This is the last message in our series on Nehemiah
-It has been a Book full of practical instruction and hope
-It has reminded us of the consequences of SIN…
-It reminds us of the difference that ONE PERSON can make if they are committed to glorifying God.
-It has shown us that God LOVES and CARES FOR His people and DOES NOT give up on them.
-The last 5 chapters of the Book are all about the HOLINESS of God and what He wants His people to be like.
That last point...about the Holiness of God and how the WORLD, our FLESH and the DEVIL war against His righteous requirements can be OVERWHELMING to us at times.
***Tony Campolo tells of a meeting where a man, apparently repentant before God, cried out at the church alter, “Fill me Lord! Fill me!” But a woman in the church who apparently knew of the man’s repeated attempts to follow God and the always following failure shouted out, “Don’t do it Lord...he leaks!”
I can say with a high degree of certainty that there is at least ONE struggle in your life that seems like a MOUNTAIN to you. Its an area that you struggle and fall and struggle and fall and whenever you think about that “next step” of obedience or growth or commitment in your life...Satan puts that right in your face and says, “You’ll NEVER overcome that...why even try?”
“You’re an ANGRY person…
“A LUSTFUL person…
“A BITTER person…
“A PROUD person
“A LYING person...whatever...you’ll never change!” That, in part, is why I included the poem you’ll find at the top of your outline:
“One step and then another and the longest walk is ended.
One stitch and then another and the longest tear is mended.
One brick upon another and the tallest wall is made.
One flake upon another and the deepest snow is laid.
Do not look downhearted on the work you have to do,
And never say that such a task you never can get through;
Just endeavor day by day God’s vantage point to gain,
Soon the mountain that you feared will prove to be a plain.”
-- Author unknown
I’m going to resist the temptation to dwell on the failings of the Israelites in this passage as, once again, they are failing to fulfill the commitments they’ve made to God (they make such a convenient target and I think sometimes we point at their inconsistencies to avoid facing our own struggles). Instead, we are going to look for connections between their failures and our own...and focus in on TWO ATTITUDES and ONE ACTION that can help us be more consistent in our walk with God.
IMPORTANT: After almost 12 years in Jerusalem, acting as the governor and one of the spiritual leaders, Nehemiah returned to King Artexerxes (Nehemiah 13:6-7a)
We are not told exactly how long he was gone, but we do see that in that span of time, things began to decline in Jerusalem…UPON RETURNING...Nehemiah found that the people had begun to compromise…
1.) They gave SACRED SPACE to God’s enemy. (vs. 4-9)
Eliashib let Tobiah move into one of the large storerooms of the temple. Tobiah, who threatened to KILL Nehemiah and was willing to do anything to keep Jerusalem from being secure is given a place to live in one of the most sacred areas in all Jerusalem. Here is an UNHOLY man...a VIOLENT man...an ENEMY of God, and the priest gives him a key to the front door of the temple and puts a welcome mat out for him. OUTRAGEOUS!!
· It would be, in a sense, like finding out that to make a little extra money, we let some well-known CON MAN use space in our church for his criminal activities.
· Or let something immoral happen on our property, and just looked the other way.
· EXCEPT THAT these buildings are not the modern day equivalent of the Temple...what is? We are!! Our HEARTS are the temple of the Spirit of God. This ROOM is not holy...WE are to be holy!
· Nehemiah, when he discovers that a sinful man has been allowed to live in the temple rooms, gets in there and THROWS OUT all of Tobiah’s belongings and he has that space purified…AND moves the right things BACK IN. (Important detail)
· When we take this concept to heart...we won’t be “scolding kids” for running around or being noisy in the building...we will remove anything from our LIVES (what we see, hear, do, any habit, any relationship) that keeps us from being pure before God...then we allow God to purify it (forgiveness and cleansing)...then we put the RIGHT things back there!
2.) They STOPPED GIVING to God’s work. (vs. 10-13)
Part of the reason why it was even possible to fit Tobiah and his belongings into the temple was that the people had stopped bringing their tithes and offerings in as they promised they would. (see Nehemiah 10:35-39)
· They PROMISED they would honor God in their giving...but they had stopped being faithful in this area too.
· The VISIBLE result (what Nehemiah and everyone could see) was a lack of Levites in the temple to do the work (v. 10b).
· The INVISIBLE result would be the removal of God’s blessing from the people. The priests, the Levites and the rulers has PROMISED to keep this before the people (9:38) but had failed. Their “silence” had the potential to really harm the people!
· BRINGING IT HOME...how are you doing in this area of obedience? Giving financial gifts and offerings to God through His church is a HUGE act of faith...because you could use that money for other things. But God loves you enough to bring you to the crossroad where your “faith” is demonstrated in an act of “letting go”. The only time I can find where God says, “Put me to the test in this…” is in Malachi where He tells us to give Him the portion of our income that belongs to Him...and “see if He won’t pour out a blessing” as a result.
3.) They took back specific things they had committed to God: Their TIME and their BUSINESS. (vs. 15-22)
As you heard a few weeks ago...to “honor the Sabbath” was to trust that God would provide in 6 days what other people were working 7 days to obtain. It was an act of FAITH.
When Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem he found that the people had violated their promise to keep the Sabbath. THEY were working and were encouraging OTHERS to work by carrying on trade with them.
(Just an observation: As the people begin to neglect their commitments to God, the power of money is demonstrated on TWO fronts: They GIVE LESS and they WORK MORE… even violating Sabbath regulations... to have more for themselves.)
· Nehemiah takes this on in a very practical way:
-He calls their self-effort “sin” for they are trusting themselves more than God.
-He warns them that these brought God’s wrath against Israel previously.
-He LOCKS the gates, WARNS the merchants, and POSTS GUARDS.
4.) They married people who didn’t KNOW GOD. (vs. 23-28)
The people had also promised IN WRITING that they would not intermarry with pagan people, but when Nehemiah returned, he found that many of the men had violated this commitment...in fact...a member of the Priest’s FAMILY had married a foreigner. (Can’t you just imagine the “excusing” going on?… “The priest’s grandson did it too!!”)
What do you think of Nehemiah’s reaction? Pretty strong!!
· He rebuked them.
· He called down curses on them.
· He beat them with his fists.
· He pulled out their hair (probably from the beard since losing your beard would be a sign of disgrace...and that is the point here.)
· He made them take an OATH not to do this anymore.
· He chased the priest’s grandson right out of town!!
-What is going on with Nehemiah? Has he gone off the deep end?
-Let’s be honest...Nehemiah’s radical way of dealing with the sin of the people catches us off guard.
-We don’t tend to FEAR GOD or HATE SIN like we should, so this surprises us. Can we understand his MOTIVES? Why is driving this PASSION for holiness?
5.) Nehemiah’s persistent cry: REMEMBER ME! (vs. 14, 22, 29)
· Nehemiah wasn’t motivated by a desire to be POPULAR with the people.
· In fact...he seems convinced that the people of Jerusalem, that he has been serving for well over a decade, are NOT EVEN going to remember him FONDLY or treat him KINDLY for all he had done.
· His statement “Remember me” doesn’t mean that he thinks God will “forget” him. It is a REVELATION about his FOCUS and his PRIORITY...that when all is said and done, God will remember and reward his efforts even if NO MAN does.
· He left the comfort of the King’s court...
· Traveled to a broken and disgraced city…
· Endured hardship and threats…
· Worked alongside the people at his own expense…
· Poured himself physically, emotionally and spiritually for these people…
· And yet EXPECTED no APPLAUSE from them...
· He was living, working, sacrificing and serving for the APPLAUSE of HEAVEN!!!
This point is SO important that, to me, it became the overriding theme of this message.
It would have been easy to let the BACKSLIDING and the SIN of the people dominate...but what really shines is the CHARACTER, the COURAGE and the PASSION of one man who was so captivated by the GLORY and HOLINESS of God that he was willing to endure anything and confront anyone to see it revealed!
Think about it…
· It’s easy to give an offering when people notice and are impressed.
· It’s say “no” to overtime and other materialist opportunities if everyone is!
· It’s not hard to marry the good Christian guy or gal if they are the attractive one!
· It’s not difficult to confront the one in sin if everyone agrees he’s wrong.
BUT Nehemiah is swimming against the current on every one of these issues because his focus in on God’s approval...not on winning a popularity poll.
Application: (2 attitudes and 1 action) PERSISTENCE, PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY, PERSPECTIVE
PERSISTENCE- Keep walking. Keep running. Keep climbing. Keep sacrificing. Keep growing in grace and knowledge. Keep giving. Keep serving. And when it comes to sin...keep quitting. Keep confessing. Keep forsaking. Keep receiving His forgiveness.
PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY- God used a MAN named Nehemiah to motivate a people, to build a wall, to overcome their past, to ignore their enemies, to listen to God’s Word, to commit to major reforms. During the 12 years he was among them as their governor, the people kept their promises and honored their vows.
-We sometimes say, “If I can’t do it myself, then I won’t do it!” That’s STUPID! God gave us each other...and I need you and you need me. There is power to commit and power to follow through on commitments that comes from us being accountable to each other. I URGE you (as Pastor Matt has) to strongly seek someone to be spiritually accountable to.
PERSPECTIVE- Ultimately...this is the most important thing. This is WHY you do what you do, and why you DON’T do other things. Its WHO you are trying to please. It’s WHERE you want your APPLAUSE and your REWARDS to come from.
The Bible says you can do what you do for a human audience and they may treat you like a “star” but their praise and applause is your “reward in full.”
OR you can keep your eyes on God...what HONORS and PLEASES Him...and receive the APPLAUSE of heaven and all the other blessings and rewards that go with it!
