can truly adequately reward you anyway.
He's the only one that counts. And he is not missing a beat watching you and watching me. And we are a blessed church with so many people who are truly faithful in giving of themselves and sacrificing of themselves. The problem arises When the few who would rather tear down Then build up. Are you with me?
Unfortunately, that causes paralysis and lessens the impact of a church. There was consolidation. there was cooperation finally, There was a confirmation. Yeah. One of Nehemiah's tasks was not only helping, he got his hands dirty and he helped in the rebuilding.
But one of his tasks, obviously, and you can see that from the text, that he was an encourager, he was a motivator, he was a cheerleader. Let me urge you. not to neglect the gift of encouragement. Be always encouraging of others. Even sometimes your presence is an encouragement.
Don't wait for people to come to you. Go to them. Don't just sit back and say, well, the church did this. The church did that?
Well, somebody tells us, I said, now where is the church? Who's the church? Yeah. And the fact that Nehemiah came to Jerusalem. from a thousand miles away.
He was living in the lap of luxury in Perdia. But he just came in there and started to work, and then he puts all those names down. He may have got some help, but at least he wrote these names down for millions and millions of people to read them throughout history. What a great affirmation and confirmation for the faithfulness of these folks.
Now that he wrote the names down, he said He knew them by name. Romans 13:7 said, Give honor to whom honor is due. Listen.
Sometimes we forget. and take faithfulness for granted. I pray to God that I don't.
Sometimes I close my eyes, and as I was preparing this, and I was thinking what the excitement must have been like when all these families all around the wall building and rebuilding and doing work, and it must be an exciting thing. And then I realized, I said, now wait, wait, wait a minute. It is no less amazing that the Creator of the universe wants to use you and wants to use me. To rebuild desolate lives, to build the broken walls of unbelief, to rebuild the broken walls of false belief systems all around us. It should humble us beyond measure that the God of the universe wants to use us.
Yeah. That will get you out of your slump in a hurry. Get you out of your grumbling spirit in a hurry. The God of the universe. Wants to use you.
The question is Are you reluctant? Are you indifferent? Do you take that for granted? Are you? taking your task for granted and belittling what gift God has given you, and why He wants to use you.
Leon Prosky. was one of the leading figures in the Bolshevik Revolution. He was a founding member. of the Soviet Union. Trotsky was the first leader in the Soviet Red Army.
and also one of the first to be member of the Politburo. Two years before the Bolshevik Revolution, he was taken into exile. Guess where? United States. He was in exile in the United States.
One Sunday, A friend invited him to come and attend the Sunday school class with him in Chicago.
So they go along to the Sunday school class. And when Trotsky and his friends arrived in the room, they waited. And they waited And they waited and the Sunday school teacher didn't turn up. didn't arrange for somebody to fill in for him. I'm not here in judgment.
I'm just telling you. that sometimes the little things Make great impacts. And the sad part about this. Is it trusty? was so offended But a no show.
He really was. And he expressed it. And I'm convinced that only in heaven will we know whether this was the only one opportunity in which he could have heard the gospel message on the love of Jesus Christ. In fact, there is no indication that Trotsky ever attended church or Sunday school ever again. But if the teacher had been present, or if he had somebody else to take his place, somebody else was arranged to share the love of Christ.
There is no telling what this young revolutionary How would he have reacted and and how history would have been rewritten? I know some of you say, Michael, don't you believe in the sovereignty of God? Harsh. Nobody believes in the sovereign God more than I do. But I also believe in man's responsibility.
I believe in faithfulness of man is very important. Scripture's clear. God longs to use every one of us. And that is why he gave every one of us a spiritual gift, if not more. Will you?
Say, Here I am, Lord. Use me in the rebuilding. Father I know some of the folks Many of them, most of them, I don't know every one of them. But thank God you do. You are the searcher of the heart.
And Father, I pray in the name of Jesus. That if your Holy Spirit has spoken to our hearts that with not one single person We turn a blind eye and Leave and Father, I pray in the name of Jesus. Let your Holy Spirit hound us. Until every one of us Unite together in consolidation, in unity, and indeed. in confirming.
one another. Encouraging. one another. And so, Father, we trust you. We trust your Holy Spirit and His power to work.
Might this be? The time to rebuild. For I know that's what you're calling us to do. I pray this. in the mighty, precious, matchless name The name that's above every name.
And that name sooner or later that every knee to whom shall bow, and every tongue will confess him, whether they like it or not. That Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. In that name I pray. Amen. Biblical encouragement to live a life of faithfulness from Dr.
Michael Usack. This is leading the way. And you're invited to speak with one of the Leading the Way pastors or counselors anytime regarding anything. Begin that private conversation at ltw.org/slash. Slash Jesus.
Hey, you've probably heard us mention that Leading the Way is an international ministry. And today we want to highlight the story of how Dr. Youssef and Leading the Way are impacting lives and families in faraway places. Reem in Morocco shared how she was experiencing doubts regarding Islam. Specifically, how could Islamic teaching come from a good God?
After listening to doctor Youssef, Reem decided to study Christianity and reached out to Leading the Way for help. The field team shared the gospel and provided solid resources and guided Reem into a new found faith in Christ. Experience more of these life-changing stories when you visit ltw.org. That's ltw.org. Or you can speak to a ministry representative at 866-626-4356.
This program is furnished by Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef. passionately proclaiming uncompromising truth around the world. Mm.
