where are the tears in America today we’re more interested in football in the World Series than we are in National Revival when do we come to God in all seriousness Our lives our children our grandchildren this city this nation The Souls of men and the glory of God is worth weeping over profound truth simply stated This Is Love Love Worth Finding with Pastor teacher and author Adrien Rogers would you be finding the book of Nehemiah please in the Old Testament and uh when you found it turn to chapter 1 and then when you found that look up

here and let me speak with you for just a moment before I read the scripture to you we’re going to read in just a moment the first three verses and then read some other verses but I want to tell you something with a broken heart that is the America that I knew as a boy is gone and that breaks my heart we as a nation have been taken into a Babylonian captivity we have been captured by the World the Flesh and the devil and the theme of this message today is to call us back to God something has happened in America God

has blessed us with abundance but our abundance has turned to Greed God blessed us with freedom our freedom has turned to license God gave us a great heritage and now that Heritage is being mocked our forefathers dedicated this nation to Almighty God and now we have forces in America today that are endeavoring to make it illegal to even mention the name of Jesus in public schools for our youngsters to carry Bibles or to wear Christian emblems or for us in a society to make any public religious display in so-called God Bless America the Judgment

of God is upon this nation we’re going to call America back to God we’re going to get serious about this it’s time in America to wake up God’s alarm clock is gone off and we dare not push the snooze button it is time for Revival now in nehemiah’s time the people of God had been taken away captives and Nehemiah was a captive living in a Strange Land and he wondered about the people of God and notice what Nehemiah says here in chapter 1 vers verse one the words of Nehemiah the son of hackelia and it came to pass in the

month of chisu in the 20th year as I was in shushan the palace that is he’s in a foreign land that uh Han Nai one of my brethren came he and certain men of Judah and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped which were left of the Captivity that is that Remnant at home after the cap captivity and concerning Jerusalem now Jerusalem you know was the holy city and they said unto me the remnant that are left of the Captivity there in the province are in great Affliction and reproach the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down and the

gates thereof are burned with fire now especially I want you to notice that last phrase the walls are broken down and and the gates are burned with fire Nehemiah wanted to know he asked somebody you been to have you been to Jerusalem he said yes he said tell me what has happened to the city of God what has happened to the people of God and nehemiah’s brother just shook his head I can see a tear as it trickles down the corner of his eye oh he said you wouldn’t believe it that once glorious city is filled with

weeds and rubble and trash the beautiful walls that were once around our city they’ve crumbled and the gates that speak of the glory of God they’re burned with fire it’s Rubble the people of God they’re in Despair and they’re in disgrace now folks when Nehemiah heard that he set about to do something about it basically he did three things that I’m calling you to do today number one he visualized the problem he visualized the problem he said tell me what is the situation he was not like many of us who

just simply like an ostrich want to stick our heads in the sand build a sweet little Nest perhaps in another assimile somewhere in the west and let the rest of the world go by we can’t do that that’s a luxury we can’t afford a Christian is not a pessimist nor is he an optimist he is a realist he can see things as they are and Nehemiah said tell me about that situation and the report was that the walls were broken down now what are walls for walls are for protection what are walls for walls are for separation what are walls for

walls are for conservation what are walls for walls are for identification and the walls had fallen I tell you ladies and gentlemen the walls have fallen walls of freedom and defense have fallen America Christians are losing their freedoms one by one and freedom is like health so many times it must first be lost until so that we can understand what we once had and it’s a very subtle thing John kurran said in 1808 Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty walls of Defense had had

fallen and God’s people were vulnerable to the enemy but not only have walls of Defense Fallen walls of domestic tranquility and happy homes have fallen domestic walls have fallen America’s homes are in trouble unwed births or epidemic many boys and girls do not know who their natural father is many are living in a one parent household many are living on the streets with no parent at all the devil knows if he can destroy our homes he can destroy our nation and he has leveled all of the artillery of Hell against the home walls of Defense have

fallen domestic walls have fallen walls of decency have Fallen every corner drugstore in America in almost every corner drugstore in America pornography stares Us in the face as it’s as if a broken sewer line is overflowing in our news stands and we we cease today to be shocked what was horrible yesterday is acceptable today and a stepping stone for something worse tomorrow and I tell you there’s something that that frightens me uh terribly I mean in in the natural sense and that is that people are asking the

question does character count when it comes to an elected official that the question would even be asked does character count well just ask this question does God count I mean do you think God can bless ungodliness does wisdom count don’t you know that wisd wisdom and character are inextricably interwoven does influence count do you want your children to have a leader that they can look up to does trust count can you trust somebody who has no character but we as a nation today have lost character and in our national election

the referendum will not be on the character of the leader that we will choose it is a referendum on the character of the American people and I’m going to tell you something folks we have lost our moral consensus we have reached the bottom of the garbage pale we cannot go any lower we have accepted today in America pornography like we have accepted taxes and basball it’s an amazing thing something is wrong walls of decency have fallen walls of Doctrine have fallen the oldtime religion today that made America great is being ridiculed

and liberals have taken over so many of our theological institutions and let me say this about liberalism liberalism is a parasite it has no power to generate it has power to dissipate the Liberals crawl into instit tions that have been built by Bible Believers it is a parasite and a moral Pariah I’m talking about theological liberalism and so Nehemiah heard that the walls had fallen now remember that walls are for protection walls are for identification walls are for conservation but those walls had fallen Nehemiah said to his brother tell

me about the situation he says all right God’s people are defeated God’s people are disgraced God’s people are defenseless and God’s people are in despair I want to say folks that we do not have the luxury to look away first we must do what Nehemiah did we must visualize the problem if you’re enjoying this message from Adrian Rogers and would like to dig a little deeper into today’s topic download this free companion Bible study use the link above to get yours here’s the second thing

that Nehemiah did not only did he visualize the problem but he agonized in prayer and that follows once you see the situation if you’re a man or woman of God once you see the ruins you should weep over them notice now in verse four and it came to pass when I heard these words that I sat down and wept and mourned certain days and listen to this and fasted and prayed before the god of heaven and I said I beseech thee Oh Lord God Of Heaven the great and terrible God that keepeth Covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his

Commandments let thine ear now be a tent of and let thine eyes be open that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant which I pray before thee now day and night for the children of Israel thy servants and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against thee both I and my father’s house have sinned We have dealt very corruptly against thee and we have not kept the Commandments nor the statutes nor the judgments which thou commandest thy servant Moses remember I beseech Thee the word

that thou commandest thy servant Moses is saying if ye transgress I will scatter you abroad among the Nations but if you turn to me and keep my Commandments and do them though there were of You cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven yet will I gather them from th and will bring them into the place that I have chosen to set my name there now these are thy servants and thy people whom thou has Redeemed by thy great power and by thy strong hand oh Lord I beseech thee let thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant

and to the prayer of thy servants who desire to fear thy name and prosper I pray thee thy servant this day and Grant him Mercy in the sight of this man for I was the king’s cup Bearer that’s a marvelous prayer I want you to see it in a simplified form first of all it was a prayer of Contrition verse four says that he wept he mourned where are the tears in America today we’re more interested in football in the World Series than we are in National Revival when do we come to God in all seriousness Our lives our children our

grandchildren this city this nation The Souls of men and the glory of God is worth weeping over somebody has described this generation as a dry-eyed church in a hellbent world Jesus wept over Jerusalem God is calling us to weep over mhus and if you don’t have a heart of concern I suggest that you wait before God and confess your poor pitiable backsliding condition was a prayer of contrition and it was also a prayer of confession look in verse six he says I pray before thee now day and night for the children

of Israel thy servants and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against thee both I and my father’s house have sinned and we have dealt very corruptly against thee it’s a prayer of confession and this was a confession for both National and personal sin Not only was it this it was a prayer of confidence and I’m glad for that look in verse eight he says remember I beseech Thee the word that thou commandest thy servant Moses if you transgress I will scatter you abroad among the Nations but put a circle

around that word but but if ye turn unto me and keep my Commandments and do them though there were of You cast out to the uttermost part of the heaven yet will I bring them from th and I will bring them into the place that I have chosen to set my name the there now look up here and let me tell you something it is not too late for America think of the situation in nehemiah’s time there they were a Remnant disgrace defenseless down trotten forgotten the walls have crumbled the weeds the rubble is there but he remembers the word of God

God had rather forgive and restore than judge and condemn don’t you know that don’t you know that God longs to bless us the worst thing that could happen to us in America is for us to say well we’ve gone too far it’s too late God will not have mercy I’m here to say that is a lie there’s a God in the glory and as long as there’s God there is hope we must remember this yeah give God a hand give God a hand Nehemiah prayed Not only was it a prayer of confidence it was a prayer of commitment now notice

e 11 oh Lord I beseech thee let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant and to the prayer of thy servants who desire to fear thy name and prosper and I pray thee thy servant this day and Grant him Mercy in the sight of this man now what man is he talking about King arz xeres he says for I was the king’s cup Bearer that that is he had a very high and exalted position he was the one who appeared before the king this Mighty powerful potentate and Nehemiah was the one who would bring his

food in he was probably the food taster because the king didn’t want to be poisoned and so Nehemiah would come in and say take a bite of this and this and this and he say Sor it is fine but being in that position he was in a very intimate place with the King a pagan King what did he do he visualized the problem what did he do he agonized in prayer and then what did he do the third thing he organized a plan visualize agonize and organize it’s not enough just to weep about Fallen walls and burned Gates despair

and defenselessness of God’s people God has called us to build we are to be Builders and so he wanted to rebuild the wall now notice in the chapter 2 and I’m going to read just the first eight verses and that’s all the scripture we’ll read this morning and it came to pass in the month of Nisan in the 20th year of AR Xerxes the king that wine was before him and I took up the wine and gave it unto the king now I had not been Before Time sad in his presence that is you didn’t come into a king with a sad

countenance if you did off came your head your smile your your tears with it wherefore the king said unto me why is thy countenance sad seeing Thou Art not sick this is nothing else but sorrow of heart then I was very sore afraid and I said unto the king let the King live forever why should not my countenance be sad when the city the place of of my father’s sepers lith waste and the gates thereof are consumed with fire and the King said unto me for what Dost thou make request now notice this so I prayed

to the god of Heaven now be very careful you’re going to think in a moment that King aeres gave Nehemiah some things King aeres did not do it almighty God did it through King AR xeres the the the the heart of the king is in the hand of the the Lord and as rivers of water he turns it whether soever he will so here’s Nehemiah the king this powerful King and this foreign land says Nehemiah what do you want me to do and Nehemiah who’s been fasting and praying for months says oh God now help me as I say what the plan is that you put in my

heart and so verse 5 and I said unto the king if it please the king and If thy servant have found favor in thy sight that thou would send me unto Judah unto the city of my father’s seers that I may build it and the King said unto me the queen also sitting by him for how long shall thy journey be and when Willl thou return so it pleased the king to send me and I set him a time moreover I said unto the king if it pleased the king let letters be given to me to the governors beyond the river that they may convey me

over till I come to Judah and a letter unto Asaf The Keeper of the king’s Forest that he may give me Timber to make the beams for the gates of the palace which app pertaineth to the house and for the wall of the city and for the house that I shall enter into now notice verse eight the last part and the King granted me according to the good hand of my God upon me now this was not King arer God only used King aeres The King gave it to him according to the good hand of God upon him him he had a plan he said I’m going to go back and I’m

going to rebuild that which the enemy has taken away and I want to say to you in this church today we need a plan to take back that which Satan has taken from us that where Satan has wanted to waste the people of God there were three things that Nehemiah wanted first of all he wanted the king’s permission he said King let me go and when the king said go it was really God who said go now that’s what you and I need to do we need to wait before God until he gives us his will it’s as dangerous to run ahead of God as

it is to run behind him but he needed the king’s permission he also needed the king’s protection he said to King aeres in verse 7 would you have someone to convey me over because there many enemies out there Now look up here and let me tell you this when we get serious when we fast and pray we’ll know the king’s permission and we’ll know the king’s protection the angels of the Lord encamp round about them that fear him that doesn’t mean we won’t suffer that doesn’t mean there will not be enemies

as you read the rest of this book Nehemiah had many of them but he had Victory because he had the king’s permission he had the king’s protection then the last thing he needed was the king’s provision he said look I want you to WR a letter to the man who has all of the building materials the Timbers and all of this because I need materials to rebuild and the King said you’ve got them and Nehemiah said that was the hand of God upon me you know what when we begin to get serious about this thing of serving God when we

visualize and when we agonize and when we organize God moves in to move Heaven and Earth for his people do you believe that amen I hope you do I hope you don’t just sit here and just kind of Nod your head and say you know that was I think I understood the outline it’s not what I’m talking about I am saying folks listen to this man we’re in a mess we are in a mess and if God does not move and soon I shudder to think the kind of America my grandchildren will grow up in it is time to visualize agonize organize take

back rebuild the walls and the gates for God’s glory and for our good [Music] [Music]