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We've been in a series called arise and build going through the book of Nehemiah.

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I'm gonna invite you if you can join me in Nehemiah chapter 2 and verse 14.

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I'm gonna start there and then we're going to jump over to chapter 4.

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The word of God says in the new living translation,

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then I went to the fountain gate and to the king's pool.

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But my donkey, could it get through the rubble?

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He said I went but I couldn't get through the rubble.

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Now chapter 4 and verse 2, this is the new American standard version.

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It says, and he, and here it's speaking of a detractor named Sambalot,

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spoke in the presence of his brothers and the wealthy people of Samaria and said,

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what are these feeble Jews doing?

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Are they going to restore the temple for themselves?

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Can they offer sacrifices?

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Can they finish it in a day?

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And watch this question.

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Can they revive the stones from the heaps of rubble, even the burned ones?

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I want us to look at these texts today and I believe that God has placed a message

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on my heart to share with you called, out of the rubble.

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Out of the rubble.

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I'm going to invite you right now to pray with me because I believe God wants to speak

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today and I need to get this word delivered.

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I need to get this word out of my heart and into yours.

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Father, we come before you.

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We thank you, God, for the presence that we feel in this place.

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Lord, surely you have come to meet us here.

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And we don't want to miss our blessing.

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We don't want to miss out on what you're doing.

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We don't want to miss our miracle.

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And I pray today that as the word goes forth, God, it would fall on good ground as a seed

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in the soil in our hearts.

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Lord, anoint the hearing of every person in this place today, God, no matter where they

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are at in their faith, no matter where they are at in their journey, God, that this word

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would touch them and anoint these lips of mind, God, and put your word in my heart that

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I might speak it with clearly, clearly and boldly in the name of Jesus Christ.

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Everyone say amen.

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You may be seated in God's presence.

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Amen.

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Out of the rubble.

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Despite having the favor of the King and the support of the people near Maya, which still

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have to face obstacles and opposition in the process of reviving the walls of Jerusalem.

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In his inaugural expedition of the city, he was met with the grim and engulfing reality

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of the ruins.

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Clearly nothing could prepare him for the sheer amount of rubble that clogged the gates and

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filled the city.

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It was overwhelming to him.

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Despite hearing about the troubles and the destruction being there in that zone had such

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a profound impact on him.

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It looked and it felt like a war zone because indeed it was.

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I want you to know that when or lose, rubble is what's left after the battle.

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It's the mess after the struggle.

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It's the grief after the loss.

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It's possibly the regret or the consequences after sin.

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It's the bitterness or the blame after the trial.

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Rubble is what's left after the battle.

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Even after hard fought battles that you win, there is still rubble.

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It's the time that you cannot get back.

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It's the changes that you have to accept or the unfinished business that you have to work

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through.

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The rubble is that that remains after you've gone through maybe a period of difficulty,

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a trial, a tribulation or just any kind of traumatic or heartbreaking, troubling experience,

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win or lose.

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Whether you felt like you came out on top or that that trial got the best of you.

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The rubble is what remains.

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When people talk generally about or dream about rebuilding and reviving the walls in

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their life or the walls in their ministry, they tend to underestimate the rubble.

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The rubble is just not something that we factor in to the steps that we have to take.

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It's not something that we spend a lot of time maybe thinking about in our vision casting

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or in our imagination and our planning of where it is that we want to go in our life.

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We think about the walls.

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We think about the big stuff.

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We think about the great things or the wonderful things that possibly await.

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Those promises and those dreams, those aspirations, those callings that God has placed in us.

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Brightly so that those would be the things that we focus on, those goals and those places

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that we want to go in our faith.

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We don't spend much time, however, thinking about or preparing ourselves for the rubble,

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the rubble.

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This is exactly what happened to the people of Judah.

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The Bible says in Nehemiah chapter 4 and verse 10, then the people of Judah began to

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complain, the workers are getting tired, they said.

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There is so much rubble to be moved.

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We will never be able to build the wall by ourselves.

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As the work commenced there in Jerusalem, the people of Judah, the people of God were

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coming together and the work had began.

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So as they started and as they were probably with some inspiration, I'm sure that there

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was a lot of excitement in the beginning over the potential building of this wall, they

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ran into some hurdles right away.

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They realized in this text here, they're practically saying, this is harder than what

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we thought, this whole building of the wall thing.

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It's harder than we thought.

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This rubble is not something that we accounted for, it's making it hard, it's making it impossible

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for us to work effectively on the wall.

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This rubble is kind of wearing us out.

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I mean, we want to get to the wall, we want to get to the big stuff, we want to get to

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the exciting stuff, we want to get to destiny and promise it, we want to see these things,

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but the rubble is in our way and it's making our jobs hard, it's taking a toll on us, taking

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a toll on our bodies, it's wearing us down and it's causing us to lose morale.

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Moral is at an all time low right now because it's taking longer for us to get where we

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thought we would be.

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We thought we would be further along in the process than where we are now.

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We thought we would be at a further point than we are now, but we can't do it, there's

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just too much rubble.

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There was so much rubble there that the people just couldn't get past it and they started

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losing sight of the wall.

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They started taking their eyes off the dream that God had given them and spending all their

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time just overwhelmed in and engulfed in and discouraged by the rubble that surrounded

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the walls and so they were discouraged when they saw that.

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They wanted to build a new wall, they wanted it, I believe in their hearts, they wanted

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to build this wall, but they were buried in old rubble.

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Let me tell you something, you see that it's hard to build the dream when you're still

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cleaning up the nightmare.

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It's hard to build a new future, a new path, a new ministry, a new life goal, a family

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goal when you're in a pile of rubble.

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If you're not careful, you can lose out on what God wants to do in your life, not because

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the dream is not attainable, not because the enemy is too big, but because the rubble is

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overwhelming, the amount of work, the amount of toil, the amount of effort and sweat equity

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that you have to put into actually getting it done overwhelms most people.

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It's not the wall that takes people out of the game, it's not the wall that takes people

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out of doing what God has called them to do.

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Oftentimes it's the rubble that surrounds them, but the Holy Ghost set me here today

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to tell you, to tell somebody to inject this word into your heart that God is greater than

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your rubble.

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I said, God is greater than your rubble.

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And I've come today with a word of encouragement to tell somebody that if you're staring at

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rubble in your life and you're wondering how you're going to get past it, how you're

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going to move on, God has given me a word, God has written a prescription for you today

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to take it to your heart and take home with you.

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How many of you want to come out of that rubble?

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How many of you want to see revival and restoration in your heart and in your life?

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Clap your hands and let's give God some praise today.

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The first thing you need to do if you're going to come out of the rubble is you need to cancel

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the lies.

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Rubble, the rubble became a bigger issue for the people of Judah after a band of detractors

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plotted against them and sought to confuse them and halt their efforts.

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Zambalit was the ringleader.

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He was the loudest and most outspoken of the bunch.

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He was the one that kind of corralled everyone against the people of God and began to speak

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harshly and critically about what Nehemiah and his countrymen, the Israelites, were doing.

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And he was very outspoken.

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He began to scoff at the people of God.

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And one of the things he said as I read in my opening text, what are these feeble or

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these weak or powerless Jews doing?

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Can they revive the stones from the heaps of rubble?

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These menacing words magnified an already difficult situation because now on top of the rubble,

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they've got negative noise in their life telling them, you're wasting your time.

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Now they've got negative voices in their life telling them that you could be doing other

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things and going to other places rather than be in this pile of rubble.

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The rubble was enough already to deal with it.

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But now they have these detractors, these opposers that are coming around them and trying

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to talk them out of their vision and talk them out of their future and talk them out

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of the things of God.

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And they were telling them among themselves that you're never going to make it.

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You might as well just throw in the towel and you might as well just give up because

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look at you're wasting your time.

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You've got nothing but rubble.

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You haven't even got to the dream yet.

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You haven't even got to the revival yet.

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And all that sandballed and his gang of followers wanted to do was keep the people of God down

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and smash their faith and lower and belittle them and just confuse them and distract them

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from what they were called to do.

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And as you are trying to rebuild the walls in your life, as you are trying to chase after

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the things of God and after your ministry and after revival and restoration, either for

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you or for somebody you love, you're going to face the rubble.

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But on top of that, there's going to be some sandballets.

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There's going to be some voices.

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There's going to be some discouragement that tries to come and talk you out of doing what

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God is telling you to do.

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And this is what they wanted to do.

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They wanted to tell them to stop.

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And the reason why was because sandballets and his gang of friends were threatened by

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what these people of God were getting ready to do.

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My God, cannot preach this like I want you today.

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They were threatened by these men and these women and children about what they were going

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to build because sandballets and his little gang, his little posse of critics were regional,

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supervisors throughout this land of Judah.

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And they had power and they had influence and they had control over the minds of the

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people through fear and controlling tactics.

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And so what they feared more than anything was that these people would rise up and remove

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them from their positions of power.

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And so they tried to stop them.

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Let me tell you today the reason why you're facing possible criticism, the reason why

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you're hearing voices of doubt and fear and confusion is because the devil is terrified

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of you rising up and taking back what belongs to you as a child of God.

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And so he tries to discourage us with lies and deceptions and confusions to take us

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out of the game and distract us and they cause us to abandon the thing that God has called

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you to do, that same spirit of sandballet is working and alive today.

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And I have seen this ugly foe distract many people from their callings of Christ.

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You see the name sandballet, it means hatred in secret or secret enemy.

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It means hatred in secret or secret enemy.

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This is the spirit of sandballet.

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It doesn't always announce itself.

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It doesn't always come barging at you.

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It doesn't always ambush you, but it works in secret.

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It works behind the scenes.

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It tries to catch you off guard.

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It tries to catch you in a moment of weakness.

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In a moment where you're not quite at your best.

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Haven't you ever noticed that when you're already kind of low, here comes the devil

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to come to remind you about where you are?

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Have you ever noticed when you're already discouraged or when you're already overwhelmed,

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here come these voices, it happened to Jesus when he was in the wilderness and he was hungry

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and all he probably wanted to do was eat, but he was chasing after the thing of God.

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And then here comes the enemy to tempt them and say, hey, why don't you turn these stones

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into bread?

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It's always at your lowest point.

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It's always when you're already tired that the enemy comes to discourage you.

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But I've come today to tell you that God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of love,

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power, and a sound mind.

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I've come to tell you like Nehemiah did when he stood up before the people of God and he

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said, don't be afraid of the enemy, but remember the Lord who was great and glorious among

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you.

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I've come to tell you that your God is greater than every work of the enemy against you.

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I wish I had a witness in this place today.

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We see that the people of God were discouraged and they didn't know what to do and they had

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to get past these, not just the piles of the rubble, but also past the lies, telling them

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you can do it and you'll never amount to it and you'll never go further than where you

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are now and you'll always be in this position and you'll never get past this hang up and

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you'll always, you're always going to bear this label on your life and you're never going

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to get out of debt and you're never going to get to where you need to go and you're

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always going to be, come on now, we hear these voices in our lives trying to keep us down,

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but I got news for the devil.

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You messed with the wrong people today.

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You, my God, I said you messed with the wrong church.

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You messed with the wrong people because we've got the truth of God inside of us.

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How many of you are thankful for the truth of God?

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We've got the truth in us and we can respond to the enemy today, not with our emotions,

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not with brain power, but with Holy Ghost power and say, my God is for me and if God

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be for me, who can be against me?

228
00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:45,240
Somebody give the Lord some praise today.

229
00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:50,040
I feel this in my bones and we got to call the devil a liar because that's what he is.

230
00:17:50,040 --> 00:17:52,280
Somebody say amen.

231
00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:58,120
He's a liar and we got to call him what he is and the only way to cancel a lie, you got

232
00:17:58,120 --> 00:17:59,120
to speak the truth.

233
00:17:59,120 --> 00:18:01,000
Someone say speak the truth.

234
00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:02,880
That's right.

235
00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:08,560
Speaking the devil a liar is one thing, but you don't fully cancel a lie until you speak

236
00:18:08,560 --> 00:18:09,960
the truth.

237
00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:14,120
You got to respond with truth and Nehemiah did that as I quoted a moment ago.

238
00:18:14,120 --> 00:18:15,720
He stood up in front of the people.

239
00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:17,120
He said, don't be afraid of the enemy.

240
00:18:17,120 --> 00:18:20,960
Hey, don't be afraid to remember who your God, can I tell somebody today, remember who

241
00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:23,360
your God is?

242
00:18:23,360 --> 00:18:27,000
I said, remember who you're, do you know, remember who you serve?

243
00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:29,520
Remember that your God is greater than everything.

244
00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:32,400
Remember that your God created the universe and everything in it.

245
00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:34,240
Remember that the earth is His foot still.

246
00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:40,120
My God, remember that He is high and lifted up and His train fills the temple.

247
00:18:40,120 --> 00:18:43,760
Remember that your God has never lost a battle.

248
00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:49,240
My God, remember that greater is He is in you than He that is in the world.

249
00:18:49,240 --> 00:18:54,240
Remember, remember where He brought you from.

250
00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:58,040
How many of you are in our testimony today of where God brought you from, amen?

251
00:18:58,040 --> 00:19:02,760
I said, how many of you are testimony of where He brought you from?

252
00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:06,040
Remember and He's telling the people, don't be afraid.

253
00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:08,720
He said, remember that our God is great.

254
00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:10,080
Don't be afraid of the enemy.

255
00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:13,240
Don't be afraid of the big bad wolf.

256
00:19:13,240 --> 00:19:15,480
Don't be afraid of Him because you know what?

257
00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:17,960
It's all smoke.

258
00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:19,120
It's all smoke.

259
00:19:19,120 --> 00:19:24,920
It's all lies, smoke and mirrors and deception because He knows that if you ever get a real

260
00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:26,880
revelation of who you are.

261
00:19:26,880 --> 00:19:32,440
He knows that if you ever unlock the code, if you ever unlock the secret of who you are

262
00:19:32,440 --> 00:19:35,720
as a child of God, He'll never be able to stop you.

263
00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:39,680
My God, He'll never be able to stop the people of God.

264
00:19:39,680 --> 00:19:42,200
So we've got to cancel the lies.

265
00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:46,000
From this day forward, I'm not going to hear the enemy anymore.

266
00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:49,920
I'm not going to entertain him any longer.

267
00:19:49,920 --> 00:19:51,600
Stop talking with the devil.

268
00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:52,600
Start rebuking him.

269
00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:55,880
I've been talking with the devil all week.

270
00:19:55,880 --> 00:19:56,880
I've been fighting.

271
00:19:56,880 --> 00:19:59,520
Why are you fighting that guy?

272
00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:03,240
He should be under your feet.

273
00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:06,640
You know, back when I was younger, we had testimony service sometimes and some people

274
00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:07,640
would get up, man.

275
00:20:07,640 --> 00:20:11,120
You would think the devil was just in charge of their life.

276
00:20:11,120 --> 00:20:14,600
The devil this and the devil, they're just blaming the devil for everything, man.

277
00:20:14,600 --> 00:20:16,360
Giving the devil all kinds of credit.

278
00:20:16,360 --> 00:20:20,320
Sometimes we give the devil more credit than he deserves.

279
00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:24,760
The devil don't have the power to do anything unless you give it to him.

280
00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:26,160
Oh my God.

281
00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:30,760
Hey man, y'all don't want to hear about that kind of stuff.

282
00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:34,640
The devil is chasing me all week.

283
00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:37,400
The devil wasn't chasing you probably anyways.

284
00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:43,720
One of the one probably one of his lower, you know, one of the lower devils.

285
00:20:43,720 --> 00:20:45,600
But here's the thing.

286
00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:48,280
That's not really where our battle is.

287
00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:49,280
Here comes the rubble.

288
00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:51,880
After you cancel the lies, you got to clear the rubble.

289
00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:53,880
Someone say clear the rubble.

290
00:20:53,880 --> 00:20:56,760
Clear the rubble.

291
00:20:56,760 --> 00:21:00,680
You see, canceling the lies is the easy part.

292
00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:05,320
But clearing the rubble is not so easy.

293
00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:07,400
It's not a comfortable process.

294
00:21:07,400 --> 00:21:11,080
It's not an overnight process.

295
00:21:11,080 --> 00:21:12,080
Clearing the rubble.

296
00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:13,080
Someone say the rubble.

297
00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:16,360
Can I tell you about clearing the rubble?

298
00:21:16,360 --> 00:21:20,600
Clearing the rubble is messy.

299
00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:23,000
It's hard.

300
00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:25,400
It's tiring.

301
00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:28,880
It's tedious at times.

302
00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:32,480
Clearing the rubble is humbling.

303
00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:34,440
It's inconvenient.

304
00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:36,720
You can't rush it.

305
00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:39,600
You can't skip it.

306
00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:40,600
Can you ignore it?

307
00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:41,600
Yeah.

308
00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:43,880
But it's still going to be there tomorrow morning.

309
00:21:43,880 --> 00:21:47,680
It ain't going away.

310
00:21:47,680 --> 00:21:52,360
Not going to grow feet and just walk out of your life.

311
00:21:52,360 --> 00:21:55,640
It'll eventually catch up to you.

312
00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:59,560
It'll eventually catch up to you at some point.

313
00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:00,960
Not going away.

314
00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:01,960
It's hard work.

315
00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:02,960
It's tedious.

316
00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:07,160
And eventually you're going to find yourself facing that rubble.

317
00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:11,800
You can put it off another day, another week, but eventually you're going to have to face

318
00:22:11,800 --> 00:22:16,240
and deal with the rubble.

319
00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:22,080
And at some point, regardless of how hard you work on that wall, you're going to end

320
00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:29,240
up where the people of Judah ended up with only a partially constructed wall.

321
00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:30,240
This is what happened.

322
00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:31,960
We read in Nehemiah 4 and verse 6.

323
00:22:31,960 --> 00:22:36,120
It says, so we built the wall.

324
00:22:36,120 --> 00:22:37,960
They already started building the wall.

325
00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:38,960
Everything's going.

326
00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:40,520
Things are moving.

327
00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:44,360
And the entire wall was joined together to half.

328
00:22:44,360 --> 00:22:46,200
Someone say half.

329
00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:48,880
To half is high.

330
00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:50,160
So this is what happened.

331
00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:54,320
The people that were working and they were trying to work their way around the rubble

332
00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:55,320
as best they could.

333
00:22:55,320 --> 00:22:59,920
I mean, the rubble was there, but I think they thought they could just kind of work around

334
00:22:59,920 --> 00:23:00,920
it.

335
00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:02,840
Deal with it later down the line.

336
00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:04,960
Deal with it at some other point in life.

337
00:23:04,960 --> 00:23:06,560
We got to get to the wall.

338
00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:09,240
This rubble, it'll sort itself out later.

339
00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:13,360
This rubble, it'll get ironed out at some future date.

340
00:23:13,360 --> 00:23:15,120
So they started working on the wall.

341
00:23:15,120 --> 00:23:17,640
But then the rubble just wouldn't go away.

342
00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:21,720
The rubble just kept waiting for them like every day.

343
00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:25,880
And they were getting tired and they were just overwhelmed with it.

344
00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:30,920
And then as they were building the wall, they only got to about halfway.

345
00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:32,880
And they said, we can't do this anymore.

346
00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:38,040
The people of God got to a halfway point in the building of the wall.

347
00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:40,200
And then they just wanted to give up.

348
00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:45,800
The same thing happens to a lot of people who try to skip past or move beyond the rubble

349
00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:47,840
without clearing it out.

350
00:23:47,840 --> 00:23:52,760
If you don't take care of business with the rubble in your life and just try to jump into

351
00:23:52,760 --> 00:23:57,960
building whatever it is God wants you to build, eventually you won't have much of anything

352
00:23:57,960 --> 00:23:59,760
to speak of.

353
00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:04,320
Eventually all you'll have is a half built wall.

354
00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:06,320
A half built ministry.

355
00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:09,120
Ah, come on now.

356
00:24:09,120 --> 00:24:11,080
A half built prayer life.

357
00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:12,840
A half built dream.

358
00:24:12,840 --> 00:24:14,880
A half built goal.

359
00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:19,920
And there's a lot of people, unfortunately today, because they don't deal with the rubble

360
00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:27,560
and do the work of the rubble, they've got a lot of half built walls in their lives.

361
00:24:27,560 --> 00:24:32,280
A lot of unfinished walls.

362
00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:36,400
You got a lot of uncompleted projects.

363
00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:41,720
And this is for somebody, a wake up call because you have a habit of starting things

364
00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:42,720
you don't finish.

365
00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:46,440
Oh, y'all, you want the piano player to come on up now.

366
00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:49,280
Hold on, brother Ricky, I ain't ready for that yet.

367
00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:51,120
You got a lot of half built walls.

368
00:24:51,120 --> 00:24:56,920
And then when you get tired, my God, you say, I'm ready, sign me up.

369
00:24:56,920 --> 00:24:59,120
Put me on the team.

370
00:24:59,120 --> 00:25:00,720
Put me in coach.

371
00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:02,240
I want in the game.

372
00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:03,240
I want some of that.

373
00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:06,480
And so God begins to open door and you start, but then you leave the rubble there.

374
00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:09,520
You leave the rubble in your emotions, the rubble of the things that you're not taking

375
00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:13,640
care of, and then you just jump right in the ministry and then a few months later, you're

376
00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:17,720
just burned out.

377
00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:18,720
And you're not burned out.

378
00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:19,720
Can I help somebody today?

379
00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:21,080
Someone say, go ahead.

380
00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:25,280
You're not burned out because too much is being expected of you or you're not burned

381
00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:27,280
out because the wall is too hard.

382
00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:32,120
You're burned out because you're not taking care of the rubble.

383
00:25:32,120 --> 00:25:34,520
You blame the devil, the devil that, no, it ain't the devil.

384
00:25:34,520 --> 00:25:36,440
It's the rubble.

385
00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:41,720
Until you deal with the rubble, it doesn't matter how big your vision is, how wide you

386
00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:43,320
see, oh, God's going to use me.

387
00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:44,320
God's going to take me there.

388
00:25:44,320 --> 00:25:45,800
God's going to do this.

389
00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:48,240
But you still got rubble.

390
00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:49,840
And so we sign up January.

391
00:25:49,840 --> 00:25:51,160
Everyone loves January, right?

392
00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:53,640
Because it's like New Year's resolutions.

393
00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:55,360
This year's my year.

394
00:25:55,360 --> 00:26:00,240
I'm going to, 2024, I'm going to get more and all these other things.

395
00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:01,480
I made that up.

396
00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:04,840
I want more in 2024.

397
00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:08,960
You want more and what have you done with the last?

398
00:26:08,960 --> 00:26:15,480
Because it's January and already by March is like, I don't know if I could do this anymore

399
00:26:15,480 --> 00:26:16,480
pastor.

400
00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:18,600
Well, what is it?

401
00:26:18,600 --> 00:26:21,000
Is it the wall or is it the rubble?

402
00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:22,440
Oh, my Lord, help me.

403
00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:23,440
Hey, help me today.

404
00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:24,440
Holy ghost.

405
00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:28,760
You see, dealing with the devil is one thing, but dealing with the rubble is another.

406
00:26:28,760 --> 00:26:30,360
You can resist the devil.

407
00:26:30,360 --> 00:26:31,640
What's the Bible say?

408
00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:33,160
He's got to flee.

409
00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:34,160
Right?

410
00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:36,080
Rebuke the devil and he will flee.

411
00:26:36,080 --> 00:26:38,120
You can rebuke him, but can I tell you something?

412
00:26:38,120 --> 00:26:41,000
You cannot rebuke the rubble.

413
00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:42,400
You can wake up every morning.

414
00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:44,600
That rubble, I rebuke you and guess what?

415
00:26:44,600 --> 00:26:47,520
That rubble is going to be there tomorrow morning, the next day.

416
00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:51,240
You can't rebuke your way out of the rubble.

417
00:26:51,240 --> 00:26:53,000
You've got to deal with the rubble.

418
00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:55,480
And I'm going to give you some examples of what that rubble might be.

419
00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:57,680
I go, we're going to be good.

420
00:26:57,680 --> 00:27:00,800
But how do you deal with the rubble?

421
00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:02,800
Someone say, how?

422
00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:05,680
You got to deal with it.

423
00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:14,680
First of all, one stone at a time, one day at a time, one decision at a time.

424
00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:16,920
I get some of the anxiety right now when I said that.

425
00:27:16,920 --> 00:27:17,920
They're like, wait a minute.

426
00:27:17,920 --> 00:27:22,440
I thought you were just going to lay hands on me and all the rubble was going to be gone.

427
00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:23,440
No.

428
00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:29,480
I can lay hands on you to encourage you to go back home and deal with that rubble.

429
00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:35,440
And you could, would Paul say, I can do all things?

430
00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:40,120
If the rubble is what's left after the battle, after a difficult season, after a trial, after

431
00:27:40,120 --> 00:27:45,440
just a period of the test of you or just a hard time, OK, if that's what the rubble is,

432
00:27:45,440 --> 00:27:49,680
if it's what's left after a battle, then what does clearing the rubble look like for you

433
00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:50,680
today?

434
00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:54,680
Let me give you some examples of what this is because less you think I'm just talking

435
00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:58,160
and just vague terms.

436
00:27:58,160 --> 00:27:59,160
What does the rubble look like?

437
00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:00,160
Let me give you some examples.

438
00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:03,080
The rubble is, maybe it's getting counseling.

439
00:28:03,080 --> 00:28:10,000
Yeah, I just lost you right there.

440
00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:11,920
One session at a time.

441
00:28:11,920 --> 00:28:17,600
So if you're the one counseling, just give me 15 minutes and they think 15 minutes is

442
00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:20,640
just going to solve it.

443
00:28:20,640 --> 00:28:21,640
Maybe you need counseling.

444
00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:23,640
But then I've got to commit to that.

445
00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:30,120
I've got to meet like every other week and I've got some of us have given up on those

446
00:28:30,120 --> 00:28:35,960
things and we're wondering why we can't finish the wall, get back to the rubble.

447
00:28:35,960 --> 00:28:38,760
I'm going to say, amen.

448
00:28:38,760 --> 00:28:40,040
Maybe it's climbing out of debt.

449
00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:42,680
How do you climb out of debt?

450
00:28:42,680 --> 00:28:45,040
One bill at a time.

451
00:28:45,040 --> 00:28:46,720
I'm waiting to hit the lotto, man.

452
00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:50,120
If I hit the lotto, I'm going to pay off all my debts.

453
00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:52,440
Praise God.

454
00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:55,680
Don't forget to tie it though, amen.

455
00:28:55,680 --> 00:28:56,680
I'm going to win the lotto.

456
00:28:56,680 --> 00:28:57,680
Can I tell you?

457
00:28:57,680 --> 00:28:58,680
You ain't going to win the lotto.

458
00:28:58,680 --> 00:29:02,640
It'd be nice if this one check just get rid of all the debt and all that.

459
00:29:02,640 --> 00:29:04,320
Hey, hey, hey, that'd be nice.

460
00:29:04,320 --> 00:29:06,720
But the reality is one payment at a time.

461
00:29:06,720 --> 00:29:10,920
You say, do I buy this or do I pay off that?

462
00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:11,920
Uh-oh.

463
00:29:11,920 --> 00:29:14,280
See, people don't shout, no one runs the aisles over this.

464
00:29:14,280 --> 00:29:15,280
But you know what?

465
00:29:15,280 --> 00:29:18,600
I'm tired of seeing people get caught up in the rubble and it's the rubble that keeps

466
00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:23,920
them from doing the work of God because instead of being more available for the things of

467
00:29:23,920 --> 00:29:29,440
God, they're having to work double and triple time to pay off debts and pay off the car

468
00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:31,240
they can't afford and the boat they can't afford.

469
00:29:31,240 --> 00:29:33,400
You don't even live near a lake and you got a boat.

470
00:29:33,400 --> 00:29:36,200
You don't want to hear this.

471
00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:37,200
Maybe it's sticking.

472
00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:41,440
Maybe the rubble is sticking to a health and fitness plan.

473
00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:44,040
Praise God.

474
00:29:44,040 --> 00:29:45,400
How do I do that?

475
00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:47,240
One day at a time.

476
00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:49,160
One meal at a time.

477
00:29:49,160 --> 00:29:51,880
One visit to the gym at a time.

478
00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:56,040
Everyone's posting selfies at the gym in January but then by March it's like, oh man.

479
00:29:56,040 --> 00:29:58,680
I don't know.

480
00:29:58,680 --> 00:30:01,760
That's not my calling in life.

481
00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:03,680
How many of you believe this is the temple of the Holy Ghost?

482
00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:04,680
I don't mean me.

483
00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:05,680
I mean all of us.

484
00:30:05,680 --> 00:30:06,680
Amen.

485
00:30:06,680 --> 00:30:09,040
This is God's space.

486
00:30:09,040 --> 00:30:10,040
God only gave us one body.

487
00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:11,920
I think we should take care of it.

488
00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:12,920
Amen.

489
00:30:12,920 --> 00:30:13,920
Amen.

490
00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:14,920
We've got to get healthy.

491
00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:16,920
How do you do that?

492
00:30:16,920 --> 00:30:19,800
One day at a time.

493
00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:23,120
And if you commit to it one day at a time, what's going to happen?

494
00:30:23,120 --> 00:30:28,040
You start clearing the rubble and then you get your health back and now your health is

495
00:30:28,040 --> 00:30:34,240
not in your way of giving more to the things of God.

496
00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:36,480
I know men and I say this with all due respect.

497
00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:41,320
Whose ministries, whose destinies were cut short and I say this respectfully but because

498
00:30:41,320 --> 00:30:51,320
they didn't take care of this body and I say that respectfully because I don't want anyone

499
00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:57,160
to think I'm putting them down but the truth is, you know, we are the product of what we

500
00:30:57,160 --> 00:31:03,520
put in not just spiritually but physically in every regard.

501
00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:08,080
Maybe the rubble is seeking more accountability in your life.

502
00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:10,640
How do I seek more accountability?

503
00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:13,960
One check in at a time.

504
00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:16,000
You check in even when you don't have to check in.

505
00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:17,880
You just check in.

506
00:31:17,880 --> 00:31:20,200
Just to let you know I'm being more accountable.

507
00:31:20,200 --> 00:31:24,840
My Lord, one check in at a time.

508
00:31:24,840 --> 00:31:25,840
I got a few more for you.

509
00:31:25,840 --> 00:31:26,840
Is that all right?

510
00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:27,840
Can I give you a few more today?

511
00:31:27,840 --> 00:31:28,840
Amen.

512
00:31:28,840 --> 00:31:30,840
We were wanting to wrap this up.

513
00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:32,840
Listen, there's a few more things.

514
00:31:32,840 --> 00:31:36,040
I'm trying to give you some real life examples of how we clear the rubble because these are

515
00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:37,600
the things that they're not exciting.

516
00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:41,480
Like nobody gets too excited about this stuff but I'm trying to help somebody so we can

517
00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:42,480
build the wall.

518
00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:43,480
Amen.

519
00:31:43,480 --> 00:31:46,560
Maybe it's working with difficult people.

520
00:31:46,560 --> 00:31:49,600
How do I clear the rubble of difficult people?

521
00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:54,160
Well, probably one conflict at a time.

522
00:31:54,160 --> 00:31:57,400
Wouldn't it be nice, God, just to remove all the difficult people in your life?

523
00:31:57,400 --> 00:31:58,400
Hey, man.

524
00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:01,880
Just show up on Monday morning and there's no difficult people.

525
00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:02,880
Hey, man.

526
00:32:02,880 --> 00:32:05,600
But then I wonder if we would be there.

527
00:32:05,600 --> 00:32:06,600
Uh-oh.

528
00:32:06,600 --> 00:32:09,880
Yeah, we never think we're the ones, right?

529
00:32:09,880 --> 00:32:11,280
It's always other people.

530
00:32:11,280 --> 00:32:12,960
But how do I deal with these work?

531
00:32:12,960 --> 00:32:13,960
How do I deal with them?

532
00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:16,840
How about one conversation at a time?

533
00:32:16,840 --> 00:32:17,960
How about one day at a time?

534
00:32:17,960 --> 00:32:21,720
How about just say, you know, maybe God is leaving that person in your life to teach

535
00:32:21,720 --> 00:32:23,680
you patience.

536
00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:25,400
I want to be more like Jesus.

537
00:32:25,400 --> 00:32:28,880
Be careful what you ask for.

538
00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:30,880
I want to be Christ-like.

539
00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:32,960
Be careful what you ask for.

540
00:32:32,960 --> 00:32:33,960
Why?

541
00:32:33,960 --> 00:32:36,560
Because God's going to put some people that are going to sharpen you.

542
00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:39,560
God's going to put some sandpaper to smooth the edges out in your life.

543
00:32:39,560 --> 00:32:42,600
And sandpaper don't feel very good.

544
00:32:42,600 --> 00:32:43,840
But that's how we remove the rubble.

545
00:32:43,840 --> 00:32:46,160
Hmm, someone say, hey, man.

546
00:32:46,160 --> 00:32:53,040
It could be just grinding like Samson was after a dark period in his life where he lost

547
00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:54,640
his hair and now he's grinding.

548
00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:59,920
It could be just grinding in a dark place, in a strange place where you know, I know

549
00:32:59,920 --> 00:33:01,920
there's more for me than what I'm doing.

550
00:33:01,920 --> 00:33:04,160
And here I am in this remedial task.

551
00:33:04,160 --> 00:33:07,040
Here I am, you know, working below what I'm worth.

552
00:33:07,040 --> 00:33:11,720
Here I am not getting the attention I deserve, but I'm just going to keep working and working

553
00:33:11,720 --> 00:33:13,200
and proving myself.

554
00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:18,920
And then God says, when you clear the rubble of your pride, when you clear the rubble, then

555
00:33:18,920 --> 00:33:20,440
you're ready for more.

556
00:33:20,440 --> 00:33:23,440
And this is where people usually give up.

557
00:33:23,440 --> 00:33:31,160
But can I tell you that the rubble is not your enemy?

558
00:33:31,160 --> 00:33:35,640
The rubble is your friend because it's the rubble that's going to teach you endurance.

559
00:33:35,640 --> 00:33:40,440
It's the rubble that's going to, my God, it's the rubble that's going to teach you forgiveness.

560
00:33:40,440 --> 00:33:41,900
It's a rubble that's going to teach you discipline.

561
00:33:41,900 --> 00:33:45,000
It's the rubble that's going to, my God.

562
00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:48,180
It's the rubble that's going to cause you to grow up.

563
00:33:48,180 --> 00:33:50,780
It's the rubble that's going to mature your faith.

564
00:33:50,780 --> 00:33:53,040
It's the rubble that's going to develop you.

565
00:33:53,040 --> 00:33:58,080
It's the rubble that's going to train you and mold you to being the kind of person

566
00:33:58,080 --> 00:33:59,300
that finishes the wall.

567
00:33:59,300 --> 00:34:01,300
It's the rubble in our life.

568
00:34:01,300 --> 00:34:04,300
And so God is saying, if you want to make a full comeback,

569
00:34:04,300 --> 00:34:07,300
if you want this to be your comeback year in some area of your life,

570
00:34:07,300 --> 00:34:09,300
then there is some rubble.

571
00:34:09,300 --> 00:34:13,300
There may be some stones that need to be moved out of your life.

572
00:34:13,300 --> 00:34:15,300
There's some work that's got to be done.

573
00:34:15,300 --> 00:34:19,300
But if you will commit today to say, I'm willing to put in the work,

574
00:34:19,300 --> 00:34:22,300
I'm willing to do what it takes.

575
00:34:22,300 --> 00:34:25,300
I'm willing, then God says, if you will deal with that,

576
00:34:25,300 --> 00:34:30,300
I will give you the mental, spiritual, and physical fortitude to get it done.

577
00:34:30,300 --> 00:34:33,300
You're not in this by yourself. Hallelujah, somebody.

578
00:34:33,300 --> 00:34:35,300
You're not in this all by yourself.

579
00:34:35,300 --> 00:34:38,300
Why? Because he promised never to leave us nor forsake us.

580
00:34:38,300 --> 00:34:42,300
He promised I will be with you even to the end of the age.

581
00:34:42,300 --> 00:34:44,300
I've got good news for you today.

582
00:34:44,300 --> 00:34:48,300
If you're willing to clear the rubble, God will bring you out of that rubble.

583
00:34:48,300 --> 00:34:53,300
God will bring you out of where you are and place you in a whole new destiny.

584
00:34:53,300 --> 00:34:55,300
I've got news for you today.

585
00:34:55,300 --> 00:35:00,300
Your destiny is not to stay in the rubble for the rest of your life.

586
00:35:00,300 --> 00:35:04,300
Your destiny is to rise up and build.

587
00:35:04,300 --> 00:35:06,300
Someone say, arise.

588
00:35:06,300 --> 00:35:09,300
Come on, somebody say, arise.

589
00:35:09,300 --> 00:35:11,300
Someone say, build.

590
00:35:11,300 --> 00:35:13,300
Rise and build.

591
00:35:13,300 --> 00:35:15,300
This is what God has called us to do.

592
00:35:15,300 --> 00:35:20,300
Each and every one of us is to arise and build.

593
00:35:20,300 --> 00:35:24,300
Rise and build.

594
00:35:24,300 --> 00:35:26,300
And here's the thing.

595
00:35:26,300 --> 00:35:30,300
There's no good character, Sam Baldwin.

596
00:35:30,300 --> 00:35:34,300
In his questioning of the people of God,

597
00:35:34,300 --> 00:35:38,300
his own words were turned against him because he asked the question,

598
00:35:38,300 --> 00:35:44,300
can they revive the stones?

599
00:35:44,300 --> 00:35:47,300
It was a devious question,

600
00:35:47,300 --> 00:35:51,300
but a question that needed an answer nonetheless.

601
00:35:51,300 --> 00:35:55,300
Can they revive the stones?

602
00:35:55,300 --> 00:36:01,300
And the only way to answer this question is to continue to build.

603
00:36:01,300 --> 00:36:06,300
As they cleared the rubble, Nehemiah, we read in Nehemiah 4.15,

604
00:36:06,300 --> 00:36:10,300
it says, now when our enemies heard that it was known to us

605
00:36:10,300 --> 00:36:13,300
that God, because this is what God will do,

606
00:36:13,300 --> 00:36:17,300
he had frustrated their plan. Hallelujah.

607
00:36:17,300 --> 00:36:21,300
Then all of us returned to the wall.

608
00:36:21,300 --> 00:36:24,300
And each one to his worker.

609
00:36:24,300 --> 00:36:27,300
We began to deal with the rubble.

610
00:36:27,300 --> 00:36:32,300
We started clearing the rubble, and then we got back to work.

611
00:36:32,300 --> 00:36:35,300
But the question today is how did the people do it?

612
00:36:35,300 --> 00:36:40,300
What materials did they use to build the wall?

613
00:36:40,300 --> 00:36:42,300
Get the other mic ready for me, brother.

614
00:36:42,300 --> 00:36:45,300
What did they do to restore these walls?

615
00:36:45,300 --> 00:36:47,300
Hallelujah.

616
00:36:47,300 --> 00:36:50,300
Let me show you a picture of what they did,

617
00:36:50,300 --> 00:36:54,300
because Nehemiah, with all that rubble, someone say the rubble.

618
00:36:54,300 --> 00:36:56,300
Say it again, say the rubble.

619
00:36:56,300 --> 00:36:58,300
Remember I told you the rubble is not your enemy.

620
00:36:58,300 --> 00:37:00,300
The rubble is your friend.

621
00:37:00,300 --> 00:37:02,300
I'm going to tell you how the rubble is your friend,

622
00:37:02,300 --> 00:37:06,300
because Nehemiah did not tell the people throw the rubble away.

623
00:37:06,300 --> 00:37:09,300
He didn't say the rubble was trash.

624
00:37:09,300 --> 00:37:12,300
They cleared the rubble, they didn't throw away the rubble.

625
00:37:12,300 --> 00:37:13,300
You know why?

626
00:37:13,300 --> 00:37:16,300
Because even the rubble had value.

627
00:37:16,300 --> 00:37:23,300
You know how they were going to rebuild that wall that was around Jerusalem?

628
00:37:23,300 --> 00:37:25,300
With the rubble.

629
00:37:25,300 --> 00:37:30,300
Where do you think they got the stones to rebuild the wall?

630
00:37:30,300 --> 00:37:31,300
Hmm.

631
00:37:31,300 --> 00:37:33,300
They did this project.

632
00:37:33,300 --> 00:37:34,300
You know how long it took them?

633
00:37:34,300 --> 00:37:37,300
Like 52 or 54 days, and they were done.

634
00:37:37,300 --> 00:37:42,300
They didn't have time to go to a mountain and cut stones from a quarry.

635
00:37:42,300 --> 00:37:46,300
They used the very same rubble that was there.

636
00:37:46,300 --> 00:37:48,300
My God.

637
00:37:48,300 --> 00:37:50,300
Let me share this story with you right here.

638
00:37:50,300 --> 00:37:59,300
After World War II, Warsaw, Poland was almost completely demolished.

639
00:37:59,300 --> 00:38:05,300
85% of the city's historic center was in ruins.

640
00:38:05,300 --> 00:38:07,300
It was decimated.

641
00:38:07,300 --> 00:38:10,300
The buildings were brought down.

642
00:38:10,300 --> 00:38:16,300
And along with that, the spirits of the people, their morale, and their hopes.

643
00:38:16,300 --> 00:38:24,300
So the residents of Warsaw immediately got to work clearing the rubble

644
00:38:24,300 --> 00:38:28,300
and starting to rebuild their city.

645
00:38:28,300 --> 00:38:33,300
And it's interesting because they didn't have any blueprints of these buildings.

646
00:38:33,300 --> 00:38:35,300
So you know what they did?

647
00:38:35,300 --> 00:38:40,300
They took old paintings, famous paintings of their city as blueprints.

648
00:38:40,300 --> 00:38:41,300
Whew.

649
00:38:41,300 --> 00:38:43,300
And they started to rebuild it.

650
00:38:43,300 --> 00:38:47,300
By 1955, most of Warsaw's old town was rebuilt.

651
00:38:47,300 --> 00:38:51,300
But construction lasted well into the 80s.

652
00:38:51,300 --> 00:39:00,300
Today, Warsaw is a thriving city with a story to tell within its walls.

653
00:39:00,300 --> 00:39:07,300
That's because the rubble, the same stones and fragments that were left over

654
00:39:07,300 --> 00:39:16,300
from the war-torn city was reused to rebuild the structures again.

655
00:39:16,300 --> 00:39:23,300
The same fragments from the original buildings that were blown apart by the enemy

656
00:39:23,300 --> 00:39:29,300
were the same stones that they put back into the buildings to rebuild the wall.

657
00:39:29,300 --> 00:39:35,300
The same thing happened in Jerusalem and the same thing is happening today.

658
00:39:35,300 --> 00:39:36,300
My God.

659
00:39:36,300 --> 00:39:39,300
Oh, I wish I had a witness here this afternoon.

660
00:39:39,300 --> 00:39:48,300
God is taking what you think is damaged, what you think is unusable, what you think is broken.

661
00:39:48,300 --> 00:39:54,300
God will take that and redeem it for His glory.

662
00:39:54,300 --> 00:39:58,300
Would you stand with me this afternoon?

663
00:39:58,300 --> 00:40:04,300
God will take what you think has no value, what you think is worthless,

664
00:40:04,300 --> 00:40:08,300
what you think is damaged, what you think is too far gone.

665
00:40:08,300 --> 00:40:16,300
God will take those very things to rebuild and redeem for His glory.

666
00:40:16,300 --> 00:40:18,300
You see, God specializes.

667
00:40:18,300 --> 00:40:22,300
He turns tragedies into trophies.

668
00:40:22,300 --> 00:40:27,300
He turns ashes into beauty.

669
00:40:27,300 --> 00:40:30,300
He turns mourning into dancing.

670
00:40:30,300 --> 00:40:33,300
He turns mistakes into miracles.

671
00:40:33,300 --> 00:40:37,300
He turns what's left into something glorious.

672
00:40:37,300 --> 00:40:40,300
I've come to encourage somebody here today.

673
00:40:40,300 --> 00:40:45,300
I've come to tell somebody here this afternoon that you can come out of the rubble,

674
00:40:45,300 --> 00:40:49,300
the rubble of your past, the rubble of what's broken.

675
00:40:49,300 --> 00:40:56,300
If you will simply put your hands to the work, if you will simply do your part today,

676
00:40:56,300 --> 00:40:59,300
God will raise you up!