Kerry Shook - Rubble Trouble
You know, this weekend we're concluding our series on how God sparks divine and lasting change in our lives. Now, when we are making positive changes in our lives, like putting in a new habit or trying to get rid of a destructive habit, normally, everything goes great at first, but eventually you hit a wall. I call it the wall of normal. Now, normally, it's at the wall of normal where we give in and give up, but you have to break through the wall of normal to get to the next level. The hardest part of change is going from normal to the next level, because most people get stuck at normal. It's that little space between normal and the next level that's the most difficult part of change.
By the way, God hates normal. You need to know that. God hates normal, because normal in our culture means being too busy for God. Normal means having no margin for deep and rich relationships. Normal means making excuses when things get tough. Normal means taking for granted the blessings of God in our lives and complaining and griping. Normal means complacency and never taking risks in faith to step out and believe God for great things, and God hates normal. God hates normal so much, he sometimes allows things to get worse than normal. And when God allows things to go to worse than normal in some area of your life, it's so you'll never go back to normal again. He wants you to break free from the wall of normal, so you get to the next level.
And sometimes it takes our wall of normal to fall apart, so we can finally rebuild the life that is better than normal. That's exactly what the people of Jerusalem were experiencing when they returned from captivity in Persia after 70 years. They were trying to rebuild the temple, rebuild their homes, rebuild their neighborhoods, rebuild their schools and community. But the great wall of Jerusalem was still in ruins, but God calls a man named Nehemiah to ignite a spark of divine change in the people that would take them from normal to the next level. Nehemiah is the most trusted advisor to the king of Persia, the most powerful country of that day, and the king had allowed many of Nehemiah's Jewish brothers to return to Jerusalem to rebuild Jerusalem, but Nehemiah stayed behind because the king needed him. But then Nehemiah gets word that the walls of Jerusalem are still in rubble, and the walls meant protection and security from the surrounding enemies.
So, Nehemiah knew that his friends, his loved ones couldn't rebuild their homes. They couldn't rebuild their neighborhoods. They couldn't rebuild their lives until the wall of Jerusalem was rebuilt. So, the king of Persia gives Nehemiah permission to return to Jerusalem and lead the people to rebuild the wall. Nehemiah returns. He inspires the people to rebuild. And it's this spark that Nehemiah creates, that God creates through him, that hits the people and turns into a flame of passion to rebuild the wall. And they start rebuilding with great fervor. They start rebuilding, and everything's going great. The people have high hopes. They start rebuilding, and they're rebuilding, they're rebuilding, but then they hit what I call rubble trouble.
And I want you to know every one of us will hit rubble trouble many times in our lives, but it's what you do when you hit rubble trouble that makes all the difference. You see, most of the time, we don't expect to hit rubble trouble. And when we do, we're so surprised by it, but don't be surprised by it, because there'll be many times you hit rubble trouble, but it's what you do when you hit that rubble trouble that can take you to the next level. And so I want you to open your Bibles to Nehemiah chapter 4. And would you stand in honor of God's Word? And just follow along with me.
"So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart. But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem's walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat. Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, 'The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.'"
You can be seated. The people hit rubble trouble, and they felt like giving up. Now, when did they hit rubble trouble? You need to know this because this is when you will hit rubble trouble in Nehemiah 4:6. "So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart". So, the people really fired up at the start. You know, that little spark that came from Nehemiah just ignites this flame and with passion they're rebuilding the wall, and they're halfway to the finish line, and they hit rubble trouble, and they feel like giving up. And last year, Chris and I climbed Enchanted Rock, which is right outside of Austin, and it's a really easy hike. But I have to admit it was a really hot and humid summer day, and we started a little later in the day.
And when I got halfway up the mountain, I looked out over the beautiful view, and I said, "Chris, this is a great view. I think we can go down now. But first we need to sit down and drink a Gatorade and a couple of energy bars, get those down, and I'll feel pretty good". And she said, "Come on. You know, we can do it. It's not that far. It's not that hard. Let's go to the top". And I was halfway, and I felt like giving up. And she put a spark, really lit a fire, and I climbed the rest of the way, and we looked out, and it was worth the view. But have you ever been halfway up a mountain and felt like giving up?
You're halfway through marriage counseling, and it doesn't seem to be helping at all, and you just feel like giving up; or you're halfway through marriage counseling, and they start talking about a really difficult issue. They start getting into the heart of the matter, and you feel like giving up; or you're halfway through starting a business, but it still feels like you're at the very beginning. You just can't seem to get off the starting block, and there's problem, after problem, after problem, and you feel like giving up, feel like throwing in the towel. You're halfway through college, and you feel like giving up. It's at the halfway point that we hit rubble trouble, and we need to realize it.
The people were at the halfway point in the rebuild, and they felt like giving up. They hit that wall. You need to understand something. It's much easier to tear down than it is to build up. The reason you hit rubble trouble is because it's much easier to tear something down than it is to build something up. The great wall of Jerusalem that took so long to build and every stone was meticulously planned and put in just the right space, was torn down in a matter of days and burned when Jerusalem was destroyed. You see, there are those who tear down and those who build up, and it's much easier to tear something down, so most people are those that tear down.
And that's why God wants us to be builders. One reason it's so hard to build up, it always brings out the critics, and that's what happens with the Israelites. At the halfway point of the rebuild, the enemies of the Israelites stir up trouble. In verse 8, it says they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. So, when the enemies of God see that the wall is going up, they get really scared. They loved it when the walls were destroyed. They're the enemies of God, and they're people who love it when the walls of your life come falling apart. Those people aren't your friends. You'd understand that. And whenever you build anything in your life, there will be critics who attack and try to tear down.
They will criticize and attack because nonbuilders will do just about anything to justify their nonbuilding life by tearing you down and criticizing what you're building. The only way to avoid criticism in life is don't build anything. Don't build anything with your one and only life. Just join all the nonbuilders and criticize what everyone else is building. There are a lot of people online that just criticize what everyone else is building. There are a lot of people in life and in your workplace that just criticize what everyone else is building. It's easy to criticize what everyone else is building. It's really hard to build, and God wants us to be builders.
Well, the people of Israel experienced trouble from without. The enemies of God threatened to attack them and to destroy them, and then they faced trouble from within. They started getting discouraged. They looked at the rubble, and they started getting really discouraged. They had what I call double trouble. Enemies from without, discouragement from within. It says in Nehemiah 4:10, "Meanwhile the people in Judah said, 'The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.'" They're halfway finished, and they have rubble trouble. They're working like crazy. They're building and building, you know, night and day, and it seems like the rubble is just multiplying.
The more they build, they look around, and it seems like there's even more rubble. And they get focused on the rubble instead of the rebuild. They start focusing in on all the rubble all around them, and they don't look at how much they've rebuilt. And you need to know something else. It's easier to build than it is to rebuild. It's easier to tear down than it is to build, but it's easier to build than it is to rebuild. Why? Because of the rubble from all your past mistakes and failures that have to be deal with, because of all the broken things that have to be repaired. Much easier to build than it is to rebuild. With the Israelites, when they looked at all the rubble from their past failure, they lost sight of what God was building in their future.
Now, I want to share this promise, because I know someone needs this. I know this promise is for someone today. Isaiah 61:7, God says this to somebody out there. "Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land and everlasting joy will be yours". Focus on those two words: double portion. What you're seeing as a double problem, God wants to bring a double portion. What you're seeing as that double burden, God is giving you the opportunity for a double blessing.
That's what he wants for you, and that's why he's allowed that into your life. We're talking about the reward for the rebuilder. God has a reward for the rebuilder. And when you join God in rebuilding broken things, and you allow God to rebuild the broken things in your life, then you join God, and you get the reward of the rebuilder, and it's a double portion. Now, how can we become rebuilders and cooperate with God's change process to rebuild the broken things in our lives, and to be rebuilders of broken things, to help others, to bring healing to their brokenness? Well, I want us to go all the way back to when Nehemiah was still in Persia and when he hears about the wall being broken down, because Nehemiah was really connected to God. He was a rebuilder of broken things. He had a heart for rebuilding.
And Nehemiah 1, verse 3, says, "They said to me, 'Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.' When I heard these things, I sat down and wept for some days. I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven". So, Nehemiah hears about the walls being broken down, and it broke his heart. He weeps, he prays, he fasts for days. You see, it wasn't because the walls of Jerusalem were broken down. It was because the people he loved were broken and hurting because the walls of Jerusalem were broken down. And it breaks Nehemiah's heart, because those he loves are broken.
And the first step to rebuilding something that is broken is your heart has to be broken over it. You can't rebuild anything until first your heart is broken over the rubble and devastation. You can't rebuild a broken relationship until your heart is broken over the rubble that you've caused. You can't rebuild what is broken in our culture until your heart is broken over the rubble and the brokenness in our culture, and that's why at Woodlands Church we do what we do, because we join God's heart in being rebuilders of broken things. Why? Because we're all broken. The reason why Nehemiah had a heart for the broken, he realized he was broken. He wasn't proud. He knew he depended upon God each and every day for wholeness and healing, and he would look to God. And so he had a heart for broken things. We're to be rebuilders of the broken.
Now, let's get back to Nehemiah in chapter 2, verse 13. After Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, one of the first things he did was this. "By night I went out to the Valley Gate toward the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire". So, Nehemiah goes out at night, so no one knows what he's doing, and he inspects the whole rubble around the wall. He inspects every part of the broken-down wall. He looks over every part, because he wants to see the reality of the rubble before he gets started. And you can never rebuild anything until first you get down to the reality of the rubble.
You see the depth of the devastation. You see the brokenness. You've got to break free from denial to get reality on the destruction before you can rebuild anything, and that's what he does. And I have to inspect my own heart and get real about the rubble in my own life. We've gotta get real about the depth of brokenness in our lives, our relationships, and our culture; because, folks, the problem can't be solved by politicians or any president. The problem can't be solved by government. The problem can't be solved by education, as important as education is. The problem cannot be solved by science and technology, as good as that can be.
If it could've been solved by those things, it would've been solved, but it hasn't been solved. Why? Because our greatest problem is a heart problem, a broken heart that has turned away from God. And the only way, the only thing that's gonna solve our problems is a spiritual answer, because it's a spiritual problem; and the only one who can solve it is Jesus Christ, because he's the only rebuilder of broken hearts. He's the only one then that can rebuild our broken lives. He's the only one that can rebuild our broken families, our broken culture, our broken nation, and our broken world. He is the hope of the world, but we have to start seeing clearly the rubble in our hearts that comes from turning away from God.
Start seeing clearly the rubble of brokenness in our families that only God can rebuild, because that's where it's at, the brokenness in the family. That's the problem, and only God can rebuild it. Start seeing clearly the brokenness and pain that this generation is experiencing. We've gotta see clearly the reality of the rubble and break free from denial, because all of our human answers aren't gonna solve this heart problem. Only the rebuilder of broken hearts can. Well, let's get back to the rubble trouble of the Israelites. In verse 10, it says, "Then the people of Judah began to complain, 'The workers are getting tired, and there's so much rubble to be moved. We will never be able to build the wall by ourselves.'"
God will allow rubble trouble to bring you to the end of yourself. You see, God allowed the rubble trouble into their lives so that they could realize that they couldn't rebuild the wall by themselves. You see, really, God was the one giving them strength the whole time to rebuild the wall, and the passion the whole time to make that change, and the rebuilding the wall, but then they hit the wall, and they have rubble trouble, and they get their eyes on the rubble instead of the Rebuilder of broken things. And as their eyes are on that rubble, they can't see the rebuild that God is doing, and they think that they can do it themselves, but they come to the end of themselves, and they realize, "We've gotta give up. We can't do it".
Well, God allowed the rubble so that they'd come to the end of themselves and realize that they couldn't build the wall by themselves. Now, they wanted to give up, but God was saying, "Don't give up; just give it over to me". Maybe you feel like giving up today. God is saying to you, "Don't give up; just give it over to me". Hey, it's a good place to be when you get to the place where you give up, and you want to give up because you can't go any further. You don't have the strength to make it through. You don't have the wisdom to solve that problem. You don't have the power to change that other person. You can't fix the situation or change the circumstance, and you feel like giving up. That's a good place to be.
God allows rubble trouble into your life to get you to that place, but don't stop there. Don't give up; give it over to God. You see, they said, "We'll never be able to build the wall by ourselves," and that was so true. Now, Nehemiah saw the rubble trouble as rubble opportunity. He saw the double trouble was double opportunity. And what he says in verse 14 changes everything. In verse 14, he said, "After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, 'Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes".
One of my favorite passages in Scripture, because he says, "Yes, we have rubble trouble, but it's really rubble opportunity". Yes, there's double trouble, enemies from without, discouragement from within, but that's double opportunity. Yeah, it's not double trouble. It's a chance for double triumph. He's trying to get them to see it, but he says there are two things we've got to do, and these are the same two things that we have to do when we face rubble trouble.
First, he says, "Remember the Lord, who's great and awesome". He's saying, "Get your eyes off the rubble and onto the Rebuilder; because if you get your eyes off the Rebuilder, that rubble seems overwhelming. But when you get your eyes on the Rebuilder of broken things and see how great and powerful God is, that he can rebuild anything that is broken, then it changes everything, and you're filled with God's strength, and you look to God for strength when you don't have strength. You look to God for wisdom when you don't have wisdom. You look to God to make the difference when you can't make the difference".
And so he says, "Get your eyes off the enemy. Get your eyes off the rubble, and get your eyes on the Rebuilder". And then he says a second thing. "Remember why you're rebuilding". You ought to write those two things down. Remember who the Rebuilder is, is the first thing. And look to the Rebuilder instead of the rubble. Remember who the Rebuilder is. He's great and awesome God, the great rebuilder of broken things. And then he says secondly "Remember why you're rebuilding". Hey, it's hard, it's difficult, but it's worth it. And I love how Nehemiah, who's this great leader, man, there are so many leadership principles in the book of Nehemiah.
If you lead anything, you ought to study the book of Nehemiah, because Nehemiah says, "Hey, there are all these gaps in the wall that the enemies are threatening to come through and destroy us". And so half of you are going to rebuild the wall, and the other half are going to protect the gaps, and you're going to have weapons. And he assigned the families that lived closest to those gaps, and he said, "Father, you're gonna stand there with weapons in the gap; because if they come through that gap, they're going to destroy your home and your family". And so they were highly motivated. And he says, "And you're going to fight. You're going to fight for your family. You're going to fight for your sons and your daughters. You're going to fight for your kids. You're going to fight for your home".
I think that's so powerful, because there's so many places that are broken, so many things that are broken in our societies, but it all starts in our homes. We've gotta fight, and the way we fight is we fight on our knees, praying for our family, praying for each and every one of them. You know, my mom and dad, every day, until the day they died, prayed for Chris and I, our kids, and our grandkids, and my brothers' and sisters' kids and grandkids, every single day by name. Every single day of their life, they would pray, every single day, up until the day they each died and went to be with the Lord. No wonder, no wonder God is doing great things through my kids, and they're already speaking to my grandkids. Not because of us but because of prayers. And so he says, "Remember the Rebuilder, and then remember why you're building".
And in Nehemiah 6:15, that double trouble turned into double triumph. It says, "So on October 2 the wall was finished, just fifty-two days after we had begun. When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. They realized this work had been done with the help of our God". You see, the double trouble turned into a double blessing. After they asked God for strength, when they knew they didn't have strength, and they looked to the Rebuilder, God gave them strength and in supernatural power they rebuilt the wall.
And so every time they looked at that wall that was built in 52 days, which was humanly impossible, they looked at the wall and said, "Wow, look what God did through us". And it built their faith in the Lord. It encouraged their faith in God to trust him more for greater things, and then it discouraged their enemies. It says when the enemies saw the wall built in 52 days, they said, "They couldn't have done this. It had to be their God". And they were afraid of the God of Israel. And the enemies were weakened and their faith was strengthened, and God got the glory. It was a double burden that turned into a double blessing. It was a double problem that turned into a double portion.