A couple of weeks ago, we began talking about Nehemiah. And we talked about the biblical principles he used when he began the task of leading the effort to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. And if you'll remember, we said that when Nehemiah had received the commission from the Lord, the walls of Jerusalem had decayed. They were broken down. They had fallen to the ground. And it left the people of God without defense. It left the people of God in despair. And when Nehemiah received his call from God, he fixed his focus on that call. Nehemiah said, "God had laid something on my heart!" And when he felt the call, he fasted. He prayed. He wept. And God had told Nehemiah what to do! And we talked about the fact that God has a job for every one of us! God has a plan for every life! And if we are to ever realize that plan, we needed to spend some time praying and meditating to find the will of God for our lives! Like Nehemiah, we need to fix our focus on God's call. And then after Nehemiah fixed his focus, we said that he went out to survey the situation. He needed to find out how bad the walls were. He went out to find the facts. He arrives in Jerusalem, and rather than asking people about the condition of the people, the city, and the wall, Nehemiah goes out to see what the condition really is for himself! He saw that God's work was in ruin. This morning, I want us to spend some time talking about how, after Nehemiah had formed a fellowship to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, he fortified his faith and the faith of those around him. So let's start reading in Nehemiah 2:18.