Matt Hagee - Restore What Was Lost

Hello and welcome to this week’s Sunday conversation. As we continue to move through our reading of the Bible, we’re now in a section of Old Testament scripture that complements 1 and 2 Chronicles, where we recently read about the exile of Israel and Judah under Nebuchadnezzar and the lives of certain individuals through which we see the narrative of God keeping His promise. Remember, God promised His children that they would return. God promised His children that even in exile, He was going to continue to be their God.

So, over the next few weeks, we will look at the lives of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther and consider how this narrative played out in their lives. Today I want to turn your attention to the book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah, as we know, was commissioned to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and to rehang the gates as the children of Israel began the process of being allowed to return to the city of Jerusalem. Nehemiah follows Ezra, and Ezra and Nehemiah are indeed contemporaries. They lived in the same time, but they served different purposes. Ezra was a scribe; Nehemiah was commissioned by the king he served, Artaxerxes, to rebuild the walls and rehang the gates. You can read about Ezra and Nehemiah again in the book of Ezekiel; Ezekiel is considered one of the prophets. That’s why his book is in a different section of the Old Testament. However, when you read in the book of Ezekiel about Ezra reading the scrolls or Nehemiah doing work, you’re reading about the same individuals that we find in this portion of Old Testament history.

So today, what are the significance of walls and gates? In the ancient times of Israel, the gates of a city and the walls of a city determined its ability to protect and provide for those who were inside, as well as prevent those who were outside from having unlimited access. Invading armies, thieves, criminals, and every form of evil were deterred by the walls and the gates. Consider the walls of the city of Jericho. When Joshua marched across the Jordan River and came to the city of Jericho, the walls of that city were considered to be impenetrable.

Well, in the book of Nehemiah, the walls of Jerusalem have been destroyed and the gates have been burned. It’s been this way for many, many years. Because of this absolute defenseless situation, the city of Jerusalem is being defiled. Anyone can go in; anyone can go out. Nothing is sacred; nothing is protected. The place where David worshiped the Lord and the place where Solomon sacrificed at the temple is now being desecrated as the walls and the gates have been destroyed. When Nehemiah heard about the circumstances and the situation in Jerusalem, it grieved him. When he heard how the walls had been burned and the gates destroyed, it broke his heart. The Bible actually says in the first few chapters that he wept for days.

When’s the last time you’ve been so moved by something that it caused you to grieve for a long period of time? Whenever you find yourself in that situation, consider that God might be commissioning you to solve a problem. Because after Nehemiah had wept for days, God gave Nehemiah a divine blueprint for restoring the gates. Nehemiah is known to us as a wall builder. Nehemiah is known to us as the foreman of the construction project to restore the city of Jerusalem. But before he was any of this, he was simply a cupbearer in the king’s palace. While that may sound like an honored position, understand that in the ancient times that Nehemiah lived, he was thought of as expendable. If someone was going to try to poison the king, the cupbearer would drink the poison first and die while the king was spared.

So, before we give Nehemiah high honor, realize that the place where he is and what he’s doing is really nothing more than preparation for what God had intended for him to do. Being the cupbearer for the king does not give him the opportunity to be a wall builder. The reason that he could go and build the walls and hang the gates is that God had a divine purpose for Nehemiah. The point for us is that there are times when God gives us a divine commission and empowers us to accomplish it by His might, by His power, and by His strength.

Now, as you read through the book of Nehemiah, there is no coincidence in scripture. The way that the gates were commissioned to be restored is a revelation to us about the mind of God. God didn’t tell Nehemiah, «Start where you want and finish when you can.» God tells Nehemiah, gate by gate, how He is going to rebuild the walls and the city of Jerusalem. And those same gates tell us how God can rebuild a nation, a church, a family, or a life. He’s a God who has a process for everything. And where He begins is in Nehemiah chapter 3 and verse 6 with what’s described in scripture as the old gate. You read it this week, but I want to take you back there as we read, «Moreover, Joada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired the old gate. They laid its beams, and they hung its doors with its bolts and its bars.»

What’s the purpose of the old gate? As you read through the book of Nehemiah, there is a title that describes each and every gate: the horse gate, the sheep gate. Here we read about the old gate. This is the first gate that gets repaired because this is where God wants to begin in every restoration project. The old gate sends a message to the nation. It sends a message to the church. It sends a message to us that there are certain God-ordained truths, spiritual principles that are to never be ignored and never be changed. When God establishes them, leave them alone. The old gate reminds the church that God Almighty has given us His word, and His word will not return void. God Almighty has given us commandments that limit and restrict things that are for our good. Most of the time, people hear about commandments that we should obey and think of what it keeps us from. But consider all that it empowers us to do.

Some of God’s old gate principles sound like, «Thou shalt have no other gods before me.» What a powerful thought! Why? Because the ability of your life is determined by the ability of your God. If you put the one true God before everything, you have unlimited potential. But if all you do in your life is pursue other gods-the gods of this world, the false god of materialism, or anything else-then the quality of your life will be determined by the quality of your God. «Thou shalt not bear false witness.» That means don’t lie. Could you imagine what would happen in our society if we just told the truth? Could you imagine how much more opportunity we would have to thrive if we would follow «Thou shalt not steal»? Could you picture what the United States would look like if marriages were protected by individuals who lived by God’s old gate commandment? «Thou shalt not commit adultery.» Seventy percent of marriages end in divorce. Why? Because we’ve forgotten the old gate principles. God has a process by which He wants things restored. But whenever you choose principles that He has not ordained, you suffer the consequences.

The old gate states that God’s word endures from generation to generation. It does not change. His truth endures forever, as the Bible says. If our nation is going to be one nation under God, if our generation is going to experience the blessings of God, if we’re going to have the renaissance of greatness that we hear so much about in society, we must first and foremost recognize the source of greatness and how we can access it in our lives. Greatness comes from God, and the only way to access it is through obedience to His word.

King David said in Psalm 11:3, «If the foundations be destroyed, what then can the righteous do?» What are the foundations of society? One foundation is, «Be fruitful and multiply.» Regardless of what you think about the word of God and whether or not you consider it to be Holy Spirit-inspired truth, everyone-spiritual and secular-will agree that if a nation does not have a thriving birth rate, it is in decline. Old gate principle found in Genesis: be fruitful and multiply. Old gate principle: «I will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee.» Here in this nation, we’ve thought about everything but God.

Now anxiety runs off the charts. This nation is one where we are pursuing and chasing absolute falsehoods and calling it truth, claiming there are multiple genders, that you can identify as whatever you want to be, and that all of these realities that we were never able to understand or experience before are now available to us. No, they’re not. That’s a madhouse. And yet we call it science. The reason is that we’re walking away from and rejecting the old gate principle that He, God, created them male and female. If the foundations be destroyed, what then can the righteous do?

Whenever you hang the old gate, you are saying the God who was faithful in my father and my grandfather’s generation is the God who will be faithful to me. When you hang the old gate principle, you are telling the next generation that the God who is faithful to me is the same God who is faithful to you.

In Deuteronomy, we read how God commanded Moses to tell the fathers in Israel that they would deliberately train their children. That they would intentionally do it on such a consistent basis that their children would remember the principles of God’s word and apply them in their generation. Every time fathers were faithful to this commandment, God’s blessings continued to the next generation. Every time they were negligent in this commandment, that generation drifted away from God. We saw in the book of Judges how those particular generations suffered great consequences because they were disobedient to God’s word. It’s an old gate principle. «You fathers, train up your children in the way they should go, and when they’re old, they’ll not depart from it.» It’s an old gate principle. «Children, obey your parents, for this is right; for it’s the first commandment with a promise.» The promise connected to that commandment, «Honor your father and mother,» is that it would be well with you and you would have long life.

It’s an old gate principle that any nation where the family unit is strong is a nation that thrives and prospers. Why? Because God built the family unit as the basis of society. Adam and Eve: be fruitful and multiply. Joseph and Mary and Jesus: God always goes to and uses the family when it comes to changing the world. It’s an old gate principle, and you can’t get away from it. God wants to restore what the enemy has tried to destroy. Just like the gates and the walls in the time of Nehemiah needed to be repaired, I believe that there are a multitude of things in your life that, if you sat down and thought about it, you would say, «I need a restoration that only God can do.»

Maybe it’s in a spiritual place where the bitterness and unforgiveness of the past have created offenses, and that offense has torn off some places and destroyed some barriers. Maybe it’s in a physical place where you need a healing touch from God today. Maybe it’s in an emotional, financial, or personal spot. Regardless of what the enemy has tried to destroy, God knows about it. And He’s willing to do all that He can to restore it if you will obey His principles. If you will begin where He wants to begin, and do what He wants you to do, I believe He’s commissioned you to rebuild the broken pieces of your life through the power of His word just as He had commissioned Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and rehang the gates. And He always begins at the foundation at the old gate.

Today, if you need restoration, return to His word. If you’re looking for answers, ask the God who promises that He’ll freely give you wisdom today. If you have a need, look at the source that meets every need: His living truth. Because this is the bread of life. This is the living water. This is a shield of protection. This is a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path. Before you start to believe that there are things in this world that can fix the challenges you face, ask the God who created you to overcome this world what He would have you to do.

When you read the story of Nehemiah, he was moved by what happened at the city of Jerusalem. But after he was done being sad, he went to work, seeing what he could do to make a difference. He asked the king for the resources, and miraculously, the king said yes. Then, when he got to Jerusalem, he asked the Lord what to do, and God gave it to him one step at a time. You may not feel like you’re adequately equipped, but I promise you, no one truly is. Without God, we can do nothing. But with Him, we can do all things. Whatever the enemy has tried to destroy, Christ gives us this promise in John 10: 10: «I have come to give you life and life more abundantly.» And that abundant life begins with obedience. And obedience to God’s word enables you to rebuild the broken places in your life. God bless you.