Calvary Chapel Central - Phoenix and Arrowhead

W0737 Nehemiah refused to “come down” and interrupt the work for the Lord. He reminds me of another, even greater man. This was said to Jesus as He hung on the cross. Matt 27:40 (NKJV) . . . . "You who destroy the temple and build [it] in three days, save Yourself. If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross." Jesus also refused to come down. He too was doing a great work. His compromise would have meant our death. They slandered Him also, as a winebibber, a gluttonous man, and friend of sinners. Nehemiah was able to say in Nehe 6:15 So the wall was finished . . . in fifty-two days. Jesus was able to say in John 19:30 . . . "It is finished!" but He did it in 3 days.

W0738 When the "walls" are built there is a tendency to relax. Notice how Nehemiah prepared for this. Nehe 7:3 (NKJV) And I said to them, "Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot; and while they stand [guard], let them shut and bar the doors; and appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, one at his watch station and another in front of his own house." He made provision for the opening and closing of the gates and set guidelines for who had watch duty. In other words when the walls were completed the people didn’t simply “relax” with a job well done, they made provision for counter-attack because they knew their enemy. They knew attack would come. But he also prepared them spiritually by the reading of God's word, which brought about revival.

W0739 Revival is not evangelism. Evangelism is winning the unsaved for Christ. Evangelism is the permanent, continuing work of the church. Revival has to do with the Christian. Revival is a gracious outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the church. It is possible to have a certain amount of success in evangelism without a genuine revival! Because: The Lord has told us through the prophet Isai 55:11 (NKJV) So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper [in] [the] [thing] for which I sent it. But, genuine revival in the hearts of God's people will bring large scale evangelism! (Ex. healthy sheep beget little sheep). Much evangelism that the Lord would like to do is thwarted by the coldness that exists in the hearts of His people. But, when a cold heart is lit on fire by a genuine revival from the Holy Spirit, evangelism will take place. BIG TIME. The people of God today need genuine revival.

W0740 Nehemiah had agreed to return to the court of the king of Persia after the wall was built. Twelve years have passed and the people have entered into the same sins that ruined them before the captivity. They had failed in separation with other nations. They had failed in their commitment to sanctification. They had entered into marriages with ungodly people. They had failed in their service to the Lord. Nehemiah had to "clean house" all over again.

G0233 Pastor Rod show us what life is meant to be like when we abide in the Word of God.

W0573 The mixed multitude spread an attitude of complaint against the Lord because they wanted meat to eat instead of the steady diet of manna. IT was really a dissatisfaction with the Lord Himself!

W0579 The murmuring continues! This time the Lord sends fiery serpents as judgment. The people repent and the Lord instructs Moses to fabricate a bronze serpent and raise it for the people to look at. Those who looked escaped death, those who did not look died. Pastor John takes us into the New Testament book of John chapter 3 to discover the true meaning of the bronze serpent.

W0571 The Lord instructs Moses to take a census of the tribes, and their Wildnerness Journey begins.

W0572 Overview of the first few chapters and a look at the cloud that guided Israel, so they knew when to pitch tent and when to move.

W0574 Moses' older brother and sister - Aaron and Miriam let jealousy and envy get the best of them and start questioning Moses' authority. The Lord puts a stop to it and Miriam ends up with leprosy which the Lord heals - but she still has to remain outside of camp for 7 days. Sin has its consequence.

W0575 12 spies are sent into Canaan and only Caleb and Joshua interpret what they see through eyes of faith. As a result only Joshua and Caleb would enter the Promised Land and Israel would wonder in the winderness for 40 years.

W0576 Korah, Dathan, and Abiram decide that Moses and Aaron have "exhalted themselves above the assembly of the Lord" and question them on it. They incite 250 prominent men to rise up with them. Moses proves that he is God's annointed and nany die that day as a result of the sins of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Gossip and division are very destructive forces.

W0577 On the heels of Korah's rebellion - the Lord validates Aaron's ministry by budding and bringing forht fruit from the rod placed before Him in the tabernacle. The rest of the tribe's rods bore no such fruit. The Lord validates Aaron's ministry.

W0578 Moses lets all the years of disobedience get to him when the people grumble against him and Aaron becasue they have no water. Instead of speaking to the rock as the Lord told him to do, he hit the rock and forfeits the Promise Land for misrepresenting the Lord.

W0580 Balaam seems to be a genuine prophet of God. We will see in this first teaching that he starts out clear direction from the Lord, but greed alters his perception. He is paid to curse Israel, but as of yet - has not.