Shownotes
What if the most important work you’ll ever do happens alongside others?
Nehemiah 3 reads like a construction report—but behind the names and gates is a powerful reminder that lasting change happens when ordinary people take ownership of their part.
This episode explores what it means to build side by side—across backgrounds, skill sets, and generations. Some embraced the responsibility. Others refused. The chapter quietly confronts us with a question that still matters:
Will you take your place in the work?
From personal responsibility to teamwork, from humility to legacy, this message reminds us that no role is insignificant—and that great things are built by people who show up consistently.
Whether you’re rebuilding faith, family, community, or purpose, you don’t have to do it alone.
Scripture Focus: Nehemiah 3
00:00 Rising Up to Build — Inside and Out
01:59 Why We Must Build Together
03:02 Renewing the Confession “Jesus Is Lord”
04:36 The Gates and the Call to Work
05:49 The Priests Lead the Way
07:43 Why Names Matter
09:38 Restoring Safety and Flourishing
15:08 When Some Refuse to Help
18:05 Labor That Isn’t in Vain
20:31 Building Near Home
22:58 Strong Foundations
24:41 The Long Haul Work
29:36 Building for the Next Generation
36:13 Side-by-Side Service and Legacy
Transcripts
Dr. Gregg Marutzky:
2
:Turn your Bible over to
Nehemiah chapter three.
3
:We're going to talk about rising up and
building the story of Nehemiah rebuilding
4
:the wall around Jerusalem to protect God's
people as we're rebuilding spiritually.
5
:And one of the brothers after the sermon
last week made a very astute observation.
6
:He says, you know, preacher, you
gotta remember we're building.
7
:From the inside as well as the
outside we're building inside is
8
:more important than the outside.
9
:And I said, you're exactly right.
10
:And so, uh, uh, let's
always make that transition.
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:This is just an illustration.
12
:This is just a metaphor for how we,
many centuries later, more than 20,
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:more than 21, are building God's church.
14
:And, uh.
15
:I need the clicker.
16
:I thought we're on a row.
17
:Everything's going right this morning.
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:Oh, thank you, Sam.
19
:All right,
20
:Sam, the man.
21
:I have a brother named Sam, so, uh, I,
it's easy for me to remember Sam's name.
22
:I have a valid time this morning too.
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:I'm sorry if you don't.
24
:I, I'm sure you did yesterday.
25
:I'm sure you had a Valentine.
26
:But, uh, one of the singers Kelly
gave me, uh, this flower, uh, I
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:already broke it, I'm sorry, Kelly.
28
:And, uh, and she also gave
me a little bitty card.
29
:I think it's a picture of her cat.
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:And, uh, she says, I'm perfect.
31
:Amen.
32
:So, that's a good way to start the sermon.
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:Perfect.
34
:Thank you, Kelly.
35
:I, uh, I'm sorry, I didn't know your name.
36
:I had to ask Steve.
37
:He knew though.
38
:He knew.
39
:Amen.
40
:So rise up and build
the story of Nehemiah.
41
:You know, you gotta be careful that,
uh, what you want to accomplish
42
:doesn't conflict with what
other people want to accomplish.
43
:The, the, the, the story today will
show us how we've gotta work together.
44
:We gotta work side by side.
45
:Reminds me of this story
I read in Reader's Digest.
46
:You know, some of us read the deeper stuff
and, uh, I was reading Reader's Digest and
47
:this fella went to a, a pet store and he
said, you know, I really have this huge.
48
:Uh, groundhog problem.
49
:I've got all these groundhogs
that are just tearing up my
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:yard, eating up everything.
51
:I, I gotta deal with it.
52
:And he says, here's, here's some, uh, uh,
uh, traps here, I'll sell you these traps.
53
:And, uh, you can trap the groundhogs.
54
:And, uh, then he said, well,
what do I do after I trap 'em?
55
:Where do I take 'em?
56
:He said, well, you take 'em to the
edge of town, to the city limits
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:and just dump 'em off there.
58
:And he goes, well, that's where I live.
59
:So,
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:you know, at our LA staff meeting this
week, we did something really great.
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:One of the brothers Paris
Cunningham from the metro region.
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:Said that he's trying to help
his church be formed spiritually.
63
:So he's introducing these spiritual
disciplines so that they regularly
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:practice some, uh, uh, things that
help them to be formed spiritually.
65
:And I thought, you know, one of the
best things that I do for myself is
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:when I take of communion, I always
remind myself of my confession of faith.
67
:All right?
68
:And our confession of faith is Jesus.
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:Is Lord.
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:All right.
71
:And, uh, so I want us
to say it together here.
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:We won't do it every week.
73
:We don't want to get in a, in a habit.
74
:We don't want things to become
a ritual, but it's good to renew
75
:your confession of faith, right?
76
:And this is our confession of faith, that
we believe Jesus Christ is the son of God.
77
:We also make the confession
that Jesus is Lord.
78
:And so say this with
me, this, this morning.
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:Jesus is the Son of God.
80
:Say it again.
81
:Jesus is the son of
God and say it with me.
82
:Jesus is Lord again.
83
:Jesus is Lord.
84
:That's the confession of faith that
all Christians have made throughout
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:the ages, and it's good for us to
renew our confession as we begin.
86
:Studying God's word together.
87
:I wanna remind you of the 10
gates that we're looking at.
88
:We're gonna be referring to 'em
as we go through different verses
89
:this morning in chapter three.
90
:But the sheep gate, the
fish gate, the old gate.
91
:All right, so everybody's included.
92
:The valley gate, the dug, uh,
you gotta laugh at the jokes.
93
:D gate, the fountain gate,
the Watergate, the horse gate.
94
:We got some cowboys in
Jerusalem, Eastgate.
95
:And the in inspect inspection gate, and I
wanna remind you of the theme of Nehemiah.
96
:Let us rise up and build so they
strengthen their hands for the good work.
97
:You know, as we build God's
kingdom, it takes a lot of workers.
98
:Jesus said it.
99
:The harvest is plentiful, but
what the workers are what?
100
:Few.
101
:Few.
102
:We want to become workers for God.
103
:We want to unite together we're, we don't
want to be one of those church where
104
:20% of the people do 80% of the work.
105
:We wanna be a church where
everybody is involved, that we're
106
:united in the cause of Christ.
107
:And so let's see how they were
workers in chapter three and
108
:who led the way the priest.
109
:The priest worked side by side.
110
:Beginning in verse one it says,
Elisha ship, the high priest
111
:and his fellow priest went to
work and rebuilt the sheep gate.
112
:They dedicated it and set its doors in
place building as far as the tower of
113
:the hundred, which they dedicated, and
as far as the Tower of Hannah Nell.
114
:So why is this important?
115
:Because you know, the priests wanted
to be able to offer sacrifices That
116
:was their job, and it was their living.
117
:They lived off those sacrifices, so
they wanted that gate closest to the
118
:temple repaired so the people would
bring in the offerings to the temple
119
:so they could be cleansed, they could
be right with God, so they could be
120
:a holy people, but also so that the
temple would function as God wanted it.
121
:To function.
122
:It was the place where God promised
that he would come and meet his people.
123
:Now, he's promised to you and me
where two or three are gathered
124
:in his name, just with these three
beautiful young men, college students.
125
:God's here just because of you guys.
126
:Sonny and his two buddies.
127
:All right, just because of three of you.
128
:God's here.
129
:Let's go Greg.
130
:So me and every couple.
131
:All right.
132
:Me and every couple, well,
me and Kathy and one person.
133
:Alright, God's here.
134
:And guys, don't forget that.
135
:Don't feel like you're
going through life alone.
136
:God is always, always with us.
137
:I know we forget sometimes.
138
:I know we get burdened.
139
:I know we get distracted,
but he is always with us.
140
:And then who else works side by side?
141
:This is so interesting.
142
:Non-resident.
143
:People that didn't live in Jerusalem,
why did they want Jerusalem to be built?
144
:Why were they even concerned?
145
:Because it was a sacred place.
146
:'cause it was a holy temple under God.
147
:It was the place where they knew
they could come to meet God.
148
:Let's read it together.
149
:Verse two.
150
:The men of Jericho built the adjoining
section and Zachar son of Emory.
151
:Built next to them.
152
:God mentions these names.
153
:Why does he wanna mention these names?
154
:Because I think some of
these guys were skilled.
155
:I think they were exceptional builders
and they, so he wants to say, you know,
156
:here's who you know, built this section.
157
:And there were 38 different
individuals mentioned in this chapter,
158
:along with 42 different groups.
159
:That's a lot of folks.
160
:A lot of folks, we gotta cover
a lot of territory today.
161
:All right, and one commentary said
Nehemiah, his positive solution to j
162
:Jerusalem's situation did not get him
involved with any of the political
163
:debates that surrounded the problem.
164
:We'll see some politics later in the
chapter, but what did he start off doing?
165
:Just building.
166
:You gotta just get to work.
167
:You gotta get your hands
dirty, you gotta get involved.
168
:You gotta get engaged.
169
:Don't just keep talking about it and
thinking about it and considering it.
170
:You got to do something active for you.
171
:Don't get paralysis of analysis.
172
:It happens.
173
:I've had a lot of clients
with that problem.
174
:He just wanted to help the king
and his people secure Jerusalem.
175
:Wow.
176
:He had a singular go and focus in mind.
177
:Verse three, the merchants,
why were they so motivated?
178
:Because there wasn't any
business going on in the city.
179
:People were afraid they were staying home.
180
:They couldn't go out,
they couldn't feel free.
181
:They couldn't feel safe without
the walls and without the gates.
182
:And so the merchant's sway
wanted to get back into business.
183
:All right.
184
:Merchants are usually driven that way.
185
:That's usually what's motivating them.
186
:And so they work side by side, which what?
187
:Where do they work?
188
:Well, of course the fish gate.
189
:Most of these merchants
were, were fishermen.
190
:The fish gate was rebuilt
by the sons of Hassana.
191
:They laid its beams and put its
doors and bolts and bars in plates.
192
:10 gates are listed, as we've mentioned.
193
:It goes counterclockwise
from the sheep gate around.
194
:And here we're at the fish gate.
195
:And these merchants, they fish
the sea, the Mediterranean sea.
196
:So next down verse four, master
builders, and he spells this out.
197
:Mammoth, son of Uriah and the son of Cocks
repaired the next section next to him.
198
:Chuli, son of Barakah, the son Amesh.
199
:He bell made repairs and
next to him was Zack.
200
:Son of Nan also made repairs.
201
:Three master builders are listed here, and
in this chapter, repair is mentioned 35
202
:times, and the locks and bars five times.
203
:He shows us that, hey, you
gotta get your hands dirty.
204
:All right.
205
:There's something about the
hand connected to the head.
206
:Connected to the heart.
207
:There's something about the feet connected
to the heart, connected to the head.
208
:You gotta get, be active, right?
209
:And even spiritually, these
things just aren't true.
210
:Spirit.
211
:Physically, they're true,
uh, spiritually as well.
212
:Listen to this verse in Matthew 1352.
213
:He said to them, therefore, every
teacher of the law who has become a
214
:disciple, the kingdom of heaven is
like the owner of a house who brings
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:out of his storeroom new treasures
as well as old and every generation.
216
:There's a tension between
the young and the old.
217
:There's always been that in the
sixties when I grew up the seventies.
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:We thought old people were very uncool.
219
:They were from the fifties.
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:They thought they were very cool.
221
:We thought all that
grease was gross, right?
222
:Slicking back their hairs.
223
:We just, we, we started the Afro thing.
224
:Dr.
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:Greg, did you have an afro?
226
:I'll never tell.
227
:I'll quote the fifth.
228
:All right.
229
:The guys.
230
:The only way the kingdom of
God is built is young and old.
231
:Every different social economic status
is got to come together and be united.
232
:All right?
233
:And old people have great experience.
234
:They were not old always.
235
:In fact, it was just the
other day we were young.
236
:I mean, it's gone so fast.
237
:And I think with the information
age, it's going faster.
238
:All right.
239
:But I remember being young,
being critical of the old folks.
240
:You know, shame on me.
241
:I've gone back and I've apologized
to most of 'em, especially the
242
:preachers and the elders I worked with.
243
:God just worked it out at a
funeral here at a funeral there.
244
:You know, I'd bump into 'em.
245
:I said, I said, Kenneth, I am so sorry.
246
:Saturday morning, elders and
evangelist meetings in Boulder.
247
:I, I just should have been
so much more respectful.
248
:I should have listened to you more.
249
:You tried to teach me Grace.
250
:I didn't learn it.
251
:I finally have learned it.
252
:You, your book was outstanding.
253
:I read it again when I read it in college.
254
:I thought, oh, this guy's
just a cheap er, you know?
255
:I was so judgmental and prideful.
256
:I'm so sorry, Kenneth.
257
:And he said, oh, Greg, you
guys weren't bad and bolder.
258
:The next place I went and
ministered was so much worse.
259
:He just let me off the hook.
260
:I felt so good, though.
261
:I had carried that burden for years.
262
:I was so ashamed of myself.
263
:Let's not ever let that happen.
264
:Why?
265
:Because the Bible says
workers in the kingdom of God.
266
:Are all ages, all professions
and all skill levels.
267
:Amen.
268
:Amen.
269
:I love, uh, preachers that, that
don't have doctor's degrees.
270
:Preach and tell everybody, don't ever, you
don't ever have to get a doctorate degree.
271
:Love puffs up, but I
mean, knowledge puffs up.
272
:I better get that right,
especially with a doctor degree.
273
:Knowledge puffs up and love builds up.
274
:That's right.
275
:Mm-hmm.
276
:I'll say that.
277
:Okay.
278
:'cause I have Dr.
279
:Decrees.
280
:I know it can puff up.
281
:I know knowledge can make you
prideful, but if you don't
282
:have one, you shouldn't say it.
283
:All right.
284
:Relatives.
285
:Worked side by side.
286
:Listen to this.
287
:Verse five.
288
:The next section was repaired by
the men of koa, but their nobles
289
:would not put their shoulders to
the work under their supervisors.
290
:KOA was where Amos was from.
291
:It was 11 miles away from Jerusalem.
292
:Amos was the shepherd of ko.
293
:And these people came in.
294
:Why?
295
:Because if there was ever war, where did
the people from the countryside come?
296
:They came into the city for
protection, and so they knew
297
:they had to rebuild Jerusalem.
298
:If they were gonna save their families
and protect their families, they had
299
:to come in and contribute to the work.
300
:And so they came in, but some
of their people were too good.
301
:Too good for work.
302
:You know, you never get too
good for God's work, do you?
303
:Do you Uhuh?
304
:And some of 'em didn't
want to do manual labor.
305
:I bet you they didn't live long.
306
:That's why we have such long,
uh, longevity these days.
307
:'cause we all work so hard, don't we?
308
:No, because we have better diets, we
have better medicine and hopefully
309
:we have better exercise as well.
310
:Going on verse six, that.
311
:Je Henan Gate was repaired by, by, uh,
Jehad son of PE and Chuli son of Beier.
312
:They laid it to beams and put its doors
with their bolts and bars in place.
313
:Some more master craftsmen
here, building the old gate.
314
:All right.
315
:Hardworking laborers, and
so God wants their name.
316
:Recorded for eternity
in his sacred scripture.
317
:Isn't that awesome?
318
:You know, I know.
319
:I, why I didn't preach
the whole book for years.
320
:About five years ago, I
preached the whole book.
321
:All right.
322
:But I didn't preach the whole book.
323
:Oh, I ahead of myself.
324
:No.
325
:Okay.
326
:And uh, uh, because these are hard.
327
:Hebrew names.
328
:All right.
329
:And I studied Hebrew, but I have
a Western Colorado Hebrew accent.
330
:So if it doesn't sound like
you're a Hebrew, then you're
331
:just not from where I am.
332
:All right?
333
:But it's very important for workers to
work side by side, neighbors worked side
334
:by side, relatives worked side by side.
335
:As I was thinking about workers,
I thought about a worker from
336
:the Orange County Church.
337
:Since I've been here, I've probably
heard Kevin's name more than
338
:I've heard anybody else's name.
339
:He's beloved.
340
:He served everybody.
341
:He got with as many as possible.
342
:He poured himself out, and he died doing
what he wanted to do, what he loved doing.
343
:See if we wrote the history
of the Orange County Church.
344
:We gotta remember Kevin Amen.
345
:As we're reading the history of our
brothers and sisters back in Jerusalem,
346
:we're reading their names, I just
thought I'd throw up a relative for us.
347
:Amen.
348
:One Corinthians 1558 is a
great scripture, therefore.
349
:My dear brothers and sisters, stand firm.
350
:Let nothing move.
351
:You.
352
:Always give yourselves fully to the
work of the Lord because you know that
353
:your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
354
:Whatever you do for God, he sees it.
355
:He's always gonna reward you.
356
:Others may never notice, but
that's okay 'cause God's with us.
357
:Verse seven.
358
:Some more outsiders next to them.
359
:Repairs were made by
men from Gibeon and Ms.
360
:Path, uh, Laia of Gibeon and Jayden of
Marinoff, uh, places under the authority
361
:of the governor of Trans Euphrates.
362
:So this is west of the
east of the river, but uh.
363
:Oh, I mean east of the river,
but they're outsiders again.
364
:Why?
365
:Because Jerusalem was
such an important place.
366
:Skilled and ordinary workers
build the kingdom of God then
367
:and now, look, verse eight again.
368
:Businessmen, merchants before now
businessmen, al, son of Har Ina, uh.
369
:One of the Goldsmiths, so
we know he is a businessman.
370
:He's a goldsmith.
371
:Repaired the next section, and
hania one of the perfume makers.
372
:Another, uh, merchant made repairs.
373
:Next to that, they restored Jerusalem.
374
:As far as the broad wall.
375
:Why does he mention what they did?
376
:Because again, he wants
everybody to know for all time.
377
:Everybody did their part.
378
:Everybody invested in building.
379
:The great city of Jerusalem and then
fathers and it's gonna say sons and
380
:it's gonna say daughters as well.
381
:Fathers worked side by side.
382
:Adjoining this je son of Har Har
made repairs opposite his house
383
:and Hadish, son of Hasia ab.
384
:Uh, made repairs next to him.
385
:Nias.
386
:Maya's plan included workers
building the portion of the
387
:wall adjacent to their homes.
388
:Why?
389
:Because the investment of inve in
individual craftsmanship and personal
390
:responsibility for protecting
your own house and family raised
391
:the level of skill and provision.
392
:You know, folks sometimes
feel like, man, Dr.
393
:Greg's a hard guy.
394
:You know, I've been leading
churches for over 30 years, and
395
:if you ask about my reputation,
people will say he's a hard boss,
396
:and I'm trying to be a nice, hard boss.
397
:I'm hard in the sense of high
expectations 'cause what we should
398
:do for God should be our best.
399
:The scriptures teach that.
400
:Yeah, we should always give God our best.
401
:We should excel for God.
402
:All right?
403
:But we can enjoy it.
404
:We can have fun doing it, and we
can do it as side by side and do it
405
:as teammates, and we can do it for
the higher goal and higher purpose.
406
:So, so it can all be healthy and happy.
407
:But hard work is hard work.
408
:It's always hard.
409
:I mean, in fact, life is
hard because of the sin.
410
:You've read the first couple
chapters of the Bible, right?
411
:It's gonna be hard until we get to
heaven and then we can all have a talk
412
:with Adam and Eve and say what we want.
413
:I wanna show you the map again.
414
:You can take a picture of that.
415
:But this one is a little bit better than
the other one because it shows you some
416
:of these other features where the temple
is at the different grades, where thi
417
:the, the, the wall went up and where
it turned and, and all these other,
418
:uh, different things that are mentioned
in this chapter because it's so very
419
:interesting how specific and clear this
chapter is in how they rebuilt God's city.
420
:Sons work side by side.
421
:Verse 11, milk Kaija, son of harem.
422
:And hash son of Paha, Moab
repaired another section of the
423
:Tower of the Ovens, all right?
424
:And not every one of these places
is important, but the tower of the
425
:ovens was the security watch tower.
426
:It was very important for that
section of wall to be able to
427
:to to hold this high watchtower.
428
:And so there had to be some
really good engineering.
429
:And as a former civil engineer, structural
engineer, you gotta go deep to go high.
430
:All right?
431
:Right.
432
:That's some of these things that, that
begin to tilt and wobble and fall.
433
:They didn't go deep enough.
434
:They didn't get down to bedrock, you
know, and a lot of LA is built on
435
:basin when the big earthquake comes.
436
:Guys, just be glad you're
on your way to heaven.
437
:All my friends make fun of
me living in California.
438
:You know, well, bad things happen
everywhere, floods, hurricanes,
439
:you know, all all kinds of things.
440
:But guys, you gotta build on rock.
441
:And so they built deeper in these
places and sometimes we gotta slow down.
442
:Yeah.
443
:We like building fast.
444
:We like.
445
:Fast growth and fast success and good
things happening quickly, but sometimes
446
:you gotta go deep before you can go high
and we gotta go deeper on the inside.
447
:In some ways.
448
:God blesses his church when he wants to.
449
:I've seen it over and over.
450
:Sons work side by side,
daughters work side by side.
451
:This good stuff.
452
:Shalom, son of.
453
:Hallow Hesh, ruler of the Half District
of Jerusalem, repaired the next
454
:section with the help of his what?
455
:Daughters.
456
:Daughters?
457
:Yeah.
458
:As a father of daughters.
459
:Do my girls know how to work?
460
:You bet.
461
:They've got a great worth ethic.
462
:All right.
463
:And my granddaughters will have
a great worth ethic, worth ethic.
464
:I won't just brag about my granddaughters,
you know how his grandpas are and you
465
:don't have the stays, so she don't get a
gr brag about yours, but, oh, I'm tempted.
466
:Oh my.
467
:Yeah.
468
:I, I better, I better just move on.
469
:Read the, read the notes.
470
:A 4-year-old that can read it was amazing.
471
:Amen.
472
:Daughter's working side by side
and then he goes on blue collar
473
:side by side every different.
474
:Per type of person.
475
:The valley gate was repaired by
Hannon and the residents of Zane,
476
:no, this is out in the country.
477
:They rebuilt it and put its doors with
its bolts and doors, door bars in place.
478
:They also repaired, these guys were
troopers, a thousand cubits of wall as
479
:far as the dung gate, but they quit there
because you know what the dung gate was.
480
:Don't tell anybody.
481
:All right.
482
:But they could smell it.
483
:Amen.
484
:That's your hint.
485
:This is a long way.
486
:500 yards they built.
487
:That's why it's mentioned guys.
488
:Some people can do more than others, but
everybody did what they were supposed to.
489
:Outsiders and insiders.
490
:Guys, we gotta be very
hospitable and welcoming.
491
:You know, there's been times
when we've had two, we've
492
:had a wall around the church.
493
:Mm-hmm.
494
:You know?
495
:We gotta have lots of gates.
496
:There was a wall around Jerusalem.
497
:But listen, look at all these gates.
498
:Lot of places for people
to be able to come in.
499
:And then verse 14, rulers side by side.
500
:This is very important.
501
:That D gate, they gave it to the rulers.
502
:I think this is a little payback.
503
:What do you guys think?
504
:The dug gate was repaired by.
505
:Milk.
506
:Ja son of Wreck Cab, ruler of
the District of Beth Hacker.
507
:He rebuilt it and put its doors
with its bolts and bars in place.
508
:The dal was built by this
humble brother who was a ruler
509
:of a certain part of the city.
510
:The dung gate led out to the Valley
of Gona of Hena, and uh, it's used
511
:by Jesus as a picture of hell.
512
:All right.
513
:Ga Hena, the Valley of Henan.
514
:Jesus mentioned, and so obviously this was
the trash dump for the city, verse 15, and
515
:then some more politicians side by side.
516
:The fountain gate was repaired
by Shalom's son of Kale, Jose.
517
:Ruler of the District of Miss pa.
518
:He rebuilt it, roofing it over and putting
its doors and bolts and bars in place.
519
:He also repaired the wall of the pool
of slo, so it had to be watered tight.
520
:By the King's Garden.
521
:As far as the steps going down to the
city of Jerusalem, mentioned by King
522
:Hezekiah, second Kings 20 and verse 20.
523
:This was the water system.
524
:This was the lifeblood of the city.
525
:This is very important part
of the wall to be built.
526
:It had to be built watertight.
527
:And as an engineer, I know how
difficult this is, you know?
528
:And so I'm impressed.
529
:You know, I love going through
this because it's so impressive.
530
:You know, sometimes we think ancient
people weren't as sophisticated.
531
:Guys.
532
:Go over to the Middle East,
go over to Athens, go over and
533
:visit some of these places.
534
:We think the Rose Bowl is cool.
535
:You should see some of those places.
536
:Amazing architecture and everything.
537
:And then he mentions heroes.
538
:Every group has some heroes.
539
:All right behind him, Nehemiah's, son
of Asbu, ruler of the Half District
540
:of Beth Zu, made repairs up to a point
opposite the tombs of David as far as the
541
:artificial pool and the house of heroes.
542
:And so the tombs of David were
probably the House of heroes
543
:were were David's mighty myths.
544
:So they chose some very particular
people to build that section.
545
:The veteran section, the Tomb of the
Heroes, the dead heroes for the country.
546
:Very important sacred.
547
:Ground, so to speak.
548
:And then they chose just
deacons next to him.
549
:The repairs were made by the
Levites under Ham, son of Banty.
550
:Uh, beside him, hash sha, ruler of the
Half District of Kilah, uh, carried
551
:out repairs for his district since they
were from the tribe of of of Levite.
552
:That's the tribe that,
uh, produced the priest.
553
:So if you didn't become a priest,
you became a temple servant.
554
:And so you were a deacon and we're
gonna be hopefully appointing deacons.
555
:Uh, and not often to too far a future.
556
:Here in our church, we already have
so many people serving like deacons,
557
:but home motivates us to build right.
558
:Ooh.
559
:You know, when we first started
the LA church, we all went down to
560
:the shrine from all over the city.
561
:All right?
562
:We came in and we gathered, we had our
different sections to, uh, be in and,
563
:uh, uh, since uh, I was in the south.
564
:Uh, I think we were in, in the balcony.
565
:I don't know why some of us got
put in the balcony, but, uh, that,
566
:that's, it's a long time ago.
567
:Let it go.
568
:Let it go.
569
:Alright.
570
:But there's something
about building near home.
571
:You know, Kathy and I, this
touches me because we're building
572
:for our daughter and son-in-law.
573
:We're building for our granddaughters.
574
:And you know, they'll have kids and
they'll have kids, and this building
575
:will get it paid off and that'll be
a, a gift to the next generation guys,
576
:you gotta build with great purpose.
577
:A few more thoughts here, verse 18.
578
:Friends side by side next to him.
579
:The repairs were made by their
fellow Levites, so they were
580
:buddies under the new son of Heida,
ruler of the Half District of.
581
:Uh, kale, and I just wanna
mention this, some people say
582
:it was built in 50 days, 51, 52.
583
:You know, in, in Nehemiah
six, five it says 52.
584
:Uh, Josephus, the historian of the Jews
says it was two years and two months.
585
:And so most of that is translation.
586
:Uh, differences.
587
:They're not exactly sure.
588
:They, it didn't take that long,
but Nehemiah was the governor of.
589
:Jerusalem, uh, for 12 years.
590
:So, uh, uh, who knows how long it took,
but then some overachievers built.
591
:All right.
592
:And well before that, some engineers
side by side verse 19 easier.
593
:And, uh.
594
:They, they, I know these were
engineers 'cause they had to
595
:build the angle of the wall.
596
:And then the next group were some
overachievers 'cause they built zealously.
597
:Baruch, uh, built this next section
to the house of the high priest.
598
:And then the next section was
built by some more volunteers.
599
:Uh, verse 21, uh, uh, up next to his house
he built, and I'm cruising through here.
600
:To be on time.
601
:Retired priests.
602
:This is good.
603
:All right, so you never
get out of the ministry.
604
:You just quit being
supported by the church.
605
:All right?
606
:Amen.
607
:So even the retired priests
had to build a, a particular
608
:section and they're mentioned.
609
:And then verse 23, it says, the
homeowners again, he reiterates
610
:that they built side by side, okay.
611
:Next to their house.
612
:And then the old men, I
like this next to him.
613
:The, they were repair the, these places
were repaired to the corner because
614
:us old guys know how to do our math.
615
:Alright.
616
:And then, uh, verse 25.
617
:The young men side by side, uh, worked
opposite of them and, uh, near the
618
:palace, which was a very important place.
619
:And then all these temple, uh, servants,
public servants, worked side by side
620
:and made repairs up to the Watergate.
621
:And we're almost all the way back around.
622
:The temple, the whole city.
623
:And uh, years ago we had a big
leadership conference in Jerusalem
624
:and Marty Fuquay and I, that was
back when we were both runners.
625
:Yeah.
626
:I used to run, I know I don't
look like it, but I used to.
627
:And uh, we ran the old wall every
day when we were in Jerusalem.
628
:And then one day he talked me
up into, uh, running up the
629
:Mount of Alis Marty ran up at.
630
:I did more of that, uh, electric
slide, sort of the walk run.
631
:You really couldn't call it
a run, but I got to the top.
632
:I didn't quit.
633
:All right, so as I show you these
pictures, I have this personal vivid
634
:imagery of those walls running around it.
635
:And again, in verse uh, 27, some
folks from Tekoa built another
636
:section they're mentioned.
637
:And then, uh, some more Warriors.
638
:Verse 28 built.
639
:Uh, near where the citadel was, where
the soldiers were housed, the horsegate,
640
:because that's where the soldiers
were brought in and all these people.
641
:Alright, this list, excuse me.
642
:Alright, on my slide, it's got both
sides, but all the different groups,
643
:side by side, side by side, side by
side, side by side, side by side.
644
:And then lastly, verse 29.
645
:Soldiers because it's near the
temple and, uh, the palace.
646
:So it has to be protected.
647
:And then it gets to verse 30, some teens.
648
:Alright.
649
:And they're not in, not in service today.
650
:Bummer.
651
:But, uh, tell 'em that
they've got some work to do.
652
:Alright, in verse 30.
653
:And so.
654
:The kingdom is built side
by all of us side by side.
655
:And lastly, verse 31 mentions some
merchants in goldsmiths, some rich people.
656
:Why?
657
:Because somebody had to pay for it.
658
:All right?
659
:The King Cyrus, our desserts,
these of Persia paid a lot of it,
660
:but there's always overrun, right?
661
:So these merchants had to kick
in by the inspection gate where.
662
:The different, uh, patrons live.
663
:Verse 32, and we're
back all the way around.
664
:So what do we learn this morning that Dr.
665
:Greg isn't a great Hebrew speaker?
666
:Some morals to the story.
667
:Great work requires a lot
of people doing their part.
668
:Amen.
669
:Great work requires workers
who will be remembered though.
670
:Amen.
671
:Great work requires a
personal stake in the outcome.
672
:All right.
673
:Great work requires
investment from near and far.
674
:People that lived there
and people that didn't.
675
:Great work required a benefit
for the work being done.
676
:It protected them and their families
or their businesses, et cetera.
677
:Great work requires skilled workers.
678
:For the steep parts and great work
requires workers and warriors.
679
:That's a preview for the future.
680
:All right, little commercial
for, uh, another chapter.
681
:So what lessons do we learn?
682
:Everyone has a place to work.
683
:No one is exempt.
684
:Our work is to build the
inside and the outside.
685
:Important work for forges s forges,
excuse me, spiritual community.
686
:Noble work is sacred and
eternal for God's glory.
687
:Great works are accomplished
by a team side by side.
688
:You get this side by side.
689
:Somebody write me a song side by side.
690
:Amen.
691
:The sum of the work, the parts of
work contribute to a great whole.
692
:Not working hard is not an
option for God's people.
693
:And excelling at your work
builds a reputation and legacy.
694
:So please, a good response to
this sermon would be volunteering
695
:to work and to serve the church.
696
:Bring it back to the 21st century.
697
:God bless you, brothers and sisters.
698
:Amen.
699
:Happy Valentine's Day.
