 because this is a partnership this is not young versus old old versus young this is a partnership of both generations come on somebody and we're standing on the shoulders of the previous generation in Jesus mighty name and Nehemiah chapter chapter 4 I want you to open your Bible or open the app on your on your phone Nehemiah chapter 4 and verse verse 15 I'm gonna camp in chapter 4 but I want to just share the word of the Lord with with you verse 15 and it happened when our enemies heard that it was known to us that God brought their plot to nothing that all of us returned to the wall everyone to His work when our enemies heard that we knew their plan and that God brought the enemies plot to nothing it says we all returned to the wall and we returned to our work this whole chapter starts with this halfway through building the wall Nehemiah as a volunteer from Babylon along with the people in Israel right there in Jerusalem started to rebuild the wall the wall to us what it speaks of it speaks of our calling the wall speaks of youth ministry the wall speaks of deliverance ministry the wall speaks of the visit thousands local and millions globally the wall speaks of seeing incurable sicknesses being healed the wall for us speaks of young generation being built up from the ashes like Zach was mentioning young generation being built up from witchcraft depression and anxiety and new age and brick by brick day by day month by month being established in the call that God has for them but I want you to notice what happened halfway through in the verse 6 chapter 4 we build the wall and the entire wall was joined together up to half of its height for the people had a mind to work now it happened when some ballot to buy an Arab the Arabs the Ammonites and the Ashtarites heard the walls of Jerusalem were being restored the gaps were beginning to be closed that they became very angry and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion I sense there is somebody that is either in this room or watching us online that you have your halftime you build your wall to the middle to the half and you stopped you started this year really well even as we are at the end of July this being the last Wednesday of July we've come to the end to the half of this year and there has been things happening this year already in the youth ministry some of you this year you started really well and your wall is built to the half of it and there are cracks that are being filled there are gaps that are being filled in your life a gaps in your prayer gaps maybe in your Bible reading gaps in your relationships gaps in your ministry as those gaps are being filled the Bible says something begins to happen you're on the roll the Bible says people had their mind to work meaning they were motivated everything was going good but you must understand when you're building your life in your career when you're building your life in your ministry you can't build blind church name is said don't build blind what is being building blind when you're thinking that your success is everyone's success when you succeed somebody's failing when I mean somebody I'm not talking about your ex or your the haters or I'm talking about the enemy is suffering a defeat every time you're succeeding every time somebody is getting saved here that means somebody is losing that person anytime somebody is getting healed in here that means that the devil is losing every time you are moving forward that means that the enemy is losing in the Bible says that when he saw the wall being half-billed he became outraged and he decided to attack Jerusalem he attacked he decided to attack Jerusalem and what I love Nehemiah for is the Bible says the moment that the enemy started to plot the scripture says Nehemiah started to pray right this down when the enemy plots I have to pray when the enemy plots plans schemes creates conspiracies confusions I have to go to prayer I have to start praying why because if I'm not praying I will be building blind what I mean by building blind I'm gonna show you in here it says nevertheless we made our prayer to our God because of them we set a watch against them day and night then Judah said so this whole tribe of Judah so this is not just one individual and this is for a leader this is extremely depressing not when one guy or one girl comes in who's always depressed always discouraged and always burned out we're talking about a tribe meaning there's a group of people that come to Nehemiah the enemy is plotting to attack Jerusalem they're not done yet they're halfway there you are halfway there you are halfway through this year and so it seems like okay everybody's motivated and something begins to happen the tribe of Judah comes to Nehemiah and said this the strength of people is failing because there is too much rubbish what what do you mean too much rubbish I mean isn't that what we're doing we're getting out the debris and we're building the wall yeah there's too much rubbish and I want you to see what people said to Nehemiah the strength of laborers is failing there is too much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall we quit we can't do it anymore we're done we can't do it anymore I can't take this anymore I can't lead a group anymore I can't serve anymore I am tired you're only 16 you're only 17 I'm burned out but you're only 20 how is that possible you got all of your organs functioning properly you don't have a brain tumor in your brain how is it possible to be burned out you have no responsibilities even you're not paying for your car insurance how is it possible and your strength is failing how is that possible very easy you know how it's possible it's a warfare that's going on behind the scenes and you're building blind you're only thinking that what you're doing is here and that's all that is and you're not realizing there's something else going on behind the scenes because you've been making progress it upset the enemy and he's playing tricks he's creating conspiracies and these conspiracies they are real and they are genuine they are to create confusion they are to create fear they are to deplete you they are to cause you to bleed out to cause you to burn out so that your strength is failing and you say I can't do this anymore I can't believe in God anymore I can't read my Bible anymore why too much rubbish in the youth group too much rubbish in my family too much rubbish in my own head too much rubbish I can't do this anymore and you stop halfway and instead of being a finisher like your Lord Jesus Christ who's the author and the finisher of faith you're the author of your faith and you are the failure of your faith when Jesus was dying on a cross he did not say I quit what changed the world is he said it is finished but see halfway through the enemy will cause you to lose your strength halfway through the enemy will cause you to be discouraged by all of the rumble all of the mess all of those issues and so that you will say I can't do this anymore and this is the amazing part you're not the only one you got a group of people that support your burnout there's a conspiracy going on you have a thing you're not the only one in fact you got the main leaders in the church agree with me everybody agrees with me leadership is toxic the environment is toxic honestly and I then after a while you have other people who agree with you God is not faithful God doesn't heal God doesn't save Christianity is a joke my faith failed my strength failed I'm done I quit I can't do this anymore if you're building blind you will quit there but if you're aware all of what you're feeling is a conspiracy somebody else is playing the game right now somebody else is moving the pieces right now somebody else is causing all of that to happen and if you're gonna be like Nehemiah and I want to share with you just few practical things one thing if your faith if your strength is failing it's time to fall on your knees sooner or later everyone's strength in here will fail why because you were never meant to run on your own strength your strength has an expiration date no matter how disciplined you are no matter how much fasting and willpower you have I have a word for you from the beginning I just turned 35 last last Thursday and I can tell you I've done this since 16 when I was a youth but I could tell you how many times I built to a particular season to a particular time and then the debris and then all of that what is the scripture what is the word that it says in here all the rubbish in church all the rubbish among young people all the rubbish among the leaders all the rubbish among the people that were coming in saying one thing and doing the other all the rubbish in the culture all the rubbish in my own emotions all the rubbish in my own struggles that too much rubbish was happening and guess what started to happen my hands were start going down and I start losing my strength and this I thought because I'm failing at my strength God is failing me not realizing when your strength fails God didn't fail you you failed you why God was waiting for that to happen so that you can come to the end of you and experience the beginning of him when your strength fails fall on your knees and say God I can't do it but your word says I can do all things not through my willpower not through I name it claim it blab it grab it not through I'm gonna try harder not through I grew up in a Christian home not through I know it better I'm gonna push it through I'm gonna grind it I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm gonna do the God I can't do it like that I can only do it through you you can fast throughout without God you can pray without God you cannot be disciplined without God you cannot be consistent without God you cannot be pure without God I'm gonna tell you one thing sooner or later because of all of the rubbish around your life in your family in your finances and in your own emotions you will come to a place where your strength will fail never equal your strength to God when your strength fails it simply means you encountered a spiritual realm for which your strength is no match to that's why King Saul and the rest of these kings stood in front of Goliath they could they were no match to Goliath because Goliath was a spiritual force and they failed but David came in though he was a little boy he wasn't coming in his own strength and that's why he did not say to Goliath I come to you with my weapons Goliath laughed at him because he says you ain't got even weapons he says I come to you in the name of the Lord by nature I am a disciplined person by default I am more disciplined person I can tell you one thing so many times in my life my discipline failed me so many times my discipline brought me more pain discouragement than those people who were not disciplined so many times discipline made me so miserable envious angry and upset and frustrated with God and they had to come to the point where my discipline had to fail me your strength has to fail you and it will fail you when you begin to see all the rubbish around as long as you're first in a church first few weeks first few months you don't see the rubbish and a lot of times the reason why you don't because you are the rubbish you still got brought a lot of it with you and the reason why you don't notice it is because you're full of it and it's completely fine all of us have rubbish all of us including the person looking to we all have things church is made out of imperfect people and just because you slap a title on them and just because they speak in tongues and just because they can prophesy and just because they can cast out demons just because they finished a college and got a degree it does not mean they lost the rubbish my friend we got rubbish and the problem with the rubbish is comes a point it becomes so much of it that you come to the point that these people came through I can't take it anymore I can't serve anymore honestly for the health of my soul I can't even attend church anymore honestly for my own well-being I can't read the Bible anymore just makes me feel too guilty I can't pray anymore I'm taking a break from God I'm burned out my friend you're not burned out you're just building blind you're now realizing you're not just building you're also being battled against at the same time sometimes it's not a demon it's just you have a destiny and this destiny is provoking a resistance in the spirit realm and God is allowing your strength young men and young women listen to me very carefully to fail he didn't fail you you failed so that you can come to the end of yourself and God will say now I can start now no longer depended on your strength no longer I got the passion I make more promises than I can keep I'm so emotional and then the emotions were out and I don't know what to do with myself I break those very promises I'm disappointed at myself guess what happens all of that is your strength and when that comes down and you fail you come on your knees or you can run from your assignment you come on your knees and say God I need you God I can't do it on my own God my strength failed me you didn't I ask you please help me God give me the strength that I need to carry on give me the strength not just to keep putting another brick but to see this wall completed give me the strength for another day give me the strength to finish school give me the strength to continue be a positive influence in a toxic environment in my home give me the strength to continue live pure in the world of pollution and impurity give me the strength to continue honor you in my dating relationship with this boyfriend give me the strength God to continue honoring my parents and my grandparents or my guardians who it feels like they're controlling my life God give me the strength because mine ran out mine failed but you didn't God didn't fail you when your strength failed in fact the book of Nehemiah did not end when the tribe of Judah came and says we are done something happened to Nehemiah remind Nehemiah reminded him he says guys this whole thing that you're feeling right now this fatigue that's not fatigue it's a fight you're just not aware that there is something going on in the spirit realm and you being warred against and so he says we gonna do a few things and if you take your notes I want you to write down a few simple things a few simple thoughts one of them is for us to finish building this wall we have to rely on the strength of God God didn't fail me my strength failed me but God is there to pick me up Nehemiah says this to to the people in verse 14 so after the Judah said you know our strength has failed us we can't do it anymore verse 11 it says verse 11 says our adversary said we neither know or see anything till we come into your midst and kill them and cause the work to cease so the enemy also said not only the people are kind of done they're like we can't do it anymore we're halfway done but we don't have any more strength we are worn out we are exhausted but the enemy said we will come when you don't see us and we will take you out verse 12 so then the Jews who dwelt near them came and told us 10 times geez really 10 times you have to remind Nehemiah 10 times hey they want to kill us they want to kill us they want to kill us they want to kill us they want to kill us I love this about Nehemiah verse 13 and Zach you need to listen to this therefore it doesn't start with therefore I quit Nehemiah did not say well honestly why in the world that I even start this thing honestly I lived in Babylon I have the high-ranking job have an extremely high salary I don't get paid to do this honestly guys if you don't want to do this ask the Levista baby I'm done your tribe of Judah think like oh this is so horrible and everything good for you you go and just go home I'm I'm going back to Babylon I have a soft place to sleep in I have an expensive car I have a very good job I'm wanted there things are going good I don't want to be here Nehemiah did not do that this wasn't he wasn't getting paid for this this was a volunteer job it was a sense of a call he says I positioned men on those walls he almost ignored all the burned out I can't do this this is very difficult this is very hard he kind of ignored that he positions people with both things tools and weapons and the Bible says they started to pray they started to worship and that's the verse that I read to you the enemies plot failed we see the strength failed but then the plot failed this is what I want to go after right now and I can share more things but I think that's enough for now is I want you to understand I believe every person here is building something if you go into school you're building something if you are in a relationship you're building something if you are trying to get a car you're building something you're trying to build something in your life whatever your view of that is but you're building something if you don't learn this early in life not only to build but also to battle you will come to a point where your building will come to a stop and you will quit whether it's in writing a book whether it's in starting a blog whether it's in whatever area where God called you to do there will come a point you will do it you will do it you'll be motivated you'll be excited and then comes this point too much mess too much emotional problem and the person stops and it's not because of too much this and too much that it's because there was something else going on in the spirit realm you were attacked you came under influence of that of that demon they wanted to stop the work but I want to encourage you today don't just build battle to don't just go to school go to prayer don't just build relationship build intimacy with God Nehemiah knew the secret he says we can't finish this wall if everyone is only building a wall they will be distracted and then they will be attacked suddenly and Nehemiah says I want to equip every person so you can do two things you have a weapon and you have a tool you have a tool and you have a weapon and they never had to use it but they were prepared and because they were prepared to fight even though the battle never came the enemy saw their preparation and backed off I have a word for somebody if you open your eyes and realize the problems you are having are not just natural they are spiritual I am not saying to walk around everywhere and rebuked the devil I'm just saying open your eyes and become watchful life is more spiritual your success is the devil's failure he's not gonna have you that success without even creating opposition confusion conspiracy creating some kind of a thing where he will give you a nightmare he might give you some kind of a heading some kind of an attack and God wants you to rise up God wants you to open your eyes and realize this world is spiritual this does not mean I walk around in fear or I expect an accident expect some kind of a bad report what I expect is this that is somebody who's not happy if I'm what I'm succeeding and I'm aware of that when I wake up in the morning I know he's not happy I know he's outraged I know he is mad when I was doing a conference in South Africa in the morning today and demons were coming out people were manifesting on Zoom and on YouTube and people were being touched I know that it provoked him and because I know I walk watchful when there's an opportunity to pray open my mouth and I pray why because I need to be watchful as I am watchful in the realm of the spirit I'm a guy with a microphone and with the sword right now you see the microphone but the devil sees the sword in my mouth the devil sees there's a weapon of lad is holding because lad is aware the world is spiritual lad is aware the world is not natural the world is spiritual when I see what happened with an accident I see this is the enemy's plot was to stop something the enemy's plot was to jeopardize the building of the wall that's why the four leaders of the youth were in one car and the other person that hit him died but I want to tell you something is the enemy's plot came to nothing and even what's happening with Jaden we're gonna stand in prayer we're gonna stand in the gap and not only the doctors are going to do their job you are gonna lift up the sword and you're gonna fight for him come on somebody come on somebody I love what Nehemiah did Nehemiah the Bible says he did not take off his clothes unless to wash them and with the sword and with the tool they finished the wall they accomplished their purpose today we have a book of Nehemiah we're gonna leave the next generation an archive of the victories that we're gonna achieve through God in Jesus mighty name I believe that God is setting us up if you've had an attack a nightmare some kind of a thing just confused honestly burned out for some some reason I just want to encourage you I'm not encouraging to go back jump into ministry and jump into serving what I'm encouraging is open your eyes things are a lot more spiritual than you realize oh no you just don't understand why that just had a bad experience you mean rubbish is that why your strength failed get back into prayer pick up a sword not just a tool sooner or later if you're only building and you're not battling sooner or later you'll stop building and you will come to the point where you will say I am burned out people burn out from their marriages they quit them they burn out from their careers they quit them they burn out from their businesses they quit them they burn out from life and they blow their brains off that's what the devil's goal is to get you to the point where you're so exhausted and you're so burned out and of course you blame life and you say you just don't understand the rubbish that I'm going through yes the rubbish is there but I also know that you have to know who you are in Christ you have to know the world is spiritual and you have to know that even you're like well you know I'm 15 that devil fought me tooth and nail at the age of 13 I did not know the world was spiritual I didn't know that when I did not want to live at the age of 13 at age of 14 at the age of 15 and I literally I didn't want to take my life but I wanted God to end my life I honestly came to the point my strength failed me it was difficult to connect in school I felt like a loner I felt rejected everywhere I felt a chronically insecure I had phobias that scared me to be around people to speak I had felt like I had no friends and every place I tried to stick my nose into I get rejected and honestly I just walked around like man my life is full of rubbish God I can't do this I can't do life I'm only 13 and I can't do life no I'm not sick with cancer no I don't have arthritis and no I don't have tuberculosis I'm not paralyzed but something is there too much rubbish I can't do it anymore but see the world was spiritually the devil knew it before I did and he fought me tooth and nail I look back now and guess which area of my life that God is using the most the very area that I felt so paralyzed and crippled in the area of being confident the area of speaking I want to challenge you as a young person the devil only binds those God plans to use the devil only attacks those God intends to use for his glory you need to rise up you need to open your eyes and realize you are at war you need to realize something is coming against you right now but with the power of the Holy Spirit with the community of believers instead of us confirming everybody's conspiracies confusion and sad feelings I'm being rejected I'm being lonely today we're gonna build your faith to tell us today I'm gonna remind you what Nehemiah told those people he says remember your God is an awesome God remember what God has done before remember where you should have died and God stepped in and protected you remember the calling of God upon your life remember when you wept and cried until you couldn't cry anymore and you gave God a promise God I will do anything for you I will go to the ends of the earth for you God I will give my body to be burned for you God I will give every dollar every penny to you because I love you so much God says remember that promise remember that covenant remember where you were so melted in my presence that honestly you were willing to do anything and you laid your life on the altar why did you fall from that altar get back on that altar honor that promise honor that covenant honor that vow that you made to me and I will restore you get your prayer life back because it's your prayer that does the battle position yourself don't just serve also slay position yourself in prayer don't just build build build build build build also battle how do you battle with the word of God how do you battle on your knees when you're too weak to pray you say God give me the strength when you too weak to do what God wants you to do say God I can't do it anymore but please give me the strength God my strength failed you didn't give me the strength and you will feel supernatural strength going through your body I know what it's like when during the 40-day fasting I had no strength and right in the middle of it I had to fly to Ukraine to preach and the worst and the most difficult time is when somebody paid for our first-class tickets and my wife next to me was eating the best meal on the planet earth and I looked at that meal and that meal had a voice it started to speak to me said you're fool quit give up but see mama didn't raise a quitter I'm not following a quitter my savior is the author and the finisher when he was on the cross he said it is finished and I said Lord if I'm gonna have to die at this fast I give you one promise I'm gonna die and I'm gonna say I finished it I am quitting I quit too many times in my life before and I still live with no regrets and consequences over this thing I will finish and I felt God says I'm gonna give you the grace it was supernatural grace I can't explain it because I arrived in Ukraine it was so freezing cold I was literally freezing we start doing interviews start doing services we were done with services we didn't even sleep that night got on the airport it flew for about 24 hours I came from the airplane it went straight to the leaders meeting it was supernatural strength I can't explain it how I did it it was literally supernatural strength but you know when you meet that strength when you lose yours and instead of when you lose yours you quit you get on your knees and you say God my strength failed but I fall that's to help me the best prayer the most spiritual the deepest prayer is God help I know I cast out demons I know I I heal the sick I know I had visions and dreams God I know I'm this great person I already have children of my own I know I have a mortgage on my name but God right now before you I am nothing help me in the spirit you're not on your knees you're a humongous giant standing with the sword and every demon in hell has a heart attack when they see that because something shifts it becomes stronger than you feel in Jesus name I want us right now as a youth group as a youth ministry as young adults ministry I want us to begin to pray for the next six months for the remaining of this wall remaining of this year so that this what God has done last week doesn't stop here and everybody goes into there and I'm not downplaying emotional weirdness I also know spiritual warfare what a lot of young people call emotional burnout are nothing short than spiritual warfare because they're only building they're not battling they're only having tools they don't use their weapons how I know that because the u-version Bible app hasn't been opened in 20 days how I know that because anytime we have a morning prayer you have a morning slumber how do I know that because anytime the Lord prompts you to fast you're feasting when you drop your weapon and you only building very soon even your hand gets tired when you hold the weapon even if you don't have to ever use it but you have it the enemy sees it the plot of the enemy comes to nothing I decree and declare that every plant the enemy plant will fail I decree and declare no weapon formed against you will prosper I decree and declare every demon that sent the Satan has sent on the assignment to take you out that demon will go back and will be punished by the devil because he will fail in his assignment I decree and declare that you will get your strength back and this strength it won't be yours and you'll never be able to give yourself a credit God will get the credit you will not be able to credit your prayer you will not be able to credit your fasting you will not be able to credit your willpower you will be able to credit God and he will say to God be the glory who has given me the strength and through him I flew my enemies through him he strengthened my fingers for battle and my hands for war my God is my strong tower he lifted the horn of my salvation he was my refuge and my strength I hid in the secret place of most high God I decree and declare that over your life today in Jesus mighty name every plan of the enemy will fall flat on the face I decree and declare today when the enemy sees you being ready when the enemy sees you position when the enemy sees you standing he will fall he will crumble God says