Our scripture reading for today, to which I invite you to turn with me at this time, is found once again in the Old Testament book of Nehemiah, the second chapter. It's an Old Testament book before the books of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Nehemiah chapter 2. You may recall that Nehemiah was raised up as a leader among God's people post-exile, that is, after the Babylonian captivity. Book of Nehemiah takes place in about the years 445 and 444 BC. We began this study last Lord's Day morning, we continued it last Lord's Day evening, and now we pick it up again in Nehemiah chapter 2, reading to the end of the chapter. But I draw your special attention, brothers and sisters, to verses 10 through 20, as verses 10 through 20 will constitute our text for today. Nehemiah 2, beginning in verse 1, hear then the word of the Lord. In the month of Nisan, in the 20th year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before. So the king asked me, why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart. I was very much afraid. But I said to the king, May the king live forever. Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire? The king said to me, What is it you want? Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in his sight, Let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried, so that I can rebuild it.' And the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, How long will your journey take? And when will you get back? It pleased the king to send me, so I set a time. I also said to him, If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe conduct until I arrive in Judah, And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king's forest, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy. Because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests. So I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates and gave them the king's letters. The king had also sent army officers and cavalry with me. When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites. I went to Jerusalem and after staying there three days, I set out during the night with a few men. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on. By night, I went out through 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. Then I moved on toward the fountain gate and the king's pool. There was not enough room for my mount to get through. So I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and reentered through the valley gate. The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work. Then I said to them, you see the trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and we will no longer be in disgrace. I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me, and what the king had said to me. They replied, let us start rebuilding. So they began this good work. But when Sanballat, the Horonite, Tobiah, the Ammonite official, and Geshem, the Arab, heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. What is this you are doing, they asked? Are you rebelling against the king? I answered them by saying, The God of heaven will give us success. We His servants will start rebuilding. As for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it. Thus far the reading of God's Holy Word. As always dear friends I ask and urge you to keep your Bibles open and handy as we look to God's Word together today. Dear congregation of Jesus Christ, some of you may recall that just a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend a Watchman on the Wall Summit sponsored by Dr. Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council of Washington, D.C. As over 400 pastors from some 38 states were gathered there, We heard addresses from many nationally renowned pastors, as well as many very passionate speakers, and they spoke on a whole host of various topics. For example, we heard addresses on the following, the urgency of the hour, the call to corporate prayer and repentance, time to take up your cross, the church impacting the culture, and so on. But friends, of all of the addresses which we heard that day, the one which especially captured my attention was the very first message of that two-day conference. It was a message entitled, America's Spiritual Crisis. And it was delivered by a man by the name of Dr. Jack Graham, senior pastor of the massive Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas. Now, the reason that that particular address so captured my attention was not simply because it was in the number one sequence in the sense that it was the pastor of the host church who brought that particular address, but it was the title. It was the title, which I found so fascinating. Again, America's spiritual crisis. Now, why was I so captivated by that particular message anyway? Well, I got to thinking, whether we are talking about the rebuilding of a home, whether we are talking about the rebuilding of the walls of a marriage, whether we are talking about the rebuilding of the walls of a congregation or of a nation, or of any particular wall within the worldwide kingdom and church of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, before any proper rebuilding can take place, you or I or anyone would first of all need to diagnose to correctly indicate the problem before there could be a proposed solution. Thus, the first title, America's Spiritual Crisis. Now friends, interestingly enough, the very same thing is true in the words of our scripture reading for today. For again, as we turn to the book of Nehemiah, but today begin to work our way through verses 10 through 20 in chapter two, we find ourselves being reminded of the fact that before the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem could even begin to take place, Nehemiah, first of all, had to be engaged in a very prayerful and careful inspecting of the ruins. He needed to be involved in a very careful and prayerful inspecting of the ruins. Now if you were with us in worship last Lord's Day evening, you may recall that we began our study of four key principles which are set forth here in Nehemiah 2, which are absolutely essential for the proper rebuilding of any wall. Because first of all we need to inspect the ruins of that heart, of that home, of that marriage, of that congregation, of this or any other nation. You may also recall that the first two of those four principles that we looked at last Lord's Day evening were prayer and planning, prayer and planning. But now as our text in Nehemiah 2 continues, we move on today to the third and fourth principles which must be present in order for a proper inspection of the walls or the ruins to take place. And that third key principle is perseverance, perseverance, perseverance. For example, look at verse 10 of Nehemiah 2 with me, if you would please. Here we read, when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this. Heard about what? Well, they heard about the fact that the Persian king, Artaxerxes, had approved, he had provided for, he had given Nehemiah protection to journey from Persia some 800 miles back to Judah to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. And when these two heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites. Now friends, you may have a study Bible with you, as I do today. And in my study Bible, there's a very informative footnote concerning Sanballat and Tobiah. And I'd like to read a brief portion of that for you. Listen carefully, please. Sanballat is a Babylonian name, meaning sin, the moon god has given life. Tobiah means the Lord is good. He was probably a worshipper of the Lord Yahweh as indicated not only by his name but also by that of his son Jehohanan meaning the Lord is gracious. Tobiah also had a close relationship with Eliashib, the priest. But friends, remember this. As we saw in our last two studies of the book of Nehemiah together, Sanbal and Tobiah were not the first to oppose the rebuilding of the temple or the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem. Indeed, you may recall that we considered the fact that back in Ezra chapter 4, two men by the name of Rehum and Shemsheh had opposed Ezra and the rebuilding of the temple. And that reminds us, we need to make no mistake about this, Satan has a myriad of means, and he will use a plurality of persons to oppose the rebuilding of any wall which you or I might propose or pursue, whether that's in our marriage, whether that's in our home, whether that's in a congregation, whether that's in a nation, or whether it is anywhere else in the worldwide church and kingdom of our blessed Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And indeed, that is why if your Bibles are open and you would care to turn with me, let's go for just a moment to the book of Ephesians, Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10 through 13. In Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10 through 13, the Holy Spirit-inspired Apostle Paul writes these very sobering words. He says, finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." Now think about that. Think about this spiritual warfare in which each and every one of us is regularly engaged. In fact, I'd like to illustrate that for you this way. Just this past week, a few of the members of our congregation very kindly gave to me and one of our elders a very sobering article which they had just come across. The article is entitled, Seven Resolutions to Pursue Love in 2015. It's written by a man named John Bloom. And I'd like to just read this first little paragraph for you. Listen carefully, please. And I quote, Among the devil's chief strategies is destroying relationships of love between Christians by eroding their trust in one another. It is highly effective and highly destructive. As we ponder new resolves in 2015, we would be wise to consider increasing our vigilance against this very subtle tactic since we are likely to face it repeatedly." End of quote. And my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, indeed, that is true. Think about that. Satan desires and delights in nothing more than undermining, destroying the trust between our Heavenly Father and one of his children. Think about that. Satan desires and delights in nothing more than destroying the trust between a parent and their child, or between a child and their parent. Satan desires and delights in nothing more than destroying the trust between a council member and a congregant. or between a pastor and a parishioner. He desires nothing more than to destroy the trust between a brother and sister in Jesus Christ. He even desires and delights in nothing more than destroying the trust between a president or a politician and the people over whom they rule. Why is that so? Why is that so? Brothers and sisters, it's so because as this article so insightfully says, if Satan can't succeed in eroding trust, He can ultimately succeed in eradicating love. And once he succeeds in eradicating love, both for God and for our fellow man, for our neighbor, guess what? He has succeeded in getting us to destroy, in getting us to eviscerate, in getting us to violate, in getting us to fail to fulfill, in the words of Jesus, all the law and the prophets which hang on these two commandments, love for God and love for neighbor. Think of the implications, think of what is and was at stake. Here even in the days of Nehemiah, when we read in the words of our text, look again with me if you will, at Nehemiah 2 verse 10, when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites, the welfare of the Israelites. Verse 11, look with me please. I went to Jerusalem. And after staying there three days, did you ever notice how many times the period of three days is mentioned throughout the sacred scriptures? It's a fascinating study. For example, right back in Ezra chapter 8 verse 32, we read that when Ezra arrived in Jerusalem, he rested after arriving in Jerusalem for three days. It's also a very particular and important period of time concerning our blessed Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. If you would care to turn with me, let's go to the gospel according to Matthew, the 12th chapter, verses 38 through 42. Matthew chapter 12, verses 38 through 42. Notice what we read concerning Christ. And some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you. He answered, A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. Boys and girls, do you remember the story of Jonah? Jesus is talking about it. And He says, For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. That is immediately preceding His glorious and victorious resurrection from the dead. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the south will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here." Now friends, let's bring that biblical information to bear back on the words of our text in Nehemiah 2, verse 11, again where we read, I went to Jerusalem and after staying there three days I set out during the night with a few men. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. And as I read that and began pondering that I asked myself why? Why did Nehemiah bother to tell everybody else what the Lord had laid on his heart? And I don't know for sure. I don't know for sure. But, one text that came to my mind is what Jesus said to His disciples in Matthew 10 verse 16, namely, I'm sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes. The King James says, be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves. Perhaps that's why Nehemiah didn't tell anyone. But we read in the text, look with me please. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on. Don't you love the personal eyewitness account of this? He's talking about the horse he was riding. He said there were nobody else, just me and my mount that was going along. And so you can almost picture yourself being there with Nehemiah. Verse 13. By night, it is sort of under cover of darkness, if you will. I went out through the valley gate toward the jackal well and the dung gate. I want to stop there just for a moment. And the dung gate. Bible scholars believe that the Dung Gate was the gate which led out of the city into the Valley of Hinnom. Does anybody know what they did in the Valley of Hinnom? The Valley of Hinnom was sort of a garbage dump outside the city of Jerusalem. And in 2 Kings 23 verse 10 we read that it was in the Valley of Hinnom where the Israelites used to sacrifice their children in the fire to Moloch. Not entirely unlike the 50 plus million babies that have been aborted in this country ever since the infamous Roe v. Wade decision on January 22, 1973. Think of that. 50 plus million children sacrificed. Now we see in the news, and it's very difficult for me to say this, that the entirely pagan Planned Parenthood is selling the body parts of aborted babies. Did you hear what I just said? It's like we are living in Nazi Germany in that regard. I also learned at this conference, by the way, that Planned Parenthood is currently receiving some 528 million of our tax dollars annually. We're paying for it. And I think God's people need to speak up. I think God's people need to rise up. I think minimally, brothers and sisters, we need to contact our elected representatives and let them know that this is unacceptable. Because the blood of those babies is crying out to high heaven for vengeance. Read Isaiah 1, God says to a nation, I will not hear your prayers because your hands are full of blood. The dung gate led out to the valley of Hinnom. And that's the way in which Nehemiah journeyed as he examined the ruins. In fact, look at the text in verse 13 when he says, I went out past the dung gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem. If you're taking notes in the Hebrew, that word examine is sabar, S-A-B-A-R, sabar. And sabar means to inspect. It means to examine carefully. In fact, I learned that it was actually a medical term which was used in reference to the probing of a wound in order to see the extent of the damage. That's what he was doing. Examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire. You can read about that in 2 Chronicles 36. We looked at that last time, I believe, in 586 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar came in. He broke down the walls. He burned the temple to the ground. That's what that's referring to, 2 Chronicles 36. You can read about it. Verse 14. that I moved on toward the fountain gate and the king's pool. Some scholars believe this is a reference to the pool of Siloam that's mentioned in the New Testament, we're not sure. But there was not enough room for my mount to get through. Apparently, the ruins were so high and so deep and so wide, he couldn't even get this horse or his mule through. There was not enough room for my mount to get through, so I went up the valley by night, examining, sabar, the wall. Finally, I turned back and reentered through the valley gate. The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work." Now think about that statement. Does that strike you as odd? He says, I didn't say anything to anybody, all these other people who would be doing the work. In other words, even though they didn't know it yet. Even though they didn't know it yet. The great Puritan preacher, Bible scholar, commentator Matthew Henry says this, and I quote, Those who would build up the church's walls must first take notice of the ruins of those walls. Those who would know how to amend must inquire what is amiss, what needs reformation, and what may serve as it is. End of quote. Look with me again at verse 17 now please. Then I said to them, You see the trouble we are in? Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and we will no longer be in disgrace. I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me. They replied, let us start rebuilding. So they began this good work. Friends, notice the repetitious use by Nehemiah of what grammarians call first person plural pronouns. The young people and the boys and girls probably know what that means. He keeps using the words us, we, Us, we, us, we. Why does He do that? Why does He keep saying us, we, we, us, they, us, we, we, us? Why does He keep saying that? Nehemiah was trying to make it abundantly clear to them that they were all in this together. It wasn't just Nehemiah. It wasn't just the people. It wasn't just this one or that one. Nehemiah was saying, we are all in this together. We are all in this together. And brothers and sisters, that exact same thing is true for you and for me as well. We are all in this together. And I'd like to illustrate that truth this way. Did you happen to read what I found to be an incredibly moving thank you note from our missionaries, Ray and Cheryl Gibello, to the congregation just a few weeks ago? especially if you didn't catch it, I wanna read just a portion of it to you. Dear family of God at PPRBC, and Ray and Cheryl, I didn't get your permission for this, but you put it in the bulletins, I hope you don't mind. Dear family of God at PPRBC, we are speechless. We can't come close to expressing how deeply your super abundant generosity has blessed us. Words are far too inadequate to convey our deep gratefulness for helping to provide metal roofing for not just one, but for all three buildings, and then showing forth family likeness with God by doing far and above what we asked or even thought possible. And meeting half our support shortfall for 2016, the first year of our next term in Papua New Guinea. Down below they say, this has refreshed our souls. Every time we think of you, we thank God for you, Philippians 1.3. We love you and pray God's abundant blessing upon each and every one of you unto His glory and the furtherance of His kingdom, your brother and sister in the Lord, Ray and Cheryl. Ray and Cheryl, you're thanking us, and we're thanking you for thanking us, because this represents what the body of Christ is about. We're in this together, and we need each other. And this is precisely what the Apostle Paul says, speaking the word of the Lord in 1 Corinthians 12, verses 7 and 27. Paul says, now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. And again, now you are the body of Christ and each one of you is a part of it, you see. So consequently, my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, even in the face of severe and often persistent persecution, even when we find ourselves up against both physical and spiritual foes, even when we find ourselves up against both men and demons, The Bible says that we must, yes, certainly pray. And yes, we must certainly plan. But also by the grace and mercy of God, through faith in the name of Jesus Christ, we must be persevering. We must be persevering when any of us attempts either individually or collectively to rebuild a ruin, to rebuild a wall in a marriage. in a home, in a congregation, in a nation, or even somewhere else in the kingdom of God, like Pawpaw, New Guinea. Perseverance is the third key principle that must be appropriated and applied while inspecting the ruins. Well, friends, I'm gonna touch all too briefly on a fourth and final principle which we must personally appropriate and apply while inspecting the ruins, and that is the principle of praise, the principle of praise. For notice this. Right after, Nehemiah informs us in verse 18 that the people replied, let us start rebuilding, so they began this good work. No sooner does he say that, verse 19, but when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about it. Now we don't have just two, we have three opponents of Nehemiah's work. And Bible scholars say that ought not to surprise us. That ought not to surprise us. In fact, I was reading a book by Pastor Chuck Swindoll, famous pastor and author, and he has a book on the book of Nehemiah. And he comments on that particular verse by saying that God's people need to realize, and I'm quoting Chuck Swindoll now, he said, God's people need to realize that critics run with critics. And again writes Swindoll, when you walk by faith, in any of our lives, when you walk by faith, you will encounter the hostility of people who walk by sight. And that is precisely what Nehemiah found himself up against. So look at the text again with me, please. But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. What is this you are doing, they asked? Are you rebelling against the king? Now friends, do you find the irony in that question as I do? Are you rebelling against the king? What is so ironic about that? But what is so ironic about that is that these three are condemning Nehemiah for disobeying, they thought, an earthly king, King Artaxerxes. When the one he was serving was the great king. He was the king of kings. He goes on to say, look at verse 20, I answered them by saying, the God of heaven. I am serving the great God, the great king, the king of all kings. He answered them by saying, the God of heaven. will give us success, not may give us success, not might give us success, not hopefully will give us success, not perhaps will give us success. He says the God of heaven will give us success. And my young friends, I've shared this with you before over the years. I learned it in the days of my youth, and it's a very precious principle to me. And I share it again with you. Always remember, my young friends, no matter where you are, no matter where you find yourselves, no matter what kind of circumstance or situation you are in, Always remember, you and God are a majority in any and every situation. You and God are a majority in any and every situation. You and God are a majority in any and every situation. And that is why here, Nehemiah answers them by saying, the God of heaven, will give us success. We, his servants, will start rebuilding. But as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right, or the Hebrew a little more literally says memorial, you have no claim or historic right to it. What do they mean by that? Nehemiah here, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, was referencing what is called the great antithesis set forth in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3.15. In Genesis 3.15, God says to Satan, I will set enmity between your seed, says to Satan, to you and the woman, between your seed and her seed. And so this antithesis that Nehemiah is referring to here is the opposition, if you will, between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, between the children of God and the children of the devil, between the children of light and the children of darkness, between the children of the covenant, between the children of the covenant, and between the wicked of this world, you see. And let us not miss the fact, my dear brothers and sisters, that again, He gives all glory to God. The God of heaven will give us success. And He does that throughout this book. In fact, if you're taking notes, I'm not going to read the text at this time, but if you're taking notes, Nehemiah does just that in Nehemiah 1, verse 5. He does it in Nehemiah 2, verse 8. 1, verse 5. 2, verse 8. Chapter 2, verse 18. And here again in chapter 2, verse 20. And he does it again repeatedly throughout the book. He gives praise to God. He gives praise to God. My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, that is precisely what you and I must continually be doing as well. We must continually be doing that as well. And I'd like to illustrate that truth as we close this way. I mentioned a few moments ago the summit I was able to attend entitled The Watchman on the Wall down outside of Dallas. I mentioned several of the titles of the messages we heard. And again, picture all these pastors there in this humongous room. I think the sanctuary there seats about 7,000, but we were in a room that was maybe three gymnasiums. It was massive. So just picture these 400 pastors there. We've been through the conference. It's the last message. And that last message was brought, entitled, The Call to the Watchman, The Call to the Watchman. And it was brought by a man named General Jerry Boykin. General Jerry Boykin, Executive Vice President of the Family Research Council. Now some of the men here today might recognize the name, especially if you were in the military, of General Jerry Boykin. General Jerry Boykin was one of the men in Mogadishu several years ago. who was wounded in the, they made a movie of it, the Black Hawk Down incident, Mogadishu, he was there. He was also on the Delta Force going back about 40 years. Do you remember when Jimmy Carter was president and they tried to rescue the Iranian hostages? Remember that? And the helicopter, one of the transport helicopters crashed into the C-130 transport plane and a big fire broke out. And they had to abort the rescue attempt of the hostages. Well anyway, General Boykin was there at that time with the Delta Force. One of the things he shared with us as we concluded the conference was a quote from a General Louis B. Chesty-Puller. At the earlier service, we had a mom whose son is a Marine, and she came up to me afterward, and she knew all about Chesty-Puller. But anyway, General Louis B. Chesty-Puller was the most highly decorated Marine in U.S. history. And General Boykin was quoting him to us, and he said, Chesty-Puller once said this to his men, and I'm gonna quote it now. He said, all right, men, they're on our left, They're on our right. They're in front of us. They're behind us. They can't get away this time. They can't get away this time. I remembered that quote when I was studying the message for this week. And friends, get a load of this. This is gonna rock your socks. Go down to verse 19. Sanballat was the governor of Samaria. Can you picture the Holy Land? Where is Samaria in relation to Judah? It's in the north. It's in the north. Tobiah was an Ammonite from the east. Geshem, the Arab, came from the south. And, of course, the Israelites had the Mediterranean Sea to their west. Nehemiah and the Israelites in that day, some 2,500 years ago, literally were surrounded by their enemies. It looked as if everything was hopeless. The cause was lost. My dear friends in the Lord, is it not true that many times in our own personal lives, in our marriages, in our home lives, our family lives, our congregational life, in this nation today, we can feel exactly that same way? It's impossible. It's hopeless. The cause is lost. But oh, my dear, dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, let us be assured of this. To the extent that by the grace and mercy of God, through faith in the name of Jesus, and by the person and power of His Holy Spirit, you and I not only pray, and you and I not only plan, but we also persevere, and we also give all praise and glory to God. Like Nehemiah of old, we also will soon find ourselves being busy about the rebuilding of the wall, having successfully completed our own inspection of the ruins. Amen. Let's bow our heads and our hearts together in prayer. I answered them by saying, the God of heaven will give us success. We, His servants, will start rebuilding. But as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it. O Lord our God, by Your grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, enable and empower each and every one of us and ours to fervently and effectively pray, to plan, to persevere, and to give You the praise As individually and collectively, we carefully complete our inspection of the ruins of the walls, which we seek to rebuild in our hearts, within our homes and marriages, within this congregation, and within our nation, and also elsewhere in the worldwide church and kingdom of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in whose name alone we pray. Amen.