The Miracle of Rebuilding

Carter, and from the historic Times Square Church in New York City. I am the messenger was come to your house telling you the king has said, you can get up and you can go home and you can rebuild everything, as long as God will build your house better than before will provide peace in your heart. God will do the miraculous will do it so powerfully people around you will say look with the Lord has done for him hundred, and will elaborate on this week's call to the nation program. Let's join Carter with his message. The miracle of rebuilding some 126 and begins in verse one with these words when the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, we were like those who dream it was a moment in the history of God's people.

It'd been 70 years they had been in captivity know most of the people that this particular Psalms about were born in the captivity in those days if you live to be 50, you are considered an old an old man or an older person and so it's been 70 years there in captivity. These people how to dream a dream that one day we could be free one day but perhaps our lives could be like our history was it's like somebody that's reading that your believer in Christ and you been reading the Bible and you know the history of the people of God. You know the history of the debtor in the money act was set free from a thousand devils and you know the history of Mary Magdalene was set free from demonic oppression.

You know the history and the book of acts chapter 2 of the hundred and 20 people were all failures really in their own site that the power of God came upon not only change them but they became changes of the environment. The society all around them and brought to us this incredible story this miracle story of of the forgiveness of God through his son Jesus Christ. Now a lot of your reading the Bible, but you're in captivity okay you're here in the permitting because you really do want to walk with God. But everything is is almost like the miracle power of God is like a history lesson that something that happened in the past you are in captivity and some could say that just like these people.

I was born in the captivity, they were 70 years. The displacer captivity and in the far as I know I was born into a home that was captivated by depression, alcohol, drugs, anger, violence, separation, selfishness, divorce, whatever the case might be listening to mid single.

It's just as captivity has been in my life so long that it's the only thing I know and and being free from your are being the person God's design me to be is is just a dream but suddenly one day the dream was fulfilled. Can you imagine let me read you the rest of the song before we go back to the beginning line. When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, we were like those who dream that her mouth was filled with laughter and a tongue with singing. It's like you getting a present. Maybe on the on your birthday or Christmas that you never anticipated anybody would ever get you in this sudden joy. This rises in your heart is as you look at it and say oh wow you didn't have to do this and this.

There's a sudden burst of joy in her singing miracle that in your heart.

Then they said among the nations.

The Lord has done great things for them. Another was was something so powerfully done for these people that people who lived outside of the realm of God's kingdom saw it and had to comment on it. The Lord has done great things for us wherever we are glad bring back our captivity Lord of streams in the South.

Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy and you continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with it.

So the psalmist is talking about a day of freedom that did come to the people of God when they least expected it in his prayers can't do it again.

That's my prayer dude again we find ourselves in a similar place and were in a place of weeping but yet we have this seed of promise in us that you've made to us. Something inside the tells us that we are indeed called to be new creations in Christ Jesus and and maybe you're at a place where all you have is that little seed of promise but yet you live in captivity, but the Bible promises that if you hold onto that little bit of faith that you have one day you will walk out of captivity and the freedom and the fruit, and a sense of your faith will become evident not just to you but to everyone around you. Come with me for just a moment back thousands of years into Babylon, which became also known as Medo Persia.

It's been 70 years you been there so long that I think a lot of these people would've just said, you know, to their captors. Please just don't make my life hell and I'll serve God here and and some of you are just like that you're saying here captivity just just don't make my life hell you speak it to alcoholism or drugs or pornography or depression or anger or disappointment or whatever it is that holds you captive if you just leave me alone if you don't make it too hard for me. I will serve God here and that's that's what God's people. It had come to the come to a place of of making peace in the sense with their captors and suddenly one day, could you imagine being there. It's been 70 years maybe maybe your eight years old dear member you would be just a kid when you you went with your mom and dad in the captivity or maybe your your young person that's just been born there. You never know anything else other than you been reading and hearing the stories about what you really are called to be as a son or daughter of God and then suddenly one day somebody visits your home and says to you, we can go home were free. The king said we can go home.

Can you just imagine I'm in there would be a lot of people just didn't believe the report, some people do have a hard time just as I speak these words to you all know it can't be. This can be for me for somebody else know the king said, is for everybody. Everybody called by the name of Jehovah God of the time can get up and go home and you can you can rebuild what you lost and you know it. It would incredulous it would be the pictures all sitting there because you are sitting there not to picture it. You are there. I am the guy that's just come to your door and I'm seeing you. You go home. The king said you can go home.

The first question that comes into your heart is well. How do I do this I mean I've lost so much. I lost credibility I've lost resources that my addictions have cost me my confidence is cost me my family. In some cases you can see my from my family's gone me so much as phone through my fingers and you're telling me that to get up and go home and I'm telling you, yes you can get up and you can go home now. Not everybody that time took the journey now. History tells us it was roughly about 50,000 people that they got up and said okay were go. Another was a whole lot more than that in captivity probably 10 times that amount if not more, but yet 50,000 got up and said were to take the king at his offer and I'm my prayer today is no God, oh God put 50,000 people to make it up and go. Let them make the choice in their house.

Let Ralph on his couch and let Alice on her kitchen table and and whoever else is out there to say amen I met I don't get how this is going to work but I'm going if the kings that I know mom don't know and and I don't know how to do this but the kings that I can goes on to go and I'm going to trust God and it is a journey of faith. It is, it is a mustard seed if it does require leaving behind some things that maybe we've grown accustomed to. A lot of people had made peace with the captivity understanding. They planted there they had a business there.

They had a community there around them and and they had to get up and make the choice on ongoing with God. You know a lot of those folks had really given their all to the captivity in May. I challenge you those of you have given your all the drugs you given your Alda unforgiveness you've given your alter whatever your all is what you just turn and give your all God now and leave that behind and just get up and sound.

I'm going, but I don't know how my going to build this amicable back and rebuild what was lost may be rebuild what you've never said it wasn't lost. You've never seen it was lost to somebody else.

Maybe your parents lost their grandparents and they kinda brought you into Babylon, the meter Persia you've never really been in the place is called the land of promise, but you say I've read about it and and I see it in the Bible and other people talk about it then and now I'm being given an opportunity to get up and actually go there so I'm just go I'm just going to come this could get up and go to God with you but that's what happened to me back in 1978 adjusted I'm just going on just getting up and I'm going I am not I'm not content just to read about what happened to somebody else and some of the time I wanted to be my story. I'm going I don't know what is going look like, but I know that if God's given the invitation that is going to prosper.

Imagine the surprise of the people who arose to go it it says an undisputed read to you from the book of Ezra's chapter 1 beginning in verse five it says the people got out to spirits. God had moved. They rose to going build the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem now then all those who were around them, encourage them with articles of silver and gold and goods and livestock and precious things besides all that was willingly offered. Suddenly when you get up and you decide to go, there's going to be people around you who are part of the body of Jesus Christ. The church of Jesus Christ, the true church. The real church and and they'll help you they will encourage you they will share the strength of God's given to them with you so that you can get up and make this journey back know not everybody gave his obviously stingy people then is there are today, so a lot of people are really stingy with their love and encouragement, but there are people who aren't, and also turn away from the stingy ones and turned towards the ones who have the spirit, and they care about you and they care about your journey enough to part with their strength of the resource. Whatever it is God's given them to do to help you on your journey so you can go home and you can begin to rebuild. Then something really really miraculous happens a lot of people read these Old Testament books and I don't even see this is as King Cyrus also brought out the articles of the house of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar taken from Jerusalem and put in the temple of his God, so Jerusalem was captivated 70 years before and all the instruments and all the vessels and the knives and the spoons and the forks and the goals and everything that was required for the worship of God had been taken captive. There were vessels of pure gold and tears over and Cyrus the king of Persia brought them out by the hand of mid without the thresher and counted them out. This just bizarre. The prince of Judah. This is the number of them. 30 gold platters 1000 silver platters.

29 knives 30 gold basin 410 silver basins of a similar kind, 1000 other articles all the articles a gold and silver were 5000 and 470 years before he even kings had conquered Jerusalem taken all of these vessels out of the temple of God, and they didn't melt them down. They didn't sell them restored them they stored them for 70 years. What even king would do that. All of these things taken from the temple were brought into captivity and put in storage until the people of God decided to go home. I really want you to think about that. Everything you need is in storage for you until you make the decision to get up and go home. Then suddenly the case is okay. Bring all the things that they will need all the vessels that are required all the instruments for worship, everything that are going to need to rebuild that which was lost because of the carelessness of previous generations.

And this is the people of the province came back from captivity and they they they went back in the return to Jerusalem and Judah everyone to his own city. Now they they were corporately working on the temple, but there also at the same time working on their own houses so you don't you God just says I'm going to bring you back to a place for you, once again restore true worship of me. You learn again who I am but also I'm going to enable you to rebuild your own house in your own town, your own family and you say to me, well, how does that work, I mean pastor you have no idea how much I've lost.

While I do have an idea.

We've all lost something over the years and we could either focus on our loss, or we can focus on the God the promises to give it all back to us.

I chose years ago to focus on the God who gives the whole pack that I have found in my lifetime.

God is faithful. It is absolutely amazing what God can do. Let me just conclude with a short story a true story in the book of acts of a situation where the true saints of God.

Paul and Silas work in a prison and at the darkest time of the night, they chose to worship God in this prison, and as they begin to worship God. The Scripture says all the prison doors fell off their hinges.

Literally. Bill opened and this was the inner presence of the these are people more or less in most cases condemned there in the darkest dentist place you could ever want to be on this earth. And suddenly, that's the doors all fly off the Philippian jailer is in charge of looking after this jail. He's in charge of the prisoners met. Maybe this is it's all speculation on my part, but maybe this is all sense of identity. I think this man maybe felt like you blew it with his family, you know, II can't see a Philippian jailer going home being kind to his wife and his kids. These guys were mean.

This was this was the inner prison. This is where the worst of the worst criminals are kept. These are our people condemned to death and to be crucified.

In some cases are our Before their judgment or before they go to trial is that these are these are the worst of the worst, at least according to the people of Romans that time and so maybe this whole sense of identity now and maybe this is always got control of in his whole life is is this prison and it's his job and it's a sense of worth and whatever else is God going foreman and suddenly he becomes aware that all the doors and fallen off all the prisons, cells, and he assumes as is you want that always preserves our godlike wouldn't you. You were there, I'd be out of there and then suddenly he draws his sword and intends to kill himself like it's just over we were hearing that in some of the per request. People just lost the will to live. You feel like you've lost everything will that's what this man felt like I've lost my home of Las Vegas. Marriage is a shambles is kids are.

Who knows, they'd probably have no respect for him other than they fear him, and then he's lost his sense of self-worth. It's just all gone. Everything is gone is going to fall out of favor with the authorities disease is give these people to keep and he lost them. He just it's it's over.

As far as his concern is is don't take a sword and probably does run it through his throat or his heart. Whatever he would do to end his life and suddenly a voice which is the voice of the apostle Paul says, do yourself no harm were all here the Paul could only know that by the spirit. This place is dark there's a lot of people in there.

But Paul knows there's something divine going on here. It makes no sense to this man's mind that everything he thought was lost is still there, it just makes no sense. It should all be gone. Everything to the flat, everything should have fallen through his fingers.

Just like it would make no sense to the people of God and in Medo Persia at this time that all the vessels of the temple are still there, as they should be long gone.

The should of been melted down and made into coins that should've been all kinds of leaders and rulers that use them to pad their own pockets and build their own houses and and what a surprise when suddenly all these thousands of vessels start coming out and in gold and silver and being restored to the people of God. Do yourself no harm were all here you see, nothing is lost in God. God knows where everything is.

God knows how to give it all back. God knows how to keep it for the day when you decide to go home. God knows where your strength in your resource is so this jailer comes impulses, do yourself no harm. For we are all here and then he called for a light and he fell down trending before Paul and Silas met that he was afraid of Paul and Silas, but he knew this was a miracle of God. He knew that this is not normal.

This is not natural. Something is happening in this jail that is outside of my control. It's outside of my influence everything that I thought was lost is still here. Everything that should be gone is standing still and then he said, what must I do to be saved. You see this man was just saying whatever you got. I want whoever your God is and wanted to be my God whoever whoever this God is a could knock prison doors off of their hinges and yet preserve those things that are kept inside. I want to know who this God is and then Paul says to him, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved and your household. You see, Paul knew something not only about God, but also about this many new God will be faithful when we turn to him. He will be faithful, not just to you but everyone was under your influence will be touched by the presence of God in your life that Paul knew this, but he also knew that this man will give his whole heart to whatever he's doing.

If it is evil. He gives his heart to if it's abusing people. He gives his heart to it. If it's being mean. He gives his heart. This guy is all in.

That's why he was going to kill himself when he felt like he lost everything. And Paul knew that when you give your your whole heart to evil. You will also give your whole heart to good some of the best seats that I know where the best sinners before they got saved, they gave their all the drugs in their all to violence in the altar. Whatever it is they were doing.

But when they came to Christ that seemed like apostle Paul himself that same personality that drove Paul into this religious rage also drove him to serve God with all of his heart and Paul recognize that in this meant is that you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ because you're not going to be one of these kind of neutrally Christians a kind of bends with the wind you're going to go for you see something you've seen the power of God and you're going to come out. Of the prison yourself and you're going to go home and God's going to touch your house and so you try to imagine the shock in this man's family. When he brings to prison is home. This guy doesn't bring prisoners home.

There's just no way does know as murderers and thieves and rapists in this prison, and insurrectionist.

He does not bring these people begin to see the sock on his wife and his kids when he comes in the house is got to prisoners with him. They been beaten pretty badly. There facts are all bloodied and scarred. They been they'd been whipped.

They'd been database they probably stink because obviously not be there is not a daily shower in this place and this man that is his wife and kids start watching it menisci.

The Scripture says, eat the bait. Their backs and the just thing in heaven's name. What happened to my This is looking thing will happen to my husband this guy that comes home every day in his roof and his gruffness is harsh and if the kids misbehave. All they get is a slot in the back of the head and suddenly they see this man coming in these is it because it was something about when he did something he did it with all of his heart. That's why Paul could see your not only you will be saved, but your house will be saved in this as he took in the same hourly wash their their wounds on their backs and it says, and immediately he and all his family were baptized. I just love the story, because the Bible is telling us this man decided to get up and go home to God and going home to God.

When he went home to his family change in his life.

Suddenly, the provision of mercy is there, the provision everything that was in storage. It always was there for him but it was all in storage.

It'd been taken captive by foreign kings. And suddenly when he made the decision to get up and go home you find the tenderness of God that he didn't have most likely is suddenly in his life and the compassion for others and have a suddenly in his life. The hospitality that I have no doubt whatsoever going to have to stretch my pagination to imagine this man was not hospitable and suddenly is bringing to strangers home and is not only feeding them is speaking tenderly to them is washing the wounds on their backs and his kids looked and they say is wife looks and says whatever happened to him.

I want that to happen to me and immediately it says he brought them into his house. He set food before them, and he rejoiced. Having believed in God with all his household.

When the Lord turned our captivity. We were like those who dream that her mouth was filled with laughter and her tongue with singing and they said among the nations.

The Lord has done great things for them.

The Lord has done great things for us and we are glad bring back our captivity Lord to streams in the South. Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy and heal continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. So my message to you is this is your day.

This is your time. I am the messenger was come to your house telling you the king has said, you can get up and you can go home and you can rebuild everything that you thought was lost. You can reclaim that which rightfully belongs to you and along the way everything you need will be given to you to accomplish that which God has put in your heart to do everything.

This is your day. This is not a positive confession speech I'm giving you this is truth. The truth shall set you free on your part. You have to get up. Just admit you need a Savior. The Philippians ever had to do that he couldn't save himself just get up and admit that this is a wonderful opportunity for God's given you through his son Jesus Christ to be forgiven of your sin and to become the person that God designed you to be captivity made you into another person. It took you into another place you been living where you shouldn't be living you been doing what you shouldn't be doing. And you became a person that God never intended you to be. But the Lord comes to from the king saying you can get up and you can go home and you can rebuild back to your town back to your city. You can rebuild the place of of God's worship and God speaks to your heart Mrs. I will give you back things that you thought were lost forever. I'll give you back things in your heart that you thought experience is taken from you and could never be regained. I'll give you back. Hope I give you characteristics in your life. This is a character that you thought were lost forever.

Give it back to you sovereignly, supernaturally it's all been in storage and it's been waiting for you to get up and go home and rebuild. Listen to me on this is not some pie-in-the-sky religion on talking you about this is life. It's real, it's an invitation. God rebuild your house better than it was before you been listening to Carter Conlon from Times Square Church in New York City. For more information and resources to help you in your walk in Christ.

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