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[0:00] 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.

[0:14] ! 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.

[0:25] 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.

[0:39] 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.

[0:52] 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.

[1:03] 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.

[1:14] 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.

[1:26] 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.

[1:46] 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.

[2:00] 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.

[2:18] 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.

[2:34] Now, recognize that he was praying for approximately four months. Fasting and praying continually. This was a huge task ahead of him.

[2:44] 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.

[2:54] 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.

[3:08] 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.

[3:19] 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.

[3:36] 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.

[3:50] 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.

[4:05] 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.

[4:18] 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.

[4:30] 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.

[4:40] 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.

[4:54] 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.

[5:05] 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.

[5:20] And we saw that his prayer was persistent. That it was saturated by God's character. That it was motivated by God's promises.

[5:31] 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.

[5:45] 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.

[6:01] 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.

[6:13] 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.

[6:27] 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.

[6:44] 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.

[6:55] 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?

[7:10] 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.

[7:22] 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.

[7:37] 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.

[7:48] 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.

[8:02] 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?

[8:16] 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.

[8:29] 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.

[8:44] 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.

[9:00] 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.

[9:14] 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.

[9:24] 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.

[9:37] 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.

[9:48] 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.

[10:06] 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.

[10:18] 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?

[10:33] 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.

[10:45] 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.

[10:58] 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.

[11:11] 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.

[11:23] 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.

[11:35] 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.

[11:47] 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.

[12:04] 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.

[12:16] 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.

[12:37] 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.

[12:51] 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.

[13:09] 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.

[13:26] 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.

[13:36] 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.

[13:47] 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.

[14:09] 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.

[14:22] 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.

[14:35] 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.

[14:48] 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.

[15:02] 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.

[15:14] 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.

[15:28] 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.

[15:39] 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.

[15:58] 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.

[16:15] 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.

[16:26] 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.

[16:39] 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.

[16:50] 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.

[17:03] 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.

[17:16] 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.

[17:31] 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.

[17:47] 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.

[18:03] 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?

[18:14] 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.

[18:29] 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.

[18:39] 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.

[18:50] 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.

[19:05] 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.

[19:18] 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?

[19:31] 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.

[19:47] 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.

[19:58] 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.

[20:12] 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?

[20:24] 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.

[20:37] 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.

[20:51] 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.

[21:06] 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.

[21:17] 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.

[21:28] 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.

[21:53] 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.

[22:03] 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.

[22:13] 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.

[22:33] 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.

[22:46] 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.

[23:04] 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.

[23:17] 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.

[23:32] 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.

[23:51] 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.

[24:05] 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?

[24:16] 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.

[24:32] 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.

[24:48] 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.

[25:00] 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.

[25:16] 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.

[25:31] 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.

[25:45] 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.

[25:56] 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.

[26:13] 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.

[26:25] 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.

[26:40] 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.

[26:58] 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

[27:58] 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

[28:59] 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

[30:00] 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

[31:00] 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

[32:00] 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

[33:01] 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

[34:01] 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

[35:02] 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

[36:03] 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!

[36:14]  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