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Weimar University

Don Mackintosh

From Despair to Repair

Well let's pray and then we'll dive into the book of Nehemiah.

Father in heaven, thank you that we can study together and you know each person here.

You know there are those who are rejoicing, there are those that are mourning, there are those that are wondering what your will is for their life.

And so no 1 is able to meet all these needs except you.

And so we ask that you would, through the preaching of your Word, touch hearts and lives today.

And we'll give you all the glory in Christ's name.

Today we begin a journey through the book of Nehemiah and the book deals with building projects And if you've been here at Weimar at any time, you know that over the last number of years, there's been a number of building projects.

This particular building project for Nehemiah was the rebuilding of walls.

And these walls had been torn down as a result of Nebuchadnezzar and the attack of Babylon against Israel.

But Nehemiah goes back, he is involved in this building project that rapidly advanced and in only 52 days the walls were rebuilt, although there was great external and internal opposition.

Whenever we do something for God, there's going to be opposition.

From the outside is troubling, but from the inside is even more painful, but it always occurs.

Whenever God is about to make a movement in his church, there will be opposition from the outside and the inside.

Opposition occurred because Satan knew that if the walls were restored, that would provide protection for a place to worship and an ongoing center of revival and reformation.

And so he was very worried and always is worried when these things begin to develop.

Opposition because a place where education and mentoring of missionaries would commence.

A place of identity that would fuel the memories of those mentored there With pictures of success that would encourage them as they went into the mission field to reach the entire world and so anytime There's a call for revival and reformation and anytime there's a call to build up the work there will be opposition from outside and there will be opposition from inside.

This was the case in Nehemiah's time and there were others besides Nehemiah working.

There was Zerubbabel who had rebuilt the temple.

There was Ezra who was rebuilding the city, and yet the walls were broken down and needed to be rebuilt.

But I might say that just as important as physical buildings might be, even more important are spiritual walls that need to be built up because spiritual walls have a tendency to be broken down and less cared for.

And in that I want to read to you a quotation from the book education page 46.

You might want to jot it down and also read it later.

These schools these were the schools of the prophets were intended to serve as a barrier against the widespread corruption.

These schools were to be a wall against widespread corruption to provide for the mental and spiritual welfare of the youth and to promote the prosperity of the nation by furnishing it with men qualified to act in the fear of God.

Samuel gathered companies of young men who were pious, intelligent, and studious.

What were the 3 characteristics of the recruitment strategy of the schools of the prophet?

They didn't look for anybody or everybody.

So piety has to do with being revived, being reformed, being someone known that desires to have a heart for God.

And these were the students that Samuel looked for to be in the school.

These were called the sons of the prophets and they studied the word, the works of God, his life-giving power, quickened their energies of mind and soul.

And the students received wisdom from above.

What kind of instructors were needed at the school?

The instructors were not only versed in divine truth, but had themselves enjoyed communion with God.

They were connected with God and had received a special endowment of his spirit.

And they had the respect and confidence of the people, both for learning and for piety.

So in rebuilding the walls, we have to think about education, Christian education, and actually centers of Christian education, if they're serving correctly, serve as walls to the church.

And that's why Weimar has been called into existence.

Weimar has been called to be a part of a building up the walls that have been broken down within the Laodicean Christian context.

That's the reason every student that's here has been selected to be here.

That's the reason every faculty member is here, is selected to be here.

And do you think Satan is happy with such an endeavor?

So he's going to do everything that he can do.

And he's going to devise distractions and booby traps, Each designed to bring the building of the wall, the rebuilding of the wall, to a standstill.

Humanly speaking, it's hard to find someone who would ever want to be involved in such a project.

And I will let you know, but when I first got started getting involved in this project with Weimar back in 2007-2006, this place looked a lot different than it does now.

Many streets you look at had no pavement on them, Many of the buildings were much more dilapidated.

There certainly was not any interior designers that had been involved for years.

Some of the chairs looked like the late 1700s.

And this building here that we sit in was completely condemned.

I remember bringing my students from AFCO who started a meeting in the old chapel, and we came over and we cleaned out this whole building by faith that it would be rebuilt.

I'm remembering all these initial conversations before they were even here.

It's not easy to find people for such building projects.

In fact the prophet Ezekiel put it this way in a voice of lament expressing God's heart.

Ezekiel 22 30, I sought for a man from among them who would make a wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land that I should not destroy it but I could find no 1.

God was looking he's searching he's looking for people that will stand up and be a part of a building project, not just a physical project, a spiritual building project.

He'll do everything he can to not let it advance.

I'm going to say we don't want the devil to win.

No 1 could have desired to make a wall, no 1 that is, until God found Nehemiah.

And we see how Nehemiah began to invest in this project when we look at Nehemiah chapter 1 starting in verse 1 read it with me the words of Nehemiah the son of Hekaliah it came to pass in the month of Cheslev in the 20th year that I was in Sushan the citadel.

That was the summer palace about 150 miles away from the Tigris River.

These were where the books of Esther and Nehemiah and Daniel chapter 8 were all focused in this particular city.

And then Hananiah, 1 of my brethren, actually it was his own brother, came with men from Judah, and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

I imagine that he thought he was going to get a good report because they had gone back.

He had heard that the temple was rebuilt.

He probably was salivating for a good report, but that's not what he received.

Verse 3, they said to me, the survivors who are left from the captivity the province are in great distress distress and reproach the wall of Jerusalem is broken down as gates are burned with fire so it was when I heard these words that I sat down and I wept and I mourned for many days and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

I don't know about you but how many of you are kind of like an out of sight, out of mind type person?

Even with your relatives, they're not around, you don't worry about it too much.

You're just kind of out of sight, out of mind.

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From Despair to Repair

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