Christ Church at Grove Farm

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: My name is Gideon Mangus. I am the high school ministry director here at Christ Church at Grove Farm. I’m excited to be able to bring the word of God before you as we open up the Bible and we dive into this final message on in our series on Nehemiah.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: if you're just joining with us, we have been in a journey through the book of Nehemiah, where we’ve been walking through this work of renewal and rebuilding that God is doing in the life of the people. A quick overview, Nehemiah is a book in the Old Testament that comes after Israel and Judah have been taken over and gone into exile by the Babylonian Empire and then the Persian Empire.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: And they are finally allowed to come back to the land. And when they return to Jerusalem, this city that was meant to be set up and shine in all of God's goodness and glory to the nations around it. When they return to the city, they find that it’s left in ruins. The temple has been desecrated and decimated, and the wall is in rubble and in ruin.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: And there's this renewal process that happens there. The temple gets rebuilt and Nehemiah, they're talking about rebuilding the wall of the city. And there's really this sad scene that goes on. The people of God are back in the promised land, but they're not there as conquerors or victors. They're there as a conquered people, servants to a foreign king.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: And it's in this context that Nehemiah receives this vision, this call to to spur the people on to this rebuilding and renewal process. And throughout this series, what we've said in the book of Nehemiah, that this book is not just about rebuilding walls, it's about God renewing the lives of his people.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: Pastor Craig set up this connection the first week, that there is a spiritual renewal going on here. And that there's a spiritual renewal that can take place in your life when you concede to the call and the promptings of the Holy Spirit to work on the broken places of your own heart. And so the goal in the series has never been just to talk about building walls, but to express the work of God in renewing his people when they lay down the brokenness at his feet and they invite him to come and to work.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: And we're going to try to wrap that all up today and put a bow on that in this message. Will you pray with me before we do that? Father, we come before your throne in the precious name of Jesus Christ. The name that is the highest in all the world and universe, the name that is king over everything.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: Jesus, who came down and saved us through his death and resurrection, and invites us into a new life. Lord, we ask that this morning you would speak to us from your word. Would you meet with us here, God? Would you not only stir us, Lord, but would you change us? Would you set us on fire with a love for you?

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: Would you open our eyes to the hope and the goodness of the Gospel? Would you draw us deeper in and further in to who you are? We want to be overcome and overwhelmed with a love for you. We pray this in the precious name of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: We are closing out this series this morning, and if you got to hear Pastor Craig's message last week or his bonus sermon on YouTube this week, which I did not know we were allowed to do bonus sermons, but apparently that's a thing, bonus sermon on YouTube this week. What you would have found is that we have gone up through chapter 5 of Nehemiah.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: If you flip in your Bible, you'll see that there are 13 total chapters, and so a quick math will tell you that we are a few off this morning. And so I put into chat GPT, I was like, "How fast can I read eight chapters of the Bible?" And it said, "Not fast enough." And so what I'm going to try to do is summarize for us this morning what is going on in the second half of this book.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: What God's doing in the lives of the people and then invite us into what is God doing in our lives today. So a quick overview of Nehemiah. The opening chapters of this book pick up with Nehemiah living in Persia, serving the king. And as he's living there and serving, he receives news of the sorry state of Jerusalem, the city of God, and the people living there.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: And when he hears this, he's broken over and he goes to prayer. And in his brokenness and prayer, God puts in his spirit this call and this desire to go back and start this process of rebuilding and renewal in the people in Jerusalem. And from that original prayer, he then goes before the king and he has this amazing interaction where he takes courage, the king could have killed him.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: He takes courage and he's like, "I I want to go back and I want to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Would you would you allow me to do that? And not only would you allow me to do that, but would you sponsor it?" And the king grants him this wish. God gives him favor in the eyes of the king and he grants him the wish.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: And so chapter 3 ends with Nehemiah going back to Jerusalem and sparking this rebuilding effort. He rallies the people together and he gives them the call that God has given him and they start to get to work on the wall. And we spent a lot of time in this. It's really amazing what they do.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: And there's a lot of spiritual truth in the renewal process that happens. They start by taking an honest assessment of the brokenness around them. And they come together as a community. It's not just one person or one family, it's all of the families together locking arm in arm, starting the work even in their own backyard and saying, "Man, we want to see God do this in our community."

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: It's during this rebuilding process in chapter 4 that they face opposition. There are some high-level players in the area at this time, Tobiah and Sanballat, who are setting themselves up against the work that God is doing and they intimidate and mock and threaten the people, trying to get them to stop the rebuilding process.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: And what Nehemiah does as he faces this opposition is he encourages the people to remember their God. He's like, "Remember that this is something that God's working out in us. This is this is a God-given vision. We we've prayed about this, we've we've discerned this, and so now we need to persevere despite the opposition."

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: And as they're doing that, Nehemiah, and they're facing this outward opposition and oppression, Nehemiah looks inward and sees that there's internal oppression, that some of the wealthy Israelites are oppressing the poor. They're putting high interest on them, and they're selling them into slavery to the nations around them. And Nehemiah puts a stop to that and calls the people to to be one body, the people of God.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: And all of this leads to the wall, this work of rebuilding, being completed in 52 days. This is a record rallying of the people of God. And the wall's finished. The work he's done, finished in 52 days. And then chapter 7 to 10, following the completion of the wall, look at Nehemiah having a reformation and a spiritual awakening in the lives of the people.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: And they've gone from this outward rebuilding work to this beautiful inward renewal. I'm going to list some things that they do. First, in chapter 7, the people gather together and they read their genealogies. Now that sounds like a very boring chapter when you read that, but what's happening there is the people are reclaiming the covenant identity that God has given them.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: As they read these genealogies, they're being reminded that they're no longer exiles, they're a covenant people. They're the chosen people of God. The ancestors, the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Moses, and they're remembering who they are. As they remember who they are, they also make this promise, we want to purify the priesthood, they want to take the holiness of God seriously.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: And so as they go through the genealogies, they find that there are some people who are claiming to be priests but don't have the actual lineage that God has called them to to back it up. And so they say, "Look, we we've been lax with the holiness of God. We want to take that seriously." And so they remove those people from the priesthood.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: Following that, Ezra reads the law publicly. There's this beautiful scenario where where the city comes together and Ezra reads the word of God. And it's lifted up, and and the people the the importance of the word for them is re-established before them. And it's really cool, at first they don't understand it, they hear the law being read and they start weeping and mourning because they're like, "Oh my goodness, we don't follow this."

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: But Nehemiah and Ezra tell them, "Look, God's doing something new here. God's working in this, so rejoice. This is a a day of joy." And so as the word is being re-established, they then respond in obedience. There's a cool scene where they see that they hear about the the Feast of the Tabernacles and they realize, "That's supposed to be going on right now."

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: "And and we want to celebrate it." And so there's this entire scene where they celebrate this feast and they're rejoicing in the fact that God is providing for them. And all of that culminates in chapter 9 to this, probably my favorite chapter in the entire book, where the city comes together and for six hours, it says, for half the day, for six hours, they have this public communal repentance.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: They humble themselves before God. They repent of their sin, they're mourning their sin. And then there's this long prayer that is describing everything that God has done in their lives up to this point. How God has brought them out of Egypt, he's established them as a kingdom, he rebuked their rebellion, and then he's called them back as exiles.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: And and there's this beautiful scene where they're they're repenting for six, I mean, I can't it's hard for me to be broken over sin for 20 minutes. There's this revival going on in the people as they're gathering together to worship and repent. There's a spiritual awakening. After that, they renew the covenant in chapter 10.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: And they say, "Lord, we want to be your covenantal people." And they write down some key reforms, they make these promises to God. They say that they won't marry the surrounding nations that they've been doing. They say that the Sabbath will be observed and honored, that they'll support the work of the temple. You see that there was nobody to run the temple because nobody was tithing and offering ties to to the priests and the Levites, and so they had to go work.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: So there's nobody ministering before God and the people say, "No, we want to provide for people to do that, so we'll support the work of the temple." They said, "We will worship God as he commanded, we won't oppress the poor." And all of that ends in chapter 11 and 12 with this amazing, beautiful re-dedication ceremony that happens in Jerusalem where the walls are dedicated, the city's repopulated, there's worship.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: They have these two choirs that get doling bands choirs as they're worshipping God together. And there's this high note of, "Oh my goodness, Lord, you are transforming and renewing your people in a way that is amazing and beautiful and revival is taking place." And it looks like, "Nehemiah, you've done your job." The the people are renewed, restored.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: And then chapter 13 comes. I want to pick up in chapter 13, beginning in verse 4. It says this, "Now before this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, and who was related to Tobiah, prepared for Tobiah a large chamber where they had previously put the grain offering, the frankincense, the vessels, and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil, which were given by commandment to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, and the contribution for the priests.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: While this was taking place, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the 32nd year of Artaxerxes, king of Babylon, I went to the king. And after some time, I asked leave of the king, and I came to Jerusalem. And I then discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, preparing for him a chamber in the courts of the house of God.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: And I was very angry, and I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the chamber. Then I gave orders, and they cleansed the chambers, and I brought back there the vast vessels of the vessels of the house of God with the grain offering and the frankincense." Chapter 13 starts with this, that Nehemiah goes back to the king for a time.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: After this beautiful revival, after this beautiful renewal, he goes back to the king for a certain amount of time. It doesn't tell us. Scholars say it's a 50-day journey one way. So for a couple months at least, he's back with the king. And when he comes back off that spiritual high that he left the people on, he comes back to find Tobiah living in the temple courts.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: Now, Tobiah is the guy who, throughout this entire story, has set himself up against the work of renewal that God is doing. Not only is this not an Israelite, an Ammonite, so he wasn't allowed in the temple, but this is the guy who's been actively against what God is doing. And Nehemiah comes back to find that the holiness, the zeal for God's holiness that the people once had has been compromised again.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: And we could read all 30 verses of Nehemiah here, but what you'll find repeated three different times throughout this final chapter is each of the key areas of reform and renewal that they just celebrated in the first 12 chapters, the people have fallen back into relapse in every single one of those areas.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: Each of the key areas of reform, the people have relapsed. You see it first here in Tobiah in the temple room. But if you go to verse 10, you see that the priests they promised to care for have been abandoned. Nehemiah writes in verse 10, "I also learned that the portions assigned to the Levites had not been given to them and that all the Levites and musicians responsible for the service had gone back to their own field."

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: So not only is Tobiah living in the temple room, but the people who had promised, "Man, we want people to minister before God and to us," they hadn't followed through in that. They'd abandoned the support of the priests and the Levites. You go on in verse 15, you see that the Sabbath had been ignored.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: He writes, "In those days, I saw people in Judah treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys together with wine, grapes, figs, and all other kinds of loads. And they were bringing all of this into Jerusalem on the Sabbath." So you see, the people have not only failed to provide for the priests or maintain the purity of the temple, but now they're not even following the dedicated rhythms of worship set up for them.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: They're going back to ignoring the law, to desecrating the Sabbath, to doing their own thing. Finally, in verse 23, you'll see the fourth area of relapse in their covenant identity. That covenant identity that they renewed as God's set apart people has been given up. In verse 23, Nehemiah writes, "Moreover, in those days, I saw men of Judah who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or the language of one of the other peoples and did not know how to speak the language of Judah. I rebuked them and I called down curses on them. I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair." That sounds like a middle school pastor. You're like, "Man, sometimes."

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: What happens is they've given up their covenantal identity. They've given up the call to be separate and holy. And so in this final chapter, you come off this spiritual high of this these two choirs and this amazing worship and renewal to see that the entire city had relapsed and gone right back into the garbage and the muck that they had been called out of.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: And Nehemiah ends it in kind of this defeated tone. His final prayer is, "Remember me with favor, God. Remember me because of the good I tried to do." He's kind of thrown up his hands like, "Lord, I tried. Remember me for the good." In the final scene, you see that the walls are built, the word's restored, the covenant's re-signed, but the people remained fragile.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: That the renewal didn't last. And Nehemiah ends with this question, which is this: What will it take to experience a renewal that lasts? Like, what does it take for a renewal to remain? Will anything ever be different?

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: And I'm wondering, as we put that before us, have any of us ever been in a situation in our life where you look in the mirror and you're wondering the same exact thing? Lord, what does it take for the transformation that you're saying you're doing in me to actually work and last? God, what does it take for the renewal that I hear about and the freedom that I hear about to actually take root in my heart?

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: You know, as I was reading this week, I was thinking, Lord, what is it that you have for us? God, as we as we finish Nehemiah, how do we wrap up this series on rebuilding and renewal? And I was wrestling with that. I was like, "Okay, what we could do is we could look at each area of relapse and talk about, well, how do we not do what they did?"

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: You could look at Eliashib inviting Tobiah back into the temple, and it said Tobiah his relative, and you could say, "Okay, what did they do? They went back to the people around them who who caused them to fall into sin. And so how do we have a renewal that remains? How do we have a renewal that lasts? Don't be around bad people." You could say that.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: You look at the second area and say, "Well, they abandoned the priests." Well, what does that show? Well, it says that they only followed the renewal up until the point that it really hurt or cost them. You know, maybe as they were providing for the priests, a bad crop came, and they're wondering, "Well, I don't know if I actually need to give that or or maybe they're realizing, you know, if I keep this for myself, I'll have more money to spend on myself." And so the renewal that lasts is is they only followed the renewal up until the point that it hurt.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: Or even with the Sabbath, you can talk about, "Well, they obeyed the Sabbath up until the point that it became an inconvenience." As soon as business deals are being conducted on the Sabbath, and other priorities fought for that time, then they gave it up. And so renewal that lasts looks like keeping God as a top priority.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: And I was going to preach on on Sunday morning like youth sports on Sundays, and I was going, "I'm kidding, I want to keep my job." But, but see, like, no, renewal that lasts up until the point that that it becomes inconvenient. Well, you need to push through the inconvenience. That's how you have renewal that lasts.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: Or even in the intermarrying. What what can we learn from that? Well, throughout all of the Old Testament, one of the biggest temptations and obstacles for Israel is the wives of is the women of the surrounding nation. And so they fall to this temptation and this trigger that has been repeated in the cycle. And so renewal that lasts is, how do you manage the triggers and then temptations around you?

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: And I was thinking through all of these things that we could preach through and be like, "Man, that's really applicable." But as I was wrestling with that, I was realizing that those are all the symptoms, not the underlying problem. That they could have handled all four of these temptations and still relapsed in some other way.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: There has to be something deeper going on here than just a stronger to-do list. There has to be something more going on here than just a self-help list of do's and don'ts. As I was wrestling with this this week, God brought back to my mind multiple times and moments and memories where I've been in the exact same place as this as these people, where I've gone from renewal to relapse.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: Where I've sat in the fact where it's, "Lord, I make this big bold promise, God, I'm going to follow you now. God, this time it'll be different. This time I'll really pursue you. This time I'll turn away from that sin and I'll turn to you." And you make this big bold promise, God, and then you find yourself a day, a week, a month later, back in the same muck that you promised you would never be out of or ever be back in.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: Has anybody ever felt or experienced that before? You know, in youth ministry, it's really easy. We call this a camp high. You see this all the time. A kid goes away to a camp, they have this amazing experience with God, they're like, "I want to I want to chase God, I'm going to turn from sin," they maybe they could confess, they repent and they get prayed over and like, "I want to turn from sin, I want to turn back to God."

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: And then they come home and they're back in the same routines and the same thing happens. The fire fades. They're back in the same stuff that they promised they were to get out of. And what happens in those moments for most of us is that we look in the mirror and we wonder the same thing Nehemiah was probably wondering, "God, is there anything that could make this different? Like, am I doomed to be stuck in the same thing over and over and try harder and harder? Is there something that can make the renewal work that you're doing in me actually last and remain?"

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: If that's you this morning, I have good news for you. That as we go through this, there's something more deep offered to you. There's something deeper that is offered to you than exhausting cycles of trying harder. You see, most people when they experience that, we have one of two responses. The first response is to negotiate with the brokenness.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: It's not that big of a deal. I'll move on and I'll move through. I'm fine. That's not transformation, that's tolerance. The second response is where I believe a lot of us live, and probably where I live most of my life, is to say, "Okay, Lord, I feel like I'm falling back out of the renewal, I'm falling back out of what you called me. So what I need to do is I need to muscle up and work my hardest and try better to be good."

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: As if more discipline and more effort, God, if I just listened to more Christian music throughout my day, and I got Caleb bumpin', Lord, then that will actually lead to a lasting transformation. But what happens with that effort cycle is it leads back to exhausted brokenness. You can't will yourself to be good. What is the hope then? What is the hope of the Gospel?

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: There's a renewal that is offered to you today in Christ Jesus that is deeper and greater than, pick yourself up by the bootstraps, try your darnedest to be good. And that is because the renewal of God, and this is the crux of the entire book of Nehemiah. The renewal of God is not a self-help method. It is it is a spirit-empowered process of transformation.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: The renewal of God is not a self-help method. It is a spirit-empowered process of transformation. You see, Nehemiah ends with this question, "What does it take to experience renewal that lasts? What does it take for a renewal that remains?" And if that's question is on your heart this morning, the answer's found in the word of God.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: Will you turn to Romans chapter 12 with me right now? We're going to finish up the book of Nehemiah by going to Romans, exactly like God intended us to. Romans chapter 12, favorite verses, famous verses in the Bible. Romans 12 says this, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: This is your true and proper worship. Here's where we're going to live. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, his good, pleasing, and perfect will. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: If you have a pen or a highlighter, underline the verb "be transformed." That verb right there is key to unlocking renewal that remains. What is Paul doing in this sentence? Paul is giving the same call that has been given throughout the entire Bible. Do not conform. It's been given to Moses, Abraham, Isaac.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: Jesus says this on the Sermon on the Mount, "Don't look like the world, be holy." The underlying question is, God, how in the world do I do that? I want that. How do I do that? Paul answers it, "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Here's the key in the phrase "be transformed." That verb there is passive. That is a passive verb, which means that is something that is done in you and to you before that is ever something done by you.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: Meaning, what is the power behind renewal that lasts? It is the power of the Spirit of God living inside you, renewing your mind, strengthening your will that leads to a life of transformation. I heard a sermon this week that was on this, and I'll endorse if you have a chance to listen to it, it's really good.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: Listen to it, it's by a pastor named Miles Fiddell. He pastors a church in Auburn, Alabama called All Saints Church, and he's preaching on addiction and renewal. And he reads this verse, Romans 12, and he said, "For most of us when we hear that phrase, do not conform to the pattern of this world, be transformed by the renewing of your mind. What we hear is this, that okay, I need to try really hard and work up the motivation and conjure up feelings of wanting to serve God.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: And if I just do that, I can will myself into transformation." He says, "If you looked at the modern church, what this verse would be if we got to write it is this: be transformed by the effort of our will." He has this line that's beautiful. He says, "Instead of being transformed by the renewing of our mind, most people are trying to be transformed by the effort of our will."

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: And he walks through this, I don't have time to go into it now, but he walks through the the the brain chemistry behind addictions and how the effort of our will is actually a step in the cycle of brokenness that a lot of addictions find ourselves in, that when we convince ourselves to try harder, it doesn't work. Which is why the Gospel is so good.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: Because what God is asking you to do is not try harder. He's saying, "It's not something that you need to try to do right now. It's something that I've done in you through the power of my spirit." John Piper says this. He says, "The Christian alternative to immoral behaviors is not a new list of moral behaviors. It is a the triumphant power and transformation of the Holy Spirit through faith in Christ Jesus, our Lord, our Savior, and our treasure.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: This transformation is a profound, blood-bought, spirit-wrought change from the inside out." That is good news. The transforming power of the Holy Spirit alive inside of you is renewing you from the inside out. I got two points today as we close up a series on renewal and rebuilding. The first one is this: Renewal that lasts is a spirit-empowered process, not a human effort cycle.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: Renewal that remains is a spirit-empowered process, not a human effort cycle. What's the point here? Here's the point, that the Bible does not lie when it says, "Greater is the one living inside of you than he who's living in the world." That is the truth that you hold on to and you walk in as we face these struggles and the temptations and the trials of this world, that the Holy Spirit alive in me is stronger than the sin and temptation around me.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: Renewal that lasts first begins with this: Do you trust that the Holy Spirit living inside of you is actually stronger than the things that you are dealing with day in and day out? Do you believe that the power of God that has resurrecting you to life is stronger than the power of the world around you?

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: Why are we mentioning the the Holy Spirit? In Titus 3 it says this, this is one of my favorite verses. The only other time in the entire New Testament that that word renewal, when he says, "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind," that comes in Titus 3. In verse 5, Paul writes, "He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: He saved us through the washing of rebirth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ, our Savior." Poured out on us generously. God isn't stingy. The power of the Spirit has been generously poured out into your life, working out the renewal and the transformation.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: Look, this isn't a sermon that is anti-effort, but it's a sermon that says, "Get the priorities straight." So often our first thing is, "Okay, I'm going to muscle up the transformation in my own life," instead of recognizing that the work of the Holy Spirit is already doing that. And so the participation doesn't come from earning change or transformation.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: My participation comes from knowing the power of God is already alive in me, and he who began a good work in me will carry that through to completion. And so I don't walk around scared, fearful, "Oh my goodness, I'm going to mess up again." I walk around knowing that the victory God promises is being worked out in my life.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: That's why you hear the Bible says, "I haven't given you a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control." If you are in Jesus, that is true for you today, whether you feel like it or not. Power, love, and a self-control. Jesus, you have wrought that into me. Lord, would you let me hold on to that and believe that in the face of the lies of the enemy that says, "Man, you're still, nothing's going to change. Nothing's going to move."

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: When Titus talks about that, when Paul and Titus talks about that that renewal, that is not us climbing out, that's the resurrection of the life coming in. Renewal that lasts is a spirit-empowered process, not a human effort cycle. Every other aspect of renewal that we've talked about in this entire series is hanging on the truth of that.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: The difference between us and Nehemiah is that you live on the other side of Jesus. That's why Joel and Joel is like, "Man, I want to put my spirit in them. Oh, the day that I will put my spirit in them." It's good news. Second point, as we close out this series. This has been something that's been repeated every single week for the past few weeks.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: Is this, is that renewal that lasts, while it's a spirit-empowered process, it is sustained in community. You know, when we look at Romans 12, we often take that to be a personal command and an individual call. "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind." But but the entire chapter of Romans 12 is written in the context of the church.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: A few verses later he goes and says, "You are one body." "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. You are one body together." Dan Davis in between services was like, "That word 'you' there is actually the plural word." And I said, "Shut up, nerd!" But I'm kidding. Thank you. That word 'you' is the plural 'you'.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: And so it's actually it's it's a communal call that transformation isn't something that happens individually alone in a room. It happens within the body of believers. Pastor Craig said this multiple times. He said, "Transformation is personal. Renewal is personal. It's hardly ever private or individual." Yes, the Spirit renews the mind, but he does so within the context of the body.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: And and part partly, a reason why we might not be moving into the freedom that Christ has won for us is because we might be refusing to step into the God-ordained areas of transformation that he has provided for us. What I mean by that is, are you in a group of people who know you deeply and walk with you daily?

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: Do you have people around you who are supporting you? Who are supporting the transforming work of the Holy Spirit inside of you? Who can preach the Gospel into your life? Who you can be authentic and accountable with? God has provided the church, not the building, the people, life-changing relationship for that exact reason, life change.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: Renewal that lasts is a spirit-empowered process, not a human effort cycle. If you are tired of trying to do it on your own strength and muscle up the courage to to get it done, here's the invitation today. Trust that he who began a good work in you will carry it through to completion. Walk in the joy and the goodness that God is working out the Gospel in your life day by day.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: Have a few trusted brothers and sisters that you could be authentically broken with to walk in the transformation of the Spirit. Will you pray with me? Father God, as we as we prepare to sing this song, Lord, I ask that this song is a response of faith and trust in you. That as we sing, "Yet not I, but through Christ in me," those words would be engraved on our heart.

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: Lord, if there's anybody in here who has been battling and facing brokenness alone and is desiring to have community surround them, I pray that they would have the courage to come forward and grab somebody, come to the prayer team, grab me, grab Dan, somebody around them and say, "I don't want to walk in this alone any longer."

Rev. Craig Gyergyo: Lord, if there are people in here have been trying and struggling and striving on their own, and they've come to the end of themselves, wondering, "Is God really even listening to me? Is there any change that can really happen?" Would you by your Spirit minister to them right now? We pray this all in the matchless name of Jesus Christ. Amen.