Adam Owens
Coastal Family Church
10/20/24
Coastal Family Church Podcast
Break the Barrier
(upbeat music) - Thank you for choosing to listen to this message. At Coastal, we believe in changing and enriching lives through the power of the word. We pray that this message would be a blessing to you. (upbeat music) - You pastor, I appreciate it. Good morning, church family. How's everybody doing? Awesome. As always, pleasure to see each and every one of you. I'm excited about being here. It's always a privilege just to be able to open up the Word of God and to share with you the Word of God. And so I'm excited about this morning. Just as we dive in, I wanted to just begin by just talking about the new season that I feel like we're gonna step in as a church. And so many of you know, and some of you are here, a few Wednesdays back where there was a prophetic declaration over us by the leadership. Those that we feel and we hold ourselves accountable to declare a prophetic word over us. It was basically enlarging your tents, expanding your tent pegs and really starting to go after just more than Flagler Beach, but going after the city of Palm Coast, the city of Benel, and the nations ultimately. And so I believe as we step out of a old season and into the new season, it's a bit of a challenge because a lot of times we like to hang on to things in the old season that tend to work. And we like to bring those into the new season, but I believe that God is doing a new thing. And so really as I prayed through this morning and it's like, Lord, where do you wanna go this morning? And I felt like it was pursuing the kingdom of God. And as we transition into this new season, what does that look like as we are pursuing the kingdom of God? And so I've titled the sermon break the barrier. Break the barrier. Some of you might remember or have even read about Chuck Yeager, he was a pilot and then in 1947, this man did something that was absolutely impossible, or at least everybody thought it was absolutely impossible. He flew a jet, it was the Bell X-1, and he went faster than the speed of sound. And they said it couldn't be done. They said the plane would fall apart, the pressure would be too much, but you know what Chuck did? As the plane began to rattle, he kept pushing. And right when everything started to shake the hardest, right when it felt like the jet was about to give up, boom. He broke through the sound barrier. And then everything got smooth and he was flying the fastest that anybody has ever flown before. And I feel like some of us are like that jet. We're right on the edge of something great, but the pressure gets insane and life starts shaking and we think about pulling back. But it's in that moment right there, right when you feel like pulling back, you need to push through, because barriers are not meant to hold us back. Barriers are meant to be broken. And when you push through with faith on the other side is righteousness, peace, and joy. And those are the things of the kingdom of God that I'm talking about. Don't let the shaking stop you. Break the barrier. Let me say it this way. It's time we start tearing down the walls of the kingdoms of this world and building the highways that lead us to God's kingdom. And Jesus says in Matthew 631, seek the kingdom of God above all else and live righteously and he will give you everything you need. Paul says in Colossians 113, for he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his dear son who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. Yes and amen. Paul says in Romans 12, too, don't copy the behaviors and the customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way that you think. It's time we start tearing down the walls of the kingdoms of this world and building bridges that lead us to God's kingdom. God didn't set us free so we could be pushed around by the systems and the kingdoms of this world. No, we were called and empowered to live out freedom in a bold, unapologetic way. We're not here to blend in, to fit in, or to settle in for the ordinary. No, Jesus didn't die for passive, lukewarm Christianity. Jesus died and empowered us so that we could go after the things of God. We don't follow the rhythms of this world. We march to the beat of a divine calling. And we are called, amen, amen. We are called to chase after the kingdom of God with a fire that refuses to be quenched. With a tenacity that breaks barriers and shakes foundations, and let me just say this, I believe that needs to happen in the political realm. I believe it needs to happen in the educational realm. I believe it happens in the entertainment industry. If you are producing videos and you are in the entertainment industry, you have got an ear, use it for the glory of God, pursuing the kingdom of God with everything that you have. The Bible says that we're to be content in whatever season we find ourselves in. Paul says he learned to be content. I'm still learning, I'm trying, but Paul says he learned to be content. Whether his belly was full, or whether it was empty. Whether he had a lot, or whether he didn't have much at all. Whether he was rich, or whether he was poor, he learned to be content, not for contentment's sake. It wasn't so that he could say I was content. It was so that nothing could get in the way of him pursuing the kingdom of God for the glory of God. In my hope and prayer this morning is that as followers of Christ, we would lay hold of God's vision, and begin to build back what the enemy has tried to destroy. There's somebody I want to draw your attention to this morning who is a great example of someone who went after the kingdom of God with all of his heart. And that was Nehemiah. Nehemiah was someone who defied expectations, and he broke barriers to achieve great things, despite humble beginnings. He wasn't the guy he would look at and go, yeah, he's the next one. Oh, he is, look at him. Nope, he wasn't that guy. Despite humble beginnings, he didn't allow anything to get in his way, and it became a bold leader, and he took action. Listen, you remember what Jesus said? Yeah, the enemy's gonna try to come in and destroy, but you need to know that the gates of hell will not prevail. No death, no demon would overcome the church. Jesus said, I will build my church. I will build it. I am building it, and I will continue to build the church. And in the midst of challenges, attacks, and loss, and changes in our culture, huge changes in our culture, that are absolutely grotesque and disgusting, Jesus is still building his church. He is building up, encouraging, healing, protecting, and providing and empowering his church. He is reinventing and rebooting the church in new ways, and listen, church, as we step out of one season, and we start to step into another season. I believe God is going to highlight certain things that weren't necessarily highlighted here. He's going to highlight here, and he's gonna give us a strategy so that we might be able to move forward and build the kingdom of God for his glory. Listen, what's worked in the past, that's great. You know, if we go back to the 1960s and we look at the Jesus people movement, phenomenal, love to study it. I mean, I love to study guys like Chuck Smith, or even some of the other ones that were behind the scenes that aren't really talked about when there was just a major move of God. Great, that worked then. What's God doing now? What is God highlighting now? I wanna step into that. Nehemiah chapter four. If you would turn over near Bibles to Nehemiah chapter four. Nehemiah was someone who felt the call of God. He was determined to pursue it, and he broke barriers. Nehemiah chapter four, I know that, that's a book of the Old Testament. We don't go there very often. So just to help you, if you went to Esther, you got a little too far. If you hit Ezra, you didn't make it quite far enough. It's right in between there. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st and 2nd Kings, 1st and 2nd Chronicles. Ezra, Nehemiah. Come on. And you made it. Just to help you get there. It's one we don't always go to. So I hope you got there. Nehemiah chapter four. I wanna read to you the first 14 verses. Starting in verse one, "Sandballot was very angry when he learned that they were rebuilding the wall. He flew into a rage and he mocked the Jews saying in front of his friends and the Sumerian army officers, what does this bunch of poor feeble Jews think they're doing? They think they can actually build the wall in a single day by just offering a few sacrifices. Do they actually think they can make something of stones from a rubbish heap and charred ones? That, to Biah the M and I who was standing by and remarked, ah, that stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked along the top of it. Then I prayed, here is our God, for we are being mocked. May their scoffing fall back on their own heads and may they themselves become captives in a foreign land. Do not ignore their guilt. Do not blot out their sins for they have provoked you to anger here in front of the builders. At last, the wall was completed to half its height. Around the entire city, for the people of God had worked with enthusiasm. But when sand ballad and tabaya and the Arabs and Ammonites and Ashidites heard that the work was going ahead and that the gaps in the wall of Jerusalem were being repaired, they were furious. And they all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw us into a confusion. But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves. And in verse 10, then the people of Judah began to complain, the workers are getting tired and there's so much rubble to be moved. We're never going to be able to build the wall by ourselves. Meanwhile, our enemies were saying, before they know what's happening, we will swoop down on them and kill them and end their work. The Jews who lived near the enemy came and told us again and again, they will come from all directions and attack us. So I placed armed guards behind the lowest parts of the wall in the exposed area. I stationed the people to stand guard by families armed with swords, spears, and bows. Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the nobles and the rest of the people and said to them, don't be afraid of the enemy. Remember the Lord who was great and glorious and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes. Father, thank you, Lord, for your word. And I pray that you would just minister to our hearts this morning with it, Lord. Teach us your ways, O God. Show us, give us strategy to move forward in our families, in our relationships, in our businesses, and Lord as a family of believers. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, Church, I think it's easy to analyze and to discuss global problems. I think it's really easy for guys to just kind of sit around and talk about solutions. Well, if I was in power, this is, you know, but we need doers. People that are gonna actually stand up and do something about it. And Nehemiah's book illustrates what happens when someone stands up and takes action. God is igniting, I believe, young believers who are fully committed to Christ. Those who don't just stand by and watch, but those who are ready to take action, he is calling forth those who don't just speak of the faith, but actively live it out. It's like James says, don't just talk about your faith to me. If you've got faith, then show me your faith. And before we jump into Nehemiah 4, I do wanna just lay a little bit of groundwork. 'Cause I think it's important that you kind of understand where we are in the big context of things. And I wanna just give you a grid so that we can understand where Nehemiah is when we look at this story. Nehemiah is the second book, if you will, of a trilogy. So it's Ezra Nehemiah Esther. If we were to equate this with Netflix, you watched Ezra, that's season one, we're stepping into season two Nehemiah and maybe next we'll step into Esther season three, but we're in season two. So that's kind of where we are. And it's called a post-exilic book and that's because they were exiled, the nation of Israel is exiled. And when they came back out of exile, they wrote these three books. And so scholars call them post-exilic. This trilogy, it really allows you to see what happened to the nation of Israel after they came out of captivity. They were held in captivity from the Babylonians for 70 years. And so this kind of gives us a picture of what's happening here. And for you history buffs, some of you may have even been around at this time, but on Tuesday, that wasn't an old joke, I swear, I promise, sorry. On Tuesday, May 8th, 1945, silence overcame the loud noise of World War II. And that was the day that Germany gave up. And the cities that once thrived in Germany were literal piles of ash. And it said that there was 14 billion cubic feet of debris that was piled up after the war. That's a lot. That's enough to build a six foot thick wall, a 21 feet high wall around the entire country. Insanity, 12 million Germans were evicted from their homes because it didn't belong to them anymore. Obviously it belonged to Poland, that now belonged to Poland. And it was said to be the largest forced migration in history. And we could look at that and go, well, they deserve, you know, I mean, we could go there. But in response to this, there was a Christian leader like Hans Lyle, who was so moved by the devastation that he shows up on the scene and he begins to rebuild what had been destroyed. And it's been said that he sent a letter over to Christians in America. And Americans received this letter and he's asking for help. And all the Christians rallied together and got tons of resources together and sent them over to him. And he began to rebuild what had been destroyed. And in the same way, in 444 BC, the once beautiful city of Jerusalem was filled with busted down walls, was the gates had been destroyed. Everything had just been, you know, destroyed and piled up into just a big pile debris until an unlikely hero by the name of Nehemiah shows up on the scene. Now, he wasn't the guy that we would anticipated would be there. He wasn't in ministry. It's not like he was a known leader throughout. Like, yeah, Nehemiah's gonna pull this one off. No, he actually worked for the government. Yes, God can use people that work for the government. (congregation laughing) Okay, pray for your governmental leaders. He can use them and he does use them. And so, you know, this wasn't the guy, but here he is. He's the guy that steps up and actually does something about it. And I wanna go back just a little bit more to give you a little bit of context. And I'll try to make this quick, but all the way back to Abraham. Remember Abraham? God called Abraham to leave the land of Ur and he was gonna take him to a place that he promised him. But he said in that promise, I'm gonna create a massive family for you. I'm gonna give you a promise son. They didn't have any kids at the time. I'm gonna create a massive family for you. And so that's exactly what God did, to make a long story short, Abraham went through a lot of roadblocks, but nonetheless, God came through on his promise and Abraham had a massive family that ultimately was actually held prisoners by the Egyptians. And remember the Egyptians? You know, they were making the Israelites work for them. And that was the name of Abraham's family, the nation of Israel. And they cried out to God and God raised up a deliverer by the name of Moses, Moses comes in, says, "Let my people go." They take off. Now they're heading to the promise land that God had promised Abraham. And remember, they're kind of hard-headed like us. So it took them a little while to get there 40 years to be exact, but nonetheless, they came into the land. And when they came into the land, God had made a promise to the nation of Israel. And I want you to understand this. God said, "You will be my treasured possession. You will be a kingdom of priests, and you will be a holy nation." He says, "But if you stop obeying me, and you start following the ways of the world, you're gonna find yourself in enemies territory, and I'm not gonna be there to help you out." Wow. And that's exactly what happened. They stopped following the ways of God. The nation of Babylon came in and took over the nation of Israel and took them back to Babylon and held them captives, prisoners for 70 years. But here was the other part of that promise that God said. He said, "But if you turn to me, repent of your ways and cry out to me, I don't care if you're at the ends of the earth. I will come and get you." Love it. I love it. And ultimately, he said, "Jesus, to get all of us." I love it. And so here's what happens. The nation of Israel says, "God, you know, here we are in captivity. Please come get us. Please come rescue us." We know the error of our way. They repent and God literally raises up leaders to go get them. He raises up Zerubbabel. It's kind of like in different sections where he raises up leaders to go, you know, pull them out of Babylon. But he raises up Zerubbabel. He raises up Ezra and Ezra built the temple, right? And so the temple had been rebuilt and now the Jews are actually going back and they're worshiping God in the temple because remember in the Old Testament, the presence of God was in the temple of God. And so they would go worship God in the temple of God. But then there was an enemy coming in and robbing them and stopping them from truly worshiping God. And so he raises up Nehemiah to come in and to help build the walls that were going to fortify the city. And again, Nehemiah worked for the government. He was called a cup heir. Essentially his job was that of a secret service. So he was called to protect the king. He starts talking to some fellow Jews and he's asking them about the state of Israel and he's like, "Hey, what's going on? How's the temple worship going?" And the Jews are like, "Hey, listen man, every time they go to try to worship God, the enemy comes in and robs them, kills them, destroys them and stops them from truly worshiping God." And Nehemiah's heart breaks. He's undone when he hears this. He doesn't know what to do. And so he turns to God and he begins to cry out to God and God begins to download a vision in Nehemiah's heart. And he wants to go and he wants to go help the people of Israel rebuild that destroy wall. And there's something that I want you to see about Nehemiah. Nehemiah's vision and desire to go help people came out of a heart of compassion for the people. And I'll say this, there's so many of us that are chasing after things. That we have dreams and we have desires and we are going after those things because we want to be great, because we wanna make a name great for ourselves and what we need to realize is that in Christ Jesus, we are already great. We don't have to chase after that identity. We don't have to chase after external validation. No, Nehemiah did not pursue greatness. He pursued the people because he had compassion on the people. Our pursuit to make a difference in this world needs to come from a place of our identity in Christ and not for our identity in Christ. And if we're gonna restore the city of Flagler, Palm Coast, Benel and ultimately the nations and I believe God's gonna use us in that way, then we have to have compassion on the people that God has called us to. When Jesus walked the face of the earth, he was moved with compassion toward the people. He looked at the people and he saw that they were sheep without a shepherd. They were aimlessly wandering around with no purpose and no hope and yet when they encountered Jesus, they encountered purpose and hope. And in our pursuit of doing the things that we feel God has called us to do, whether it's a business, whether it's family, whatever it is, do people encounter Jesus when they encounter you? Do they encounter purpose and a hope? That certainly was the case for Nehemiah. He talks to his boss, the king, and he's, you know, this is kind of a wild moment, but he's talking with the king. He's serving the king and the king is looking at him and there's like, Nehemiah, what's going on? You know, your countenance is low. Something's happening here. Can you tell me what's going on, what's on your heart? So Nehemiah just reluctantly gets it out. Like, I've got a big heart for the people. And so the king actually says, listen, if you wanna go rebuild the wall, then I'll let you go. In fact, what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna write you some letters so that when you go and you run into some other leaders out there, you can show them my seal to show that I'm allowing you to do this. And in fact, I'll tell you what, on top of that, I'm gonna give you the resources to build the wall. Wow, can you imagine as we step out of this season and into the next season, the city of Flagler calls Pastor Ron says, hey, I don't know what it is, but we just had a meeting and we just wanna give you some resources and a letter to say, you are allowed to build wherever you wanna build. I mean, come on, that's what it was like. So Nehemiah, he's pumped, he's ready, he's excited. And so he's taken off to go do what God had called him to do after receiving that permission from the king. And everything is going great. He rallies all the nation of Israel up and he's letting them know everything that's going on and they start rebuilding the wall and everything is going great until it's not. And they start dealing with some stuff. And they dealt with number one, internal struggles and number two, external struggles. And so I wanna number one, take a look at those internal struggles first. Starting in verse 10, it says this, then the people of Judah began to complain. The workers are getting tired and there's so much rubble to be moved we're never going to be able to build the wall by ourselves. How many of you know, when you're seeking the kingdom of God first, things like this are inevitably going to happen? Discouragement comes in, issues start taking place. And in this particular case, the struggles that they were facing were internal struggles. It was this negative mindset, you know, when they were literally convincing themselves that this was too hard to do. And so they were looking ahead and focused on the work that needed to be done. And they were literally overwhelmed by everything. They're like, there's no possible way that we can pull this off by ourselves. And struggles in our minds or negative thinking, listen, is a powerful tool that the enemy uses. And when we experience struggles and going after the kingdom of God, we need to know this. The struggles that we're facing today are not just obstacles. They're actually preparing us for what's ahead. Every challenge, every moment of pain, every bit of pressure that we're feeling right now is preparing us. They're forging a resilience inside of us that we can't just see yet. And our battles today are literally setting the stage for our victories tomorrow. Nehemiah was establishing purpose and hope in Israel by building that wall of protection. And remember their identity as God's people were, they were their treasured possession, kingdom of priests and a holy nation. And the enemy knows that if he can destroy their identity, then he can rob them of purpose and hope. And as Christians, we've got to learn. We've got to learn how to rumble in the rubble of our minds. Paul says in Second Corinthians 10, we have to knock down every wrong thought and perception that contradicts the true knowledge of God and the nature of God. We have to capture them and teach them to be obedient to Christ. We have to interrogate them because the enemy wants to throw us off our mission. As we step out of this season and we start stepping into this season, I can guarantee you the enemy is not going to want us to be successful as we do so. He wants to throw us off our mission. It was probably about three years ago, four years ago. It was part of the school that Harlan and I were a part of together back in California. We had decided to take a missions trip and we were going to go to Romania. And so we had been planning for this missions trip, I don't know, for five months or so. And so we, you know, strategize, we've made connections with churches. And so we were going to be hitting the streets, praying for people, prophesying over people, declaring God's goodness over that nation. And we were just, I had prepared a few sermons, we were going to be preaching at different churches. And so we'd been praying and so we were ready. We finally get to the day we leave and we jump on the plane and we've got a huge leg all the way over to Zurich, Switzerland first. And so after we, you know, this huge leg getting over to Zurich, Switzerland, most of us are exhausted and beat with 11 hour, 12 hour flight. And so we're all, we pile off the plane. There's like 20 or 30 of us in our group alone. And then you've got a ton of other people and we're all standing in line to go through customs, you know, where you got to show your passport and they let you on. And so, you know, I have not changed much. And so I look back at everybody else and I'm like, hey guys, just say, you know, I've been to Switzerland before. If I don't make it past customs, just pray for me please. Like I may not make it and they're like, what? Like I'm just kidding, no, I'm just teasing. And so we go through customs and like, it took forever and I finally get up there. And so I hand the lady in the customs box my passport and she looks at it and she looks at me and she looks at it again and she looks at me and then she scans it in on that scanner that she has and then she pulls it back up, looks at it and looks at me again, then she looks at the computer and then looks at the computer longer and then picks up the phone. And she starts calling somebody. And I was like, what, is everything okay? And she's just, it'd be a minute, sir. Okay? And I'm looking back and everybody's like, yeah, what did you do, bro? I'm like, no, I swear, I swear, I swear. And then there's a cop that starts coming around the corner. I'm like, what, and sir, can you come with me? Like, what do you mean? What did I do? Sir, can you please come with me? I'm like, guys, I swear I didn't do anything. I promise you, if I don't make it, I'll call you, I'll figure out a way to get to Romania. And so I go back, they lead me to this back room where it's literally a table and two chairs on the opposite and it ends of each other. I mean, now I'm thinking like different movies I've watched, I'm like, this is an interrogation room. What is happening? He throws me in the interrogation room. I'm sitting there and I'm waiting literally for minutes. What felt like hours? Like, what is going on? And so then he comes back in and he's got all this paperwork. I'm thinking, wow, that's like murder photos? Like, what are we looking at here? He throws them down on the table. And he says, last time you were in Switzerland, you had traffic tickets and you never paid them. I was like, home, what? I said, well, sir, I had rented a car, those traffic tickets were by camera, so it's not like they handed me one. And the rental car company said I needed to pay them so I paid them thinking they were gonna pay the tickets off. And he said, well, they didn't pay the tickets off. And you can't leave until you pay them off. I'm like, well, how much are the tickets? I'm like, he's like 200 and some odd dollars. I'm like, well, I've got a credit card, can I just pay it now? And he whips this credit card reader out of his pocket. I'm like, who carries a credit card reader and they're talking? You guys are pulling one over on me, like, come on. So I give him the credit card, he swipes it and I'm having to walk back to the gate, thank God I made it in time. Tell between leg everybody's like, bro, what did you do? I'm like, I swear, I didn't do anything. I know I'm supposed to be preaching in the gospel soon. Trust me, I did not do anything. I had to explain the story, made fun of me. But the enemy loves to throw us off our mission. You've got a mission in your life. God has put a calling in your life. God has put a calling in our life as a family. And we are stepping out of an old season into a new season and the enemy is going to want to throw you off your mission. And where there is intense opposition, there is incredible power that comes from God to help us rumble in the rubble. No opposition goes unused. God puts to use every opposition we go through for his glory and for our benefits. Wow, let's talk about external struggles. So those are the internal struggles that we dealt with. But what about the external struggles? Notice with me verse 11, it says, "And our enemy said, they will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work." Wow, I mean, you know it's hard when your spirits are down a little bit crushed, you're a little discouraged. I mean, things aren't working out, you're tired, you feel beaten down. And then all of a sudden you've got death threats that are looming over your head. I mean, that really makes it challenging. And the people started off, I mean, they were excited about it. They were enthusiastic about it. And then all of a sudden now they're seeing in a different tune. And the enemy was threatened by their success. The enemy's looking at what they're doing and he is threatened by their success. And really the only way that he can stop them is to actually kill them. So that's what he's going to try to do. And it's really not any different today. I'm telling you right now, we have an enemy out there. How many of you know you've got that enemy out there chasing you down? He doesn't want to see you succeed. He doesn't want to see you accomplish the mission that Jesus has called you to. He hates your success. He can't stand the fact that you're moving forward in the kingdom of God. He can't stand the fact that you love Jesus. He doesn't like the fact that you are living testimony of the goodness of Jesus and something radical. The enemy hates it and he's constantly trying to kill the dream and the vision and the mission that God has put into your life. And so we've got to be careful not to allow the enemy's voice to bring discouragement. And I'll say this, discouragement can swiftly drain the well of our enthusiasm, leaving a stranded and a barren desert of despair. And the voice of the enemy should act actually as a compass. If the voice of the enemy is getting loud, it should show us that we're heading in the right direction. Yes, we are being attacked by the enemy. What we need to remember, who we are in Christ and who we belong to. Paul says it this way in 2 Corinthians 4, 8 through 9. We are experiencing trouble on every side, but we're not crushed. We're perplexed, but we're not driven to despair. We're persecuted, but we're not abandoned. We are knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Always carrying around in our body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our body. He rescued us from the terrible death and he will continue to rescue us in the future. We are confident that he will continue to rescue us. And the psalmist, he cries out speaking to himself. He says, "Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you so disturbed within hope in God because I will praise him once again since his presence saves me and he is my God." The psalmist literally begins to preach the gospel to himself, not just the world. He reminds his heart of who he is and who God is. God is for you, he is not against you. Yes, the enemy may be big and loud, but God is bigger and louder. And so what does Nehemiah do? He's got a bit of a mess on his hands. Anytime I see this as a leader, I'm like, "What's he going to do? This will be interesting. I may steal his strategy." And so we're going to have to wait because it gets worse in verse 12. In verse 12, it says, "At that time, the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times, you must return to us." In other words, we've seen and we've heard what's going on all around of you guys and we don't think you can pull it off. We think you should come home with us. If you stay here, you're going to die. If you stay here, you're not going to make it. I mean, my question is, number one, where did these Jews come from and why aren't they involved in the working anyways? Why aren't they helping out with the building? And now all of a sudden, they got something to say about it? How many of you know that there's people out there like that? They will discourage you. They will see that your dream is way too big and there's no way that you're going to be able to accomplish it, which is true, because God is able to do. Man, interesting. And let me just say this, we are in this together. When Jesus died on the cross and he victoriously rose again from the dead, it says in Ephesians 2 that he destroyed the wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile and he made one new people. In other words, there's not several different types of people. There is one new people in Christ Jesus. And so we've got to be careful not to discourage one another from doing what God has called us to do. And one of the things that I believe God is highlighting in this season as we transition out of this one into this one, and it's not like it wasn't important here, but he's highlighting it at this point is unity. Unity. And there is power in unity. God has called the church to be one. We were created for unity saved to be unified, and we will spend eternity worshiping as one body. You may not like your neighbor, but there may be a day where you're going to spend eternity with him. I don't know what that looks like or how that feels, but I'm telling you, we're going to be together, so let's start practicing now. Every attack on the church, your family, your relationship is aimed at displacing the unity that God has actually built into it. And the moment we lose our power of unity is the moment that we lose the true heart of God. And the strategy of the enemy right now is to divide. And so I just want to mention a few different barriers that wreck unity that we need to break through. And these barriers or these mindsets are very toxic when it comes to unity. And they have the power to destroy it. Any organization and any relationship and any church and any family, if these mindsets are inside of us, we will destroy the unity that's there. Number one is the critical mindset, the critical mindset. That's the one that says it's a sneaky one. It's the one where you're pointing your finger and you're calling out the things that are wrong or criticizing the things that you don't like, always looking for the wrong instead of finding a solution. And it doesn't just hurt people, it divides the family. And guess what? When we tear others down, we tear down unity. Then there's the selfish mindset. That's the one where it's all about me, myself, and I. You know, I'm looking out for myself, man, nobody else will. When we're only focused on our own needs and our wants, we lose sight of the bigger picture. And unity can't survive where selfishness thrives. Because trust and collaboration go out the window. The next one is the victim mindset. This is a tough one because we all face hard things. But if we're stuck blaming others, feeling sorry for ourselves, and we're thinking everything's against us, we're tearing down bridges rather than building bridges. And this stops us from working together and moving forward as one family. Let's talk about the comparison mindset. When we're constantly sizing ourselves up with other people right against others, we create this jealousy and this insecurity, and that creates this toxic thing. And unity can't grow where competition takes over, and we start seeing people as rivals instead of family. The next one is the fixed mindset. And this is when we believe we can't grow, we can't learn, we can't change. And typically when you're talking to somebody like this, it's like, "Hey, bro, that's just who I am. That's my personality." Like, "Well, bro, your personality is kind of jerkish. We change like something, you know, like, is there anything we can do here?" And yes, there is. By Christ, what does He say? Jesus or Paul says, "Don't copy the behavior and the customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think." There is an ability to change. You can't have that fixed mindset. And then there's the fearful mindset, you know, fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of change. These are things that are going to keep us silent. And that's what fear does. It silences us. It isolates us. It shuts down communication. And without communication, unity cannot exist. Divisive mindset. That's the one us versus them, right? I'm right. You're wrong. There's hope. Because you can believe like me and be right. That's an divisive mindset. And this is what Titus tells us about a divisive mindset. If people are causing divisions among you, give a first and a second warning after that, have nothing more to do with them. Wow. That's New Testament. I'm just saying. I hope I never have to go through that. And then there's the resentful mindset. And that's the ones that hold on to past hurts like badges of honor. Yes, you've been hurt. Yes, you've been wrong. But when we cling to bitterness and we refuse to forgive, we stop healing. And without healing, we can't move forward. And because we're stuck in the past instead of stepping into the future, that God has for us, unity is destroyed. Ephesians 4, Paul says, "Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander as well as all the types of evil behavior." And said, "Be kind to one another, tender, hardened." Here it is, forgiving one another. Just as God through Christ forgave you. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. And these mindsets don't make us bad people. They basically let us know that we're not on track to really pursue the kingdom of God like we should be. And my heart is as the church that we would fully embrace our identity in Christ. Listen, we've been called to unity. And if we're willing to let the presence of the Spirit take precedence, then we're going to find a much more diverse, beautiful family of believers because it's the family that God has made and not the ones that we've cherry-picked. Let me conclude by reading how Nehemiah handled these issues that threatened unity, these external and internal issues that threatened unity. And verse 13, this is what he says, "So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked in a rose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord who is great and awesome and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes." I love what Nehemiah does. He doesn't discourage them like, "Hey guys, where's your mind at? Where's your heart at? What's going on? Come on, you know? I need men that are going to step it up. That's not what he does." He says, "Listen, fear not the enemy. Remember God and how big and amazing God is. And if I have to reach you all the testimonies of God moving in your life over and over and over again, I will remember." And then he says, "Fight. Fight for your brothers. Fight for your sons. Fight for your daughters. Fight for your wives. Fight for your homes." And I believe the Lord is saying this as we transition as a family of believers from one season to another, "Fight. Fight for your family. Fight for your homes. Fight for your wives. Fight for your sons. And fight for your daughters. We have to step up and fight." And Nehemiah gives the people hope. And he knows that the nation of Israel's identity is at stake. If he doesn't build this wall, they're never going to fully step into the identity as treasured possession as a kingdom of priest, as a holy nation. They've got to step into their identity. And let me just say this. You are not Nehemiah. Jesus is our Nehemiah. And he came in. And he is the one that built the wall of protection. And he put an identity inside of us that can never be taken. It doesn't matter. In fact, in Peter, it says that you are God's treasured possession. That you are His holy nation. That you are a kingdom of priests. Jesus has put that identity in ours. And so now what we get to do is out of that identity, we get to go build the kingdom of God for the glory of God. And we can do this church if we rally around and we unite as one. And I know there's a lot of people here that have a lot of different ideas and thoughts on how we should move forward. And if God highlights those, amazing. I don't know what He's going to do. But I want to step into the promises of God. And I want to go after it together. I want to lock arms together. And if I've got some mindsets in me that need to be cast out, then you need to come talk to me so I can get them out. And so we can move together as one. And so Father, we just thank you, Lord, for the opportunity and the call that you've put on our hearts personally and our own families. But also corporately as a family here in Flagler Beach. And Lord, we surrender our strategies to you. Lord, we surrender to you like you are the one that knows how to do this, Lord. And so we want to see you move. And so Father, I just pray that you begin to raise up Nehemiah's in this very room and you would begin to drop visions and dreams into hearts to teach us and to show us how we are to move forward in building the kingdom of God for your glory. And I do pray for kings that will be willing to give us the resources that we need to do that what you've called us to do, Lord. And the favor that we need to do what you've called us to do. So thank you, Jesus, for who you are and what you've done. We love you in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Hallelujah. (Applause) Rapid fire. Father says, "As iron sharpens, iron, so one man sharpens another." And in family, we have those things that illuminate shortcomings in our lives. Don't make it an issue. Say, Lord, search my heart. See if there would be anything that needs to adjust because that's what preserves the unity. I just sense that just on the back of that message that I just want us to stop for a moment and ask Holy Spirit exactly how I need to in my realm, in my world, in my sphere, in where I work, in where I love, what do I need to do to come and break through to the next level? Because God doesn't want us to be sitting here and being comfortable. We're not waiting to rapture. He says, "By kingdom come thou will be done on earth as it is." He asked me and you to establish his kingdom, his ways, his governance, his thinking, his value, his principles on earth in this earth. And we have a responsibility to stand up and push forward. Not frightened that you'll be canceled. Who cares? My God doesn't cancel me. I don't care what you cancel, I'm not going to get canceled. I will continue to declare what God has called us to declare and we have to stop for a moment and say, God, what in my sphere do I need to stand up and break through? Because as you do it as a body, it will happen as a church and the kingdom of God will advance. Because our mandate is to build these family and advance his kingdom. And so it's exciting, but it's challenging, as Adam was saying, because you're going to get pushed back, you're going to get pressed. But I tell you what, if God before us, tough who's against us, even if the pope's against us. If my God's against me, I'm on the winning side. And I'm telling you what, I'd rather die trying than just sit on my laurels and just think I'm on the French River and it's all okay. No, Jesus paid a high price. Like I said, Jesus rose from the dead and we can't even get out of bed. Now we need to rise up church. If there's anything that the Spirit of God is saying today is that we need to rise up and need to press forward, we need to today. I mean, there's vision and there's passion, there's desires in your heart. And God says, I do not want you to go the grave with the music still in you. Church, we've got to stand up. You may not know what that looks like, but let's just start with the baby steps around us. And let's just find the way we can stand up and advance his kingdom. It is imperative. This county is going to double in size shortly and there are people that are going to come in here that need the kingdom of God. And God's causing it to double because the kingdom of God has got to come to these people. Because they're coming into this place ignorant of the kingdom of God and we want to tell them about this God that loves us so dearly and has given us a purpose and a plan. And so we want to impart that. But we need to be pressing forward, leaning forward, and as we go into this new season, we're extending our tent picks where God's gracing us with a mantle for us to go forward. I'm telling you, Neil Meyer was querying in his boots thinking of all the things that he's got to be at God's place on his heart. It wasn't an easy thing. It's not an easy thing for us. It's not an easy thing for Rod Palmer to pass through a church this size and beyond. I've never been there before, but I know if God's with us, we can do this. We can do it and we can bring glory to our King. And so let's just ponder that for a moment. Father, we just thank you. Father, we dial it right down to our personal life. If it's mindsets, we have to adjust, my God. Help us. Help us to adjust. But Father, as a body of Christ, we stand and choose to stand up and break through and push through for your glory. In Jesus' name, in Jesus' name, Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. I just want to also just remind you of our commitment to help those that have been damaged by the storms and we use in convoy of hope as the vehicle to channel the finances through. I know that the other storm that Milton that came through that kind of may have distracted you, but I still want you to continue to push forward. I'm going to talk to you about it every weekend through October and beyond that we need to remember. Even when the media's left these storm sites, we must continue to remember. And I don't want you to consider what you have in your pocket, but let's consider what's going to cost us and make a sacrifice in our life for those that are needing. They still don't have water. They still don't have electricity. They still don't have a home. Some of them are looking for their loved ones buried in mudslides. There's destitute out there and don't look to the government because God is saying you are the ones that have the solution and so let's continue to be mindful, let's become creative and how we can generate some income and send everything we can. And I'll tell you, I'd give God, it'll come back and let's be the conduit through which divine favor flows. One last thing I want to say, we're approaching a very critical election. There's things that we have to vote for in national level and state level and our local level. I want you to consider the amendment three and amendment four. I want to tell you that the way it's written for me, it's a no. I don't want to step on people's toes, but I'll tell you what, you're going to have blood on your hands if you do not stop and read the fine print. Church, we have a responsibility. I do not want blood on my hands and I want us to be responsible believers. And it's the sad thing that they find that those stats is that the evangelicals are the laws turned out to add elections. That's pitiful. And so please, let's pray into it, you know, consider the wording and let's do what's right. If you hold that book, the Bible, there is some values, as parameters, as boundaries that we are committed to as believers and let's be those people. And so there is more information that's at the connect corner considering especially amendment four, please, let's be equipped and let's do what's right at these elections. I mean, pray and release you and let you go and be a blessing that in a needy dying world. Father, thank you. Your kindness overwhelms us. But Father, your responsibility, our responsibility to you is to advance your kingdom. And so Father, we've got to get opportunity, so much opportunity this week to advance your kingdom. Indeed in word, with joy, with victory, with promise. And so Father, we want to be the carriers of your kingdom this week as we go forward. Thank you for that word that comes that came to us today. That Father, we would stand up and break through for the greater good of the kingdom of God. And so Father, thank you for your kindness and as we go, we go knowing that you go before us and you guide our steps and our thoughts and our actions in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. God bless you.