4:33 Well, good evening, Maranatha Bible Church. Welcome to our last Friday night bible study in this building. It's truly been a wonderful four and a half week years as week by week, we've opened the Hebrew scriptures to see what the Lord has in store for us. And tonight will be no different. We will open the word of God, and we come expecting great things from him.
4:58 Amen? Amen. Amen. As we begin our service, I'd like to read just a small section of Psalm one nineteen starting at one verse one twenty nine. Psalm one nineteen one twenty nine.
5:13 The psalmist says, your testimonies are wonderful. Another way you could say that your testimonies are full of wonder, therefore, my soul keeps them. The unfolding of your word gives light. I don't know what you think of when you hear that phrase, the unfolding of your word gives light. But here's what I think of when I was reading that.
5:39 Imagine a light bulb or a flashlight that's on, and it's covered by different layers of cloth. With each layer you peel away, more light comes forth. With each layer, more light springs in the darkness so that you can see what's around us. And when I read that verse, that's what I think of. As we go deeper in the word of God, with each unfolding line that we study or passage that we understand, more light comes into our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit so that we can see in front of us, that we can see the glory of God in these pages.
6:18 The unfolding of your word gives light. It imparts understanding to the simple. They open my mouth and pant because I long for your commandments. Turn to me and be gracious to me as is your way with those who love your name. Keep steady my steps according to your promise and let no iniquity get dominion over me.
6:45 Redeem me from man's oppression. Why? So that I might keep your precepts. Make your face shine upon your servant, and teach me your statutes. My eyes said streams of tears because people do not keep your law.
7:06 Our church, may we love the Lord's law. May we love the Bible so much that that is our prayer as well. Father, we thank you. Oh, lord, we thank you for this time that is yours and that we graciously and joyfully and freely give back to you. Father, help us as we open your word tonight.
7:33 By the power of your spirit. Illuminate our minds and our hearts to see and savor you in these words. May we come away changed. May we come away tonight more in love with you. More devoted to your word.
7:53 More satisfied in your precepts. Father, help us tonight. May you be glorified and may your people be filled with joy. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.
8:07 Church, will you please stand and give your song to the Lord tonight?
22:49 And we declare there is none like you, God. There is no one like you. We were shipped. We lift up our voices to you, and we wanna give our all, our whole being to you as we, come before your throne. And we wanna hear from you.
23:06 We wanna meet you, Father. So we ask, Lord, that that would happen by the power of your Holy Spirit tonight. And Lord, we have so much to be grateful for. We come with thankful hearts. And Lord, we just ask one more time, Lord, as we meet here in this place that you would speak to us through your word, that we would leave this place being more like Christ.
23:28 We want Christ likeness in our lives, Lord. We ask that through your word and through our time together that everything in us, the flesh would just go away and melt away. We would just leave here being more like your son. We love you. We worship you.
23:42 In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
23:49 Why don't you take a moment and greet somebody here for a final time on this Friday night Bible study. Take a little bit of extra seconds to do that. Cross the hall if you like. Milestone as a church. I know some people are not here tonight, because they are working away in the new building.
24:35 Half years, through the prayer meeting especially. And people were emotional. It was wonderful. And just faith was building up in my heart, at least. I know other people have expressed the same.
24:48 And, it made me look forward to this Friday. Makes me look forward to this Sunday. To be transparent with you, four and a half years ago, when I stood up on this pulpit, the first few Sundays and even Wednesdays and Fridays, I had no idea what God was going to bring tomorrow. I had no idea what ministry was going to look like. I just knew I had to do one thing and that was just preach the word.
25:11 Just study the word and preach it. Whoever comes, comes, whoever goes, goes. And wherever the Lord leads, let him lead. And I wanna publicly declare and publicly acknowledge the faithfulness of God. He is a faithful God.
25:27 He is a good God. He is incredibly patient. He is infinitely kind. He does things for us that we don't deserve. He does things for us beyond what we ask or imagine.
25:44 There is no king like our God. There is no master like the Lord Jesus Christ. He is worthy of 10,000 lives to be lived for in his name. And if you're sitting here today struggling with God's leadership in your life, look no further than what he has done here at NBC. He receives maximum glory.
26:06 It is all his doing. And I'm sure you have your own story and I trust that there is more for God to write in your life. Just live for him. Live for him. Don't live for anything else.
26:17 Don't live for yourself. Live for him maximally. Live for him completely and watch what he can do with your life. Well, before I get carried away, let's continue to worship the Lord in our giving. If it's on your heart to give, you know this very well that all of our proceeds are going towards that new house.
26:34 And so if that's on your heart to to contribute to, you can do that as the ushers assist us. I don't have too many announcements, other than the fact that this is the last Friday night Bible study in this building. There will be no Friday night Bible study next Friday because we'll be preparing for our first service, launch service, dedication service, whatever you wanna call it. That is taking place on May 31 at the finally established time, 10:30AM, 10:30AM. So if you, if you're not ready for that change, it's coming, ready or not, and you have one more chance of coming to a 1PM service this Sunday.
27:14 And, that will be the last of that. I'm grateful for the 1PM service, but I'm looking forward to morning services. Another note, tomorrow is our final cleanup day, deep cleaning day, and so many of you have already said that you were coming, I'm hesitant to even announce it because we have so many of you who shown up over the past few weeks and even especially tomorrow people knowing that it's gonna be our final day as a church at least going in there as one big unit. But if you still wanna come, we'll give you something to do. And so meet us tomorrow, you can show up anytime.
27:46 I think people will be there before the sun goes up to be honest. But there will be people there. That's an exaggeration. There will be people there, and you can come when you'd like, and you can leave whenever you'd like. We appreciate your help.
27:55 We can always use it, and, take advantage of this this season. It's it's you're gonna have memories doing this. Don't let it pass by so quickly. Every moment, every day, every opportunity should be seized because, you're gonna look back on these moments and give thanks to God for it. I have so much more to say in terms of Thanksgiving, but here's the plan.
28:14 We're gonna pray in a moment here. We're gonna continue in Nehemiah, and we're going to lean in and trust that God has something to say to us through this very interesting chapter. So I'd love for us to just, just bend our hearts to the Lord again. Can we do that? And Lord, we are so so grateful that you have met us here every single week.
28:39 And we are so grateful that we've seen the word of God work in our lives. And Lord, we've come yet again with all the busyness and all the plans and all the other things that we have to fulfill. We've come because we are hungry and we long to be fed and filled with your truth. Lord, we believe that you are and that you reward those who diligently seek you. We've come to seek you.
29:04 Thank you for these past four and a half years in this sanctuary being our classroom, in the Hebrew scriptures, in the Old Testament. Thank you Lord that you've shown us Christ in these pages. Thank you that you've spoken so relatably to our day to day. And we trust that you have the same thing for us this evening. And we ask Lord that it would be the voice of your son that would resound, that would eclipse every other voice, and that would ravish our hearts, that you would captivate us again.
29:34 And so, Lord, we just trust that your presence will manifest and our hearts will burn within us as we open the scriptures in your power. We ask these things in the precious name of your son and our lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Turn with me to the book of Nehemiah, please, and let's join together in Nehemiah chapter three. In Proverbs chapter 20 verse six, we read, many a man proclaims his steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find.
30:06 Many a man proclaims his steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find. The essence of this proverb is that love is often given in word only. It's reduced to expression alone. But true love is not self advertised. It is lived out tangibly.
30:32 It is something that is observed and tested. It is exercised and experienced. And according to this saying, this proverb, unfortunately, this kind of character and commitment is quite rare. However, what we have before us in our study of the book of Nehemiah is a group of people who have not just merely expressed verbally their devotion to the things that God desires. They're gonna prove it through sacrificial service.
31:05 You remember, I'm sure, that Nehemiah has already unveiled what was in his heart, what God had placed in his bosom concerning the ruined walls of Jerusalem and how he hoped to rebuild them. And the response of the Jews in Jerusalem was quite optimistic. And I think it would be helpful to refresh our memory here in Nehemiah two verse 18 to see how exactly they reacted to this news. We read here, and I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, let us rise up and build.
31:42 So they strengthened their hands for the good work. Here we have a verbal pledge near the end of chapter two. But what we're going to discover in chapter three is that these very same people did not merely say that they were going to build. They're actually going to do it. And although this dedication is very admirable, the service of these Jews is not going to be summarized in a verse or two.
32:12 In fact, we're gonna learn about it in great detail across, listen to this, 32 verses. 32 verses to show us what these Jews, what the people of God are actually going to do with the need that is before them, with the glory of God that is at stake. And here's what you and I are gonna discover. Here's a little bit of information about what we can find here in chapter three. Around 38 individuals were named.
32:47 Close to 40 groups of people, depending on how you group them, who played a significant role, including the Levites, the priests, clans, different people from different regions and districts. Uniquely, you're also going to find, woven between these names, the titles of 10 different gates marking key entry and exit points to the city. And on top of that, you're gonna have walls that have titles and other infrastructure, like other walls and pools, etc. This is one of the most detailed maps of the ancient city of Jerusalem in all of the Bible. It's valuable historically, but this is the question we have to answer.
33:35 What do we do with this information as followers of Jesus Christ? Where do we go with this? In fact, if you just read this chapter, I hope you did in advance, it's a little bit overwhelming. We've already touched on genealogies in our studies in the past, but this is something more than just a genealogy. It's a lot of information before us.
33:56 Well, we have to trust that God has something to teach us. There's some applicable truths of this or else he would not have included it in his word. But we also have to be careful of not making too much of this chapter, like many people do, trying to find coded and hidden meetings behind every piece of information. I believe the most helpful way of benefiting from this lengthy passage is by considering the big picture data and to divide our study accordingly. In other words, if what we have before us is primarily the names of people and the names of places, then let's look at the names of the people and the names of the places.
34:40 And here's how we're going to pursue that. Tonight, we will consider the people of this great work And the next time we come together, we will examine the places of this great work. And this division is actually going to provide us the most unique bible study we have ever had in the history of Friday night bible studies. Why do I say that? Because we're actually going to look at this chapter in its entirety, and then look at it again, but focusing on different facets of those verses.
35:15 And so our attention tonight will be looking at this historical list of people who are associated with this ancient work and here's what we're going to learn. That what Nehemiah says about these people reflects different types of servants of God today. In fact, here's the format of our study. I want you and I to consider seven different types of servants of God that you can be able to identify in the church. And this will also provide both inspiration and warning for those who desire to serve Jesus Christ.
35:51 And so hopefully, organizing our thoughts in this manner will make it much more digestible and helpful in understanding God's mind with these truths. Seven different types of servants of God today. And the first one on the top of the list is that there are people who will serve in God's kingdom as leaders. Now I know you're wondering why we haven't read a verse yet. We'll do that in a moment.
36:22 But if you have read this chapter, then you might have noticed that Nehemiah, the main character of this larger account, is not found in this registry. Now, that does not mean that Nehemiah was not part of this unified effort to rebuild the walls. And the way we know that is because the very first word of the first verse of this chapter connects us to what we learned previously in chapter two. What what word am I speaking of? Look at it here in verse one, then.
36:52 Then. Implying that there's a flow of thought here and we have to consider what happened in the last part of chapter two to understand what's happening here in the beginning of chapter three. Look at verse 20 of Nehemiah chapter two. It says here, then I, that is Nehemiah, replied to them. Who are the them?
37:13 Enemies of the Jewish people. Men like Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem who oppose the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. He is confronting them. And it says here, then I replied to them, the God of heaven will make us prosper and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem. Full stop.
37:37 And then what happens next? Let's read chapter three verse one. Then Eliashib, the high priest rose up with his brothers the priest, and they built the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and set its doors. They consecrated it as far as the Tower Of the 100, as far as the Tower Of Hannah now.
37:55 Again, the word then is so crucial because what we find is that Nehemiah's courageous leadership was the catalyst for the men that we find here in verse one and the subsequent groups to work for God's glory. Then Eliashib and the priest rose up in response to Nehemiah's leadership. And this illustrates a general principle, the attitude of leadership in the church plays a significant role in inspiring those under their direction whether for better or worse. And you see here, one of the reasons that the Lord raises up individuals to occupy the the post of a leader or leaders is to be a vessel or vessels of encouragement to the people of God, to pursue what God has called them to do. And that is exactly what we find here with Nehemiah.
38:55 Throughout the scriptures, we know that leadership does this by way of exhortation and example. Nehemiah at this point serves as a reminder for those who possess the gift of leadership. Listen very carefully. If you are in any capacity somebody who provides direction or instruction to any group, any size of of that group, your confidence or lack thereof in God, in his blueprint for the ministry that he has entrusted to you according to his word is contagious. Whether you like it or not, whether you want it to be or not, by virtue and nature of your position, your attitude and how you face and respond to opportunities, opposition, challenges will impact those around you more than anyone else.
39:49 And if you're wondering if you're called to serve as a leader, you have to ask yourself if you're willing to own that responsibility. That whatever your mindset may be, it will have an impact on those around you. And And if you're not willing to shoulder that, then that could be a clue that you are not called to leadership, which is totally fine. You are not less significant because you're not willing to take on such a sobering call. But Nehemiah is a leader of the purest kind, and not just because he possessed confidence, but also because he was competent.
40:26 It's one thing for somebody to be confident, but you can be confidently wrong. You can fight for and stand for things that are totally erroneous. Nehemiah was not just a confident man, he was a competent man. How do we know that he was competent? Because again, if you read through this chapter, you will know for certain that this project was well organized.
40:49 There's division of task here. There's rotation going on. There was a mind behind this. This was not accidental. And it all points to a prayerful visionary by the name of Nehemiah, reminding us just how important it is for the church to have confident and competent leaders.
41:13 Now, this is something for us to consider even in the new covenant, especially in the New Testament because the church of Jesus Christ is not a free for all. Ministry doesn't function that way. I know some people like it that way, but that's not how the church will know success. Nehemiah here, not being mentioned, does not mean that he was not serving. He was serving in his God given way.
41:34 And here's what we can expect. As a very general way of putting it, in the church you're going to have some people who are called by God to offer direction, to lay out the goals, to provide boundaries. And then on top of that, you have others who will focus on carrying out those plans in humility and passion. That's precisely what we see throughout this chapter. There's a wonderful harmony with the roles here.
41:57 You have Nehemiah honoring these servants of God by doing what? Acknowledging them in this chapter. Let's let's look at the human component of this. This is Nehemiah writing down and transcribing and recording these names. This is gratitude.
42:11 This is rewarding. This is appreciating. And you have the servants here under Nehemiah's direction who are supporting them by trusting in his guidance and cooperating. It reminds me of Hebrews thirteen seventeen, where we learn that it's possible for a leader in the context of the local church to serve as a leader with joy or with groaning. And what determines that in great part?
42:40 The cooperation of the church. That verse in no way gives license to tyrants in the church. That verse in no way suggests that a leader should never receive comments or input or even correction. What the Holy Spirit is warning through that verse is that it's quite possible for us who co labor with leaders to make it much more difficult for leaders who are called to serve you. Those who constantly resist and want their own way, those who ignore protocol, those who disregard instruction, you can cause leaders to groan.
43:15 You know what that means? It means that when your name is called at some con in some context, pastors go, And the Holy Spirit says, don't don't do that because that is no advantage to you. Look at the reasoning. Why would he say it that way? Because again, leaders are called according to Paul's own words to work for your joy, if they're true leaders.
43:41 Again, I'm not talking about submitting to those who are sinful, those who are unfaithful, those who are unsound. Again, in that same verse we're told that the leaders there are are called to watch over your souls. Nehemiah here was a leader. But to to say that biblical leadership alone promises success in the church is not true. It's a great it's a great of great importance, but what makes that truly successful is when you have co laborers who are receptive to godly leadership.
44:12 And that's what you find here. There doesn't seem to be any evidence of internal strife. There doesn't seem to be any evidence of discontentment or jealousy or rivalry. There is this unity between leadership and servants of God. And we as a church have to acknowledge there are those who are called to occupy that position and they must do so in a certain way and we must know how to respond to them if we wanna know true effectiveness for the advancement of the gospel.
44:41 Number one, there are those who will serve as leaders. Number two, there are those who will serve but not endure. Let's focus on the rest of verse one, everything after the word then. Then Elisha the high priest rose up with his brothers, the priests, and they built the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and set its doors.
45:05 They consecrated as far as the Tower Of The Hundred, as far as the Tower Of Hannah now. So the top of the list here of this catalog of volunteers are the priests. That's to be expected, I guess, the spiritual leadership. But a little surprising because you wouldn't expect the priest to be involved in construction. But here they are.
45:27 They weren't so spiritually minded that they didn't think that they shouldn't get involved with physical labor. They are getting involved in physical labor. But there's something more going on here. You'll notice that this is the only time in this chapter where a work that is being done is consecrated. There's a ceremonial thing going on here.
45:45 Twice in this verse we read that they consecrated this gate. Now, we're gonna explore why the Sheep Gate is so significant in part two of our study, when we look at the places of this great work. But for now, you have to understand there's something going on here, More than just the priest doing priestly things. Nehemiah is deliberately showing us at the commencement of this great project that there's a spiritual reality behind it. For these priests to consecrate the gate is more than just them just dedicating this aspect of the wall to God.
46:20 It's a message for the rest of this project, and for the reader to understand that the rebuilding of the wall is not just a building project, it's worship. It's worship unto God. There's spirituality behind this. And, oh, I would love to take this opportunity to explore with you how throughout the New Testament, no matter what we put our hands to, the Lord tells us to do it unto him. This weird divide that we've created in our mind between the sacred and the secular, that that does not exist in the Christian walk.
46:51 Everything is sacred, and that's how you will know greater meaning in your day to day. The moment you know how to, by the power of the Holy Spirit and the truth of God's word, erase that mind in your thinking. This is spiritual. And I would love to expound on this again, but instead, I wanna use this to find the warning in it. There are those who will serve God but will not endure.
47:16 He's saying, where's the warning in that? It's with Elisha of the high priest. This is not the only time he appears in Nehemiah's account. He shows up at the end and what you find in the end is unfortunate. Some time will pass between chapter three and chapter 13.
47:32 Later on in this book, we're gonna read and learn that Nehemiah is gonna return to the palace in Babylonia, and then he will come back. And when he comes back, he will discover some disappointing developments. And one of them has to do with the high priest, believe it or not. Turn with me to Nehemiah 13. See what I'm talking about.
47:52 Nehemiah 13 verse four. You gotta remember here, some years have passed. We're fast forwarding. Nehemiah goes and he comes back to Jerusalem and here's one of the things that he learns. Now before this, Eliashib the priest who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God and who was related to Tobiah, underline that.
48:18 That's a red flag. Other translations say he was allied to Tobiah. Do you remember who Tobiah is? He was the one of the main voices that opposed the work of God in Nehemiah chapter two. Look what the priest did for Tobiah in verse five.
48:35 Prepared for Tobiah a large chamber where they had previously put the grain offering, the frankincense, the vessels, and the ties of grain, wine, and oil, which were given by commitment to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests. Do you understand what's happening here? Elisha the high priest vacated, emptied one of the rooms in the temple to rent out to Tobiah. Now if you're a student of the Old Testament, you would understand just how heinous this is. This is desecrating the temple, especially when you remember that Tobiah by virtue of his descendancy should come where come nowhere near the temple.
49:17 We'll explore that in chapter 13. And in case you don't understand just how monumental this is, look at verse seven, the reaction of this man of God. Nehemiah thirteen seven, and came to Jerusalem, that is Nehemiah, and I then discovered the evil, the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah preparing from a chamber in the courts of the house of God. This was evil. And if matters couldn't get any worse, scroll down to verse 28.
49:46 And one of the sons of Jehoiada, Jehoiada, the son of Eliashib, the high priest, was the son of Sanballat the Horonite. Therefore, I chased him from me. You imagine that Nehemiah chasing the guy? He was just so infuriated. So you have now Eliashib's son-in-law who is Sanballat, the other leading voice that sought to paralyze the people of God with fear and harass them throughout their pursuit of honoring God.
50:20 It's a shame. It's such a shame. This is what came to mind. Eliashib took the time to consecrate a gate, but he didn't take the time to consecrate his own heart, which is a sobering lesson for us that it's quite possible to be so invested in ministry, so preoccupied with investing in the sanctification of other things or other people while neglecting your own. He was concerned with the sheep gate.
50:51 He wasn't concerned about the gate of his own affections. The gate that protects him from temptations. And strange ideas such as this, never make the error my dear brother and sister of thinking that serving in ministry alone will somehow sanctify you. You don't go into ministry to be sanctified. There is a sanctifying component of it, but remember, Judas was part of the greatest ministry and he was filled with the devil.
51:23 It is no wonder Paul instructs his spiritual son Timothy in a place like first Timothy four sixteen where he says, keep a close watch on yourself and the teaching. Your teaching is important, Timothy, but what's more important is your life. And all true ministry flows out of intimacy with God. All true ministry is really the manifestation of your own personal devotion to the Lord. And so to just be mechanical in ministry and to just throw ourselves into anything without a sense of being anchored in the truth, anchored in our relationship with the Lord is dangerous for you and others.
52:03 So here's Eliashib, who seems commendable in the opening of this chapter, consecrating this and consecrating that. What about your heart, Eliashib? You're ticking time bomb if you neglect your own garden while tending others. So the second type of servant is not easy to swallow, but we have to acknowledge it. There are some people who will serve, but they will not endure because they were not careful to watch their own heart even though they seem so committed to a work in the kingdom.
52:38 Group number three, servant type number three, there are people who will serve, who go the distance. Let's look at verse two of Nehemiah chapter three. And next to him, the men of Jericho built. Isn't that interesting? We're in Jerusalem, but we learned that some of the people of Jericho came by.
52:59 These are not the Canaanites from Jericho, these are the Israelites in Jericho. And next to them, Zaccor, son of Imri, built. Now, this is surprising perhaps, but this is one of many communities outside of Jerusalem that are recognized for making their way to Jerusalem to help with this project. Let me give you a few more examples. Look with me here in verse five.
53:24 And next to them, the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord. Verse seven. And next to them repaired Milathiah the Gibeonite, and Jain the Meranathite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, the seat of the governor of the province beyond the river. Scroll down to verse 13. Hanun and the inhabitants of Zenoah repaired the valley gate.
53:48 You scroll down to verse 14. Mahlia, the the son of Rahab, ruler of the district of Beth Hecharim repaired the dung gate. Verse 16, after him, Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, ruler of half the district of Beth Zur. You understand what I'm doing here? I'm trying to show you where these people are coming from.
54:08 One more in verse 17. After him, the Levites repaired Rehom the son of Bani, next to them Hashabiah, ruler of the half district of Keilah, Keilah, repaired for his district. Here's what I wanna know. Why does Nehemiah mention these neighborhoods, these towns, these these regions for us to consider? For one thing, it highlights that serving God sometimes is not convenient.
54:38 Now we're not going to spend time here trying to figure out the mileage between some of these areas and their distance from Jerusalem, but they're notable for Nehemiah to record it. And these things are for our instruction. These things are for us to understand for ourselves that we should take from this that when opportunities to serve God come our way, they will not always be accommodating to our preferences. Sometimes the place that you're called to worship and minister is a little out of the way. Sometimes the timing is not to your best interest in terms of your schedule.
55:19 Sometimes your commitments to your ministry require you to say no to other events or invitations. All in all, serving the Lord is the greatest honor ever, but it demands sacrifice. I know that we're trying to develop this whole idea of making these things much more convenient for us, but it takes the pleasure out of it. Really, it does. What we find here is that these are some individuals and groups that are willing to go the distance for his glory.
55:51 And what's so encouraging about this is, yes, the human aspect is that Nehemiah is bringing this to our attention, but it's ultimately the Holy Spirit. This is the Holy Spirit showing us, I wanna tell you where some of these guys came from. Some of them came from there, some of them came from there, some of them came from that district, some of them came from that region. This is God commending these people. This is God recognizing them.
56:14 And this is meant to stir your heart as it did mine, I hope. That there's not a mile that you drive, not a meal that you miss, not a minute into the night that the Lord does not take into account when you serve Him, when you serve Him. Do you see how relevant this study has been to us? I think about those who geographically are the furthest from the new building, even now. And they have showed up day after day after day after day.
56:45 I wanna let you know if that's you, you may be listening to this even now. God sees that. God sees that. And God will see it in this next season for us as a church. If if MBC is the place where the Lord has called you I know we're not the only church, but if this is the church that he's called you to serve at, whatever distance you go, figuratively or even literally, the Lord sees that.
57:09 You know, I remember when we were having meetings out of our apartment back in Toronto, Canada. You know, talk about convenience. I didn't have to put my shoes on. It's right there in our living room every Saturday. Prayer and worship and evangelism by that college campus.
57:23 And we did that for a few months in my final year of my my college education. And the Lord was blessing that little effort there, that little group. But the least was up. I had to finish school. I was ready to go.
57:37 Done. I'm not gonna stay any longer. But guess what? I couldn't live in that apartment anymore. That was not the designated place for our gathering anymore.
57:45 I had to move back to my parents' house, an hour away. But the meetings kept going. And so what happened? I had to get into that little car that we had at the time. It was like a go cart.
57:55 I don't know how it was legal to get on the street. And we would I would drive there. I remember it was an hour away, we would go from house to house to house, whoever would open their house for us to be able to do what we always did. And I remember vividly thinking to myself, as a college student just finished, I needed to save up to pay off all those loans and all these things, I know God sees me doing this. I know he sees every drop of gasoline that I put into this thing.
58:20 I know that he sees whatever I have to do after my long shifts at work. He sees it. And I'll tell you this with complete transformation, it felt like an adventure. Because I knew that the Lord saw this and he sees it for you, and sometimes that simple thought alone provides the fuel to overcome the the things that we tend to to whine about. Listen, life is too short about these minor inconveniences and all that.
58:47 You only have one life to live. Be a part of something where God is doing something and commit to it. And God will bless you for it. He will reward you for it. He's doing it here with these individuals.
58:59 If we're going to serve the Lord, it's going to require each of us to go the distance, and when we do, God sees that level of determination. That's all that matters to me. I hope it does to you. Number four. Number three, yeah, surely there will there will be servants, there are people who serve who will go to distance but there will be people who will not serve at all.
59:24 Let's read together verses three down to verse five. The son of Hassaniah built the fish gate. They laid its beams and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. And next to them, Meromath, the son of Uriah, son of Hakoz repaired. And next to them, Meshullam, the son of Berechiah, son of Meshezabel repaired.
59:48 And next to him, Zadok, the son of Baana repaired. And next to them the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord. I want to focus on verse five. You have this group from Tekoa. We've seen Tekoa before in our scriptures.
1:00:12 If you have studied or even just read the Old Testament, there is a notable prophet who authored an Old Testament book who hailed from this town. Does anybody know who I'm speaking about? Very good, David. Amos. Amos, who tended sheep from Tekoa.
1:00:35 And here we have another commendable facet of this area. You had a group of people who came from Tekoa called the Tekoaites, and when you consider even the prophet Amos who came from the same area, there's a lot good that comes from Tekoa. There's another place related to Tekoa that I won't bring up now, but unfortunately there is a group here known as the nobles, the leaders, the officials, those who are in high standing of Tekoa who smear the wonderful reputation of this place. Nehemiah highlights them. There were some who were willing to come to serve and he tells us here that there are some who refused to stoop to serve the Lord.
1:01:23 That's how the ESV renders it. What's happening here? Why is it that these figures, that these important individuals, I can use that terminology, did not give themselves over to this wonderful opportunity? We're not explicitly told. It could be that they felt like they were above this kind of labor and hands on effort.
1:01:48 We're nobles. No thank you. It could be that they didn't want to submit to Nehemiah's leadership. We're not interested in taking orders. We give orders here in Tekoa.
1:01:59 Who are you Nehemiah? You just came here. It could be that these individuals saw that there was no benefit in raising up these walls and it didn't serve their local interest so they weren't interested at all. Whatever the reasoning is, it wasn't valid in the eyes of God. No excuse, no justification was merited.
1:02:25 Instead, the Lord expected them to seize this opportunity and they denied it and he took note of it. In the same way that the Lord carefully, meticulously considers every ounce of sacrifice and investment and energy that you spend for his name, he also takes note of those who are presented opportunities to serve him and refuse to do so. We don't think about that too much and here's how it applies to us. When the Lord gives you and I providential open doors to meet a need, to grow in our gifts, to experiment with our gifts, how mindful are we of just how significant that opportunity may be? How much do we see God behind that?
1:03:18 I know sometimes it's difficult to do so and nor am I suggesting that you and I have to take every single announcement and work towards it or spread ourselves so thin. That is not realistic. I hope you're not hearing me in that way. I'm speaking about those that time after time after time, opportunity after opportunity after opportunity, announcement after announcement after announcement, you just reject it all. It just it just bounces right off of you.
1:03:46 Never sticks, never makes you think, maybe I should pray about this. Nothing. Just just sermons, sermons, teachings, teachings, nothing. Doesn't get into your blood. It doesn't generate anything.
1:03:55 Doesn't make you move. Doesn't make you act. And it just it just goes right over your head whenever something comes your way. That is who I'm speaking to. Can I ask you a question?
1:04:04 What excuse are you using to live in that way? Please. I don't understand. How do you live like that? And and is the justification legitimate?
1:04:15 Really, put it on paper. Ask yourself those questions. Does it not bother you that that you may not know the gifts of the Holy Spirit is deposited in you? Because if you're truly born again, if you're blood bought, then you have gifts. They're in there and they need to get out.
1:04:29 So if it's not, does that stir you in a certain way? Does that cause you to think what's going on here? Doesn't that concern you a little bit if you never find yourself wanting to participate in anything? I mean anything, anything related to serving the Lord. Well, take heed to this.
1:04:47 The Lord considers it. He considers our activity and he also considers our unjustified inactivity. These men of Tekoa could have had an excuse. You know what their excuse could have been? The indifference of their leadership.
1:05:03 I'm talking about the ones who did decide to go. You know what they could have said? Oh, well, we we have a lack of role models and we don't have the best examples. Our leaders don't think it's important, so I don't think we're gonna do it. Thank you so much, Nehemiah.
1:05:13 I appreciate the invitation. That's not what they do. Listen, as as much as it is true that a people rarely go above the standards that their leadership set, there are exceptions to that rule and we find it here. Here you have these men who have inspiration and find it within themselves that even though they may be surrounded by mediocre members, poor spiritual leadership, they're going. They're going.
1:05:46 Isn't this helpful for those for us who may feel stuck? Hopefully, you don't feel stuck here. But I'll tell you, there are people who are different parts of this country and beyond who feel stuck. There isn't things happening here. Well, take note of these men who didn't have the best example set before them from their hometown and yet when the opportunity came, they took advantage of it.
1:06:06 And they said, we're gonna do this. And we even see this on an individual level in the same chapter. I know we're skipping a heir, but look down at verse 30. Notice this, I want you to see how precise the Holy Spirit is with his word. Nehemiah three thirty, after him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah and Hanun the sixth son of Zelophe repaired another section.
1:06:32 This is not related to Tekoa, but the principle remains. After him, Mesulam the son of Barakai repaired opposite his chamber. Now, do you see what the Holy Spirit is saying here? He could have said that Hanun the son of Zelophe. Do you see that?
1:06:47 But he doesn't say that. He says, Hanun the what? The sixth son. The Holy Spirit doesn't waste his words. What's being implied here, that the five older sons didn't go.
1:07:04 One, two, three, four, five, number six on the list said, oh, Nehemiah needs help. They're gonna rebuild the walls. I'm going. Hey, are you going older brother number one? Nah.
1:07:14 Are you going older brother number three? No. None of you are gonna go? At least, the first five of you aren't gonna go? No.
1:07:21 We're saying, I'm going. I'm gonna go. What excuse could he have had when they received a letter in the mail looking for volunteers to help rebuild the walls? We find no excuse with this man. If I'm gonna be the only one to represent my household household, so be it.
1:07:44 I will go. Serve the Lord for the Lord. Just serve God for God. Your friends don't wanna serve God in your local church, let them be. You serve God.
1:07:56 Your family doesn't want to go to church, you go to church. Your spouse, your spouse is in a spiritual drought, pray for them and be the example, and go. It's amazing how we can come up with excuses and we rob ourselves and we rob the advancement of God's kingdom. It's sad. It really is.
1:08:16 This is why we have these things before us in the scriptures. Here you have a man, Hanun, who says, I'm doing it. He didn't drag his feet, he didn't mope around, he didn't hang his head. I don't have godly parents that showed me how to serve God. I don't have the best environment.
1:08:36 Okay. That that all may be true, but listen, there is a liberating truth in knowing that by the grace of God, you can overcome all things. Give those things to the Lord and let him infuse you with the power to overcome all obstacles, even obstacles that you've created in your own mind and heart. There are those who will not serve God at all. And listen, as leaders, you have to be ready for that.
1:09:04 No matter how how hard you preach, no matter how many times you sit down and explain the importance of it, there has to be a Holy Spirit birth desire. There there has to be there's something of the will where that person needs to come to terms with it and decide for themselves. And in those moments, just focus on I'm speaking to the leaders, focus on those who are serving. Right? There's there's a call to hold people accountable and to sit with people, but don't spend so much energy on those who are not.
1:09:34 Nehemiah spends very little time telling us about these men who stayed back, and he gives much more attention to those who go ahead. Number five, there are people who will serve I love this. There are people who will serve who once failed. Let's read from verse six down to verse 11. Joiada, the son of Passiah, and Meshullam, the son of Besudea, repaired the gate of Yeshana.
1:10:12 They laid its beams and set its doors, its bolts and its bars. And next to them repaired Melathiah the Gibeonite and Jaden the Meranathite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, the seat of the governor of the province beyond the river. Next to them, Uzziel, the son of Hariah, goldsmiths repaired. Next to him, Hananiah, one of the perfumers repaired, and they restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall. Next to them, Rephaiah, the son of Er, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem repaired.
1:10:44 Next to them, Jedaiah, the son of Herumaph Herumaph repaired opposite his house, and next to him, Hattush, the son of Hashbaniah repaired. Melkija or Melkiah, the son of Harim, and Hashub, the son of Pahath Moab, repaired another section of the tower of the ovens. A lot of names. A lot of names that are difficult to pronounce. But zoom in here on verse 11.
1:11:09 Look at this individual named Malchiah, the son of Harim. This name might mean nothing to us. Very obscure, but there is much meaning here when you remember that we found him before. He's been identified in previous studies, namely, Ezra chapter 10. We find him in Ezra chapter 10.
1:11:32 And what's there in the second part of Ezra chapter 10? A list of the names of those who were found guilty for interfaith marriage. Go to Ezra 10. It's not too far. And look at verse 31.
1:11:51 Of the sons of Harim, Eleazar, Isha, and who's the third name there? Malkia. Shemaiah Shimon. Malkia, the son of Harim. This man, if you were just in in Ezra, the last part of the book of Ezra, the last impression that you have of him is that he was a failure, that he significantly blundered, that he put the community of the Jewish people in a perilous position.
1:12:30 But if you read your Bible like you should, and you don't ignore books, and you honor the flow of the text, and then you go to Nehemiah, you realize, hold on, he's here again. And this time, he's not in a list of names that are condemned, but are commended. What does that tell you about this man, Melchiah? He repented. He repented.
1:12:53 He made things right with God. And more than the Lord forgiving him, which is wonderful, the Lord restores this man. You know, the Holy Spirit did not have to include this man's name in this list of these honored workers, but He does so so that you would see the kind of God that we serve. What are we to take from this? Listen.
1:13:17 God can rewrite our stories. I I hope I really don't want this to just sound preachy. That's not gonna help anybody. My prayer truly has been that there would be an impression made on your heart with this observation. It is so easy for us to let our past failures, our mistakes, our foolery, our immaturity of yesterday paralyze us and think, Lord, if you just put me on the shelf, I'm happy.
1:13:40 Just just let me slip in at the end of the day, and I'll be glad. And yet, God wants to do far more than that. Far more than that. Here, you and I are just trying to evade judgment. And here we see one of many examples in the Bible that the Lord wants to restore you in the most complete way possible.
1:14:04 Malchiah had a second chance. Malchiah after all these years, remember, Nehemiah came thirteen years after Ezra. And Nehemiah was a diligent leader, I'm sure. He he was a contemporary of Ezra's. They're gonna work together in later chapters.
1:14:22 I I wonder if Nehemiah knew about Melchia's past. We're not certain, but what a lesson for leaders. What a lesson for leaders also, not just for those who have failed, but also for those who have failed under our care. Listen carefully. You and I must be willing to do more than just forgive those who have sinned, those who have misrepresented the kingdom of God, the local church.
1:14:47 We must be also willing to allow them to be active again. Now, I understand that this should be treated case by case, and that there is a higher standard for those who occupy positions of leadership, namely pastors. But I'm speaking about those who are under our care, who served at one point, who who who seem to have, yes, a devotion to the Lord, who missed their way, who made a mistake, who sinned even grievously. There we should mirror the heart of God in wanting to see them restored. Not just forgiven, but restored.
1:15:18 And part of that restoration is seeing them get back on their feet and getting busy again for God's kingdom. God forbid that you and I would be more rigid or reluctant than our holy God. They're out there. Never give people chance again. Never.
1:15:41 Teach them a lesson. Right? That's not God's heart. How do you read that here in Nehemiah? How do you get that?
1:15:49 Again, I understand. I I know scenarios are probably popping in your mind right now. What about this sin and what about that sin? I get it. There are some things and some things that happen where a person should never return to that church.
1:15:59 I'm fully aware of that. Don't don't hear this in an overly simplistic way. But I'm trying to help us understand God's heart and for us to to mirror that and reflect that in our own way, in our own leadership. Even Paul himself, that cutthroat apostle. Are you in or are you out?
1:16:16 You wanna go back to Jerusalem? You wanna go back to mom and Jerusalem? Go back. We're gonna go ahead. Here's Barnabas.
1:16:22 Come on, Paul. No. And you see that they divided and and what what happens there in second Timothy? Bring Mark back to me for he is useful to me in the ministry. Wow.
1:16:36 Leaders, non leaders, listen, if there's repentance, see them with the eyes of Christ. How many chances has God given you with your private sins and your filthy imagination at times perhaps, and your motives creeping in that defile what it means to really serve God in the ministry. We've all been there. What we see here is that we should all be after restoration. This is how we honor God and we have to be ready for people to serve who have once failed.
1:17:15 So those who have failed, don't be so despondent and so clouded and haunted that you you think that the Lord can never do anything with you. That is not what you find in the Bible. And those who serve with those who might have might have failed but have repented, oh, is there is there anything in your heart that hopes for the best for them? Number six, it's in one verse of the types of servants that Nehemiah highlights for us that can be easily identified in the church. Look at verse 12.
1:17:54 Next to him, Shalom, the son of Heloesh, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired he and his daughters. There are people who will serve who are women of God. This this is something that I I appreciated so much about Nehemiah more importantly and more specifically that moved me about God. Here's a man named Shalom who likely did not have any sons, so when he received the call to work, he brought his daughters along with him. Girls, we're gonna go build a wall.
1:18:39 And they said, yeah. Why is this here? To remind us of the vital and honorable role that women have in the church. That's at least one lesson. Come to Romans 16 with me.
1:18:54 Romans 16 is often referred to to show Phoebe and her partnership with Paul, but she's not the only sister named in that list of greetings. Go to Romans 16 and look at verse six. Greet Mary who has worked hard for you. Look at verse 12. Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphania and Tryphosa.
1:19:28 Greet the beloved Persis. Persis is a feminine name. Don't you love this about Persis? The beloved. You know what Paul is saying there?
1:19:37 He expects everybody to know who Persis is and he knows that everybody loves Persis. The beloved Persis who has worked hard in the Lord. You know what amazed me about Romans 16? That phrase worked hard for the Lord is attributed more to the woman than anybody else. Did you know that some of the most hardest working, dedicated, committed, sacrificial people in the church are women?
1:20:12 Don't you love how the daughters of Shalom showed up to the construction site while Hanun's older brothers decided to stay home and play video games? Yeah. We need the sisters. We need the ladies. And brothers, you and I should be like Nehemiah, and we should be like Paul, and appreciate our sisters, and acknowledge our sisters, and celebrate our sisters and support our sisters.
1:20:41 And ladies, contrary to the modern trendy narratives even in the evangelical church, especially in the evangelical church, you don't have to be a pastor for the Lord to use you in meaningful ways. Many of us have heard of George Whitefield, I hope, the eighteenth century revivalist who really shook the known world. But many of us, I'm sure, are not aware of Salina Hastings, the Countess of Huntington, who was the main financial advisor and supplier and supporter to the ministry of George Woodfield. This woman is remarkable. When you when you look at what she did for this man of God and his projects and his efforts, it's astounding.
1:21:26 First of all, Selena, who was this high ranking aristocrat, hired George Whitefield as her personal chaplain as a shield for him from being harassed and prosecuted and pressured and restricted by other officials. More than that, throughout her lifetime, she's given over a £100,000 to the efforts of this man of God and the overall Methodist movement, which equates to millions of dollars today. To put into perspective, a family of around four could survive off of £30 a year. And this woman gave over a 100,000. She is credited for helping fund and build 60 to 64 chapels across England and Wales, helping Whitefield preach in those places because he would often get kicked out of churches.
1:22:21 So look at this woman with all her wealth and her power. George, you need a church, let's build a church for this man. This is just the beginning. I encourage you ladies, you you want role models in life? Look at a woman like Selena Hastings and you will see why contemporaries identified her as many things, many titles including the Queen of Methodist.
1:22:47 Others refer to her as the mother of Israel, figuratively speaking. Sisters, woman, daughters, mothers, God has a plan for you. God wants to use you to build up the walls of the church, to secure the gates, to furnish and beautify his house. Don't for a moment think that you can't do something significant for the advancement of the gospel. A man like George Whitfield would not be as successful without a woman like Selena Hastings.
1:23:24 And here you have the daughters of Shalom who are recorded forever in the word of God as helping their dad build the walls of the church. I pray that each of you would have daughters like that. We come to the last group of people. I'm sure we can go on and on. But the final type of servant that Nehemiah discloses to us are the following.
1:23:44 There are people who serve and they will serve and they should serve from the heart. We're gonna do something interesting here. We're gonna try to read together verse 13 down to verse 20, but we're going to pause at verse 20 to see what jewels await us there. Hanun and the inhabitants of Zenoah repaired the valley gate. They rebuilt it and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and repaired a thousand cubits of the wall as far as the Dung Gate.
1:24:15 Malkiah the son of Rahab, ruler of the district of Beth Hakarem, repaired the Dung Gate and rebuilt it. He rebuilt it and set its doors, its bolt, and its bars. And Shalom the son of Kolhozay, ruler of the district of Mizpah, repaired the fountain gate. He rebuilt it and covered it and set its doors, its bolts and its bars. How many times do we need to hear about the bulls and the the bars and the bolts?
1:24:38 We have to come to part two to see why. And he built the wall, the pool of Shelah of the king's garden as far as the stairs that go down from the city of David. After him, Nehemiah, the son of Asbok, that is not the same Nehemiah that we know to be the author of this book, Ruler of half the district of Beth Zur repaired to a point opposite the tombs of David as far as the artificial pool and as far as the house of the mighty men. After him, the Levites repaired. Rehom the son of Bani, next to him, Hashabiah, ruler of half district of Keilah, repaired for his district.
1:25:10 After him, their brothers repaired Bivai the son of Henadad, ruler of half the district of Keilah. Next to him, Ezer the son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section opposite the ascent to the armory of the buttress. After him, Baruch the son of Zabai repaired another section from the buttress to the door of the house of Eliashib, the high priest. Now, look at verse 20 with me. There is a word that is omitted in the ESV that is found in virtually every other word for word translation.
1:25:38 It's a word that describes the way this man here Baruch in verse 20 repaired his part, his deal of the work. If you have a new King James version, it might read carefully repaid or repaired. The King James might say earnestly repaired and you have the you have the NASB, it will say zealously repaired. Why did the ESV not include any kind of word like that? Manuscript differences.
1:26:09 We won't get into that now. But the Hebrew word, if we were to go with those other translations, actually denotes the idea of burning, being hot. That's why I think the NASB captures captures it more accurately, zealously. Right? And that word in the Hebrew is used in different parts of the Old Testament to describe somebody's anger, burned with anger.
1:26:35 Right? But in this context, it's to show the quality, the heart posture of this man Baruch when he served. So you can imagine it with me, I'm sure. That here's Nehemiah doing his rounds as a leader, holding people accountable. Okay.
1:26:49 This part is being done well, this part is being fixed, and he stumbles upon Baruch. And you know what Baruch is doing? He's sweating profusely. He's running around. He's not walking.
1:26:58 He is frantically, though in an organized manner, getting things done. He gets to the site early. He's one of the last ones to leave. This is what's being described here about this man. And although there are others who are clearly investing their hearts to this or else they wouldn't have done it in such a speedy way, we're gonna learn that they did this project in a miraculous timing.
1:27:21 Something stood out about Baruch enough for Nehemiah to mention it. And it reminds me of the words of the Apostle Paul when he speaks to Christians by the authority of the Holy Spirit. You remember this. You don't have to turn there in Romans twelve eleven when he says, so powerfully, do not be slothful in zeal. Be fervent in spirit.
1:27:42 Serve the Lord. That's significant. It's not enough for Paul, more importantly to God, for us to serve the Lord. The way we serve the Lord is so important to the Lord. You know what it means to be fervent in spirit?
1:27:56 Boiling. That's the Greek word. Be boiling. It's used in one other place in the New Testament, in Acts 18 to describe Apollos, where it says he was fervent in spirit. He was a preacher.
1:28:07 He was a debater. I have a feeling that Apollos was not a monotone preacher. He boiled. He was eloquent, but there was fire in his soul. You know, boring preaching is a crime.
1:28:25 It really is, in my estimation. If these truths can't set you on fire, why do you expect the people of God hearing you to be set on fire? I'm not saying you have to scream all the time because that's another type of monotone. You're just you're always here. Fluctuate.
1:28:43 That's another study for another time. But this man, he's no preacher, he's building a wall and yet he did it with a fire. He did it with passion. He did it with enthusiasm and it was it was it was observable. It wasn't just hidden.
1:29:01 I know we all have different dispositions and personalities, but his work ethic was so clear. Listen, it's one thing as we heard earlier to go the distance, but if you're not gonna go to distance and we're gonna be hollow of a shell or we're gonna be murmuring and we're gonna be complaining that it might be better for us to stay home. That was not this man. This man served with his heart and he is crowned with praise for it. You say, how do I generate that?
1:29:31 You can't do it in your own strength. If you are excited about serving God, listen, that's a work of the Holy Spirit and praise him for that. And if you're not excited about serving God, you need the Holy Spirit. You need the Holy Spirit. But I wanna mention a couple more things here.
1:29:52 This attitude found in this one man is found in others though not explicitly stated. Can I show you what I mean? I hope this is okay. Scroll back with me to Nehemiah three verse four. And next to them, Maramath the son of Uriah, son of Hachoz repaired.
1:30:07 Notice that man, Maramath the son of Uriah. Now go to verse 21 of Nehemiah chapter three. After him, Maramath the son of Uriah, the same man from verse four, son of Ahaz, repaired another section from the door of the house of Elijah to the end of the house of Elijah. Look at verse five again in Nehemiah three, and next to them the Tekkoites repaired. We looked at them before.
1:30:29 Look at verse 27 of Nehemiah three. After him the Tekkoites repaired another section. Do you see this? This is not said of everyone. There are only a select few who when they completed their part, they went to Nehemiah and said, what else needs to be done here, boss?
1:30:47 You wanna work? There's another part. You got it. See, the type of service that's being highlighted here are are those who went above the bare minimum. God sees when you and I go above the bare minimum.
1:31:01 I'm telling you, he takes into account everything. And this is something for us to consider. Lord, help me go above and beyond. Help me realize that there's no greater privilege in this life than to serve your kingdom. It doesn't matter what my occupation is in this life.
1:31:18 It doesn't matter how I pay my bills and what what food I put on my table. I'm not saying that that's not significant but Lord, if I'm not doing it unto you and if I'm not going above that and serving you in your church, oh Lord awaken me, awaken me. And he's willing to do that. A final note as we close. We'll read verse 21 to the end of this chapter.
1:31:38 And the only reason why I wanna do this is I wanna honor every part of God's word. We'll read this and make concluding remarks as we close. Verse 21. After him, Marimeh the son of Uriah, son of Hakoz, repaired another section from the door of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house of Eliashib. After him, the priests, the men of the surrounding area repaired.
1:32:00 After them, Benjamin and Hassab repaired opposite their house. After them, Azariah, the son of Masia, son of Anani repaired beside his own house. After him, Binuai, the son of Henadad repaired another section from the house of Azariah to the buttress and to the corner. Pilal the son of Uzziah repaired opposite the buttress and the tower projected from the upper house of the king at the court of the guard. After him, Pedaiah the son of Perash and the temple servants living on Ophel repaired to a point opposite the water gate on the east and the projecting tower.
1:32:32 After him, the Tekkawites repaired another section opposite the great projecting tower as far as the wall of Ophel. Above the horse gate, the priest repaired, each one opposite his own house. After them, Zadok, the son of Immer repaired up opposite his own house. After him, Shemaiah, the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the East Gate repaired. After him, Hananiah, the son of Shelamiah, and Hanun, the sixth son of Zelophe, repaired another section.
1:32:56 After him, Meshuram, the son of Berechiah, repaired opposite his chamber. After him, Malchiah, one of the goldsmiths, repaired as far as the house of the temple servants, and have the merchants opposite the muster gate, and to the upper chamber of the corner. Between the upper chamber of the corner and the sheep gate, the goldsmiths and the merchants repaired. If you've been reading and listening carefully, you'll notice that many vocations are represented in this team, this big team. Right?
1:33:24 We read of the merchants, we read of goldsmiths, we read of the priests, we read of the the keeper of the East gate. Earlier, we read of rulers of districts and temple servants, those who carry the water more specifically. And Nehemiah brings this to our attention as well to show that regardless of the differences, the social statuses, these people were able to work together. In fact, did you notice a repeated phrase? It's a beautiful refrain from the beginning of this chapter.
1:34:00 Next to him. Next to him. Next to them. Next to them. Over and over again and then later after him, after him, after them, after them to to show us the unity of the Jews at this time.
1:34:16 And it's really a wonderful picture of what's possible. When you get a people together who are fixated on glorifying God, all those differences that apart from God would cause us to stand away from each other, disappear, and bring us together. And if that's true in the old covenant, how much more in the new? How much more with the power of the gospel that brings down all walls of hostility? How much more with the indwelling work of the Holy Spirit bringing people, not just who have different job descriptions and careers?
1:34:47 Remember, these were still all Jews. The gospel does something much more profound. It brings people from different nations and tribes and tongues, who in the natural, historically were enemies, who committed genocide against one another, who hate each other when they consider their blood or how their last names are spelled. The gospel demolishes all of that and brings people under one banner, one institution called the church, and it should cause the world to wonder. Should cause the world to wonder.
1:35:18 If we can see this level of commitment to God and to one another in the Old Covenant, which is inferior to the New, how much more brothers and sisters, there should be a lot less church splits. It's astounding the wreckage that local churches create as though it's the norm. The glue that we have in the gospel is much more potent. It's deeper than anything else, deeper than blood, deeper than our mistakes, deeper than our failures. What we find here is this amazing concert.
1:35:59 You're gonna read later on with me that this completion is so stunning that even the enemies of the Jews acknowledge they did this with the help of their God. If we're not careful, we'll cause the world to say more. Wait, you guys worship God? That's how you treat each other? We should strive for what we find here because we have way more resources, we have more spiritual inheritance and riches in Christ.
1:36:25 Where people when they see what we do for the Lord say, there has to be a God. There has to be a God. This does not make sense humanly speaking. We can only arrive there when we are a certain type of servant and you've heard several different kinds. And as we close this, I mean, can you think of something more timely than this as we are ready to transition as a church?
1:36:50 This is God. This is God through his word and his perfect timing. Listen, much has been done at this point. It's incredible to see what the Lord has been doing through the servants of this church. But there's more work to be done.
1:37:05 This is just the beginning. So let's ask God in this final bible study of this night to make us the servants that he has called us to be for his glory. We thank You, Lord, of how a list of names can speak to each of us so personally. Your word is amazing. Indeed, it is a light waiting to be uncovered to shine upon areas that we did not know needed illumination.
1:37:49 Lord, we give you glory for it. We give you all the praise. You never fail to amaze us with your word. And this is yet another Friday where you've done it again and we bow before you and we acknowledge your majesty. But, Lord, we are here to apply it.
1:38:03 And we ask that you make each of us the servants you've called us to be. May we not be like the nobles of Tekoa who would refuse to stoop down to serve you. Would you not make us like Elisha, the high priest who hide behind ministry, but in reality, there is no personal love for you. There there is no carefulness in our sanctification, in our holiness, in our devotion to you. Oh, Lord, may we keep a watch on our own lives before anything else.
1:38:32 Lord, we pray that you bless the sisters of this house. We thank you for the men, yes, but we pray in light of the study for the sisters of this house to not lose to not lose hope, to not believe the lies of this culture, but to see that you have amazing things in store for them. Lord, may we be willing to go the distance and know that you will reward us for it. May we do it from the heart. May we do it with zeal.
1:38:56 Lord, we pray that you replenish that zeal even now. And we pray, even now. And we pray, Lord, that as we will see in this book, that what you're doing here at MBC would cause even those who oppose you and hate you to acknowledge that you are true and that you do miracles in people's lives. Oh, Lord, go before us and do it for your name's sake. We long to see it, Lord.
1:39:18 Use our short lives to witness your greatness and to display it to a watching world. We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. If you wanna remain seated, you can do that.
1:39:30 If you wanna stand and glorify God, you can do that as well. Enjoy the final moments of this Friday night because it's gonna look different in a couple of weeks.
1:45:15 and he answered me We've arrived at the conclusion of a significant chapter for the history and the story of Miranatha Bible Church, and you're a part of that story by God's grace. I say we pray giving thanks one more time and asking God for help for this next season. Lord, we thank you again. We can never cease giving you thanks. There wasn't one Friday wasted.
1:51:25 You've used every single week with different people behind this pulpit to speak to our hearts, and we're ready to see more, Lord. So protect the purity of this meeting, protect the mission of this meeting, protect the minds behind the preparation, for these meetings, the the people who will come. And by your grace, more people will come. And we just pray, Lord, that there would be a special grace upon Friday nights in this new chapter, that that region would be blessed with the word of the Lord, and that people will be drawn to you through the scriptures. We pray for every ministry that is represented here that they would know your special empowerment, wisdom.
1:52:09 Lord, even just your mercy and compassion as we realize the kind of God that you are. May every lesson in Nehemiah contribute to the building of Maranatha Bible Church in this very significant moment, and may you receive all the praise along the way. Be with us now. In Jesus' name. Amen.
1:52:30 Amen. The next time we'll see you on a Friday night, we'll be at 180 Hawthorne Road, Barrington, Illinois. Until then, we still have one Sunday left. Join us for that 1PM service. We will celebrate.
1:52:45 I have a feeling we'll take pictures. We'll definitely eat unless I'm wrong on that, but I I'm not I'm not, I'm not gonna be surprised if we celebrate in that way too. Come with us. Join us, and, we'll see you soon. The Lord bless you.
1:53:01 Fellowship a little bit before you leave. Okay? Take care now. Bye bye.
